THE 1985 NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST HAS GENERATED MANY LETTERS OF APPRECIATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87M00539R002203520005-0
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• Document Page Count: 16
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
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• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: April 1, 1985
• Content Type: LETTER

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Remarks Note : Ltr addressed to former
director Colby.
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RALPH REGULA
.rH DISTRICT. OHIO
April 1985
Congrefo; of the Mniteb 'tatm
Sou#e of tepmentatibeys
Wamtjingtcn, O.C. 20515
Qp~~Executive Registry
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1229
The 1985 National Prayer Breakfast has generated many letters of
appreciation from both international guests and those from the
United States. The overriding theme of these communications is
the joy of fellowship in Christ. There was unity of purpose and
a bond of love as we thought and prayed together.
Almost 600 men and women from nations on every con~inent came on
their own time and at their own expense, or through the encourage-
ment of close friends. Perhaps there is no single gathering of
more of the world's leaders from all levels of society meeting to
discuss and pray together. Those at the head table, without ex-
ception, are involved as often as possible in regular groups. You
could sense when listening to the president that he feels deeply
about the things he spoke about and that he was not just giving
another speech. We have all heard the phrase, "The family that
prays together stays together." From my experience as chairman, I
would paraphrase that by saying, "The world family that prays to-
gether will. move toward peace on earth and a greater understanding
and friendship with each other."
Truly, today's world is a neighborhood. Through as many natural
means as possible, we are seeking to personalize the world. This
can only be accomplished by praying for all people, especially those
who carry heavy responsibility in every nation. Prayer leads natur-
ally to increased contact with people from other countries, and it
is most encouraging to observe how people from all walks of life,
including members of Congress, are writing letters, inviting those
from other nations to come here, and planning their own vacations
to include visits to new friends in other lands. Gradually a
world-wide family is growing in the spirit of Christ, and the
National Prayer Breakfast each year becomes something of a family
get-together. This is one of the reasons it is a joy and inspiration
to be part of this annual coming together.
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 ht7 RK 0. HATFIELD
OREGON
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aCrtrfeb z#s fez , enafz
May 1984
On a morning in early February of this year, over 3,000 persons
gathered in Washington, D.C. from throughout the United States
and other nations of the world for the National Prayer Breakfast.
The purpose was to meet in fellowship with the Lord of the
Universe and with each other, and to pray for our leaders.
Tier enclosed copy of the Congressional Record will give you a
sense of the breakfast. One of the highlights was the presence
of former Senator Jacob Javits from New York. Everyone was moved
by his prayer and reading of the 23rd Psalm. Recently at our
regular Senators' Breakfast, he said, "We need to pray because
without it we would be either tyrants'or fools."
I arm sure you will realize as you read the proceedings why all
were inspired and challenged by the President and former
Congresswoman Barbara Jordan.
It is my sincere desire that you be enriched by the words of the
1984 Breakfast just as those who attended.
Mark 0. Hatfield
United States Senator
MOH/tgm
Enclosure
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(Not printed at Government expense)
United States
of America
P
a:Ongressional 'Record
PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 98 th CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
The National Prayer Breakfast
THE NATIONAL PRAYER
BREAKFAST
Mr. HATFIELD. Mr. President, it
was my privilege to chair the Annual
National Prayer Breakfast on Febru-
ary 2 at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
There were 3.700 people from across
this land and around the world in at-
tendance. And by all accounts it was
one of the most stirring and challeng-
ing national prayer breakfasts in
years. It was indeed an honor to par-
ticipate in the event with many or our
Colleagues and friends.
For me one of the most inspirational
moments was when our former Senate
colleague Jacob Javits read the scrip-
tures and led us in prayer. His bout
with debilitating illness made his pres-
ence with us a matter of some consid-
erable sacrifice and struggle. The im-
measureable benefit of his participa-
tion cannot be fully appreciated by
merely reading his words.
I wart to express gratitude to all of
the committee members from both the
Senate and the House who planned
the event, and in particular to Senator
BILr. ARMSTRONG and his office staff
who tended to the organizational de-
tails. Also a special thanks must be ex-
tended to the countless volunteers
who gave hundreds of hours to the
meeting of the diverse needs of the
thousands of guests.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous con-
sent that the entire transcript of the
February 2. 1984. National Prayer
Breakfast be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the tran-
script was ordered to be printed in the
RECORD, as follows:
NATIONAL PRAYER BREARCrAST
(Thursday. February 2. 1984. International
Ballroom, Washington Hilton Hotel.
Washington. D.C.)
[Opening song by the Johnston County
Choral Society, Smithfield. North Carolina)
Senator HATFIELD. Ladies and gentleman,
would you all please stand for the opening
prayer. The opening prayer will be given
this morning by the Vice President of the
United States. George Bush.
The Vies PRESIDENT. May we bow our
heads.
Lord, we come to You today as people of
many faiths, but one faith, that which af-
firms Your love and mercy. We come as a
people of many traditions. but one tradition,
that which celebrates Your glory. We come
as proclaimers of many principles, but one
principle. to love You with all our hearts
and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
We ask for Your bles..-ing on President
Reagan, Mrs. Reagan and all the Members
of the Congress, and on all those who give
themselves to serve their country, and we
ask especially that You bless our men and
women In uniform, keep them well and safe.
Bless those who heal the sick and help the
poor, help us affirm the power of prayer
and face each other and the world, with
faith, hope and love. All this we pray in Thy
name. Amen.
Senator HATnET D. Good morning. Wel-
come to this celebration of a worldwide fel-
lowship of believers in the Lord Master of
Creation.
The Psalmist exclaims, "Be exalted, 0
Lord. in Thy strength, we will sing and
praise Thy power." All of us gathered here
today have an individual understanding of
power and the proper exercise of power. In
His wisdom, God grants to certain members
of the human family the responsibility to
govern, to exercise political power.
