Date: Fri, 12 Feb 1999 12:48:11 -0500 From: Darrell Todd Maurina Organization: Christian Renewal/United Reformed News Service Subject: NR 99018A: Reformed Professors Join Nationally-Circulated Declaration Against Clinton NR #1999-018A: Reformed Professors Join Nationally-Circulated Declaration Against Clinton's Use of Religion in Impeachment Controversy President Clinton expects to be acquitted of perjury and obstruction of justice charges when the United States Senate votes today, and his public declaration of repentance from sexual misconduct involving former White House intern Monica Lewinsky has already received the support of his family's pastor, Rev. Philip Wogamon of Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington. Clinton's public repentance drew a very different reaction from a group of seminary and college professors and other religious scholars, including Christian Reformed, United Reformed, and conservative Presbyterian professors, who signed a formal declaration objecting to Clinton's "manipulation of religion and the debasing of moral language." Clinton's use of religious language also prompted the Grand Rapids-based Eerdmans Publishing Company to issue a book of essays on the "political use and abuse of religion," and provide much of the support staff to publicize the declaration. "From a Reformed point of view, we believe there are biblical standards for political life," said Dordt College president Dr. Carl Zylstra. "Not only do I as a citizen have an interest in biblical standards for civil life, but also as a clergyman I am concerned. This document points out that this, in a more direct way than any other event in my lifetime, has probably threatened foundational assumptions of both biblical understandings of moral forgiveness and biblical understandings of the state." NR #1999-018A: For Immediate Release: Reformed Professors Join Nationally-Circulated Declaration Against Clinton's Use of Religion in Impeachment Controversy * Four Christian Reformed, One United Reformed, Six Conservative Presbyterian Professors, Eerdmans Publishing Company President "protest the manipulation of religion and the debasing of moral language in the discussion about presidential responsibility." by Darrell Todd Maurina, Press Officer United Reformed News Service (February 12, 1999) URNS - President Clinton expects to be acquitted of perjury and obstruction of justice charges when the United States Senate votes today, and his public declaration of repentance from sexual misconduct involving former White House intern Monica Lewinsky has already received the support of his family's pastor, Rev. Philip Wogamon of Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington. Clinton's public repentance drew a very different reaction from a group of seminary and college professors and other religious scholars, including Christian Reformed, United Reformed, and conservative Presbyterian professors, who signed a formal declaration objecting to Clinton's "manipulation of religion and the debasing of moral language." Clinton's use of religious language also prompted the Grand Rapids-based Eerdmans Publishing Company to issue a book of essays on the "political use and abuse of religion," and provide much of the support staff to publicize the declaration. Since it was first issued last November, the declaration has attracted the signatures of almost two hundred religious scholars and led to major profiles in the national media, including recent stories on ABC Nightline, FOX News, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Times, the Detroit News, and the Chicago Tribune. "There was a case in Chicago just recently where a person was about to be executed and his cause was taken up by a number of law students who had reason to believe the person was being railroaded, got to the bottom of the case, and discovered that people testifying in the case had lied under oath," said Bill Eerdmans, president of Eerdmans Publishing Company. "That's another example of the consequences of perjury. The matter of the President engaging in that practice has filtered down." Many of the signatories of the statement, formally known as the "Declaration Concerning Religion, Ethics, and the Clinton Presidency," are members of mainline denominations teaching at prominent mainline seminaries or socially liberal members of evangelical churches, and most are not associated with evangelical political activism. However, the signatories include a significant Reformed constituency, including the president of the Christian Reformed-related Dordt College, three Christian Reformed professors at the CRC-owned Calvin College and Calvin Theological Seminary, a United Reformed professor teaching at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, and a half-dozen conservative Presbyterian professors at Reformed Theological Seminary and Westminster Theological Seminary The declaration takes a clear stand against Clinton's use of the September 11 Presidential Prayer Breakfast to announce his repentance, as well as Clinton's announcement of counseling sessions with well-known ministers. "We fear the religious community is in danger of being called upon to provide authentication for a politically motivated and incomplete repentance that seeks to avert serious consequences for wrongful acts," declared the signatories. "While we affirm that pastoral counseling sessions are an appropriate, confidential arena to address these issues, we fear that announcing such meetings to convince the public of the President's sincerity compromises the integrity of religion." "We believe that serious misunderstandings of repentance and forgiveness are being exploited for political advantage," stated the declaration. "The resulting moral confusion is a threat to the integrity of American religion and to the foundations of a civil society." The