Religious conviction: the tie that binds Wilson and W.

An article in Economic Principles summarizes the comparisons of George W. Bush to Woodrow Wilson:

At bottom, what the two men seem to have shared is religious conviction amounting to certainty. Early in his presidential campaign, Wilson stated, “There is a spirit that rules us. If I did not believe in Providence, I would feel like a man going blindfolded through a haphazard world.” At a National Prayer Breakfast, Bush said, “Events aren’t moved by blind change and chance. Behind all of life and all of history, there’s a dedication and purpose, set by the hand of a just and faithful God.”

Evangelicals: God appointed Obama

According to George Berkin:

For evangelicals, who hold a Bible-based view of politics, it is God himself who has placed the new president in office - even if the president does not in any way agree with evangelical political views.

As evangelicals believe, the Bible teaches that God, in his sovereignty, chooses who he wants to place in office. Not in a hocus-pocus way, but through natural and "secular" mechanisms such as political parties, election campaigns and ballots, God put the guy there.

Good, bad, or indifferent, evangelicals believe, the man is in office through divine appointment.

Berkin admits that this may sound "medieval," though dangerous and flawed are more appropriate since we can only hope for the day when such a view is a relic of our past. Berkin says it is important to understand this perspective since evangelicals need to decide how to interact with a president with whom they strongly disagree.

The two thoughts seem contradictory. On one hand there is a belief among Bible believers that God has a "'behind the scenes' involvement in government." On the other hand there is a belief that Bible believers must "woo policymakers into a more 'biblical' approach to policy, even if it is not identified as such."

God does, indeed, work in mysterious ways.