Bush voices moderate faith views in interview: Doubts the Bible is literally true

President Bush said he doesn’t know if God wanted him to be president, doubts the Bible is literally true, agrees you can believe in God and evolution simultaneously, and believes Christians and those of other faiths pray to the same God.

On ABC’s Nightline program aired December 8, Bush said he is “not so presumptuous as to be God” in knowing whether God picked him to be president. “I’m not that confident in knowing the Almighty to be able to say, ‘Yeah, God wanted me, of all the other people.’ But, you know, did God want me to be president? I don’t know.”

Bush described the Bible as “an amazing book,” and ABC’s Cynthia McFadden asked him if the Bible is literally true. “You know, probably not,” the president said. “No, I’m not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it.”

The president, who drew strong support from conservative Christians during his two-term presidency, said it is possible to believe God created the Earth while accepting the science of evolution; also, that Christians, Jews and Muslims all pray to the same God.

“I do believe there’s an Almighty that is broad and big enough, loving enough that can encompass a lot of people,” he said. “I don’t think God is a narrow concept. I think it’s a broad concept. I just happen to believe the way to God is through Christ, and others have different avenues toward God, and I believe we pray to the same Almighty. I do.” –Associated Baptist Press