Reagan's Life Reconsidered In Recollections, Memorials, Books
by Bill Fancher, Jenni Parker, and Chad Groening
June 8, 2004
(AgapePress) - As prominent conservatives and religious leaders share reminiscences about the life and legacy of Ronald Reagan, some have noted a marked difference in how the mainstream media are covering the life of the former president now that he has passed on, as compared with way they treated him when he was in the oval office.American Conservative Union president Richard Lessner says although the press is praising Reagan today, when he was in office, he was the most maligned chief executive in the history of the nation. But Lessner says that is nothing new.
"All presidents are controversial figures while they're serving," ACU's leader notes. "This is just typical of our political system that presidents -- particularly great ones -- grow in stature after they leave office, and the passage of time allows us to reflect on their accomplishments."
One of the former president's greatest accomplishments, Lessner says, was making the GOP a conservative party that fought for pro-family values. The conservative leader credits Reagan with single-handedly changing the direction of the Republican Party.
"Today you can really say, I think, fairly that the Republican Party is a 'Reagan-esque 'party. He made conservatism the predominant political philosophy of the Republican Party," Lessner says.
Now, throughout this week and beyond, America has the opportunity to show its love and respect for the life, character and legacy of Ronald Reagan, the ACU spokesman says. And, he adds, the former president deserves every bit of the respect he is being given today.
Others who knew "The Great Communicator" well are echoing that sentiment. According to an Associated Press report, Reverend Michael Wenning, a retired senior pastor at the Presbyterian church where Reagan worshipped, called the former president "a great world leader and a faithful servant of almighty God."
Wenning read scripture and prayed for the Reagan family at Monday's memorial service at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, where the 40th president's body will lie in state before being flown to Washington on Wednesday.
Biographers on Reagan's faith
AP also quotes one of Reagan's spiritual biographers as saying that the former president was a committed Christian throughout his life and that he attended church from his boyhood to the time he took up residence in the White House. These facts are documented by biographer Paul Kengor, who wrote God and Ronald Reagan: a Spiritual Life (Regan Books, 2004).
Kengor says the president was faithful churchgoer who only stopped attending public services after becoming president because his attendance was an inconvenience and a distraction to other worshippers. But the author says as soon as Reagan vacated the Oval Office, he joined a Presbyterian church and even took part in a new members class.
Meanwhile, another author is hoping her newly published book on Reagan's life of faith will give readers even more insight into the earnest devotion and spiritual strength of the 40th president -- a man who did not like to wear his religion on his sleeve but who was always more than happy to discuss his beliefs when the opportunity arose.
This spring saw the publication of Hand of Providence: the Strong and Quiet Faith of Ronald Reagan (WND, 2004) by Mary Beth Brown. The conservative author is the of the chairman of Citizens United for Family, a project of Citizens United Foundation.
Brown says it was Reagan's mother Nellie, whom the author describes as "a wonderful Christian woman," that first shaped and strongly influenced the former president's faith. Throughout his life and even during his presidency, the author says his beliefs, actions, and motivations were based on the guiding principles of faith that his mother instilled in him and that "stayed with him the rest of his life."
Brown wrote Hand of Providence after talking with numerous friends and family of the former president, including Reagan cabinet member, Edwin Meese. The former attorney general told her how open Reagan had always been about his faith and how willing he was to discuss it.
The biographer says Meese told her that "of all the people he had ever known, he'd never met anyone less uncomfortable about discussing religious matters in a very matter-of-fact way, and it was a very, very important part of his life. And whenever the subject would come up, he was not at hesitant to talk about it."
Still, Brown learned in her research that the former chief executive preferred to keep his faith private. "President Regan was not a person to wear his religion on his sleeve or his face, and he felt that a person's religious beliefs were a private matter. He never tried to exploit them for political purposes," she says.
The official funeral ceremony for Ronald Wilson Reagan will be held in Washington, D.C., on Friday, June 11, with Rev. John C. Danforth as celebrant. Eulogists are to include President George W. Bush and former President George H.W. Bush, as well as Baroness Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of Great Britain; and Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada.
