was ronald regan a Christian?

God judges the heart, Let's leave it at that, knowing the Judge of the whole earth will, indeed, do right.
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It probably is not even for us to speculate.
Amen Helen and Dr. Bob
Gwyneth

 

After he was shot he was asked if he was born again. His response was, "I have a saviour, His name is Jesus." Take that how you like.....

 

Shagnappy is correct. Ronald Reagan's pastor, who was with him at the hospital when he was shot, has told of the conversation numerous times about his conversation with Reagan. He asked Reagan if he was ready to be with God. Reagan said that he was. His pastor asked how he know, and Reagan replied, he knew because he had a savior. I think it's reasonable to presume that he was saved, and I don't think it's respectful at this time to debate his salvation.

 

Massdak:

No, that's not me. I have a cousin who is an administrator on an RCA church's board. We have the same name, literally. It was quite funny, because we were best buds growing up. You're not the first person who has gotten us confused

 

I don't think we were judging Mr Reagans salvation when we ask if someone knew or not if Mr Reagan was saved. I think we are just wondering if he was a brother in Christ or not. We wanted to know if someone knew or heard if he (Mr. Reagan) had publicly stated at any time his faith in the Savior Jesus Christ.

I find it so amusing to read these post because few people actually read the first statement or question. Therefore, their answer is not in correspodence with the topic at hand. Some answers are so off subject you can't tell what they are even talking about.

 

Yes , Ronald Reagan was a christian. His son David has spoken about this many times on radio.
As far as making a public profession, what is it you want? I don't think it is at all necessary that Pres. Reagan went public, ( as in all the media), just that he made it public in everyday life, like any other person. And by every source that I know of, he was without a doubt, a fellow brother in Christ.
Jim

 

Here is a speech by Reagan. You decide.
Remarks at an Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast in Dallas, Texas
August 23, 1984
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, very much. And, Martha Weisend, thank you very much. And I could say that if the morning ended with the music we have just heard from that magnificent choir, it would indeed be a holy day for all of us.

It's wonderful to be here this morning. The past few days have been pretty busy for all of us, but I've wanted to be with you today to share some of my own thoughts.

These past few weeks it seems that we've all been hearing a lot of talk about religion and its role in politics, religion and its place in the political life of the Nation. And I think it's appropriate today, at a prayer breakfast for 17,000 citizens in the State of Texas during a great political convention, that this issue be addressed.

I don't speak as a theologian or a scholar, only as one who's lived a little more than his threescore ten -- which has been a source of annoyance to some -- [laughter] -- and as one who has been active in the political life of the Nation for roughly four decades and now who's served the past 3\1/2\ years in our highest office. I speak, I think I can say, as one who has seen much, who has loved his country, and who's seen it change in many ways.

I believe that faith and religion play a critical role in the political life of our nation -- and always has -- and that the church -- and by that I mean all churches, all denominations -- has had a strong influence on the state. And this has worked to our benefit as a nation.

Those who created our country -- the Founding Fathers and Mothers -- understood that there is a divine order which transcends the human order. They saw the state, in fact, as a form of moral order and felt that the bedrock of moral order is religion.

The Mayflower Compact began with the words, ``In the name of God, amen.'' The Declaration of Independence appeals to ``Nature's God'' and the ``Creator'' and ``the Supreme Judge of the world.'' Congress was given a chaplain, and the oaths of office are oaths before God.

James Madison in the Federalist Papers admitted that in the creation of our Republic he perceived the hand of the Almighty. John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, warned that we must never forget the God from whom our blessings flowed.

George Washington referred to religion's profound and unsurpassed place in the heart of our nation quite directly in his Farewell Address in 1796. Seven years earlier, France had erected a government that was intended to be purely secular. This new government would be grounded on reason rather than the law of God. By 1796 the French Revolution had known the Reign of Terror.

