While perhaps lacking some of the rhetorical flourishes that headline writers love, President Bush’s second inaugural address about freedom and human dignity was relentless in its focus, nonpartisan in its tone, magisterial in its aim, and ennobling in its call. The president has asked us to live up to our republic’s highest ideals–not only for ourselves, but for others. Freedom is a gift not just for the privileged few, but for all. Compassion and common sense require that we share it. “It is the honorable achievement of our fathers,” Bush said. “Now it is the urgent requirement of our nation’s security, and the calling of our time.” Are we ready to answer the call? Can we afford not to be?
About Stan Guthrie
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine and for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His latest book is God's Story in 66 Verses. He also is author of All that Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us, Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century, and A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy. He is co-author of The Sacrament of Evangelism. Besides authoring, writing, and editing books, Stan is a literary agent, bringing together good authors, good books, and good publishers.
Stan writes the monthly Priorities colum for BreakPoint.org. He has appeared on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, WGN's Milt Rosenberg program, and many Christian shows, including The Eric Metaxas Show and Moody Radio's New Day Florida. A licensed minister and an inspirational speaker, he served as moderator for the Christian Book Expo panel discussion, Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?
