God in Eisenhower's Life, Military Career, and Presidency

A History of the Influence of Religion in His Life and Leadership as WWII Supreme Allied Commander and President of the United States

Jerry Bergman

• Publisher: Wipf and Stock
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781532660696
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

As the Supreme Allied Commander in the fight against the Nazis, General Dwight Eisenhower was one of the most important leaders of the last century. His position as a five-star general was crucial in achieving a positive outcome in World War II. Today, he is considered one of the most respected US presidents, but the critical role that his religious beliefs played in his life and work is widely ignored. As one historian wrote, Eisenhower was the most religious president in the twentieth century. He was critical in influencing the nation's enlarged accommodation to faith, specifically the Christian faith.The central role Eisenhower's faith played in his life, from growing up in Abilene, Kansas, to becoming the most powerful leader in the world, is thoroughly documented for the first time in this book. Indeed, Eisenhower's belief in God made him who he was and allowed him to achieve the work that made him one of the most respected leaders of the free world. This book sets the record straight about common erroneous beliefs concerning President Eisenhower and his family. It is necessary to understand the forces that shaped him so we can put his life and many achievements into perspective.

1

Ike’s Mystery Religion

Although much has been written about Eisenhower’s life, many biographers have concluded we actually know very little about his personal life and the various factors that influenced him to achieve what he did. We do know the problems he faced during World War II were Herculean and the fact that “he was equal to the task is now virtually taken for granted.”1 The focus of most writers tends to be on his decision-making process in the battlefield, and the contingencies that impinged on his life as an adult.

Interestingly, Dwight’s religious background has been discussed by many writers, but most contain much misinformation or largely ignore the whole topic of his religion. The fact is that Dwight Eisenhower was raised under a strong influence of the Bible Students, renamed Jehovah’s Witness in 1931, and Watchtower literature. The misinformation about the religion is compounded by the fact that many Eisenhower biographies, and even writings by the Eisenhower children, often declined to fully acknowledge their parents’ religious affiliation and the extent of Ida’s (his mother) involvement.2

Many authors referred to the Watchtower faith only as a “fundamentalist” sect, “Bible Students,” or “Russellites”—the latter a term few persons likely understood.3 Lyon even stated, “The specific nature of the religion is uncertain. The parents appear to have left the River Brethren for a more primitive and austere sect, something referred to as the Bible Students, and they would later gravitate to the evangelical sect known as Jehovah’s Witnesses.”4 Lyon fails to note that the Bible Students morphed into the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Another Eisenhower biographer, Stephen Ambrose, said about this topic only that Ida was “a deeply religious woman” and a pacifist.5

Accounts of the Eisenhower family history also commonly repeat the erroneous claim that Dwight’s parents were River Brethren or were not directly involved with the Watchtower. Miller included a whole chapter on Ida in his book, and often noted her religious faith in this chapter, but never once mentioned what it was.6 One does get some hints, but nothing more.

Another example is a Time Magazine article stating only that Ike’s “parents were members of the River Brethren, a Mennonite sect,” adding “along with their piety, the Eisenhowers gave their sons a creed of self-starting individualism.”7

After claiming Eisenhower’s parents were members of the River Brethren, another account noted they “brought up their children in an old-fashioned atmosphere of puritanical morals. Prayer and Bible reading were a daily part of their lives. Violence was forbidden, though in a family of six boys the edict was a bit hard to enforce.”8

An article titled “The President’s Religious Faith,” by Paul Hutchinson, contained nine paragraphs on the Brethren in Christ Church, implying Dwight was reared in this denomination. Long correctly writes, “throughout his youth Dwight Eisenhower had attended [the Brethren in Christ Church in Abilene] with his parents and brothers.”9

Even President Eisenhower’s spiritual mentor and close friend, Billy Graham, was led to believe that Eisenhower’s parents “had been River Brethren, a small but devoutly pious group in the Mennonite tradition.”10 Graham added Ike had made a personal commitment to Christ as a boy and reaffirmed it publicly after becoming president.11

In her book about Mamie’s and Dwight’s lives, John Eisenhower’s daughter, Susan, managed to almost completely avoid the subject of religion, noting only that Dwight’s parents were very religious, didn’t smoke or drink or play cards, read the Bible daily, held prayer meetings in their home, and believed in the brotherhood of mankind.12 No hint was provided as to what that brotherhood of mankind religion might be, but the book inferred they were Mennonites. She then devoted an entire page to their Mennonite background.13 Even their family friend, Time Magazine magnate owner Clare Booth Luce, claimed Dwight Eisenhower told her his family were Mennonites.14

Official Eisenhower biographer Bela Kornitzer mentions only that the Eisenhowers were “Bible Students,” had “fundamentalist religious beliefs...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Ike’s Mystery Religion
• Chapter 2: Growing Up in the Wrong Side of Town
• Chapter 3: Lessons in Childhood
• Chapter 4: ke’s Mother Ida
• Chapter 5: The River Brethren
• Chapter 6: Dwight’s Father David Leaves the Watchtower
• Chapter 7: Influences That Made Eisenhower
• Chapter 8: Marriage and Children
• Chapter 9: World War II
• Chapter 10: God and War
• Chapter 11: Hitler’s Plan for WWII: Eradicate the Jews, Eradicate the Church
• Chapter 12: Persecution in America amidst WWII
• Chapter 13: Explosions and Exploitation
• Chapter 14: Pre-Presidency Life and Work
• Chapter 15: Questions about Eisenhower’s Piety
• Chapter 16: Religion a Handicap When Running for Office
• Chapter 17: Prayer in Ike’s World and the Nation
• Chapter 18: The Presidency and Religion
• Chapter 19: The Pledge of Allegiance and Civil Rights
• Chapter 20: Ike’s Final Battles
• Chapter 21: Summary
• Appendix I
• Appendix II
• Bibliography