And Washington voiced reservations about the idea that there could be a wise policy without a firm moral and religious foundation. He said, ``Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man (call himself a patriot) who (would) labour to subvert these . . . finest [firmest]\1\ (FOOTNOTE) props of the duties of men and citizens. The mere Politician . . . (and) the pious man ought to respect and to cherish (religion and morality).'' And he added, ``. . . let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion.''

(FOOTNOTE) \1\White House correction.

I believe that George Washington knew the City of Man cannot survive without the City of God, that the Visible City will perish without the Invisible City.

Religion played not only a strong role in our national life; it played a positive role. The abolitionist movement was at heart a moral and religious movement; so was the modern civil rights struggle. And throughout this time, the state was tolerant of religious belief, expression, and practice. Society, too, was tolerant.

But in the 1960's this began to change. We began to make great steps toward secularizing our nation and removing religion from its honored place.

In 1962 the Supreme Court in the New York prayer case banned the compulsory saying of prayers. In 1963 the Court banned the reading of the Bible in our public schools. From that point on, the courts pushed the meaning of the ruling ever outward, so that now our children are not allowed voluntary prayer. We even had to pass a law -- we passed a special law in the Congress just a few weeks ago to allow student prayer groups the same access to schoolrooms after classes that a young Marxist society, for example, would already enjoy with no opposition.

The 1962 decision opened the way to a flood of similar suits. Once religion had been made vulnerable, a series of assaults were made in one court after another, on one issue after another. Cases were started to argue against tax-exempt status for churches. Suits were brought to abolish the words ``under God'' from the Pledge of Allegiance and to remove ``In God We Trust'' from public documents and from our currency.

Today there are those who are fighting to make sure voluntary prayer is not returned to the classrooms. And the frustrating thing for the great majority of Americans who support and understand the special importance of religion in the national life -- the frustrating thing is that those who are attacking religion claim they are doing it in the name of tolerance, freedom, and openmindedness. Question: Isn't the real truth that they are intolerant of religion? [Applause] They refuse to tolerate its importance in our lives.

If all the children of our country studied together all of the many religions in our country, wouldn't they learn greater tolerance of each other's beliefs? If children prayed together, would they not understand what they have in common, and would this not, indeed, bring them closer, and is this not to be desired? So, I submit to you that those who claim to be fighting for tolerance on this issue may not be tolerant at all.

When John Kennedy was running for President in 1960, he said that his church would not dictate his Presidency any more than he would speak for his church. Just so, and proper. But John Kennedy was speaking in an America in which the role of religion -- and by that I mean the role of all churches -- was secure. Abortion was not a political issue. Prayer was not a political issue. The right of church schools to operate was not a political issue. And it was broadly acknowledged that religious leaders had a right and a duty to speak out on the issues of the day. They held a place of respect, and a politician who spoke to or of them with a lack of respect would not long survive in the political arena.

It was acknowledged then that religion held a special place, occupied a special territory in the hearts of the citizenry. The climate has changed greatly since then. And since it has, it logically follows that religion needs defenders against those who care only for the interests of the state.

There are, these days, many questions on which religious leaders are obliged to offer their moral and theological guidance, and such guidance is a good and necessary thing. To know how a church and its members feel on a public issue expands the parameters of debate. It does not narrow the debate; it expands it.

The truth is, politics and morality are inseparable. And as morality's foundation is religion, religion and politics are necessarily related. We need religion as a guide. We need it because we are imperfect, and our government needs the church, because only those humble enough to admit they're sinners can bring to democracy the tolerance it requires in order to survive.

A state is nothing more than a reflection of its citizens; the more decent the citizens, the more decent the state. If you practice a religion, whether you're Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, or guided by some other faith, then your private life will be influenced by a sense of moral obligation, and so, too, will your public life. One affects the other. The churches of America do not exist by the grace of the state; the churches of America are not mere citizens of the state. The churches of America exist apart; they have their own vantage point, their own authority. Religion is its own realm; it makes its own claims.

