Reviews, Interviews, News, Commentaries, Excerpts, My Top 5 Books, Wilson's Bookmarks, Book AwardsQ & A: Timothy Goeglein on Redemption After Plagiarism
Did you feel like plagiarizing affected other Christians or the reputation of Christians in government?
I was the point man for people of faith during my time with President Bush. Faith is real, but so was my deception. What I did does not compromise the truth of Christianity but it did expose my own hypocritical acts. When you are a public figure and a representative for the President, you have an obligation of high standards. I failed. But grace and mercy are real. So is forgiveness. My brothers and sisters in Christ forgave me; I did not deserve that forgiveness, but they offered it out of love. So did the President. We need men and women of faith in government more than ever, and we have a duty for excellence.
What kind of church do you go to, and did that shape you in your response?
I am a cradle Missouri Synod Lutheran, a serious Christian. I'm very involved in the life of our parish, and I had a very serious [discussion] with our pastor over time and also with a group of three men in Washington where I really had a chance to be away, to open up.
You wrote, "This gave me great hope, because hope drained the toxicity from professional life that kicked into overdrive; it gave me new perspective." What was the toxicity in your professional life?
Politics at any level can be toxic. After two high-profile Senate races in Indiana, I certainly experienced that. You pray that your motives are as pure as they can be. But when you're in it, it can be rough and tumble. There was a lot of toughness. A lot. When you genuinely step away from it, and things come to an end—you start to reflect and realize, wow, it's a blessing to step away.
After you left the administration, did you read literature or consider a theology of redemption? What resources did you seek out?
It's one thing to read the Scripture or to read the sort of poetic or philosophical descriptions of Scripture, but when you are actually, proverbially, daily in the midst of a self-imposed, self-created crisis, you are drinking the Cross. In the Christian life, to use a cliché, when you come to the end of your rope, you learn that Christ is there. I learned that in a very personal way. You learn about the centrality and love of your family and friends. A formal confession gives a sense of genuine confession, of genuine absolution.
Have you found some kind of resolution?
We are all sinners. But we are also made saints at exactly the same time. We don't work out our redemption. Christ redeemed us. But this side of heaven, yes, it is an ongoing process for all Christians.
You write, "It is as if God worked through me for years and then one moment allowed me to be stripped of worldly masks, reformed and new." What masks were stripped away?
The capacity for self-deception can be huge, and it can be incremental. I came to a moment where I was truly exposed, and I had a choice. The choice was to continue along that trajectory or to admit that what I had done was an absolute failure in my life. In that was my confession, not confessing to a friend or confessing to a pastor or confessing to a confidante, but confessing in a way that you know will become public.
Grieving with the Good Friday God
La complejidad hispana: Todo cambió en el 2012
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A Hermit
The article was about redemption after plagiarism. President Bush forgave his aide; he also commuted part of Scooter Libby's sentence, keeping him out of prison. Libby was sentenced with regard to the outing of Valerie Plame, wife of Joe Wilson, who called the Bush administration to account for the fact that the Iraq attempt to purchase Niger yellowcake uranium didn't happen as it claimed. It may be reasonably assumed that Libby was the fall guy for Cheney, who sought a complete pardon for him. The Bush administration also violated the constitution in ordering illegal wiretapping, but was never prosecuted. It also condoned and advised interrogation techniques that most consider torture in violation of international law, despite the opposition of ranking members of the military. It remains to be seen whether the dictators who fell will not be replaced by fundamentalist Muslims and Sharia law, with ties to Iran.
A.Yeshuratnam
Goeglein's testimony is very moving. People like 'A.Hermit' have not understood that Bush alone, unlike earlier presidents, had to face a new type of war, global terrorism after 9/11. In the two World Wars, the enemy could be targeted and smashed. But in the war against terrorism, the enemy is invisible but present everywhere. But Bush successfully handled the new situation by bringing quickly Baghdad and Kabul under the Americans as a retaliation to 9/11 attacks. Quite surprisingly, the fall of Saddam Hussein led to the fall of other dictators in the Middle East in quick succession. It may not be wrong to say that Bush is the "Father of Arab Spring." What is more, After World War II Americans failed in the Korean War, in Viet nam, in Somalia and in other skirmishes here and there. In Iraq and Afghanistan Americans are not fleeing for their lives as in Vietnam. American flag is still fluttering in Baghdad and Kabul, although Obama wants to withdraw the troops.
Doug
Jacks and A Hermitt's comments are absurd and show their political bias. Their comments have NOTHING to do with the article that was written but only a way for them to continue to bash and bring up old rhetoric that has no supporting truth. If we could only get them and the Obama Birthers in the same room, then we would really have some fun...