Elaine Pagels has had enough. So has Welton Gaddy.
Dr. Pagels of the religion department at Princeton University and the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy of the Interfaith Alliance Foundation say President Bush is abusing religious language. And they are tired of it.
The respected pair spoke out last week. Forcefully.
"God is not a mascot for the nation," says Dr. Gaddy, pastor of Northminister Baptist Church in Monroe, La. He told a group of religion writers that the president uses religion to rally support for his causes, particularly from the Religious Right.
Dr. Gaddy also thinks the president is fairly shallow in applying religion to the public square. The president reminds him of a seminarian with one semester behind him, who thinks that his faith trumps all.
"You get a minimal introduction to the sweep of theological thought as a freshman," Dr. Gaddy says. Then, you rush out and address the world with it. Eventually, you start to see the complexities, he claims.
That's true. I've seen the kind. Many of us have. And President Bush suffers from seeing too much of the world in black-and-white terms. (Think "axis of evil.")
That approach particularly bothers Dr. Pagels. A religious historian and author of works like Adam, Eve and the Serpent, Dr. Pagels says the president's use of words like good and evil to describe the world reminds her of children's stories. "This language bypasses the brain and goes right to the gut," she says.
Point delivered. And this pair is not alone. People here and abroad are talking about the president's frequent use of religious language, particularly with war on the horizon.
But let's not forget history here.
As others have noted, George W. Bush is hardly the first president to express himself with religious language. Or to use it to further his cause.
Abraham Lincoln. Woodrow Wilson. Jimmy Carter. They and many other presidents drew from their religious experiences or theological knowledge in their roles as president. (So did the Rev. Martin Luther King. And we all benefited from his taking it into the public arena.)
Let's also not forget the role religious values can play in our public debate. Even when presidents interject them into it.
Father Bryan Hehir of Georgetown University says religion can set the right terms for a public policy debate. And, he told a recent Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life audience, it can guide personal conscience.
Both are important. And think what you may of Mr. Bush, his faith gives him a sense of purpose. He even thinks of his job in terms of a call.
In 1997, he talked to me in his Austin office about whether he would seek the presidency. Some thought the race was a given. But he seemed honest in describing the back-and-forth within his family.
The thought that kept coming back to him was whether he should run, even if he and his family had doubts. He felt as if this might be his "call."
Friends say he used the same language after Sept. 11. That he realized why he was president.
This sort of thinking is exactly what bothers people such as Elaine Pagels and Welton Gaddy. Dr. Gaddy says he gets a sense that Mr. Bush feels he is divinely chosen.
Based on interviews with him over time, I don't think the president sees it that way. But for his own sake, Mr. Bush should keep working on how he uses religion in the public arena.
For one thing, he could win over doubters by using the prophetic voice from time to time. Call the nation to take better care of the environment. Challenge materialism. Don't just use religion to rally a nation for war. Or to justify a cause.
To some extent, the president did this in speaking to the National Religious Broadcasters' convention last week. He reminded his largely conservative audience that people of faith worked for child labor laws, women's rights and civil rights.
He then challenged big suburban churches to do more to serve those in need. They have resources. Use them, including linking up with urban churches.
The president set the right tone in that speech. And he should keep searching for it in other speeches.
With so much at stake, people across the world are paying close attention to his every word. It's not just the Elaine Pagelses and Welton Gaddys. The president needs to let them know he understands the power of language. That includes religious language.