Each year we gather in this room as
people representative of the leadership of
the land and we acknowiedge teat political
power and spiritual power most not be con-
fused. St. Paul instructs us with these
words: "For in Him were all things created,
in Heaven and on earth, visible and invisi-
ble. whether thrones or dominions or princi-
palities or authorities, all things were cre-
ated through and for Him."
Undoubtedly, the power of the spirit of
God transcends all power exercised by
humans, be it political power or institution-
al power. Superficially, the world may see
us as an assemblage of greater and lesser
lights, but we know deep in our heart that
all of us share a common denominator. We
stand here today together as sinners before
a loving and forgiving God, a God of right-
eousness.
The word "righteousness" has taken on a
meaning of personal piety in our contempo-
rary society. But in both the Hebrew and
Greek languages. "righteousness" is synony.
mous with the word "justice." And this God
of justice, through the teachers and the
prophets of the Old Testament, and in the
life and ministry of Jesus Christ in the New
Testament, most frequently measures our
faithfulness as His followers on the basis of
our relationship to the poor, the downtrod-
den and the outcast.
Indeed, our very spiritual destiny is inti-
mately linked with those powerless ones
who may live on the margins of society but
who rest in the knowledge of a concerned
and compassionate God. Therefore, this
morning let us affirm our love for God by
living and serving one another with the rec-
ognition that life is not lived in vast ball-
rooms but instead in the poverty where God
calls us to serve rather than to be served.
May we assert through our lives the truth
that while political power can corrupt, spir-
itual power can bring repentance and re-
newal to our souls and the soul of the
Nation.
At this time I am delighted to present to
you the caring and the beautiful First Lady
of our Nation. Nancy Reagan.
(Applause.)
Now may I present the terrific and devot-
ed Barbara Bush.
[Applause.]
A most remarkable achiever, Marian
Javits.
(Applause.)
The dynamic First Lady of the Navy.
Shelia Watkins.
[Applause.]
My very best friend, Antoinette Hatfield.
[Applause.)
We will now have a message from the
Prayer Group of the House of Representa-
tives, given by the Chairman of that group,
the Honorable Charles D. Whitley.
[Applause.)
Mr. WRiTLEY. It is a rare and distinct
pleasure for me to bring you greetings from
the men and women of the House of Repre-
sentatives and particularly from our House
Prayer Breakfast Group.
I want to read just a very brief passage of
scripture from the Old Testament, I Kings.
The situation was that the little kingdom of
Israel was in very bad shape under the reign
of a bad King Ahab. and Prophet Elijah felt
this very keenly. He had suffered a great
deal of disappointment and frustration in
his own life. And he had gone out by him-
self and was in a cave near the holy moun-.
tain called Mt. Horeb or Sinai in search for
God. And God directed him to come out and
stand at the mouth of the cave, and He said
go forth and stand upon the mount before
the Lord, and behold the Lord passed by
and a great and strong wind rent the moun-
tains and broke in pieces the rocks before
the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.
And after the wind, an earthquake, but the
Lord was not in the earthquake. And after
the earthquake, a fire, but the Lord was not
in the fire. And after the fire, a still, small
voice, and It was in that still, small voice
that Elijah found the Lord.
This past Wednesday evening, many of
you, many of us who are here this morning
were in the Chamber of the House for the
State of the Union Address by the Presi-
dent. That is always an occasion of great
ceremony and considerable gravity. It is a
time when we observe protocol and formal-
ity. As the President stands upon that
podium delivering his message, just below
him on the floor of the House sits the Chief
Justice and the Associate Justices of the Su-
preme Court representing the Judicial
Branch of our government. The President,
of course, represents the Executive Branch.
Just behind him sit the Vice President and
the Speaker of the House, representing the
Legislative Branch. And behind all of that
hangs the flag which is the symbol of the
union of our fifty states.
But above all of these Is Inscribed on the
wall of the House Chamber, our national
motto, "In God We Trust." But we don't
always find God, we as individuals in cere-
monial events of that type, and we in the
House of Representatives don't always find
God in the hurly-burly of legislative debate
on the floor of the House and in our com-
mittees. And we don't always find God In
the hectic and frantic time that we often
spend in our offices with the telephones
ringing and staff members scurrying back
and forth and looking at important letters
and signing others and returning telephone
calls. And we don't always find God in a
very tight and hectic schedule that we often
follow when we go back to our districts.
But we can and we do find God In that
still small voice that Is there when we meet
in small groups for fellowship, for prayer
and meditation, such as our regular Thurs-
day morning Prayer Breakfast Group and
other groups, and there are a number of
them that meet regularly in the House of
Representatives for the specific and pri.
mary purposes of meditation and prayer
and seeking God and His will for us in our
lives.
And so all of us welcome you, knowing
that you share this kind of search for God,
that many of you belong to similar small
fellowship groups throughout this land and
throughout the world. So we welcome you
here this morning in that spirit. We enjoy
your fellowship. We earnestly and sincerely
covert your prayers.
Thank you.
[Applause.]
Senator HATFIELD. Since the founding of
the Republic, few have reached or earned
the title of truly great who have served the
United States Senate, but we have one such
person here this morning who will give us
selections from the Old Testament, former
Senator Jacob Javits of New York.
[Applause.)
Senator JAVITS. Thank you very much,
Senator Hatfield, and thank you very much
for my wife and partner, Marian and Lee,
for this great honor and great pleasure of
joining in prayer with the President of the
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United States and Mrs. Reagan and the Vice
President. a dear old friend, and Mrs. Bush,
and great proportion of my former col-
leagues in the House and especially in the
Senate and, having been to these breakfasts
before, the great representation of the dip-
lomatic corps and the clergy and many dis-
tinguished fellow Americans.
It is a great honor too to repeat verses
from the Old Testament which I have cher-
ished and my family has cherished for so
many decades. I shall take the liberty of
reading just a few which we love and espe-
cially sharing with you the common humil-
ity which opens minds and hearts of the
most cherished dreams and aspirations in
prayer.
First, from the Book of Micah. Chapter 6.
