NEWS STORY: Religious leaders urge perspective in Clinton controversy

c. 1998 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ A new puritanism is abroad in the land according to some religious leaders but rather than coming from the pulpits it is coming from the press as the media reports the allegations of sexual misconduct and lying that have mired President Clinton in controversy. But clergy and ethicists […]

c. 1998 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ A new puritanism is abroad in the land according to some religious leaders but rather than coming from the pulpits it is coming from the press as the media reports the allegations of sexual misconduct and lying that have mired President Clinton in controversy.

But clergy and ethicists _ like much of the general public, if the polls are accurate _ are resisting a rush to judgment on Clinton’s guilt or innocence and, also like many citizens, while condoning neither adultery nor lying, are separating private behavior from public actions.”Some of the press has acted hysterically in pursuit of this story,”said the Rev. J. Philip Wogaman, pastor of Foundry Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., and one of the congregations Clinton and wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, most frequently attend. The two were in church on the Sunday (Jan. 23) when the firestorm of controversy was at its peak.


At the same time, Wogaman said, in the midst of the turmoil”churches will be the point of real perspective. The Bible shows us that no human beings are perfect and that God’s grace is there for all of us.”Journalists are out to sell newspapers and get viewers for their TV news shows. Now’s not the time for this hysterical reaction. We’re dealing with the presidency. The human being occupying this position has great talents and sensitivity.” Though religious leaders cautioned against a rush to judgment, a number of those interviewed underscored their disapproval of adultery and lying even as they stressed the need for putting such sins in context.”Infidelity is destructive to the social fabric,”said the Rev. Jim Wallis, editor of Sojourners magazine.”What’s most destructive is the lying that accompanies it. In the Bible, King David has Bathsheba’s husband sent into battle so he can commit adultery with her. When (the prophet) Nathan speaks to David, he doesn’t say, `I know you’re having fun on the side, but you’re a great king, anyway.’ He’s concerned about the deception.” While Wallis sees a critical link between personal behavior and social trust, he said morality shouldn’t be reduced to only personal integrity.”If Jesus held a press conference, he’d ask about public morality issues like moving families from welfare to work and community. Jesus would have wanted the media to focus on the pope’s visit to Cuba, not on this.” The Rev. Dr. Joan B. Campbell, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, however, argued public policy behavior is more important than personal morality in evaluating the performance of a president.”The president is the point person for public policy in this country,”she said.”You can never say that private issues aren’t important, but they can’t dominate in the role of President. Clinton’s shown tremendous support for issues that help vulnerable people, like child care. He’s addressing the racism that exists in this country.” At the same time, Campbell said there has been a positive shift in society’s moral attitudes in judging public figures.”It’s a real sign of maturity on the part of the American public,”she said.”People are saying, `What we want from our leaders is effective public policy behavior.'” Joanne B. Ciulla, a philosopher and associate professor of leadership studies at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond (Va.), said”the general public has a greater sense of the moral complexity of life than the media.””Ordinary people know Clinton could have lied about having an affair to keep the nation from being destabilzed by an impeachment trial or to keep his wife from being hurt,”she said.

Ciulla said while the relationship between private and public morality has not always been so complicated people have never been morally perfect.”But until recently _ before the Vietnam War and Watergate _ we didn’t know about the moral imperfections of our leaders,”she said.”Now, we’re aware of everything in our leaders’ personal lives.” But Ciulla doesn’t want to go back to”the good old days.””There’s a lively, healthy debate about morality going on now. It will make for a more thoughtful electorate.” But evangelist Tony Campolo, a sociology professor at Eastern College in St. Davids, Pa., and a frequent visitor to the Clinton White House, doesn’t share Ciulla’s enthusiasm.”In the past it was possible for people to maintain a secret (private) side of who they were,”Campolo said.”That’s no longer the case. My contention is that public scrutiny of private lives of possible candidates is so intense that many will be kept from running for public office.” Campolo believes there is a spiritual reason why”all of us are entitled to secrecy. Jesus talks about two types of prayer: public prayer and the kind of prayer where we go `into a closet’ and meet God in secret. We’re all entitled to our closets.” All things being equal, people would like leaders to provide moral leadership, said Margaret Farley, a Roman Catholic and professor of Christian ethics at Yale Divinity School.”We’d like our leaders to have integrity in every part of their lives,”she said.”But there’s contradiction and sin in everyone’s life.” The current controversy, Farley said, is troubling because”there’s so many factors. It’s not just a question of whether a leader violated the (ethical) norms. What about the role of Kenneth Starr? Was it right for Linda Tripp to secretly tape her friend’s conversations?” According to the Rev. James A. Forbes, Jr., senior minister of The Riverside Church in New York City,”No one enters public service without personal, moral and spiritual shortcomings.” Forbes, like Wallis, said he believes Jesus would be more concerned about”the systemic evils of poverty than about instances of personal immorality.” He said redemption in the African-American church is”wholistic.””Black people understand the weight of the Bible as showing that Jesus carried about helping the poor and the sick,”Forbes said.”In my community, it’s not enough to talk about the ritual cleansing of one’s hands. Personal righteousness means caring for one’s neighbors.” A leader’s personal life shouldn’t be a factor in judging whether that person should hold office unless it would interfere in the performance of public duties, said Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.”This doesn’t mean that a leader who engages in privately immoral activity will get off scott free,”he said.”Though he might stay in public office, God will hold him accountable.”

DEA END WOLFE

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