What Are We Going to Do?

WORDS FROM THE PRESIDENT ON THE CHINA OLYMPICS AND RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
Photo courtesy of the White House.

"I have made it very clear, I'm going to the Olympics because it's a sporting event, and I'm looking forward to seeing the athletic competition. But that will not preclude me from meeting with the Chinese President, expressing my deep concerns about a variety of issues -- just like I do every time I meet with the President.

"And maybe I'm in a little different position. Others don't have a chance to visit with Hu Jintao, but I do. And every time I meet with him I talk about religious freedom and the importance of China's society recognizing that if you're allowed to worship freely, it will benefit the society as a whole; that the Chinese government should not fear the idea of people praying to a god as they see fit. A whole society, a healthy society, a confident society is one that recognizes the value of religious freedom." —George W. Bush, February 28, 2008

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Wow, it's been so long since I was going to post this! This quotation was in the Presidential Prayer Update email around the end of February. I admit I do not know what the situation is (or was?? Man, I had better go read some headlines!) for Beijing 2008. I do not know if that situation was handled in the most godly, even-handed way, unless it is yet to be handled. What caught my attention is the goal of our president when he visits President Hu Jintao: ending the terrible treatment of anyone with religious views not in agreement with the government's. Why did our founders pack up everything and get on a boat to somewhere they had never heard of, when England was a pretty good country? Religion was being corrupted by politics. I would like to say something about that before I make my point: the point of separation of church and state is not that religion shouldn't be involved in anything public. The point is that the powers that be should not use religion to gain power or an excuse to eliminate opposers.

Here is a man who probably went through relative poverty, fear for his life as he went to underground meetings, and even forced-labor prison. He is finally standing at the throne, and his beloved Master ran to meet him. How badly I want to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant"! This picture is inside Randy Alcorn's book Safely Home, a story about an American business man who visits his old college roommate in China. I recommend it to anyone wondering why people would be crazy enough to die for their beliefs, and to anyone not sure of what's going on outside our free country.