From:    Michael Hess
To:      All                                    Mar-24-94 00:18:00
Subject: President Clinton and god... 1/2

Salutations All!

The following is a transcription I made of an interview on ABC yesterday and
today on American Agenda.

_________________________________________________________________________

Transcribed interview by Peggy Waymeyer [sp?] ABC News American Agenda,
March 22nd and 23rd, 1994.

[] = me pointing out who is talking

{} = me pointing out interesting camera shots

Please let me know if you spot any errors. I took it right off the tape.


                Part one (03-22-94) Question of Faith

Every Sunday, more than 60 million born again Christians worship in
churches across America. The're united spiritually by their devotion
to Christ and overwhelmingly by their opposition to abortion and
{pro-life rally} homosexuality. When Bill Clinton campaigned for the
presidency, his outspoken support for homosexual and abortion rights alarmed
evangelicals. Add to that allegations of marital infidelity. And for many
evangelicals, this man epitomized all that was morally wrong with America.

"When Bill Clinton talks about family values, I don't believe he's talking
about either families or values [Pat Robertson]. Clinton couldn't even
enter his own church in Little Rock without being taunted. "Jesus Christ
wouldn't embrace what your embracin' Bill, I've been a pastor for thirty
years" [protester outside Bills church] But, evangelicals, are facing a
dilemna. Bill Clinton,  whom the majority of them voted against, is one
of them. Despite his rift with millions of evangelicals over the issues
of abortion and gay rights, the President considers himself a Southern
Baptist, who takes his christian faith seriously.

"I do not believe I could do my job as the president much less continue
to try to grow as a person in the absence of my faith in god and my attempt
to learn more about what it should be and grow and and it provides a solace uh,
and uh, and uh, support in the face of all these problems that I sometimes
am not smart enough to solve."

"This is a place where I have come to seek divine guidance and support and
reassurance." [Clinton at church]

As Governor of Arkansas, Clinton attended his Baptist church regularly. And
even sang in the choir. Though some say his church attendance was
nothing more than smart politics, his pastor Rex Horn, who talks
to the President almost every Saturday night, says there was much more to
it. "I believe that he sees the need in his life and his family and in
the country, to recognize the spiritual value of faith."

But Ed Young, the leader of the Southern Baptists, the largest Protestant
denomination in the country says the President cannot be a committed
christian and support abortion and homosexuality. "And I believe Jesus
Christ would say to our President lead this people with integrity
because Jesus said you cain't serve two masters." [Ed Young, "preachin'"
in his church]

"The agenda that he is pursuing, is totally in my view at least, contradictory
to the faith that he has professed. I have trouble understanding, I
think a whole lot of evangelical christians just cannot comprehend." [Ed
Young, during interview]

"I think there is too much abortions in America, I think there should be
much more adoption in America. But I do not believe that it is self
evident, from the bible, that all abortions are murder." [Bill in interview]

As for homsexuality:

"The whole issue of homosexuality did not make it into the ten
commandments. But thou shalt not bear false witness did. And so I would say,
you don't wanna vote for me, that's fine. But it's not right to go
around uh saying that everybodys christianity or religious faith, our character
should be evaluated totally in terms of these two issues."

Clinton has recently gone on the offensive with evangelicals, hoping to
find some some who can move beyond their differences on abortion and gay
rights toward some common ground.

Tony Campolo [sp?] was one of a dozen evangelical leaders who agreed to meet
with the President. "I went because I wanted him to know that there
were evangelicals who loved him, and wanted to reach out to him, and
hold him up before the lord in prayer and care for him as a person."

Courting the evangelicals can only help Clinton politically. {shot of
the president crying at church} He also gets the gratification of
knowing some, accept him as a man of faith.

"Only god knows the truth of a persons heart, and the full facts of a
persons life. Not only what they have done but what they have not done."

And who would you say to them that Bill Clinton has in his heart?

"An honest, struggling believer. Trying to grow every day, trying to
learn more every day, praying for guidance every day, never pretending to be
anything other than I am. A person who has sinned, as a child of
god. Who has sought forgiveness, searched for redemption, and is struggling
to grow. And struggling to find the guidance of god in this job.

