(b.June 12, 1924), was the 41st President of the United States, 1989–93. During his administration the U.S. led the Allies to victory in Persian Gulf War; the Soviet Union was restructured; and the Tiananmen Square demonstration was crushed by Communist Government in Beijing, China. He was the Vice-President under Ronald Reagan, 1981–89; Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, 1976; U.S. Envoy to China, 1974; National Chairman of the Republican Party, 1973; Ambassador to the United Nations, 1971; U.S. Representative, 1967; partner in oil business, Texas, 1948–66; studied at Yale University, 1945–48; married Barbara Pierce, 1945; a Naval Aviator in the Pacific during World War II, 1943–45, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross; and was the son of Prescott Bush, U.S. Senator from Connecticut.
On Friday, January 20, 1989, in his Inaugural Address, President George Bush stated:
I have just repeated word for word the oath taken by George Washington 200 years ago, and the Bible on which I place my hand is the Bible on which he placed his. …
And my first act as President is a prayer. I ask you to bow your heads:
Heavenly Father, we bow our heads and thank You for Your love. Accept our thanks for the peace that yields this day and the shared faith that makes its continuance likely. Make us strong to do Your work, willing to heed and hear Your will, and write on our hearts these words: “Use power to help people.” For we are given power not to advance our own purposes, not to make a great show in the world, nor a name. There is but one just use of power, and it is to serve people. Help us to remember it, Lord. Amen. …
There is much to do; and tomorrow the work begins. I do not mistrust the future; I do not fear what is ahead. For our problems are large, but our heart is larger. Our challenges are great, but our will is greater. And if our flaws are endless, God’s love is truly boundless. …
Thank you. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.3819
On Thursday, February 22, 1990, at the request of Congress, Joint Resolution 164, issued a Presidential Proclamation declaring 1990 the International Year of Bible Reading:
Among the great books produced throughout the history of mankind, the Bible has been prized above all others by generations of men and women around the world—by people of every age, every race, and every walk of life.
The Bible has had a critical impact upon the development of Western civilization. Western literature, art, and music are filled with images and ideas that can be traced to its pages. More important, our moral tradition has been shaped by the laws and teachings it contains. It was a biblical view of man—one affirming the dignity and worth of the human person, made in the image of our Creator—that inspired the principles upon which the United States is founded. President Jackson called the Bible “the Rock on which our Republic rests” because he knew that it shaped the Founding Fathers’ concept of individual liberty and their vision of a free and just society.
The Bible has not only influenced the development of our Nation’s values and institutions but also enriched the daily lives of millions of men and women who have looked to it for comfort, hope, and guidance. On the American frontier, the Bible was often the only book a family owned. For those pioneers living far from any church or school, it served both as a source of religious instruction and as the primary text from which children learned to read. The historic speeches of Abraham Lincoln and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., provide compelling evidence of the role Scripture played in shaping the struggle against slavery and discrimination. Today the Bible continues to give courage and direction to those who seek truth and righteousness. In recognizing its enduring value, we recall the words of the prophet Isaiah, who declared, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand forever.”
Containing revelations of God’s intervention in human history, the Bible offers moving testimony to His love for mankind. Treasuring the Bible as a source of knowledge and inspiration. President Abraham Lincoln call this Great Book “the best gift God has given to man.” President Lincoln believed that the Bible not only reveals the infinite goodness of our Creator, but also reminds us of our worth as individuals and our responsibilities toward one another.
President Woodrow Wilson likewise recognized the importance of the Bible to its readers. “The Bible is the word of life,” he once said. Describing its contents, he added:
“You will find it full of real men and women not only but also of the things you have wondered about and been troubled about all your life, as men have been always; and the more you will read it the more it will become plain to you what things are worth while and what are not, what things make men happy—loyalty, right dealing, speaking the truth … and the things that are guaranteed to make men unhappy—selfishness, cowardice, greed, and everything that is low and mean. When you have read the Bible you will know that it is the Word of God, because you will have found it the key to your own heart, your own happiness, and your own duty."
President Wilson believed that the Bible helps its readers find answers to the mysteries and sorrows that often trouble the souls of men.
Cherished for centuries by men and women around the world, the Bible’s value is timeless. Its significance transcends the boundaries between nations and languages because it carries a universal message to every human heart. This year numerous individuals and associations around the world will join in a campaign to encourage voluntary study of the Bible. Their efforts are worthy of recognition and support.
In acknowledgement of the inestimable value and timeless appeal of the Bible, the Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 164, has designated the year 1990 as the “International Year of Bible Reading” and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in observance of this year.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim the year 1990 as the International Year of Bible Reading. I invite all Americans to discover the great inspiration and knowledge that can be obtained through thoughtful reading of the Bible.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-second day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fourteenth.
George Bush3820
On Thursday, May 3, 1990, President George Bush declared a National Day of Prayer:
The great faith that led our Nation’s Founding Fathers to pursue this bold experience in self-government has sustained us in uncertain and perilous times; it has given us strength and inspiration to this very day.
Like them, we do very well to recall our “firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,” to give thanks for the freedom and prosperity this Nation enjoys, and to pray for continued help and guidance from our wise and loving Creator.3821
President George Bush, in his 1992 National Day of Prayer Proclamation, declared:
Whatever our individual religious convictions may be, each of us is invited to join in this National Day of Prayer. Indeed, although we may find our own words to express it, each of us can echo this timeless prayer of Solomon, the ancient king who prayed for, and received, the gift of wisdom:
The Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us; so that He may incline our hearts to Him, to walk in all His ways … that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other.3822