Televangelist Robert H. Schuller, who visited the White House before the inauguration and sat next to Hillary Rodham Clinton during the State of the Union address, told the Washington Post that a Scripture passage he shared with President Clinton seems to have taken hold.
“He thought he grabbed the Bible verse, but I think the Bible verse grabbed him,” Schuller said. “I said to him in the last few days, I wish you could see yourself with a pastoral heart, not a political heart.’ And by golly, that’s what he’s doing. I don’t think he knows it. … But with the verse, he’s a pastor to the nation, not a politician.”
The verse, which Clinton used in both his inaugural address and his State of the Union speech, is Isaiah 58:12: “And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.”
Schuller told the Washington Post that some of his conservative parishioners are uneasy with his relationship with Clinton, but said, “There are real character accusations against him, but you can’t pass judgment until they’re proven. As a pastor, my job is to help and to heal the hurting person, even if you disagree with him. I’m a Christian, and Jesus didn’t say, ‘I love you, if.’ Jesus specialized in loving sinners.”
— E.P. News