Verse 8: What is good, and what cloth the
Lord require of thee? But to do justly and to
loco mercy and to walk humbly with Thy
Gud.
And now my favorite Psalm and Mark
Hatfield told me it is his, too, the 23rd
Psalm: The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not
want. He maketh me lie down in green pas-
tures. He leadeth me beside the still waters:
He restoreth -my soul. He leadeth me in the
path of righteousness for His name sake.
Yea. though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death. I will fear no evil: for
Thou art with me. Thy rod and Thy staff.
they comfort me. Thou preparest a table
before me in the presence of mine enemies:
Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup
runneth over. Surely, goodness, and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life: and I
will dwell in the House of the Lord forever.
And now, with your indulgence, my own
prayer: May we be capable of respectful con-
sideration of the views of our adversaries,
and may we be active and resolute in pur-
suit of the passion for liberty and justice
which we inherit from our civilization and
our ages, for it can save us from the dread
peril of extinction from weapons of destruc-
tion of our own invention, the threat of
which hangs like a pall over us all.
May this passion for liberty and justice
which still prevails in our land endure for-
ever, and may it permeate the thinking and
the fe?'tlnrs of all peoples as time goes on,
whatever their form of government and
w hat,-.er their social order. Amen.
Set1ator HATFIELD. Willa Dorsey will now
sing fur us.
(Solo]
(Applaume.1
Senator HATrtct.D. It may break tradition.
but I don't think it will break the dignity of
this flat Bring if you want to say "amen."
At this time we are happy to call on the
Honorable Jennings Randolph to offer a
message of greeting from the Senate. Prayer
Group.
(Applause.]
Senator RANDOLPH. President and .,frs.
Reagan. Vice President and Mrs. Bush. and
Antoinette and Mark, what a wonderful
team. Let's cheer them. Would you do it for
me?
(Applause.]
You know, those in public office and offi-
cials of government are often prone to exag-
gerate. I wanted to disabuse you at the very
outset aria say that I have checked the fig-
ures carefully. There ate 3,200 worshipers in
what is called the Ballroom International
Center-3,200. There are 500 gathered in
the Jefferson Room. I believe that comes
out to 3,700. and that is probably the largest
number of individual persons, worshipers
that have been at any of the prayer break-
fw;ts since 1953.
Back across the years, of course, comes
the memory to me and others who are here
of Frank Carlson of Kansas. the Senator is
still living. it was Frank who brought our
Senate Prayer Breakfast Group into being.
and that was in 1942. And so the Prayer
Breakfast Group has been around for an-
other 42 years and now we are in the year of
1984.
The first day of the Second Session of the
98th Congress was, of course, on a Monday.
We heard you on Wednesday, and then be-
tween Monday and Wednesday we were
having the Prayer Breakfast in the Senate.
And there were some 25 Senators from
across this land who came together and who
worshiped that morning in the Vandenberg
Room of the United States Capitol.
I have thought so very often of people
who are joined together in one place or an-
t,;lter in worship. I naturally think of that
church, the Washington Cathedral. stop
the highest point in the District of Colum-
bia. Mount St. Albens, and 5,000 worshipers
can come together there.
And then being a man from the hill coun- By faith, even Sarah herself received
try. I can recall and do so very often the strength to conceive, though she was past
little church called Jobe's Temple. It seats the age. By faith. Abraham when the test
30 in the rural section of Gilmer County, In came, offered by Isaac. He had received the
our state. It was constructed before the War promises and yet he was on the point of of-
between the States. It seats people on fering his only son, for he reckoned that
benches, but there are no backs so, you see, God had power even to raise from the dead.
one could not go to sleep without falling By faith, when Moses was born, his par-
over the bench and attracting attention to ents hid him for three months. They were
himself. not afraid of the King's edict. By faith.
But when I think of these gatherings of Moses. when he grew up, refused to be
people, I think. of course, of the little table, called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. pre-
the breakfast table there in our home in fering to suffer hardship for the people of
Salem. a place of peace-that's the meaning God, rather than enjoy the transient plea-
of the word. And grandpa- would come in. sures of sin. He considered the stigma that
grandma sometimes. But we sat together. rests on God's annointed, greater wealth
And I hope you will understand-and I than the treasures of Egypt, for his eyes
think you will-that we never could begin to were fixed upon the coming day of reeom-
eat, Ernestine and I could not begin to eat, pense. By faith, he left Egypt and not be-
not even look longingly at what was upon cause he feared the King's anger, for he was
the plate until the prayer had been spoken. resolute as one who saw the invisible God.
often by papa. sometimes by mama, but Need I say more? Time is too short for me
very often by grandpa who had come in to tell the stories of Gideon. Barak. Samson,
rather quietly to sit with us. and Jephthah. of David and Samuel and the
I do feel that there is the place of meeting prophets. Through faith, they overthrew
which is important., but I feel more strongly kingdoms, established justice, saw God's
that it is the personal ministry of each one promises fulfilled. They muzzled ravening
of you here today and across the world and lions, clenched the fury of fire, escaped
around the globe. the personal ministry. death by the sword. Their weakness was
after you have left the doors, whatever the turned to strength. These, one and all, are
doors may be, in which you have wor- commemorated for their faith.
Shipped and go out to join your brothers And what of ourselves? Of all these wit-
and sisters, believing in many places, of nesses to faith around us like the cloud, we
course. formal religions but knowing that must throw off every encumbrance, every
you are healed physically, you are healed sin to which we cling and run with resolu-
mentally. you are healed spiritually by our tion the race for which we are entered. our
God. eyes fixed on the Lord, on whom faith de-
And so this morning I hope you will let panda from start to finish.
