The Wall Street Journal excerpts a new book revealing that, based on recently released White House records, Ronald Reagan tried to convert Soviety leader Michael Gorbachev.
In a private meeting, Reagan praised Gorbachev for providing more religious freedom and urged him to go further. Then, according to notes taken by two aides:
The president said he had a letter from the widow of a young World War II soldier. He was lying in a shell hole at midnight, awaiting an order to attack. He had never been a believer, because he had been told God did not exist. But as he looked up at the stars he voiced a prayer hoping that, if he died in battle, God would accept him. That piece of paper was found on the body of a young Russian soldier who was killed in that battle.Gorbachev tried to switch the subject. Perhaps the United States and the Soviet Union might open the way for greater cooperation in space, he told the president. But the president wasn't to be diverted. According to the transcript, Reagan told Gorbachev that space was in the direction of heaven, but not as close to heaven as some other things that they had been discussing.
As the meeting ended, Reagan became even more direct and personal. He noted that his own son Ron did not believe in God either. "The President concluded that there was one thing he had long yearned to do for his atheist son. He wanted to serve his son the perfect gourmet dinner, to have him enjoy the meal, and then to ask him if he believed there was a cook."
The book, "The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War" by James Mann, also mentions in passing something else that shocked me: Jimmy Carter tried to convert South Korean dictator Park Chung Hee, saying, "I would like you to know about Christ."
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Reagan was just a bs artist and not a follower of Jesus Christ. This is absolute crap. Reagan who traded arms for money to fund the Contras, who cozied up to Central American dictators and death squads.
Gorbachev was the one who wanted to disarm both the US and USSR of its nukes, and the crusader Reagan said no. Regan is burning in hell along with the dead leaders of the religious right.
Reagan was a fake Christian. Him trying to convert Gorbachev! What a joke.
Reagan traded weapons for dollars to fund the Contras in their invasion of Nicaragua, lied to Congress, violated our constitution, and even sold chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein to kill Kurds and Iranians.
Reagan is burning in hell along with the other dead leaders of the religious right.
I know a Army major who gave Reagan a book 'two minutes with the Bible' According to him Reagan read from it every day. So I would tend to agree with this article. As for you Gary I hope you have trusted that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again on the third day as a full payment for your sins and stop worrying about weather Regen is burning down there along with the leaders of the religious right.
Gary,
Usually I'm too busy dealing with my own sinfulness to worry about the sins of others, but you have interrupted my navel-gazing with your observations, and so I would like to respond.
World leaders, especially those of superpower nations, rarely if ever have the option of someone dying and nobody dying. If they act one way, group A gets it. If they act another, B gets it. If they don't act, A, or B, or Both get it. It's an ugly, messy business. My politics aside, I pity anyone foolish enough to want to occupy the Oval Office.
Abraham Lincoln fought a Civil War rather than allow the South to secede. Preservation of the Union, and not the abolition of slavery, was his stated goal. Over 600,000 Americans perished in that conflict. Twice as many suffered grievous injuries. In many battles, the men of entire towns were killed in a day, leaving destitute widows and orphaned children. Was it worth all of that simply to preserve the Union? Where is Lincoln today?
I trust in God's love and mercy. If God would humble himself to take on our flesh and die as the final sacrifice for our sins, then there is hope for the worst sinner among us, even Reagan, if you believe he fits the bill.
God Bless.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.