In contrast to his predecessor, Clinton spoke evangelicals' language easily and often. Baptized at age 9 in the Park Place Baptist Church in Arkansas, Clinton was at home talking with church congregations. He recalled attending one of the Rev. Billy Graham's revivals as a child and describes it as a turning point in the history of the American South: "So here we were with neighborhood after neighborhood after neighborhood in my state on the verge of violence, and yet tens of thousands of black and white Christians were there together in a football stadium. And when he issued the call at the end of this message, thousands came down holding hands, arm in arm, crying. It was the beginning of the end of the Old South in my home state. I will never forget it."
During the 1992 presidential campaign, Clinton elaborated on his beliefs: "My faith tells me that all of us are sinners, and each of us has gone in our own way and fallen short of the glory of God." Though some conservative Christians never forgave Clinton for his affair with Monica Lewinsky, he spoke the following year of the glory of Christian grace: "I have been profoundly moved, as few people have, by the pure power of grace, unmerited forgiveness through grace -- most of all to my wife and daughter, but to the people I work with, to the legions of American people and to the God in whom I believe. And I am very grateful to all of you who have had any role in that."
Clinton did not have to face re-election after the Lewinsky scandal, but his actions while in office gave the 2000 Republican candidate for president, the born-again Christian George W. Bush, the opportunity to pledge to bring morality back to Washington.
No comments:
Post a Comment