Hillary Clinton has found a new hobby – religion. In an interview with Pastor Bill Shillady, Clinton confessed that she is looking to become ordained as a Methodist Minister. However, this may just be the latest in a long line of cynical attempt at rebranding herself – as Hillary plots to make yet another run at the Presidency.
The Atlantic reports that Clinton met Pastor Shillady during a photoshoot for the pastor’s recent book, “Strong For A Moment Like This” which is based on the daily devotionals he sent Hillary during the 2016 presidential campaign. Bits and pieces of Clinton’s conversation with Shillady indicated that she had always dreamt of joining the ministry, and identifies as an “old fashioned Methodist.”
Clinton’s has always claimed a close devotion to her religion – claiming as far back as 1994 that religion played a very significant role in her life. The 1994 interview with Newsweek recounts that, “Long before [Clinton] was a Democrat, a lawyer, or a Clinton, Hillary Rodham was a Methodist. And that, say those who know her now as well as those who knew her when, is the way the First Lady is best understood. She thinks like a Methodist, talks like a Methodist and wants to reform society just like a well-Sunday-schooled Methodist churchwoman should.”
The Atlantic notes, “Now, as Clinton works to rehabilitate her public image and figure out the next steps after her brutal November loss, religion is taking a central role. After long months of struggling to persuade Americans that she is trustworthy, authentic, and fundamentally moral, Clinton is lifting up an intimate, closely guarded part of herself. There are no more voters left to lose. In sharing her faith, perhaps Clinton sees something left to win, whether political or personal.”
In her 1994 article, she claimed that she thinks abortion was morally wrong. This is a far cry from what she repeatedly said on the 2016 campaign trail, or indeed in any recent political memory.
During her 1994 Newsweek interview, she told Woodward that she thought “all the time” about becoming an ordained minister.
Talking about his new book of Hillary Clinton devotions, Shillady said, “It’s an inspirational book. I do not believe that she [Hillary] encouraged me to write this book in any way to change the image of her. She really found [the devotionals] so helpful to her in the midst of the contentious campaign that she felt that people would find some hope … from it.”
“Given her depth of knowledge of the Bible and her experience of caring for people and loving people, she’d make a great pastor” he continued. “No, she probably won’t go to seminary … no, she probably won’t pursue an official lay position in the Methodist church, like deaconess.”
He added, “I think it would be more of … her guest preaching at some point. We have a long history of lay preachers in the United Methodist Church.”
Would you listen to a sermon from Hillary Clinton? What would she preach about?