We establish no religion in this country, nor will we ever. We command no worship. We mandate no belief. But we poison our society when we remove its theological underpinnings. We court corruption when we leave it bereft of belief. All are free to believe or not believe; all are free to practice a faith or not. But those who believe must be free to speak of and act on their belief, to apply moral teaching to public questions.

I submit to you that the tolerant society is open to and encouraging of all religions. And this does not weaken us; it strengthens us, it makes us strong. You know, if we look back through history to all those great civilizations, those great nations that rose up to even world dominance and then deteriorated, declined, and fell, we find they all had one thing in common. One of the significant forerunners of their fall was their turning away from their God or gods.

Without God, there is no virtue, because there's no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we're mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

If I could just make a personal statement of my own -- in these 3\1/2\ years I have understood and known better than ever before the words of Lincoln, when he said that he would be the greatest fool on this footstool called Earth if he ever thought that for one moment he could perform the duties of that office without help from One who is stronger than all.

I thank you, thank you for inviting us here today. Thank you for your kindness and your patience. May God keep you, and may we, all of us, keep God.

Thank you.
Ronald W. Reagan

 

Massdak, you needn't be too speculative. Reagan has professed his faith in Jesus Christ publicly, and that has been attested to by many people, including his pastor, who questioned him on that very topic directly.

 

How would his horrible disease affect his salvation? I know one can not lose his or her salvation, but would if a individual is a non believer and then gets hit with this same disease for years before his death. Then what? He did not know any better and like the same as retarded individuals, are they are in Heaven?

 

Massdak, I already replied to you. That's not me. That's my cousin, who's an rca board administrator.

BTW, I've found that there are at least 4 other bbs sites with a person whose screen name is johnv or some variation thereof. I've considered changing my screen name so as not to avoid confusion, but most people here know me by this screen name.

 

Your doubts have nothing to do with whether Ronald Reagan is now in the arms of Jesus or not. Why do you want to speculate on this? Your speculation will not change reality.

Let's all just hope that Mr. Reagan is now safely in the arms of Jesus. It is all we can do at this point anyway.

 

Amen that Ronnie was a born again christian! To be home with the Lord now is a wonderful thing.

To kind of get off the subject here but still pertaining to:

My husband and I were talking about Ronal Reagan last night and my daughters who are 16 were in the room while we were talking. My one daughter says "Who is Ronald Reagan"! I was in awe that she did not know who he was.
I had asked her if her school (public) had been talking about the events that had just happened. She said that no one has made any reference to him that she heard.
I was curious so I passed the school this morning, the flag was flying full mass! I was very saddened.
I asked her if she knew about D-Day, or Pearl Harbor. She said she was never taught that in school. Oh how sad our generation has become.
Her father has served in the Gulf War, and it makes me feel like it was for nothing.
I know we have our freedom because of it, but the generation today does not even appreciate why they have the freedom that they do because of the men and women who were willing to sacrifice their lives for us.

And for the kids to not know about Ronald Reagan, or other presidents is a sad testimony of where our public school systems are going.

Now I will ask a question that I know does not belong in this thread but again, it pertains to:
Anyone know where I can get material so that I myself can teach my kids about why they have their freedoms?

God Bless America! And thank God for the Christian Presidents we have had!

 

I would say that the "Institute on the Constitution" is a good place to start:

http://www.instituteontheconstitution.com/

 

I just saw an interview with Pres. Reagan's oldest son Michael (taped a few months ago) where he talked about the greatest gift his dad gave him was knowing the Lord as his Saviour, and knowing they would meet again in Heaven someday.
Michael got teary-eyed wishing he could tell his dad that all his children knew Jesus as their Saviour and would meet in Heaven. He said he prays for his brother and sister everyday that this would happen.

We should join him in this prayer for Ron, Patti Davis, and Nancy, too for good measure.

 

AMEN BROTHER!!

The only two people who know if he was a Christian and saved are the LORD and HIM.