How Should A Person of Faith Choose Between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich – Part III
So yesterday, Newt Gingrich does his interview thing with CBN’s David Brody. In that interview he said some fascinating things – chief among them:
In a one-on-one interview with The Brody File, Newt Gingrich says that he has “not hidden from the facts of my life, that I have confessed my weaknesses” and he believes that, in part, is a reason why evangelicals are able to get behind his candidacy.
He goes on to say that, “it may make me more normal than somebody who wanders around seeming perfect and maybe not understanding the human condition, and the challenges of life for normal people.”
That one elicits a “WOW” from this Evangelical. See the lost but found narrative is but the beginning of what we like to call “the gospel,” the good news of what Jesus did. It is a notable weakness of Evangelicalism that they often forget to push on farther into the depths of all that Jesus offers us – that is something that I write about with great regularity on my “Godblog.”
As is becoming common when I read something about Gingrich, scripture comes to mind. In this case it is the benediction that the Apostles Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Phillipi:
Phil 4:8-9 – Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you. (NAS)
Now when I read something like that and I think about who I would like standing in front of the nation on a routine basis, I would much rather have someone that has truly focused on the good stuff as opposed to someone that has had to pull themselves out of the bad and might just fall back in at a moments notice.
It is true that Gingrich looks more “average” than Romney, but consider about the bell curve when you think about that. That simply means Gingrich has made a lot more mistakes than Romney has. Are we really a nation that wants to be merely average. As Christians, we see the Apostle Paul calling us to the far right side of the bell curve – we are not called to be average, we are called to excellence. Remember being graded “on a curve?” Was a C, even a C+ really the grade you wanted?
But there is another aspect to Gingrich’s comments that needs to be addressed, and that is his crack, “maybe not understanding the human condition.” One has to remember that the “human condition” is not the failing, corrupt condition we find ourselves in – the situation that we find ourselves in results from what theologians call “the fall.” We were not made for this imperfection – we were made for the perfection of first creation.
And finally, how dare Gingrich imply that Romney is somehow less than human? Again, the Apostle Paul:
Rom 14:4 – Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand. (NAS)
Romney’s “master” holds him to a high standard, but how does that make him unfamiliar with the human condition?
All that does is make him some one that perhaps overcame his baser nature earlier in his life than someone like Gingrich – which also means he may be a bit farther down the road than those of us that got a later start. That is pretty much the definition of a leader, and I think that is what this nation needs most.
Posted in Candidate Qualifications, Doctrinal Obedience, Religious Freedom, Understanding Religion | 9 Comments » | 
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thakanson on 25 Jan 2012 at 8:57 am #
Unbelievable. Gingrich is trying to spin his infidelity in such a way that it actually makes him a better human being than Romney? Brings to mind another scripture:
coltakashi on 25 Jan 2012 at 9:11 am #
Religioys people should wake up and realize that Mr. Gingrich’s message is that his years of dishonest adultery is “normal”, and every vote for him is a vote telling our sons and daughters that adultery and lying are “normal” and you can be PROUD of yourself for industriously institutionalizing your sins because you have met the standard of “normal” and all those goody-goody people who don’t cheat and lie are contemptible! Yup, that’s the guy who is supposed to provide a moral example to turn back the tide of abortion and same sex marriage. The men who send their girl friends to get an abortion will say “Hey, I was just acting normal!” And the LGBT activists will say “We just want normal marriages like Newt Gingrich.”
David on 25 Jan 2012 at 10:00 am #
This claim of Gingrich reminds me of a quote from Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis:
kgbudge on 25 Jan 2012 at 10:03 am #
It’s an extraordinarily common theme on the Internet. The phrase “Romneybots” for Romney’s supporters comes up all the time.
Like the “Mormons lie” theme, I think it has some roots in religious prejudice.
In fairness, Romney is a bit stiff at times, like almost all the realy smart people I know.
JLF9999 on 25 Jan 2012 at 10:08 am #
thakanson is missing the point. Newt is a repentant sinner who willing confesses his sins. He says he has done what was required of him according to scripture. Now that he is a public figure he is required to talk about it that in other circumstances he might not. That isn’t the Newt problem as I see it. Newt is producing a novelty act that ties into the public’s disdain for how conservatives are treated in the media, party apparatchiks and Democrats in general.
So far Newt has managed to smear icky stuff all over Mitt and make it stick which appeals to a lot of Evangelicals. All this has one aim. That is, confuse the public and engender sympathy and it is working. He has capitalized on Mitt’s inability to think quickly on his feet when attacked which makes him look weak and indecisive. Mitt doesn’t live in a world where one gets blind sideded very often and so he doesn’t know how to react or what to say. Add to that his campaign staff seem to be a day late and a dollar short way too often.
Personally, I think it would helped if Mitt had worked as a bouncer or a cop where snappy comebacks and put downs are required tools for survival.
Retrocon on 25 Jan 2012 at 11:25 am #
Another scripture comes to mind. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are — yet he did not sin.” (Heb. 4:15)
Now the verse in Hebrews refers to Christ, but my point is that just because Romney has not succumbed to adultery does not mean he doesn’t understand the human condition and the challenges of life, nor that he hasn’t faced temptations himself.
In addition, Romney has spent many years as a lay leader (Bishop, Stake President) in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, counseling with and serving many in his congregation dealing with any number of the “challenges of life of normal people.”
TVHall on 25 Jan 2012 at 11:41 am #
As soon as I read the scripture from Philippians, I had to quickly check the one comment. I wanted to see if it was the same thought that instantly came to my mind, “…if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy…”
On another note, I also find myself wondering how the timing of Proverbs 16:18 will work itself out, with respect to Newt Gingrich.
Virginia on 25 Jan 2012 at 4:18 pm #
Since people are throwing scriptures around, here is one that this whole situation reminds me of–a civilization in decline, losing its values, forgetting its heritage of freedom and the rule of law:
Helaman 7:5 Condemning the righteous because of their righteousness; letting the guilty and the wicked go unpunished because of their money; and moreover to be held in office at the head of government, to rule and do according to their wills, that they might get gain and glory of the world, and, moreover, that they might the more easily commit adultery . . .
Darned If He Does, Darned If He Doesn’t… | Article VI Blog | John Schroeder on 27 Jan 2012 at 7:20 am #
[...] Suspicion of Mormonism is different than bigotry or opposition. Suspicion of Mormonism means that everything Romney does has to be checked, rechecked, doubled checked – then checked again, because well…. No candidate, no person, can stand up to that kind of scrutiny unscathed. Not because they are bad or mistaken, but simply because they are human. [...]