“Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for the rat to die.” – Anne Lamott

 I don’t think Anne Lamott knows Hillary Clinton. 

Matthew 18:21-22 directs us to forgive our brother not only seven times, but rather seventy times seven.  I, Notaloon, am a Christian.   I, Notaloon, really want to be a good Christian, but I am also a sinner.

Forgiving Hillary presents three enormous conflicts for Christians.

Hillary believes she has done nothing wrong.

By all appearances she has no remorse.  The only time she comes close to expressing remorse is when it is politically expedient to do so, such as when she said she regretted using a private server for her email, and in retrospect would not do so again.

If someone has no remorse, can she be trusted with future decisions – decisions that require an assessment between right and wrong, good and bad, righteous and evil, decisions in which the stakes are very high for so many?

How do we forgive when we cannot fully determine the extent of the damage?

Let’s take only a few examples:  Benghazi, Fast and Furious, and her compromised private server.

Good Americans died in Benghazi and there are lasting effects on wives, children, parents, friends, and colleagues.   But there was a lot more going on in Benghazi.  There was more than a lie, more than a pre-election cover up of the deaths of these heroes.  There was also a cover-up of the weapons we were supplying out of Benghazi.  How many of these weapons are in the wrong hands and wreaking havoc on those who should be protected?    Do we even know where these weapons are?  I can assure you, we do not.

The Fast and Furious deceit on the American people was also on Hillary’s watch.  How many people are being killed with guns from that despicable act of convoluted trickery? We know of at least one border agent and now one of the Fast and Furious guns made it to a terrorist attack in Paris.  On November 13, 2015 at least 130 people were killed and hundreds more were wounded.    A gun, supplied to the Mexican drug cartels by our government, was in the hands of a terrorist.   With friends like this……

Can we talk emails?  Was Hillary’s desire for ‘convenience’ helpful to those who killed Ambassador Stevens?  Were other lives lost or compromised as a result of her email indiscretions?  Were U.S. secrets and hence national security compromised?    How badly?

What about accepting millions of dollars from countries that are oppressive to women, gays, Christians, Jews, etc.?  What about taking millions of dollars from countries that support terrorism? What are the ramifications to her own responsibilities to the values of our country?  Her “pay to play” activities represent a huge conflict of interest.  Will the interests of a high paying country supercede the interests of our own?   How sure are you?

You know I could continue.

Forgiveness like this is blind.  It is difficult to forgive blindly because we don’t know exactly what we are forgiving.  How do we forgive when we don’t yet, and likely never will, have a full picture of all the damage she has caused?

On the cross, Jesus said ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” Can anyone say Hillary knows not what she does?  Can Hillary pass the ‘Christ on the cross’ test?

Here are criteria to help with this question:

If Hillary has a disorder and doesn’t comprehend the difference between a truthful statement and a lie – we can forgive her for truly she ‘knows not what she does.’   (This disorder, of course, would render her unfit for leading our country.)

If she cannot discern an ethical decision or action from a non-ethical one, we can also forgive her for truly she ‘knows not what she does.’  (This depravity would also render her unfit for leading our country.)

On the other hand, what if neither of the above apply and she knows exactly what a lie is and/or she can clearly discern morality from immorality?  While the ‘Christ on the cross’ test is not met, this scenario ever so clearly renders her unfit for leading our country as well.

We can, of course, choose to forgive her anyway, but please remember that I, Notaloon, am a sinner.

I am having difficulty forgiving not only Hillary but also Hillary’s supporters.  Although many of them can likely pass the ‘Christ on the cross’ test, they largely ‘know not what they do’ because they are not paying attention.  Lack of knowledge, common sense and basic thought make the Hillary supporters complicit.

How do we forgive when, were she to be elected President, we know the lies, the deceit, the unethical and unlawful behaviors, the ‘pay to play’ activities will continue and will have devastating and lasting ramifications for our country?

If we allow this to happen, we will have only ourselves to blame.    We will be able to forgive ourselves?

More importantly, will our children be able to forgive us?

 

 

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