[Applause.]
me tell you that I trust you will join your Senator HATrirs.D. Would you please
hands just now. all of you who are sitting at remain seated while I Invite the Mayor of
the tables here and in the Jefferson Room the City of Indianapolis, the Honorable Wil-
because. as Mark knows, we never go cut liam Hudnut. to offer a prayer for the na-
from our Prayer Breakfast Group, where tional leadership.
some twenty arc always there-40 or 50 of (Applause.)
the Senators are active-we stand and we Mr. liuastr?. Thank you. President and
hold our hands together because there is Mrs. Reagan. Vice President and Mrs. Bush,
something valuably in the clasp of hands as distinguished guests: In the spirit of Abra-
the cloying prayer is said. ham Lincoln who once remarked, It Is the
Thanks for alloWWi~tg the Senate Prayer duty of nations as well as of men to own
Breakfast Group through me to greet you their dependence on the overruling power of
this morning. God, to confess their sins and transgressions
(Applause.)
Senator HAiriEt.D. At this time we wall
have readings from the New Testament by
the Secretary o` Irarspuntation, the Honor-
able E'.izabeth Dole.
[Apply use.)
Secretary Doti. Mr. President, Mrs.
Reagt n. Vice President Bush, Mrs. Bush.
distinguished guests at the head table and
in the audience: Each of us is faced with
enormous challenges, pressures and de-
mands on our time and energies. What a joy
that in times of stress we as fellow believers
can turn to the Lord, realizing that through
our faith we have a source of strength.
wisdom and courage far beyond our own.
But this kind of reliance often isn't easy.
I'.uw many times I have struggled single-
handedly with a problem, only to recall be-
la!cdly that I don't have to deal with it
alone. Serving God means trusting in His
strerrg'h. yielding to His guidance and His
will.
Through gatherings such as this, weekly
bible studies and prayer breakfasts, and
through the witness of our individual lives,
ue impart our faith to one another and we
grow stronger in the Lord. Each of us is
thus a blessing to the other as we face our
individual challenges.
in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope
that genuine repentance will lead to mercy
and pardon, and to recognize the sublime
truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and
proven by all of history, that only those na-
tions are blessed whose God Is the Lord.
Let us Pray: Eternal God, source of all
good, the ground of all being, Lord of Lords,
light of lights, God of truth, God of life.
God of love, God of Abraham. Isaac and
Jacob. God of Ruth and Naome and Mary.
God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
from whom to be turned is to fall, to whom
to be turned is to rise, and in whom to abide
is to stand fast forever. You are great and
greatly to be praised. Be present, we pray.
as we meet together in this 32nd Annual Na-
tional Prayer Breakfast. Rule over us and in
us and so Imbue us with your spirit. that in
faith and hope and love we may worship
You this morning with reverence and grati-
tude and come to a clear understanding of
your will for our lives and your power in
time of need. As we vow to make ours a
nation under God, help us to understand
the difference between this and making a
god of our nation. between looking upon
You as the Lord of all nations and regarding
You as the ally of one, between affirming
my country for God and boasting God for
my country, between praying humbly that
Because the words of Hebrews, Chapters we might be on your side and self-righteous.
11 and 12, have meant so much to me in my ly asserting that You are on ours, help us to
spiritual journey, I would like to share some understand that You are on the side of
selected passages with you this morning. those things that promote peace and free-
And what is faith? Faith gives substance dom and justice, that build up rather than
to our hopes and makes us certain of reali- tear down, and draw together rather than
ties we do not see. By faith, Enoch was car- drive apart, that contribute to the enhance-
ried away to another life without passing mc:nt of human dignity and fulfillment and
through death. Ile was not to be found be- to the improvement of the quality of life,
cause God had taken him. For it is the testi. and help us to be on that side, too, 0 God.
mony of scripture that before he was taken wisely, bravely, and sensitively. We believe
he had pleased God, and without faith it is You are a God of mercy as well as justice. so
impossible to please Him, for anyone who aware that all too often we fail to live up to
comes to God must believe that He exists the better angels in our nature. We ask for
and that He rewards those who search for your forgiveness, pardon us for our mistakes
him. and shortcomings, we pray, and grant that
By faith. Noah divinely warned about the we may learn from them and become better
unseen future. took good heed and built an persons, better leaders, better servants
ark to save his household. By faith. Abra- thereby. Almighty God, in your providential
ham obeyed the call to go out to a land des- care for all your children. we believe you
tined for himself and his heirs and left have plans for each one of us and power to
home without knowing where he was to go. make them happen. Give legislators. execu-
By faith, he settled as an alien in the land tives, judges, and government workers a
promised him, living In tents as did Isaac knowledge of your will for them, for the
and Jacob. who were heirs of the same world. Let us remember that we serve a
promise, for he was looking forward to the public trust beyond personal gain or glory.
city with firm foundations, whose architect May we see that our nation does not live for
and builder is God. itself alone, but is responsible to You for
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Peace and Justice and freedom and for the
well-being of all your children. And to You.
Great God, be the praise and the glory now
and forever, world without end. Amen.
Senator HArrlmn. We are privileged to
have with us Barbara Jordan. former Con-
gresswoman from the 18th District of the
State of Texas.
Since leaving the Congress in 1978, she
has held the Lyndon B. Johnson Chair of
National Policy at the University of Texas.
and she has done so with great distinction.
A wise sage once observed that no person
has a right to be a teacher unless he or she
possesses a singular teaching. Congresswom-
an Jordan has made clear through her advo-
cacy for voting rights while she was a
Member of Congress and In her subsequent
professorship that indeed she does possess a
teaching rooted in spiritual realities of her
own. We are grateful to have her this morn-
ing to share with us her very special gift.
Barbara
[Applause.]
Ms. JORDAN. Thank you very much, Mr.
President, Mrs. Reagan, Vice President
Bush and Barbara Bush. and there are so
many others. Members and officials and
people of high office that I cannot acknowl-
edge any further.
I am delighted to be here to deliver the
message for this National Prayer Breakfast-
I haven't given my remarks a subject, a
title, but I will tell you what I am going to
talk about. I am going to talk about the ne-
cessity for using, merging the inner life and
the outer life, the Inner self and the outer
self.
When I told my colleagues at the Univer-
sity of Texas that that is what I was going
to talk about, they said-k hope there are no
politicians where you're going. [Laughter.]
