Is Bush the anti-Christ?
http://www.collegian.com/vnews/displ.../4342098545fb7
By Megan Schulz
October 04, 2005
I have a dear friend who strongly believes President Bush is the anti-Christ and the recent natural disasters and hurricanes are signs of the impending apocalypse. When she mentioned that she was considering stocking up on canned goods and weapons to be prepared, I laughed aloud and resisted the urge to label her as a lunatic. Instead, I Googled her bold claim and discovered many other people believe the same thing. I found a particularly interesting Web site that connects Bush in numerous ways to "666" or the mark of the devil.
I've always wondered why 666 was considered the devil's number. I thought it was because the sixes looked like horns. That seems stupid now that I think about it. In actuality, the Book of Revelations in the Bible states 666 is the number of "the beast," presumably, the devil. Revelations also states that the people who worship the beast and his image also carry the mark of 666. But how does this all relate to Bush?
To make a long story short, aspects of Bush's life, such as his name, date of birth and date of first inauguration, can be linked to the number 666. This is done using a numerical code that assigns each letter of the alphabet to a number. For example, a=1, b=2 and so on. Also, each name in George Walker Bush (Jr.) has six letters. Again, the 666 mark appears. But I don't think this is a reasonable enough connection to make him the anti-Christ. I have another friend whose name is also represented by the number 666. Her interests include Starbucks and the Olsen twins, and I just can't picture her as a devil-worshipper.
This all seems a little coincidental and not at all legitimate. But the truth is, there are thousands of Web sites out there dedicated to the idea that Bush is the anti-Christ. Some Web sites even claim to have biblical and historical relevancy. I looked at a few of them and they seemed pretty convincing. A book wouldn't be big enough to hold all the information out there. I cannot possibly compress everything into a single column. All of this further proves the vastness of the Internet and the fact that not everything out there is trustworthy.
This information about Bush being the anti-Christ seems silly, and I'm choosing to take it with a grain of salt. I'd have to research the claim a lot more before I became a true believer. But I do think it can have some positive effects if it makes people look beyond the absurdity and truly think about the actions of our president. None of us are saints, and Bush is no exception.
If Bush were as religious and Christ-loving as he claims to be, he probably wouldn't have done many of the things he has. He probably wouldn't even be president at all. For me, the general take-away message of the Bible is to love your neighbor and dedicate yourself to God. A rich, power-hungry, war-endorsing politician doesn't exactly fit the bill.
If you're bored one day, I invite you to research the Satan theory for yourself. For those of you who already believe it, if imagining Bush sold his soul to the devil to be elected president helps you sleep at night, then that's fine. I'm not even going to pretend that I know the truth about Bush or even God, for that matter. But I'm also not going to blame the hurricanes on the apocalypse. It's going to take a lot more fire and brimstone for me to believe that.
Megan Schulz is a sophomore technical journalism major. Her column runs every Tuesday.
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