{"id":754,"date":"2009-03-11T17:54:18","date_gmt":"2009-03-11T17:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/stevenwaldman\/2009\/03\/ronald-reagans-attempts-to-bri.html"},"modified":"2009-03-11T17:54:18","modified_gmt":"2009-03-11T17:54:18","slug":"ronald-reagans-attempts-to-bri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/stevenwaldman\/2009\/03\/ronald-reagans-attempts-to-bri.html","title":{"rendered":"Ronald Reagan’s Attempts to Bring Gorbachev to God"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wall Street Journal excerpts a new book<\/a> revealing that, based on recently released White House records, Ronald Reagan tried to convert Soviety leader Michael Gorbachev.
\nIn a private meeting, Reagan praised Gorbachev for providing more religious freedom and urged him to go further. Then, according to notes taken by two aides:<\/p>\n

The president said he had a letter from the widow of a young World War II soldier. He was lying in a shell hole at midnight, awaiting an order to attack. He had never been a believer, because he had been told God did not exist. But as he looked up at the stars he voiced a prayer hoping that, if he died in battle, God would accept him. That piece of paper was found on the body of a young Russian soldier who was killed in that battle.
\nGorbachev tried to switch the subject. Perhaps the United States and the Soviet Union might open the way for greater cooperation in space, he told the president. But the president wasn’t to be diverted. According to the transcript, Reagan told Gorbachev that space was in the direction of heaven, but not as close to heaven as some other things that they had been discussing.
\nAs the meeting ended, Reagan became even more direct and personal. He noted that his own son Ron did not believe in God either. “The President concluded that there was one thing he had long yearned to do for his atheist son. He wanted to serve his son the perfect gourmet dinner, to have him enjoy the meal, and then to ask him if he believed there was a cook.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The book, “The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War” by James Mann<\/a>, also mentions in passing something else that shocked me: Jimmy Carter tried to convert South Korean dictator Park Chung Hee, saying, “I would like you to know about Christ.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Wall Street Journal excerpts a new book revealing that, based on recently released White House records, Ronald Reagan tried to convert Soviety leader Michael Gorbachev. In a private meeting, Reagan praised Gorbachev for providing more religious freedom and urged him to go further. Then, according to notes taken by two aides: The president said…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-754","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nRonald Reagan's Attempts to Bring Gorbachev to God - Steven Waldman<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/stevenwaldman\/2009\/03\/ronald-reagans-attempts-to-bri.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ronald Reagan's Attempts to Bring Gorbachev to God - Steven Waldman\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Wall Street Journal excerpts a new book revealing that, based on recently released White House records, Ronald Reagan tried to convert Soviety leader Michael Gorbachev. 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