What Do George Bush and Barack Obama Have In Common?

David James

Equipping Pastors International

At first glance, former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama don't appear to have much in common. However, that assumption deserves what has been called the philosophy of a second glance. This subsequent look reveals more affinity between the two than most people think. Surprisingly, the area of agreement is precisely where they appear to differ most--foreign policy. 

According to the conventional wisdom the two men could not be more different on the subject. There is some truth to that line of thinking. President Bush was extremely pro-Israel in his approach to foreign policy. President Obama is pro-Arab. The difference is obvious, right?

Not so fast.

Once you get past all the rhetoric Bush was not exactly anti-Arab, and Obama is not anti-Israeli. In some respects it's a matter of emphasis. Even many of the talking heads have noticed that Bush has said many of the same things to the Muslim world that Obama has said recently. He just didn't get any credit for it. Likewise, Obama has said things to let Israel know the USA will not turn it's back on its old friend and ally. He received little or no credit for those comments. At the end of the day this apparent dichotomy is a moot point. 

The real issue, and the one with the most severe consequences is this: both Bush and Obama have conducted their respective foreign policies with total disregard for Christians in North Africa and the Middle East. The results have been devastating for Christians in the region. Whatever else may be true, the Iraqi and Afghani wars have had at least one negative result--millions of Christians have had to go into exile. Both wars simply exchanged power from one sect of Muslims to another (allegedly more moderate) sect. This may be better for some Muslims than others, but it is equally disastrous for Christians in the region. 

In the same way that Bush and Obama's foreign policy are more similar than most people think, Israel and the Arab world share something too. They are both hostile to Christianity and the gospel. For Christians in the region, it doesn't really matter whether one president supports Israel and the other the Arab/Islamic world. Both approaches to foreign policy will result in the further disappearance of Christianity from its birth place.

This is why it is appalling to see so many Christians in the West blindly support either approach to foreign policy. It is tantamount to religious genocide. The Christian West is completing the work of Muhammad and the Islamic invaders of the seventh century. Unintentionally they are engineering the disappearance of Christianity from North Africa and the Middle East. 

At Equipping Pastors International we believe that the best way to defeat Islamic dominance in North Africa and the Middle East is by strengthening the church that is struggling in the region. In order to accomplish this task we need your support. A door of opportunity has opened for us in the region and we are on the ground and working diligently to see this region returned to the place of prominence it enjoyed in the first six centuries of Christian history. This region was once the intellectual and theological capital of the Christian world, and we are committed to helping it recover its true heritage.  It is crucial for the survival of Christianity in the region that the church in the West get fully on board to prevent the further disappearance of Christianity in North Africa and the Middle East.