Bill Clinton’s Faith

Gary Scott Smith, a fine historian, excerpted:

Numerous individuals labeled [President Bill] Clinton’s faith authentic. In 1994, evangelical author Philip Yancey reported,  “I have not met a single Christian leader who, after meeting with Clinton, comes away questioning his sincerity.” A Christian college president professed to be “absolutely convinced of his deep and sincere faith” and impressed by Clinton’s knowledge of the Bible.  The executive director of the Arkansas State Baptist Convention called Clinton a “genuine born-again believer.” Philip Wogaman, pastor of the Foundry Methodist Church, concluded that Clinton’s faith was “genuine.” Another Clinton confidante, Tony Campolo, a sociology professor at Eastern College in Philadelphia, insisted that Clinton affirmed the Apostles’ Creed and considered “the Bible to be an infallible message from God.” Bill Hybels, pastor of the Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago, declared that in their monthly private meetings he had seen Clinton grow spiritually. Despite such testimonies, many denounced Clinton’s faith as disingenuous because they considered his stances on political issues to be unbiblical.

Clinton argued that all Christians had a calling to serve God.  As Martin Luther King, Jr. asserted, a street sweeper should clean the streets as if he “were Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel.”  By seeking to know and live by God’s will, learning “to forgive ourselves and one another,” and focusing on others, Christians glorified God and provided a positive witness.

In 1992 Clinton stated, “I pray virtually every day.” He asked Americans to pray that political leaders would remember Micah’s admonition to “act justly and love mercy and walk humbly with our God.” Clinton exhorted Americans to ask God for wisdom  in raising their children, protecting the environment, and promoting freedom, peace, and human dignity around the globe. He solicited the prayers of Muslims, Jews, and Christians for his “mission of peace in the Middle East.” Clinton also beseeched people to pray for peace in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Northern Ireland.  When people did not know how to pray, the Holy Spirit “intercedes for us.”  The president often thanked Americans for their prayers and for the encouraging letters and scriptural exhortations many sent him.