Hello, friends! Along with a dash of astonishment this evening, I open this article with a quote:
Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed there are many rewards, if you disgrace yourself you can always write a book.
Or, you could even become a preacher.
Hillary Clinton wants to preach. That’s what she told Bill Shillady, her longtime pastor, at a recent photo shoot for his new book about the daily devotionals he sent her during the 2016 campaign. According to The Atlantic, ministry has always been a secret dream of the two-time presidential candidate. Indeed last fall, the former Newsweek editor Kenneth Woodward revealed that Clinton told him in 1994 that she thought “all the time” about becoming an ordained Methodist minister.
Shillady's book, Strong for a Moment Like This: The Daily Devotions of Hillary Rodham Clinton, is a compilation of the daily devotionals he sent Clinton throughout her campaign. She wrote a forward for it. The title is a reference to the Book of Esther, "which tells the story of a young woman who must stand up to corrupt political figures in order to save her people." (Interesting tidbit: "For Such a Time as This" is a Pro-WO SDA book, and the title of various pro-WO SDA articles since 1994.) But I digress.
Shillady told The Atlantic he thinks Clinton "would make a great pastor," but is unlikely to go to seminary or be formally ordained. If she goes into preaching, it will likely be as a lay woman.
So Hillary may be adding another string to her bow. Is she sincere about faith? I hope so. I hope that her faith in God is quite sincere, and leads her to repent of the numerous unbiblical positions that she holds. If she stubbornly clings to her belief that God is ok with killing children, or that LGBT is a perfectly good choice (one that requires Christians to "change their deep-seated religious beliefs") and that Social Justice is a perfectly viable alternative to the Everlasting Gospel, then becoming a pastor is no surprise a'tall. It is in fact the logical outcome of an auto-developed progressive boutique faith.
Should she become a pastor? Indeed not. No, not according to the Good Book, which defines church leadership as male (1 Cor. 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:11-15; 1 Peter 3:7; Ephesians 5:21-23; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 2:3-5) and proscribes a special ministry of older women to younger women. That, along with being a helpmeet to her husband, is within God's purpose for His daughters (1 Peter 3:6).
I must say, I am more than a little suspicious about the combination of faith and politics, though I sincerely support the right of every human to follow God as they see fit. Just last week several Adventists criticized the U.S. President's Cabinet for having a Bible study in the White House. I don't suppose these 'Bible studiers' will automatically go to hell for that, although some of the emails I received didn't quite rule that out. No, I hope that politicians do read the Bible, as Abraham Lincoln did, and find in there a Savior that humbles them to genuine repentance. I hope this for Hillary, and Donald and the local Mayor alike. I hope this for you and I.
Legitimate Questions
Dr. Everett Piper, President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, wondered if Clinton believes "that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching." The United Methodist Church officially teaches this.
"Does she believe in the exclusivity of Jesus as the only and 'singular' way to heaven and salvation and with the words of John Wesley himself 'you must be singular or be damned'?" Piper asked. He said John Wesley taught that the Bible is the "only inerrant word of God" and "if there be any mistakes in the Bible, there may as well be a thousand. If there be one falsehood in that book, it did not come from the God ..."
"If she can't subscribe to these things then why would she think she should be a Methodist pastor?" he asked.
Clinton has made many pro-abortion and pro-LGBT statements.
"The unborn person doesn't have Constitutional rights," she said on NBC’s Meet the Press in April 2016. During the same interview, Clinton also admitted that the pregnant woman is "a mother who is carrying a child."
She once likened pro-lifers to "terrorist groups" and told Planned Parenthood that her campaign "belongs" to the abortion giant and its abortionists.
Banning partial-birth abortion is "extreme, deceptive, and unconstitutional," Clinton said as a senator in 2003. She then admitted the procedure involves a living "child" by saying, "I believe that forcing a woman to carry a child whom she knows will die is an assault, not only on her health — her mental health — but on our values as a nation and a free people." In summary, Clinton ran on a platform fully embracing homosexuality, transgenderism, and taxpayer-funded abortion.
Last year, a leaked email generated controversy because of an emailed invitation to campaign chairman John Podesta and his brother to a "spirit cooking" event. The invitation was from Marina Abramović, a performance artist. Many, including Wikileaks, speculated or implied that this was a Satanic ritual. We don't know, but it doesn't look too good, lads.
So what do you get when you combine feminism, social justice, Planned Parenthood, a foreboding liberal worldview, LGBT fervor and a church pulpit? You get pastor Hillary. Or closer to home, a rising number of Social Justice Adventist Pastorettes (SJAP). Is the world ready for Pastor Hillary? Progressive Adventism is quite ready for it. Though I personally would rather sit on a drawing-pin, future speaking locations may soon include La Sierra, Oakwood, and Andrews University.
Stay faithful, dear ones! If wolves in sheep's clothing are dangerous, wolves in shepherd's clothing are lethal.