The Christian faith has become a contested centerpiece among candidates for the 2008 Presidential campaign. Even the liberal-controlled, anti-Christian (well, anti-conservative, evangelical Christianity) Democrat party, the two main contenders have not been shy about admitting their religious loyalties whenever it serves their political purpose. I look first at Mrs. Clinton.
Writes Michael Luo (New York Times, 7/7/07), “Her Methodist faith, Mrs. Clinton says, has guided her as she sought to repair her marriage, forgiven some critics who once vilified her and struggled in the bare-knuckles world of politics to fulfill the biblical commandment to love thy neighbor. Mrs. Clinton, the New York senator who is seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, has been alluding to her spiritual life with increasing regularity in recent years, language that has dovetailed with efforts by her party to reach out to churchgoers who have been voting overwhelmingly Republican… On the campaign trail or in other public appearances, she increasingly is speaking more personally about faith, sprinkling in references to inspiring biblical verses ( “faith without works is dead,” from James), Jesus’ injunction to care for the needy and even her daily prayer life, which she credits to being raised in a “praying family.” In the interview and a subsequent telephone conversation, she described her spiritual habits — she carries a Bible on her campaign travels, reads commentaries on Scripture and on other people’s “faith journeys” and spoke of experiencing “the presence of the Holy Spirit on many occasions.” …Long portrayed by critics as out of touch with religious voters, Mrs. Clinton is clearly intent on trying win some of them over. Her campaign, for example, has brought in Burns Strider, an evangelical Christian who headed religious outreach for Democrats in the House.”
In an even bolder pronouncement of her zealous faith in Christ, Mrs. Clinton addressed a Sunday camp meeting of the Holy Flame Pentecostal Church of Little Rock, Arkansas on November 29, 2004: "I'm here spending time at my husband's library, and of course, I always take time to worship God in as evangelical a way as is feasible, given time and location constraints. As you know, I consider myself an evangelical Christian, really a Christian conservative, if you want to know the truth, so it's nice to be 'home' again in the South, which I really consider my quote-unquote home even though I live in New York most of the time.” (Rob Long, National Review Online)
Mrs. Clinton… yes, quite the darling starling for the cause of evangelical, conservative Christianity.
Let’s fast rewind back to 1995 to discover what evangelical, conservative Christianity means to Mrs. Clinton. In April of that year, Mrs. Clinton met with New Age medium and author Jean Houston. During their session, “Houston told the First Lady to close her eyes and talk to Eleanor Roosevelt, and then imaginatively proclaim what words Eleanor would say back to her. Then she encouraged Hillary to talk to Mahatma Gandhi. Mrs. Clinto told him how she, like he, suffered for peace… The solarium session was only one of a series of Houston meetings, including a meeting of gurus like Tony Robbins and Houston friend Mary Catherine Bateson…” (L. Brent Bozell III, Whitewash, Crown Forum, 2007, pp. 100-101)
As an evangelical, conservative Christian myself, I find it extremely difficult to reconcile Mrs. Clinton’s self-revelations about being an evangelical Christian with her involvement in séances and medium-led channeling through which she “spoke” with Roosevelt and Gandhi. There is just happens to be a wee bit of a doctrinal difference between evangelical Christianity and New Age spiritism.
Perhaps what Mrs. Clinton means is that she considers herself a political Christian.
Writes Michael Luo (New York Times, 7/7/07), “Her Methodist faith, Mrs. Clinton says, has guided her as she sought to repair her marriage, forgiven some critics who once vilified her and struggled in the bare-knuckles world of politics to fulfill the biblical commandment to love thy neighbor. Mrs. Clinton, the New York senator who is seeking the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, has been alluding to her spiritual life with increasing regularity in recent years, language that has dovetailed with efforts by her party to reach out to churchgoers who have been voting overwhelmingly Republican… On the campaign trail or in other public appearances, she increasingly is speaking more personally about faith, sprinkling in references to inspiring biblical verses ( “faith without works is dead,” from James), Jesus’ injunction to care for the needy and even her daily prayer life, which she credits to being raised in a “praying family.” In the interview and a subsequent telephone conversation, she described her spiritual habits — she carries a Bible on her campaign travels, reads commentaries on Scripture and on other people’s “faith journeys” and spoke of experiencing “the presence of the Holy Spirit on many occasions.” …Long portrayed by critics as out of touch with religious voters, Mrs. Clinton is clearly intent on trying win some of them over. Her campaign, for example, has brought in Burns Strider, an evangelical Christian who headed religious outreach for Democrats in the House.”
In an even bolder pronouncement of her zealous faith in Christ, Mrs. Clinton addressed a Sunday camp meeting of the Holy Flame Pentecostal Church of Little Rock, Arkansas on November 29, 2004: "I'm here spending time at my husband's library, and of course, I always take time to worship God in as evangelical a way as is feasible, given time and location constraints. As you know, I consider myself an evangelical Christian, really a Christian conservative, if you want to know the truth, so it's nice to be 'home' again in the South, which I really consider my quote-unquote home even though I live in New York most of the time.” (Rob Long, National Review Online)
Mrs. Clinton… yes, quite the darling starling for the cause of evangelical, conservative Christianity.
Let’s fast rewind back to 1995 to discover what evangelical, conservative Christianity means to Mrs. Clinton. In April of that year, Mrs. Clinton met with New Age medium and author Jean Houston. During their session, “Houston told the First Lady to close her eyes and talk to Eleanor Roosevelt, and then imaginatively proclaim what words Eleanor would say back to her. Then she encouraged Hillary to talk to Mahatma Gandhi. Mrs. Clinto told him how she, like he, suffered for peace… The solarium session was only one of a series of Houston meetings, including a meeting of gurus like Tony Robbins and Houston friend Mary Catherine Bateson…” (L. Brent Bozell III, Whitewash, Crown Forum, 2007, pp. 100-101)
As an evangelical, conservative Christian myself, I find it extremely difficult to reconcile Mrs. Clinton’s self-revelations about being an evangelical Christian with her involvement in séances and medium-led channeling through which she “spoke” with Roosevelt and Gandhi. There is just happens to be a wee bit of a doctrinal difference between evangelical Christianity and New Age spiritism.
Perhaps what Mrs. Clinton means is that she considers herself a political Christian.
