Christian Research Dispensary
1999-2000 Book & Tape Catalog

His heart was as great as the world, but there was no room in it to hold the memory of a wrong.
                                                            - Ralph Waldo Emerson, in Letters and Social Aims.

Father of Light! Great God of Heaven!
Hear'st thou the accents of despair?
Can guilt like man's be e'er forgiven?
Can vice atone for crimes by prayer?                   - Lord Byron, The Prayer of Nature -

If we confess our sins, YHVH-God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

...And forgive us our offences, as we have forgiven our offenders...For if you forgive men their faults, your Father in heaven will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive even your faults. (Matthew 6:12,14-15)

William Jefferson Clinton desires the American public to forgive him for his sexual dalliances with the unmarried Jewess, Monica Lewinsky who, admittedly, was enamored with the man (unless you subscribe to the theory Lewinsky was groomed for this day, to bring down his administration, which we do not believe), and wanted to "please" him in any way possible.

The fact is: Lewinsky knew Clinton was married, and Clinton knew that allowing Lewinsky to fellate him (and whatever else went on) was fornication, even if he afterward stretched both reason and logic by suggesting it wasn't sex (as he understood the term). BOTH are culpable, but Clinton much more so due to his position, his oath of office, and his subsequent perjuries and obstructions of justice. What Clinton did was commit adultery, even though Judaism (apparently his de facto religion) maintains a legalistic working definition of adultery: vaginal penetration of a married woman not married to the married perpetrator (twisted Talmudic logic). To adulterate, in the large sense, means to make impure a pure substance, or covenant (by extension). When the interpersonal trust implicit in a marriage covenant is violated, the marriage is adulterated!!! It matters not whether one guilty party has exchanged wedding vows, or not.

William Jefferson Clinton could have been indicted for impeachment on any of at least 24 charges (see Thoughts to Ponder #2). It so happens the ones agreed upon by the Independent Counsel and House Judiciary Committee were perjury, and obstruction of justice. If you or I willingly lied before a Grand Jury, I can assure you we would be lodging at the Crow Bar Hotel for awhile. Why should the "chief executive" be treated differently? Because of the prestige and responsibilities of his position, Clinton is an unwitting role model for children, either for good, or for evil. By refusing to acknowledge this influence, and resign with what dignity may remain (as did former President Richard Nixon, in 1974), Clinton has bred outward contempt for the Law of the Land, as observed in his Congressional peers (of the "Me Generation") who spit at the wind and authority by sidetracking the constitutional process of impeachment.

So, are we to forgive Clinton? Yes, insofar as he acknowledges his offenses, and repents of them. On September 11, 1998, Clinton stated from the White House:

I have been on quite a journey...to get to the end of this, to the rock-bottom truth of where I am and where we all are. I agree with those who have said that in my first statement...I was not contrite enough. I don't think there is a fancy way to say that I have sinned...I have repented...I must have God's help to be the person that I want to be.

Not an apology per se. Clinton is very clever in phrasing and parsing his speech, in much the same manner Henry Winkler's character ("Fonzie") on TV's Happy Days sitcom couldn't come to admit that he "was...wr-r-r-rong." On September 4, 1998, in Dublin, Ireland, Clinton used the "S" word:

I've already said that I made a bad mistake, it was indefensible and I'm sorry about it. So I have nothing else to say except that I can't disagree with anyone else who wants to be critical of what I have already acknowledged was indefensible...I'm very sorry about it. There's nothing else I could say.

Yes, Mr. Clinton, but there IS more you could DO. You could resign from office and preserve the integrity thereof. Why must you bring down the office with you?

The Bible tells us we are to forgive (Gen. 50:17; Matt. 6:12; 18:21-22, 35; Luke 11:4, et al). In Luke 17:1-4, we read our Savior's precept on the matter:

It is impossible but that offences should come; but woe to him by whose hand they come! It were better for him that an ass' millstone were hanged on his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Beware among yourselves. If your brother should sin, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he should offend you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn to you and say, I repent; forgive him.

Here we find that forgiveness is BASED UPON REPENTANCE. Repentance means to turn from the evil, and flee in the opposite direction, to set one's life straight. However, this process does not obviate judgment, particularly for those under authority. As much as Clinton would like to sweep the whole matter under the rug, and manipulate public opinion to his defense, he will (and should) be judged by his masters in Congress. If Congress should acquit him, he is legally free, and Congress must answer to it's master, the Citizenry. If the Citizenry acquits Congress of its acquittal, then we must answer to our Creator. Power is often usurped, but authority is always delegated...from a higher authority.

In closing, I'd like to clear up a confusion regarding our Lord's words while hanging upon the tree, in Luke 23:34:

And Jesus said, 'O Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.' And they divided His garments and cast lots over them.

Though this expression is not found in some manuscripts (Vaticanus, et al), it is popularly accepted as meaning our Lord forgave his tormentors and crucifiers without repentance; in other words, universal, unconditional, blind forgiveness. This is NOT the case. That the actions of His adversaries were wilful, and they were fully cognizant of WHO He was (they knew of His miracles, and even witnessed a few) may be found in verses 35-37:

The people stood looking on. And even the leaders of the synagogue mocked Him, and said, >He saved others; let Him save Himself, if He is the Christ, the chosen one of God. And the soldiers ridiculed Him, and they came near Him and offered Him vinegar, saying to Him, >If you are king of the Jews, save yourself.

Elsewhere, our Savior said of these who mocked Him:

A wicked and adulterous generation wants a sign; and no sign shall be given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah. And He left them and went away. (Matthew 16:4)

Interesting that He should mention adultery. Nevertheless, in Luke 23, the emphatic Greek text (Emphatic Diaglott, published by the International Bible Students Association) tells us a very different picture (see inset). In it, Jesus Christ intones:

Broken into its components, the Greek language assents to the fact that forgiveness is, indeed, based upon repentance, for these accusers were most definitely NOT repentant for their deeds. Some may counter that this was due to the fact they weren't of the Christian Faith, but this is not borne out in the context.

Since Jesus Christ was praying to His Father in the Heavenly, the judgment upon this "wicked and adulterous generation" was sure to follow, and it did, in AD 68-70, when the Old Jerusalem was reduced to rubble by Romans under Cyrus.

If William Jefferson Clinton is genuinely repentant, HE IS FORGIVEN. Still, he must answer to his masters, according to Man's Law. In many ways, Clinton is representative of THIS wicked and adulterous generation, and we all will be judged for it.

For if any man sin wilfully after he has received the knowledge of the truth, then there is no more sacrifice to be offered for his sins, but he is ready for the fearful judgment and the fiery indignation which shall consume the adversaries. He who transgressed the law of Moses, on the word of two or three witnesses, died without mercy: How much more punishment do you think he will receive who has trodden underfoot the Son of God, and has considered the blood of His covenant, through which he had been sanctified, as ordinary blood and has blasphemed the Spirit of Grace? For we know Him who said, >Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says YHVH-God. And again, YHVH-God shall judge His people. (Hebrews 10:26-30)

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