declaration also challenges "the widespread assumption that forgiveness relieves a person of further responsibility and serious consequences," warning that "when the President continues to deny any liability for the sins he has confessed, this suggests that the public display of repentance was intended to avoid political disfavor." The signatories warn that toleration of Clinton's behavior could lead to severe consequences. "We are aware that certain moral qualities are central to the survival of our political system, among which are truthfulness, integrity, respect for the law, respect for the dignity of others, adherence to the constitutional process, and a willingness to avoid the abuse of power," stated the declaration. "We reject the premise that violations of these ethical standards should be excused so long as a leader remains loyal to a particular political agenda and the nation is blessed by a strong economy." As professors and church leaders, the signatories also expressed their concern about the impact of the impeachment crisis on their children and students. "Some of them feel betrayed by a President in whom they set their hopes while others are troubled by his misuse of others, by which many in the administration, the political system, and the media were implicated in patterns of deceit and abuse," according to the declaration. "But we maintain that in general there is a reasonable threshold of behavior beneath which our public leaders should not fall, because the moral character of a people is more important than the tenure of a particular politician or the protection of a particular political agenda. Political and religious history indicate that violations and misunderstandings of such moral issues may have grave consequences. The widespread desire to 'get this behind us' does not take seriously enough the nature of transgressions and their social effects." The signatories noted that some had called for presidential resignation or impeachment whereas others had not, but warned that the underlying issue of political misuse of religious language was more important than the outcome of the specific votes on impeaching or convicting President Clinton. "While partisan conflicts have usually dominated past debates over public morality, we now confront a much deeper crisis, whether the moral basis of the constitutional system itself will be lost," the signatories affirmed. "In the present impeachment discussions, we call for national courage in deliberation that avoids ideological division and engages the process as a constitutional and ethical imperative. We ask Congress to discharge its current duty in a manner mindful of its solemn constitutional and political responsibilities. Only in this way can the process serve the good of the nation as a whole and avoid further sensationalism." According to the president of Eerdmans Publishing Company, the "Declaration Concerning Religion, Ethics, and the Clinton Presidency" originated in a conversation between Eerdmans staffer Reinder Van Til and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary professor Dr. Robert Jewett, as well as Dr. Klyne Snodgrass of North Park Theological Seminary, and University of Chicago professors Dr. Don Browning and Jean Bethke Elshtain. "Among those four framers of the declaration, the sense was a very negative view would be taken of Clinton's explanations of his difficulties," said Eerdmans. "It sort of boiled down to the phrase which they floated, questioning whether or not he was using and abusing religion for the purpose of skating free of any real punishment or political disaster that he would court." Eerdmans said he personally leaned toward supporting removing Clinton from office, but noted that wasn't the position of all the signatories or of his company. "As far as the company is concerned, it's a book that enters into a serious debate, a serious crisis in the country," said Eerdmans. "I think it's a responsible engagement in the crisis. We've got an awful lot of interest in this subject, and it's one we felt we needed to responsibly address." Calvin College English professor Dr. Edward Ericson noted the theological and doctrinal breadth of the list of signatories. "It comes primarily from people at mainline seminaries," said Ericson. "It's particularly gratifying to me that the signatories cannot be pigeonholed, they range all across the political spectrum, this is not a group of political conservatives speaking out against Clinton." "This one really has its genesis in people, many of whom are themselves two times Clinton voters, and felt betrayed in moral terms," continued Ericson. "Maybe they still think that Clinton has been politically a good president, but his moral betrayal was too much for them to let pass without notice." "I read it a few times and decided that although I'm not very much of a joiner and don't usually belong to cliques or groups, this spoke to a major issue on the national scene," said Ericson. "I view my role as a Christian participant in the cultural conversation as speaking not so much within my denominational circles but from a Christian point of view to the world." The Dordt College president concurred. "One of the things that surely strikes me as incredibly interesting in this is the range of people who have signed this," said Dr. Carl Zylstra. "There are names together on this list I never thought I would see together on any list. Also the matching of institutions is just incredible. This is a deep-rooted issue that needs to be addressed regardless of the current swirl in Washington." Dr. Nelson Kloosterman, professor of ethics and New Testament at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in suburban Chicago, said he appreciated the opportunity to hear one of the declaration's drafters, political ethicist Dr. Jean Bethke Elshtain of the University