And I said why do you say that, sir? He
says, well. people who are in politics have
been stripped of their inner lives, they don't
have any, they are empty inside, they are
slow, they are plastic.
I told him he was not telling the truth.
[Laughter.]
So let us begin. Knowing that here on
earth God's work must truly be our own-
knowing that here on earth God's work
must truly be our own. Now, you will recog-
nize those as the closing words of John Ken-
nedy's Inaugural Address.
Would we behave as we do behave in
word. thought and deed if we truly believed
that we are God's stewards on this earth?
Would our policy decisions be the same that
they are if we were always consciously
aware of our trusteeship role on this earth?
Would our oversight responsibilities be
sharper, more incisive if we believed that we
are God's caretakers?
Our responses to these questions will re-
flect. will define how we relate our human-
ity to God. Your responses will also reflect
the character and quality of your innate
nature.
Shakespeare asks in one of his sonnets.
what is your substance, whereof are you
made. That's a big question. What is your
substance? Whereof are you made? The
answer to that question is not very simple.
Most of us would quickly retire to the Old
Testament and say we are made in the
image of God, and we would Intone those
words. But that response leaves too much
unexplained. If we are made in the image of
God, what is the source of our love of
money? What is the source of our love of
power? Profit? Wherein does greed and ava-
rice and bitterness lie if you are made in the
image of God? How do you explain your de-
spoliation of the earth and propensity to
rule over other men? How do we explain if
Indeed we are made in the image of God our
capcity to extinguish mankind?
We are very complex beings and we seem
to he bifurcated between an outer self and
an inner self. In my opinion-underscore in
my opinion"-the innate nature of man is
good, basically good. For me, our Inner self
seems to be in touch with God and commu-
nicating with Him regularly. This inner self
is likeable. caring, compassionate. The in-
stincts of the inner are right ordered, well
ordered. The outer self appears to be domi-
nant and the outer self seems extraordinar-
ily willing to negotiate those basic funda-
mental principles which arise from within.
The outer self is our sophist to the world.
Inner, outer self, each experience some vic-
tories, some defeats.
Tension between an Inner and outer self is
both wearing and worrying. The problem is
that this tension does not have to be inner.
outer, can be one, should be one. They
should be in such close relationship with
each other that you can't tell where one
leaves off and the other begins. They should
be congruent. Our demonstrable actions re-
flect our inner reality.
Now, this point is made very well by Jona-
than Shell who is writing a series of articles
in The New Yorker on nuclear arms. This
one statement I take from one of those arti-
cles: It the inner landscape of the soul does
not change, the outer landscape of the
world does not change either. And once the
choice Is made, It must, like every profound
moral and spiritual decision, be continually
refreshed and renewed. The Inner self, not-
withstanding its nature. Is not static. It
needs improvement. The fusion of inner and
outer self should result In a whole person
fully aware that God's work Is truly our
own. This awareness should be presaged by
a personal view from each of us about the
innate nature of man.
Now. I gave you my personal opinion. For
centuries, the issue of the Innate nature of
man has been discussed Are we good, are we
evil, basically? The ancient Chinese philos-
opher Mencius taught this: Humans are in-
herently good and fall into evil ways by for-
getting or losing t Fir original capacity for
goodness.
In direct opposition to that point of view.
another Chinese philosopher Hun Su
taught: Man is by nature evil and goodness
is the result of conscious activity. And then
there is the biblical view of human nature:
Man was created In the image of God and
fell from grace through his own act of rebel-
lion.
Whatever your view about the nature of
man, there Is no precedent, historical or
contemporary, for man to be two people in
one. There is no precedent for that. This is
a duality which we have contrived for our
convenience. We can talk about this and ex-
plain our aberrant behavior without saying
much more.
As a people with merged, with fused inner
and outer selves, we eliminate the distinc-
tion between image and reality. We cease
projecting shadows where substance is re-
quired. That person who is whole has a non-
negotiable set of values, a non-negotiable
set of principles. Core beliefs, they are ad-
vanced boldly. These core beliefs of this
whole person includes-well, it Includes sev-
eral things, but I want to just mention two.
The first, Justice. Justice U the flagship
principle. Justice Is the overarching princi-
ple. Justice Is fairness. Justicels proportion-
ality. Justice is rectification. Justice is
equity. Justice.
It was Reinhold Niebuhr who said that
Justice is the highest ideal of society. A
belief In Justice is very simple: Everyone is
treated fairly by everyone else. There is
nothing very complicated about that belief.
but the whole person has it.
This entitlement, entitled to be treated
fairly by everyone else, this entitlement is
sc simple because it Is right. It is just right
that everybody is entitled to be treated as
fairly as everybody else, and you need noth-
Ing sophisticated, no deep insight to recog-
nize that basic right.
Justice should be followed by Just acts.
This is a belief that Justice should pervade
our personal and our institutional relation-
ships.
Another ingredient, the second one that I
will include in this four set of beliefs of this
whole person, selflessness. Oh. that is hard.
It is very difficult to attain selflessness.
Why is it difficult? Well, It Is just natural
for self-preservation to be paramount for us.
But if self-preservation is paramount, you
are failing to actualize the spirit of Christ.
There is no doubt about that. Self-denial
feels very alien on a landscape of aequisi-
tivcness, profits, competition, progress. Self-
denial-yes, we ought to have It.
God's work is for the many, not the few.
We can deny ourselves some things. I:f sacri-
fice is a requirement for the common good,
let's sacrifice. That's required of us. It is so
much easier to pay lipservice to sacrifice
than to really do it. Oh, how we like to beat
our breasts and say how we are suffering
and what we are giving up. But we can sacri-
fice. God's strengthening of us and our
knowledge of God's requirements of us,
which were read by Senator Javits from
Micah, what does the Lord require of thee,
God's strengthening of us and acknowledge-
ment of his requirements of us will help us
sacrifice.
