Pick your Antichrist

As it often does, this all started at Tennessee Guerilla Women. Egalia has a great post over there about the hyporcisy of the current US position with respect to North Korea...and a great cartoon about it, too. You'll have to go visit to find out more about it.

Of course, all this talk about North Korea got me thinking about Iran. That's when I remembered an article I'd seen mentioned in my AlterNet news e-mail. I'm in the process of reading that article on AlterNet now. It's about the fact that some of the members of the religious right believe that war with Iran is preordained and a fulfilment of Biblical prophecy. Don't we all wonder if our "commander-in-chief" is one of them?

You are reading a woman who once tried to believe in a literal interpretation of the Bible...from Exodus to Revelation. I studied the Bible, read it daily, listened to Bible education programs on the radio including Jimmy Swaggart, sent away for Bible study courses by mail. I dallied with fundamentalist Christianity for about six years in the late 70's and early 80's.

Somehow, though, too much of it just never sat right with me and that's aside from the polar opposition of my poplitical views to the views of most "Bible-based, fundamental, evangelical" churches, even back then. I never could reconcile that the earth was created in seven literal, "earth" days. It didn't jibe with that other great love of mine...science. I once served two Gods, my Christian beliefs and value system and nature. I guess I've chosen nature over what passes for Christianity today. In the process I've determined that the Bible is poetry and politics and, to some degree advertising and hyperbole and is not intended to be literally translated.

But, due to my Christian background, I have a first-hand understanding of the perspective of a fundamental Christian. It's entirely possible there are large groups of people out there who feel that war with a particular country, especially one in "the east," is the predestined and prophesied precursor of Armageddon. There are, very likely, throngs who fully believe they are living in "the end times." Just look at the sales of the Left Behind series. Millions of people are scaring the shit out of themselves just as I used to do reading Daniel and the other prophets. And Revelation. Read it sometime if you never have. I think the King James Version
is much better than any of the modern texts.

It's entirely possible, therefore, that George W. Bush is one of those people.

Which brings me to an interesting thought. If Bush is an adherent of Biblical prophecy and a literal interpretation of the Bible, maybe that's what it's all been about for him. I mean, I've always understood Cheney's interest in going into Iraq...it's, ultimately, all about the bottom line with Dick, with a little power-tripping thrown in for fun. But why did Bush want so desperately to get into Iraq? I don't believe he's smart enough to be doing it for any monetary motivation. So, why?

If he really did experience a Christian conversion, and I have reason to believe he did, he may well be stuck in that mindset that the Bible is the literal word of God and must be read and followed literally. That means the prophecies will eventually come to pass as written. He could very well believe that Ahmadinejad is the Antichrist foretold in Revelation. This man, who is in the position of the "most powerful man on earth" could be someone who actually believes he is destined to usher in the second coming of Christ. And he sits at a desk where a most interesting button is situated.

So was that the motivation Bush felt for his invasion of Iraq? It's at least as plausible as the "weapons of mass destruction" argument and holds a lot more water than the Al Qaeda connection story. Was his entre into Iraq meant to set the stage for an eventual excursion into its neighbor, all for the purpose of ushering in the coming of the Lord?

Who knows...maybe all those years of Bible study weren't entirely fruitless. Maybe I am living in the end times and will see the return of the Christ.

Or maybe he is just deranged.

(I brazenly pilfered the photo above from AlterNet.)

tags: Bush / Iran / Iraq / mental illness / North Korea / nuclear arms / US politics / world politics