For some politicians, their "religion" is just a ploy to win voters and nothing more. Yet, Ronald Reagan was different. Reagan believed in the Gospel and shared it whenever he could. It was his deeply held convictions about God that led him through life. There was seldom when Reagan did not mention God or Jesus in some way. The fortieth president may be a controversial figure to some, and regardless of politics, we are here to view what we can learn from the life of the former president. We see that the Bible guided Reagan through all of his trials and victories. Some historians even argue that Reagan was the most devout president that the United States has ever had. For Reagan, his faith was far more than a ploy to get votes - it was his promise from his creator and Savior that one day he would have everlasting life if he had faith.
Welcome to the second episode of the Imitators series. In this series, we echo the apostle Paul's writings in 1 Corinthians 11:1 as we look to those who have imitated Christ, so we can imitate them while imitating Christ ourselves. We will examine the lives of great Christians throughout history. Each episode is released on the last Wednesday of the month.
To conduct this episode, we used the following sources:
Brown, Mary Beth. The Faith of Ronald Reagan. United States: Thomas Nelson, 2011.
Kengor, Paul. God and Ronald Reagan: A Spiritual Life. United States: HarperCollins, 2009.
Shirley, Craig. Reagan's Revolution: The Untold Story of the Campaign That Started It All. United States: Thomas Nelson, 2010.
Shirley, Craig. Rendezvous with Destiny: Ronald Reagan and the Campaign That Changed America. United States: Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ORD), 2014.
Reagan at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention
"A Time for Choosing" Speech
1980 Republican National Convention Acceptance Speech
1982 Radio Address on Prayer
1983 Radio Address on Easter
Alzheimer's Letter (Provided by the Reagan Library)