(This is rather long, but I believe you will be inspired by hearing what
George W. Bush had to say when asked about his religious faith: Please spread
this around on the Internet . . .it will never be published by the biased news
media.) Actually, the seeds of my decision had been planted the year before, by the
Reverend Billy Graham. He visited my family for a summer weekend in Maine. I saw
him preach at the small summer church, St. Ann's by the Sea. We all had lunch on
the patio overlooking the ocean. One evening my dad asked Billy to answer
questions from a big group of family gathered for the weekend. He sat by the
fire and talked. And what he said sparked a change in my heart. I don't remember
the exact words. It was more the power of his example. The Lord was so clearly
reflected in his gentle and loving demeanor. The next day we walked and talked at Walker's Point, and I knew I was in the
presence of a great man. He was like a magnet; I felt drawn to seek something
different. He didn't lecture or admonish; he shared warmth and concern. Billy
Graham didn't make you feel guilty; he made you feel loved. Over the course of that weekend, Reverend Graham planted a mustard seed
in my soul, a seed that grew over the next year. He led me to the path, and I
began walking. It was the beginning of a change in my life. I had always been a
"religious" person, had regularly attended church, even taught Sunday
School and served as an altar boy. But that weekend my faith took on a new
meaning. It was the beginning of a new walk where I would commit my heart to
Jesus Christ. I was humbled to learn that God sent His Son to die for a
sinner like me. I was comforted to know that through the Son, I could find God's
amazing grace, a grace that crosses every border, every barrier and is open to
everyone. Through the love of Christ's life, I could understand the
life-changing powers of faith. When I returned to Midland, I began reading the Bible regularly. Don
Evans talked me into joining him and another friend, Don Jones, at a men's
community Bible study. The group had first assembled the year before, in Spring
of 1984, at the beginning of the downturn in the energy industry. Midland was
hurting. A lot of people were looking for comfort and strength and direction. A
couple of men started the Bible study as a support group, and it grew. By the
time I began attending, in the fall of 1985, almost 120 men would gather. We met
in small discussion groups of ten or twelve, then joined the larger group for
full meetings. Don Jones picked me up every week for the meetings. I remember
looking forward to them. My interest in reading the Bible grew stronger and
stronger, and the words became clearer and more meaningful. We studied Acts, the
story of the Apostles building the Christian Church, and next year, the Gospel
of Luke. The preparation for each meeting took several hours, reading the
Scripture passages and thinking through responses to discussion questions. I
took it seriously, with my usual touch of humor.... Laura and I were active members of the First Methodist Church of
Midland, and we participated in many family programs, including James Dobson's
Focus on the Family series on raising children. As I studied and learned,
Scripture took on greater meaning, and gained confidence and understanding in my
faith. I read the Bible regularly. Don Evans gave me the "One-year
Bible", a Bible divided into 365 daily readings, each one including a
section from the New Testament, the Old Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. I read
through that Bible every other year. During the years in between, I pick
different chapters to study at different times. I have also learned the power of prayer. I pray for guidance. I do not
pray for earthly things, but for heavenly things, for wisdom and patience and
understanding. My faith gives me focus and perspective. It teaches humility. But
I also recognize that faith can be misinterpreted in the political process.
Faith is an important part of my life. I believe it is important to live my
faith, not flaunt it. America is a great country because of our religious
freedoms. It is important for any leader to respect the faith of others. That
point was driven home when Laura and I visited Israel in 1998. We had traveled to Rome to spend Thanksgiving with our daughter, who was
attending a school program there, and spent three days in Israel on the way
home. It was an incredible experience. I remember waking up at the Jerusalem
Hilton and opening the curtains and seeing the Old City before us, the Jerusalem
stone glowing gold. We visited the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher. And we went to the Sea of Galilee and stood atop the hill where Jesus
delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It was an overwhelming feeling to stand in
the spot where the most famous speech in the history of the world was delivered,
the spot where Jesus outlined the character and conduct of a believer and gave
his disciples and the world the beatitudes, the golden rule, and the Lord's
Prayer. Our delegation included four gentile governors-one Methodist, two
Catholics, and a Mormon, and several Jewish-American friends. Someone suggested
we read Scripture. I chose to read "Amazing Grace," my favorite hymn. Later that night we all gathered at a restaurant in Tel Aviv for dinner
before we boarded our middle-of-night flight back to America. We talked about
the wonderful experiences and thanked the guides and government officials who
had introduced us to their country. And toward the end of the meal, one of our
friends rose to share a story, to tell us how he, a gentile, and his friend, a
Jew, had (unbeknownst to the rest of us) walked down to the Sea of Galilee,
joined hands underwater, and prayed together, on bended knee. Then out of his
mouth came a hymn he had known as a child, a hymn he hadn't thought about in
years. He got every word right: "Now is the time approaching, by prophets
long foretold, when all shall dwell together, One Shepherd and one fold. Now Jew
and gentile, meeting, from many a distant shore, around an altar kneeling, one
common Lord adore. Faith changes lives. I know, because faith has changed