To what end has this merger of Inner and
outer self occurred? What difference does It
make that we have this fusion of inner and
outer self? Well. If we are whole people.
there are some very old words which will be
used to define us. words like truth, virtue.
honesty. Our political and policy decisions
will be released once we are old. Our politi-
cal and policy decisions will be released, can
be released for ethical analysis and hold up
wonderful, with a good conscience our only
sure reward, with history, the final judge or
our needs.
Let us go forth and lead the land we love,
asking His blessing and His help, but know-
Ing that here on earth God's work must
truly be our own.
Thank you.
[Applause.]
Senator HArrIELD. Thank you very much,
Barbara.
Ladies and gentlemen, the President of
the United States,
[Applause.]
The PRESIDENT. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Mark, and thank all of you,
ladies and gentlemen. Before I tell you what
I was planning to say this morning, Senator
Javits, you concluded your reading with a
prayer so, of course. I know and understood
that all of us are customed not to applaud-
ing prayer. But I can't help but think that
all of us here have a hunger within to to ap-
plaud you for your presence here and what
you have meant to this gathering.
[Applause.)
Barbara, I had a terrible fear there for a
few moments that you were going to make
anything I had to say redundant, but I
think that maybe the two fit together.
We all in this room I know-and we know
many millions more everywhere-turn to
God in prayer, believe In the power and the
spirit of prayer, and yet so often we direct
our prayers to those problems that are Im-
mediate to us, knowing that He has prom-
ised His help to us when we turn to Him.
And yet In a world today that is so torn with
strife, where the divisions seems to be in-
creasing, not people coming together within
countries, divisions within the people them-
selves. I wonder if we have ever thought
about the greatest tool that we have, that
power of prayer and God's help.
If you could add together the power of
prayer of the people just in this room, what
would be Its megatonnage, and have we
maybe been neglecting this and not think-
ing in terms of a broader basis in which we
pray to be forgiven for the animus we feel
towards someone in perhaps a legitimate
dispute and at the same time recognize that
while the dispute will go on we have to real-
ize that that other individual is a child of
God even as we are and is loved by God as
we like to feel that we are.
This power of prayer can be illustrated by
a story that goes back to the Fourth Cen-
tury. An Asian monk living in a little remote
village, spending most of his time in prayer
or attending the garden from which he ob-
tained his sustenance-I hesitate to say the
name because I am not sure I know the pro-
nunciation, but let me take a chance-it was
Telamachus, back in the Fourth Century.
And then one day he thought he heard the
voice of God telling him to to to Rome and,
believing that he had heard, he set out and
weeks and weeks later he arrived there,
having traveled most of the way on foot.
And it was at a time of festival in Rome.
they were celebrating a triumph over the
gods and he followed a crowd Into the Colos-
seutn end then there in the midst of this
great crowd he saw the Gladiators come
forth and stand before the emperor and say.
"We who are about to die salute you." and
he realized they were going to fight to the
death for the entertainment of the crowds
and he cried out, "In the name of Christ.
stop," and his voice was lost In the tumult
there in the great Colosseum. And as the
games began, he made his way down
through the crowd and climbed over the
wall and dropped to the floor of the arena,
and suddenly the crowd saw this scrawny
little figure making his way out to the Glad-
iators and saying over and over again. "In
the name of Christ, stop," and they thought
it was part of the entertainment and at first
they were amused. But then when they real-
ized that it wasn't, they grew belligerent
and angry and as he was pleading with the
Gladiators, "In the name of Christ, stop."
one of them plunged his sword into his body
and, as he fell to the sand of the arena In
death, his last words were. "In the name of
Christ, stop."
And suddenly a strange thing happened:
The Gladiators stood looking at this tiny
form lying in the sand, a silence fell over
the Colosseum, and then some place up in
the upper tiers an Individual made his way
to an exit and let and others began to follow
and In a dead silence everyone left the Col-
osseum. That was the last battle to the
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death between Gladiators in the Roman
Colosseum. Never again did anyone kill or
did men kill each other for the entertain-
ment of the crowd. One tiny voice that
could hardly be hard above the tumult, "In
the name of Christ. stop." It is something
we could be saying to each other through-
out the world today.
Now, several days ago while I was very
concerned about what I was going to say
here today and trying to think of something
to say. I received through diplomatic chan-
nris a message from far. out across the Pa-
cific. Some time ago, our ambassador pre-
sented to General Romulo of the Philip-
pines the American Medal of Freedom. Not
only had he been a great friend of the
United States in our time of war, but then
he had spent 17 years as an ambassador
here in W;,sttingt..m from his country to
oors. And for whatever reason, he sent this
message of thanks to me for the medal that
had been given, and then included the fair-
well statement that he has made when he
left Washington. left this country after
those 17 years. And I had to confess. I had
never been aware that there had been such
.a farewell message and I am quite sure that
many of you hadn't, and so I am going to
share it with you. I think it fits what we are
talking about today.
He said: I am going home, America. For 17
years I have enjoyed your hospitality, vis-
ited every one of your fifty states. I can say
I know you well. I adore and love America. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral James
It is my second home. What I have to say
now In parting is both tribute aqd warning.
Never forget, Americans. that Yours is a
spiritual country. Yes, I know you are a
practical people. Like others, I've marveled
at your factories, your skyscrapers and your
arsenals. But underlying everything else is
the fact that America began as a God-
loving. God-fearing, God-worshiping people.
knowing that there Is a spark of the Divine
in each one of us. It is this respect for the
dignity of the human spirit which keeps
America invincible. May you always endure
and, as I say again in parting, thank you.
America. and farewell. May God keep you
always and may you always keep God.
Thank you.
(Applause.)
Senator HATFIELD. Will you please remain
.standing. We will now call upon our col-
leaeue from the House of Representatives.
the Honorable Daniel Akaka, to lead us in
the singing of a cloying hymn and then we
will have a closing prayer.
Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President. Mrs. Reagan.