                           - End of part one -

__________________________________________________________________________

   michael.hess.@f48.n375.z1.fidonet.org

 == Too True!  Too True!  Too True!

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From:    Michael Hess
To:      All                                    Msg #108, Mar-24-94 00:09:00
Subject: President Clinton and god... 2/2

Salutations All!

And here is the second part.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------


Clintons' religious views as told to Peggy Waymeyer (03-23-94)

                     Question of Faith, Part Two...

The moment young Bill Clinton shook hands with John F. Kennedy his
journey to the Whitehouse began. The journey would take him through a
bruising campaign for the presidency. {shot of hand shaking then democratic
Convention}
He had an enormous political agenda. And he had been very ambitious with his
promises. Once in the Oval Office, even with his political skills, Bill
Clinton realized he needed something else.

"I frankly felt the attention and pressure more than I thought I
would. And when I first came here I found myself working just almost
frantically trying to do all the things that I told the American people I
wanted to do. And some point last year, I don't know, after I hadn't been
here to awfully long, I realized that uh, it'd what'nd gonna work that
way. And I began to realize that unless I could grow inside, if I, unless I
could mature spiritually, unless I could sort of reach beyond myself, I would
not be able to do right with the American people."

When you have those times, what do you do? Do you turn to god and pray,
do you ask for help? What kind of, what would your prayer look like?

"I do, but I try not to do it in the wrong way, I mean I've always, I try not
to pray for personal advantage if you know what I mean. I just try to pray to
do my job better. I pray for the strength to keep growing and I pray for the
strength to withstand the the the darker parts of the experience and to sort
of purge my mind and spirit of it. I mean it's like, you know, it, it, this
is an experience doing this job that will either bring out all your weaknesses
or will require you to kinda reach beyond yourself. Sometimes, I'm ashamed to
say a little of both. And I have, you know, pretty simple repetitive prayers
about it."

Such as?

"To help me to understand this, help me to withstand it. Help me not to
think of myself but to think of others. Help me to do a better job tomorrow
at being a President, at being a father, at being a husband. At being a
person. Uh, it's a very humbling job this job, you know you really are,
always, every day confronted with your limitations."

Some limitations in the Whitehouse are self imposed. In a country
founded on the principle of separation of church and state, many
Presidents have been reluctant to share their personal faith.

Do you feel comfortable using language that like "Christ is your
Saviour", what is his relatio...?

"Well, I do feel that, I do feel that. As a christian that's how I know
god. I mean, I know god through Jesus, that's what the christians do,
you know, we see, we believe that Jesus was god, the son of god. What I do
not feel comfortable doing, is trying to say as President, you must do
this, you must believe this, you must be governed by these laws, because
that's what the bible told me to do to you. When I was a boy, I was always so
uh sensitive about people who seemed to be publically pious, that it gave me
the creeps a little bit and I never wanted to be seen as a Pharisee {close up
chuckle}. So I, laugh, I've always kinda been quiet. And when I would be
in, when I was Governor, I was often invited to speak in churches and I would
always start by sayin' I came as a sinner, not a saint. Because I
was weak, not because I was strong."

What does this country need spiritually and what do you plan to do as
President to usher that in?

"Well first of all, I, I want to restore respect. For the idea that the
freedom of religion does not mean necessarily freedom from religion. I
think that there is a sort of a spiritual energy flowing in this country
now. I think there is a real concern about it. I think a lot of
people look at what's happening with these children and these families and
these neigborhoods. And they realize that there is not a program for every
problem. And you can't just change America from the outside in, ya gotta
change it from the inside out. That's what I believe."

I've noticed you talk about sin and grace and forgiveness which of
course is the heart of the gospel. What does grace and forgiveness mean
to you? In your christian life?

"Well it's not only for me as a christian an assurance of a life after
my life is over here. But it is, it frees you of all the guilt, that you
would otherwise carry around from all the mistakes you make. I mean the uh,
the important thing to me about about my life and my faith is that every day
I get to get up and try again."

Because?

"Because the god I believe in is the god of second chances."

                            - End -

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Im my opinion, some very scary stuff.

   michael.hess.@f48.n375.z1.fidonet.org