mine." I could not be governor if I did not believe in a divine plan that supersedes
all human plans. Politics is a fickle business. Polls change. Today's friend is
tomorrow's adversary. People lavish praise and attention. Many times it is
genuine; sometimes it is not. Yet I build my life on a foundation that will not
shift. My faith frees me. Frees me to put the problem of the moment in proper
perspective. Frees me to make decisions that others might not like. Frees me to
try to do the right thing, even though it may not poll well... The death penalty
is a difficult issue for supporters as well as its opponents. I have a reverence
for life; my faith teaches that life is a gift from our Creator. In a perfect
world, life is given by God and only taken by God. I hope someday our society
will respect life, the full spectrum of life, from the unborn to the elderly. I
hope someday unborn children will be protected by law and welcomed in life. I
support the death penalty because I believe, if administered swiftly and justly,
capital punishment is a deterrent against future violence and will save other
innocent lives. Some advocates of life will challenge why I oppose abortion yet
support the death penalty. To me, it's the difference between innocence and
guilt. Today, two weeks after Jeb's inauguration, in my church in downtown Austin,
Pastor Mark Craig, was telling me that my re-election was the first Governor to
win back-to-back, four-year terms in the history of the State of Texas. It was a
beginning, not an end.... People are starved for faithfulness. He talked of the
need for honesty in government. He warned that leaders who cheat on their wives
will cheat their country, will cheat their colleagues, will cheat themselves.
Pastor Craig said that America is starved for honest leaders. He told the story
of Moses, asked by God to lead his people to a land of milk and honey. Moses had
a lot of reasons to shirk the task. As the Pastor told it, Moses' basic reaction
was, "Sorry, God, I'm busy. I've got a family. I've got sheep to tend. I've
got a life. "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the sons of
Israel out of Egypt? The people won't believe me, he protested. I'm not a very
good speaker. Oh, my Lord, send, I pray, some other person, "Moses pleaded.
But God did not, and Moses ultimately did His bidding, leading his people
through forty years of wilderness and wandering, relying on God for strength and
direction and inspiration. "People are starved for leadership," Pastor
Craig said, "starved for leaders who have ethical and moral courage. It is
not enough to have an ethical compass to know right from wrong," he argued.
"America needs leaders who have the moral courage to do what is right for
the right reason. It's not always easy or convenient for leaders to step
forward," he acknowledged. "Remember, even Moses had doubts." "He was talking to you," my mother later said. The pastor was, of
course, talking to all of us, challenging each one of us to make the most of our
lives, to assume the mantle of leadership and responsibility wherever we find
it. He was calling on us to use whatever power we have, in business, in
politics, in our communities, and in our families, to do good for the right
reason. And his sermon spoke directly to my heart and my life.... There was no
magic moment of decision. After talking with my family during the Christmas
holidays, then hearing this rousing sermon, to make most of every moment, during
my inaugural church service, I gradually felt more comfortable with the prospect
of a presidential campaign. My family would love me, my faith would sustain me,
no matter what. During the more than half century of my life, we have seen an unprecedented
decay in our American culture, a decay that has eroded the foundations our
collective values and moral standards of conduct. Our sense of personal
responsibility has declined dramatically, just as the role and responsibility of
the federal government have increased. The changing culture blurred the sharp
contrast between right and wrong and created a new standard of conduct: "If
it feels good, do it." and 'If you've got a problem, blame somebody
else." "Individuals are not responsible for their actions," the
new culture has said. "We are all victims of forces beyond our
control." We have gone from a culture of sacrifice and saving to a culture
obsessed with grabbing all the gusto. We went from accepting responsibility to
assigning blame. As government did more and more, individuals were required to
do less and less. The new culture said: if people were poor, the government
should feed them. If someone had no house, the government should provide one. If
criminals are not responsible for their acts, then the answers are not prisons,
but social programs.... "For our culture to change, it must change one heart, one soul, and one
conscience at a time. Government can spend money, but it cannot put hope in our
hearts or a sense of purpose in our lives.".. "But government should
welcome the active involvement of people who are following a religious
imperative to love their neighbors through after-school programs, child care,
drug treatment, maternity group homes, and a range of other services. Supporting
these men and women - the soldiers in the armies of compassion - is the next
bold step of welfare reform, because I know that changing hearts will change our
entire society." "During the opening months of my presidential campaign, I have traveled
our country and my heart has been warmed. My experiences have reinvigorated my
faith in the greatness of Americans. They have reminded me that societies are
renewed from the bottom up, not the top down. Everywhere I go, I see people of
love and faith, taking time to help a neighbor in need... These people and
thousands like them are the heart and soul and greatness of America. And I want
to do my part. "I am running for President because I believe America must seize this
moment, America must lead. We must give our prosperity a greater purpose, a
purpose of peace and freedom and hope. We are a great nation of good and loving
people. And together, we have a charge to keep."