Mr. Vice President and Mrs. Bush, distin-
guished friends, let us join together In sing-
Admiral WATKIN S. Would you please join
me in the closing prayer: Most gracious
God, our Creator. King of the Universe,
Eternal Father, strong to save. This gather-
ing has been a blessing for all of us. Our
bodies have been nourished with daily
bread. Our souls have been nurtured with
scripture. Our minds have been Inspired
with wise exho.' %t;:.n. Therefore, Lord God.
let us now go forth to our labors in the atti-
tude of prayer, confessing that all authority
in Heaven and on Earth has been given to
You, conscious that we, like the centurian
of old, are men and women under authority.
responsible to seek and do Your will, com-
mitted to the protection of freedom, the
goals of peace, the doing of justice and the
love of kindness and called in strength of
faith to walk forward into tomorrow and to-
morrow's tomorrow, humbly In Your Holy
Name. Amen.
Senator HATFIELD. May we request that
each of you please remain In your positions
until the President and Mrs. Reagan have
been escorted from the platform, and the
Vice President and Mrs. Bush have been es-
orted from the platform
ing this great classic and universal hymn. c Thank you again, Mr. President and Mrs.
t "
A
h
r
ou
How Great T
[Closir.;s song.)
Senator HATFIELD. And now to give us the
closing prayer. I would like to call on the
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SENATOR WILLIAM L. ARMSTRONG
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20510
January 1984
Dear Friend,
I am thankful for the opportunity to write you because there are
several things I want to express to men and women who are concerned
about the spiritual needs of our nation.
First of all, the 1984 National Prayer Breakfast will be held
Thursday, February 2nd here in Washington, D.C. This event has become
increasingly meaningful to many in our nation and to the 500 people who
attend from other nations. It is a unique event because so many of the
powerful of the world join together for a brief time to recognize the
Lord who in reality holds all the power. I believe one of the main
reasons this event has such great meaning is because friends from all
over the nation, who are not able to attend because of the limitation of
space, are praying for us as we gather.
If you are willing to join with a few friends in your community to
pray for us on February 2nd, please return the enclosed card. Your
response is an encouragement to those attending the Breakfast.
The second reason I wanted to write is because I have a conviction
that we can bring together the people of the world around the person of
Jesus Christ. It is true that religion often divides people and some of
the most difficult current conflicts are between people of opposing
religious views, and this is exactly my point. We need to let go of the
partisan pride that has us promoting a religious institution and concen-
trate our attention on Jesus Christ, who will unite us as we are drawn
to him.
The enclosed article by one of Britain's foremost thinkers, Dr.
John R. W. Stott, expresses so well the relevance of Jesus Christ to
world issues. I think you will find it of interest.
May each of us continue to live private and public lives which are
This Leadership Letter Is Not Printed At Government Exnen.cp
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LEADERSHIP LETTER
2817 Woodland Drive, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008
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LEADERSHIP LETTER The purpose of these Leadership Letters is to share the
2817 Woodland Drive, N.W. expressed thoughts of people in public life about spiritual
Washington, D.C. 20008 values and the relevance of Jesus Christ. Responsible
persons involved in the leadership/prayer breakfast
Please correct address if necessary, and return. groups have taken the responsibility to gather this material
and send it to you.
^ Listed on back are names and addresses of friends I
would like to receive these letters.
^ Enclosed is a tax deductible contribution of $
to help cover the cost of these messages and letters. All funds are used
for this purpose only. Checks should be made payable to Leadership
Letter.
The Honorable William E. Colby
Director
Central Intelligence Agency
Washington. DC 20505
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Please send Leadership Letter to:
(these names will be used only for the purpose indicated)
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"IN CHRIST"
THE MEANING AND
IMPLICATIONS OF THE
GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
John R. W. Stott
When we meet some people we know imme-
diately and instinctively that they are different.
We are anxious to learn their secret. It is not the
way they dress or talk or behave, although it
influences these things. It is not that they have
affixed a name tag to themselves and proclaimed
themselves the adherent of a particular religion
or ideology. It's not even that they have a strict
moral code which they faithfully follow. It is that
they know Jesus Christ, and that he is a living
reality to them. They dwell in him and he dwells
in them. He is the source of their life and it shows
in everything they do.
Not merely in the words you say,
Not only in your deeds confessed,
But in the most unconscious way
Is Christ expressed.
Is it a beatific smile?
A holy light upon your brow?
Oh no! I felt his presence
When you laughed just now.
To me, 'twas not the truth you taught,
To you so clear, to me still dim,
But when you came you brought
A sense of him.
And from your eyes he beckons me
And from your heart his love is shed,
Till I lose sight of you and see
The Christ instead.
These people have an inner serenity which
adversity cannot disturb; it is the peace of Christ.
They have a spiritual power that physical weak-
ness cannot destroy; it is the power of Christ.
They have a hidden vitality that even the process
of dying and death cannot quench; it is the life of
Christ.
To use Biblical expressions, "The peace of
Christ rules in their hearts", "the power of
Christ is made perfect in their weakness", and
"the life of Christ is made manifest in their
mortal flesh".
The commonest description in the Scriptures
of a follower of Jesus is that he or she is a person
"in Christ". The expressions "in Christ", "in
the Lord" and "in him" occur 164 times in the
letters of Paul alone, and are indispensible to an
understanding of the New Testament. To be "in
Christ" does not mean to be inside Christ, as
tools are in a box or our clothes in a closet, but to
be organically united to Christ, as a limb is in the
body or a branch is in the tree. It is this personal
relationship with Christ that is the distinctive
mark of his authentic followers.
The word "Christian" occurs only three times
in the Bible. Because of its common misuse we
could profitably dispense with it. Jesus Christ
and the Apostle Paul never used the word, or at
least not in their recorded teaching. What distin-
guishes the true followers of Jesus is neither their
creed, nor their code of ethics, nor their ceremo-
nies, nor their culture, but Christ. What is often
mistakenly called "Christianity" is, in essence,
neither a religion nor a system, but a person,
Jesus of Nazareth.