of Chicago, debate Clinton's pastor in Chicago, and signed the declaration shortly afterward. While he wouldn't agree with the theology of the University of Chicago, Kloosterman said he was glad to be able to sign the declaration because of its contents. "We need to remember the principle of co-belligerence; without compromising any of one's principles or standpoints, we should cooperate with others with whom we may disagree but cooperate in those things where we can share in opposing the wrong or supporting the good," said Kloosterman. "I would take this opportunity both to explain and defend the principles of cobelligerence, similar to the alliance between Reformed and Roman Catholics in the pro-life movement." Kloosterman said his biggest concern with Clinton's religious statements was his tendency toward civil religion. "Civil religion in this case is not being used by conservatives to champion Americanism, civil religion has now surprisingly become part of the liberal mainstream," said Kloosterman. "I think Reformed Christians should respond to it in terms of what Scriptural teaching says in terms of atonement and forgiveness. We are so shocked that someone like President Clinton uses them, we need to ask if we are on the same page as him in the use of those words." "These scholars have spotted something that is eerily reminiscent of the growth of National Socialism in Germany prior to the Second World War," continued Kloosterman. "Someone observed that if popularity polls were the measure of what is right and wrong, Hitler would be one of the most 'right' men in history because he was very popular. I don't mean to equate Hitler with President Clinton, but to note the role of popularity polls." Kloosterman regretted the expected decision not to remove Clinton and urged preachers to continue to emphasize biblical teaching on repentance. "How Christians should respond believingly in the face of the apparent success of a president who has betrayed the trust of his office, that's a challenge that needs to be spoken to, and addressed pastorally in terms of preaching," said Kloosterman. "My interest in this declaration arose because of its attempt to help Christians maintain integrity in this kind of situation. We need to rise above politics; if all of life becomes politicized we will become very cynical citizens." Both Ericson and Zylstra agreed that the question of removing Clinton from office isn't the main issue. "The president could well be impeached, convicted, and removed from office, and the issues I am interested in might not be addressed," said Zylstra. "We need a recovery of the cost of grace, getting away from cheap grace both for political life and personal life; we need to look at the requirements for leadership in civil community under biblical standards for the state," said Zylstra. "Obviously we don't expect our presidents to meet the same standards we would expect for the president of synod or for the pope, but God has built-in standards for civil life that we neglect at our peril." "From a Reformed point of view, we believe there are biblical standards for political life," said Dordt College president Dr. Carl Zylstra. "Not only do I as a citizen have an interest in biblical standards for civil life, but also as a clergyman I am concerned. This document points out that this, in a more direct way than any other event in my lifetime, has probably threatened foundational assumptions of both biblical understandings of moral forgiveness and biblical understandings of the state." Zylstra emphasized that he signed the document out of sense of Christian and civic responsibility, not a desire for publicity. "I certainly didn't get into this to gain publicity or because I wanted to be a spokesperson, but because I did really think when I signed on, there were less than a hundred people willing to stand up and say this," said Zylstra, who signed the declaration early in the process of circulating it for signatures from the academic community. "I think what I consider the very even-handed and sympathetic treatment that [ABC Nightline anchor] Ted Koppel gave of this last week indicates that this is a very needed discussion, and reflects the broad base of support that this discussion has in the church community." "This is not a soap opera we can say 'This disgusts me, make it go away;" we need to take whatever time it takes through our civil processes to deal with this," said Zylstra. "My concern has very little to do with what happens to Clinton; I care what this scandal does to the moral fabric of the culture," said Ericson. "It's possible even now that there will be a reconsideration of our inheritance from the 1960s, that we will start backing away from some of the libertinism that saturates the culture, and that there would be a good outcome in a general way." "When you see the high percentage of people who seem supportive of the president, the signs are not altogether encouraging," said Ericson. Cross-References to Related Articles: #1998-088: Southern Baptist Seminary President Defends Call to Discipline President Clinton Contact List: Bill Eerdmans, President, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company 255 Jefferson SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 O: (616) 459-4591 Dr. Edward Ericson, Jr., Professor of English, Calvin College 3201 Burton St. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 O: (616) 957-6100 Dr. Nelson Kloosterman, Professor, Mid-America Reformed Seminary 229 Seminary Dr., Dyer, IN 46311 O: (219) 864-2400 * H: (219) 322-9003 * FAX: (219) 864-2410 Dr. Carl Zylstra, President, Dordt College 498 - 4th Ave. NE, Sioux Center, IA 51250 O: (712) 722-6002 * H: (712) 722-1397 * E-mail: czylstra@dordt.edu ----------------------------------------------------------- file: /pub/resources/text/reformed/archive99: nr99-018a.txt .