Inspired by Hillary Clinton
2 February 2016 Hits:5163
I must confess that I find the American political system somewhat confusing and I often wonder at the Australian media’s preoccupation with it. Maybe it’s just entertainment value especially with some of the outrageous statements made by larger-than-life characters such as Donald Trump (a hybrid of Clive Palmer, Pauline Hanson and Jackie Lambie all held together with a hair piece).
But just last week in the midst of all the pizzazz and passion, promises and pontificating of the Presidential Primaries, came a breath of fresh air when Hillary Clinton talked about her Christian faith on the campaign trail.
According to the New York Times, Mrs. Clinton was speaking at a town-hall-style event in a school gymnasium, where she opened up for questions. Jessica Manning, a high school guidance counselor from Pella, Iowa, told Mrs. Clinton that as a Catholic and a Democrat, she felt conflicted: “I would say I am a Democrat because of my Christian values, but many of my friends would say they are Republicans because of their Christian values. So in these next few months as I am supporting you and defending you to my Republican friends, I am just curious, how you would say your beliefs align with the Ten Commandments and is that something that’s important to you?”
The question gave Mrs. Clinton a rare opportunity to speak at length about her views on Christianity and the Bible. Here is part of her response that I found incredibly inspiring:
“Thank you for asking that. I am a person of faith. I am a Christian. My study of the Bible, my many conversations with people of faith, has led me to believe the most important commandment is to love the Lord with all your might and to love your neighbor as yourself, and that is what I think we are commanded by Christ to do, and there is so much more in the Bible about taking care of the poor, visiting the prisoners, taking in the stranger, creating opportunities for others to be lifted up, to find faith themselves that I think there are many different ways of exercising your faith. But I do believe that in many areas judgment should be left to God, that being more open, tolerant and respectful is part of what makes me humble about my faith, and I am in awe of people who truly turn the other cheek all the time, who can go that extra mile that we are called to go, who keep finding ways to forgive and move on. Those are really hard things for human beings to do, and there is a lot, certainly in the New Testament, that calls us to do that.
The famous discussion on the Sermon on the Mount should be something that you really pay attention to. What does the Sermon on the Mount really mean? What is it calling us to do and to understand? Because it sure does seem to favour the poor and the merciful and those who in worldly terms don’t have a lot but who have the spirit that God recognises as being at the core of love and salvation.
So there is much to be learned and I have been very disappointed and sorry that Christianity, which has such great love at its core, is sometimes used to condemn so quickly and judge so harshly. When I think part of the message that I certainly have tried to understand and live with is to look at yourself first, to make sure you are being the kind of person you should be in how you are treating others, and I am by no means a perfect person, I will certainly confess that to one and all, but I feel the continuing urge to try to do better, to try to be kinder, to try to be more loving, even with people who are quite harsh.
So, I think you have to keep asking yourself, if you are a person of faith, what is expected of me and am I actually acting the way that I should? And that starts in small ways and goes out in very large ones, but it’s something that I take very seriously. So thank you for asking.”
What an honest and stirring response from Hillary Clinton. The answer was obviously not prepared beforehand and so it seems she spoke from her heart and, as Jesus said, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Rob Buckingham
Senior Minister
12 replies on “Inspired by Hillary Clinton”
Its a pity that Mrs Clinton Biblical comments are not widely known.
If so it should prompt other candidates in the USA and also here to make similar statements of their faith in a public arena.
Mrs Clinton has sure thought through what it means for herself, and is applying the word to her life. That sounds like discipleship. She sure applied Christian principals to her marriage in that dark time the whole world heard about.
Hillary Clinton is highly suspected of being a high-ranking secret society member. See https://www.facebook.com/fritz.springmeier.9/posts/600643920005515. In her speech, I notice an over-emphasis on love and good works – and no mention of the need for salvation through grace.
It is typical of the interfaith movement to emphasise love and unity at the expense of the (unpalatable) truth regarding hell and judgement. Jesus was more controversial.
Oh BeltOfTruth! Really??
I’ve never taken time to read about the illuminati before today but just had a read of the link that Beltoftruth included. The mind boggles. To believe in this stuff is the biggest leap of, and I don’t use the word in a Christian sense, “faith”. And that’s putting it very politely . Why is it that people are more interested in believing in this kind of stuff than something positive?
I prefer pastors who are apolitical and politicians who don’t use religious sermonising to win votes. Having said that, Clinton is a sure thing to win in 2017! Why? Because the first African American has had a turn and now it’s time (logically/historically) for the first woman President. If the Republicans wanted to win they should have booted Trump long ago (as he is trashing their brand) and put a female upfront.
Jesus also said, “you will know them by their fruit”. If you look at Hillary’s fruit, it is not at all honest or admirable or inspiring. I learned that living in Australia, you really don’t get an honest portrayal of American politics because you only see or hear what the biased mainstream media is willing to present – and it’s not the whole picture. You probably don’t hear about the fact that Hillary flat out lied to the faces of the grieving families of the Benghazi victims, or that she repeatedly lied to the American people about the classified information that she illegally kept on her personal server, or that she is facing potential corruption charges regarding the money that she funneled into the Clinton foundation. The New York Times would definitely not report these things. In regards to the question at the Town Hall meeting, I have no doubt that the question was a plant, and that her words were a very well crafted response designed to win votes. There are several Presidential candidates whose faith is inspiring (Dr. Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee), but Hillary is definitely not in the list.
Now there’s the truth.
Very well said.
Well, I don’t know whether Hillary is really a part of any conspiracy. All I know is that there are a number of people who testify that she is. Fritz Springmeier is a researcher but some others (Carolyn Hamlet, Svali, Cathy O’Brien, John Todd) claim have first hand experience. That’s a side issue, though.
The fact is, Hillary is not preaching salvation through grace, but salvation through works and that well-worn message that ‘God is love and it’ll be alright if you tried your best’. It seems nice and it seems true, but it is not Biblical and it conceals a deadly truth.
May God help us to be vigilant against half-truths and untruths. Jesus Christ (as substitute) is the only way of salvation.
Hi Julia. Thank you so much for your comments. As a person I know and trust (as well as an American citizen) I value your input on this conversation. Much love to you, Drew and the family.
PS. We miss you guys at Bayside
Thanks Rob! We miss y’all too! I still listen to your messages via podcast while I’m working out…working out spiritually as well as physically!! Love to you and your beautiful family!!
I think you will find Hillary was an active supporter of military involvement in the middle east as we know now based on fabricated evidence of WMDs . She was most vocal in advocating the overthrow of the Libyian government. The states are now in chaos tens of thousands dead and hundreds of thousands of Christians in Iraq an Syria who onced practices their faith in safety forced to leave – yes Christian churches which practiced since the time of crist gone – and Hillary is an example of a fine christian? Ps agenda 21 has been used as the excuse to deindustrialise the first world and move jobs and wealth to the third world – when you and your kids can’t get jobs in the future you can reflect on this fine bit of UN humanitarianism