Now let us explore some of the implications of
being "in Christ". First, to be in Christ brings
personal fulfillment as a human being. All around us
are men and women who are unfulfilled and
alienated, who are asking what it means to be a
human being. They are seeking the secret of
satisfaction, of happiness, and are searching for
their own identity. Where is it to be found?
Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life. He who
comes to me will never hunger, and he that
believes in me will never thirst." There is a
hunger in the human heart which none but Christ
can satisfy. There is a thirst which none but he
can quench. There is an inner emptiness which
only he can fill. I don't know any more striking
expression of this in contemporary literature
than in the writing of Malcolm Muggeridge, who
said, "I may, I suppose, regard myself as being a
relatively successful man. People occasionally
stare at me in the street. That's fame. I can fairly
easily earn enough to qualify for admission to the
highest slopes of inland revenue. That's success.
Furnished with money and a little fame, even the
elderly, if they care to, can partake of trendy
diversions. That's pleasure. It might happen once
in a while that something I said or wrote was
sufficiently heeded to persuade myself that it
represented a serious impact on our time. That's
fulfillment. Yet I say to you, and I beg of you to
believe me, multiply these tiny triumphs by a
million, add them all together, and they are
nothing, less than nothing, a positive impedi-
ment, measured against one draught of that living
water that Christ offers to the spiritually thirsty."
Secondly, to be in Christ brings brotherly unity.
The expression "in Christ" has a collective as
well as an individual implication. It means to be
related not only to the Messiah personally, the
Christ, but also to the Messianic community he
came to build. Indeed, it is not possible to belong
to him without simultaneously belonging to it. In
this new community Jesus has abolished the bar-
riers of race, nationality, class and sex, which
normally divide mankind. In its place he has
created what the Apostle Paul calls a "single New
Humanity". He writes again that "there is
neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free,
neither male nor female, you are all one in Christ
Jesus".
Now this unity was a sensational fact in the
early days of the Church. For in those days
women were despised, slaves had no rights, and
Jews and Gentiles were not on speaking terms.
Today, however, to claim brotherly unity between
the followers of Christ sounds like a rather sick
joke, when so-called Christians are fighting one
another in Northern Ireland and are segregated
from one another in Southern Africa and else-
where. Moreover, the Church of Jesus Christ is
split into Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, and
Protestantism is further splintered into five main
ecumenical families, not to mention the thou-
sands of smaller denominations and house
churches. Dr. David Barrett has documented
6,000 African Independent Churches. How can
we possibly claim "brotherly unity"?
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Only in this way: Although every follower of
Jesus should blush with shame over the fightings
and factions that have disgraced the history of the
Church, yet those who are truly "in Christ"
enjoy a unity with one another which transcends
nation and denomination, race and rank, class
and culture.
I quote Bishop Stephen Neil: "In the fellow-
ship of those who are bound together by personal
loyalty to Jesus Christ, the relationship of love
reaches an intimacy and intensity unknown else-
where. Friendship between the friends of Jesus of
Nazareth is unlike any other friendship, and this
ought to be the normal experience within the
Church. Where it is experienced, especially
across the barriers of race, nationality and lan-
guage, it is one of the most convincing evidences
of the continuing activity of Jesus among men."
Thirdly, to be "in Christ" brings radical
transformation.
We are always in danger of trivializing what it
means to be converted, or to be a follower of
Jesus. To be "in Christ" is to be radically trans-
formed, to the roots of our very being. As Paul
says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new crea-
tion". And again, he speaks of our having died to
the old life and risen again with Christ to a life
that is new.
Notice that creation and resurrection language
are the only vocabulary that can do justice to the
experience of new life in Christ. And new life in
Christ leads inevitably to a new lifestyle, with a
new value system and new moral standards, as
becomes plain to those who read the Sermon on
the Mount. In that Sermon, Jesus sets before us a
choice between two value systems, - his own
and the world's.
The world admires the powerful, the success-
ful, the tough and the brash, the achievers and the
go-getters. But Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor
in spirit," who are humble before God.
"Blessed are the meek," who are humble
towards one another.
The world's model, like that of the 19th cen-
tury German philosopher, Nietzsche, is the
super-man, tough and overbearing. But the
model of Jesus is still the little child.
The world is concerned with appearances,
external conformity to conventions, rules and
regulations. But Jesus again and again talks about
the heart, "the pure in heart", or "where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also".
The world says, "Sex is for fun, enjoyment
without commitment." But Jesus says, "Sex is
for love, enjoyment within commitment."
The world's philosophy is, "Give as good as
you get. Love those who love you and repay evil
for evil." But Jesus still says, "Love your ene-
mies, pray for those who persecute you, do good
to those who hate you, overcome evil with
good."
The mind-set of the world is extremely mate-
rialistic, covetous for consumer goods. But Jesus
says, "Don't be anxious about what to eat and
drink and wear. Instead, seek first God's rule and
God's righteousness."
We have no liberty to dismiss the teachings of
Jesus as unpractical and unrealistic, or to convert
it into a prudential little middle-class respectabil-
ity. No, no, Jesus still says to us, "You've got to
choose. Nobody can serve two masters." We
have to choose between him and the world-
betweeen the broad road that leads to destruction
and the narrow way that leads to life.
But are the followers of Jesus interested only
in themselves and one another, and let the rest of
the world go hang? No. Jesus told us to be the salt
and light of the world. That is, he means us to
permeate secular society, seeking to arrest its
social decay, as the salt hinders decay in fish and
meat. He means us to be the light of the world,
shining into the darkness of its tragedy and evil.
You know the name, perhaps, of Robert Bel-
lah, who is a sociologist at the University of
California at Berkeley, and also head of the Cen-
ter of Japanese and Korean Studies there. In an
interview with him some years ago, I read to my
astonishment that he said this: "We should not
underestimate the significance of the small group
of people who have a new vision of a just and
gentle world. In Japan a very small minority of
Protestant Christians introduced ethics into poli-
tics and had an impact beyond all proportion to
their numbers. They were central in the begin-
,,q,.w.