Hillary Clinton: “My Faith was really Holding Me Together” After 2016 Loss

on September 25, 2017

Knee-deep promoting her new memoir What Happened, Hillary Rodham Clinton stopped by famed Riverside Church in Manhattan on September 7 to address the age-old struggle of balancing religious beliefs and political agendas. During her visit, Clinton sat down for an interview with Rev. Ginger Gaines-Cirelli, senior pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church, to discuss how her faith helped her heal after losing one of the most surprising upsets in U.S. election history.

The interview with the former Secretary of State was a fundraiser event to benefit Camp Olmsted, a program designed to instill leadership and growth skills in children of all ages, and to allow audiences a glimpse at how Clinton’s Christian faith supposedly shaped her political path.

This time last year, Clinton had the security every politician dreams about. “I didn’t think I would lose. The two best politicians I know, my husband and Barack Obama, didn’t think I would lose,” admitted Clinton to Gaines-Cirelli. Within a few short weeks the Democratic candidate was sure she would be elected the President of the United States. The reality is her confidence may have won Clinton battles, but it failed to win her the war.

To deal with the “devastating” election loss, Clinton shared, “I relied on several tools, one of which was prayer, and I was lifted up and blessed by a lot of people who sent me prayers, sent me spiritual readings.”

She later added, “Through it all, my faith was really holding me together in a very central way. It gave me a lot of courage to get up and keep going.”

During her sit-down interview, Clinton reminisced of the Methodist church leaders who influenced her worldview. Clinton spoke fondly of Rev. Don Jones, her former Methodist youth minister who had a profound impact on her life. While growing up in the United Methodist Church certainly shaped her future, Clinton admitted “it’s not always easy…to figure out how best to translate your faith into your daily life.”

When it came to her political career, Clinton mentioned she did not often talk about her faith but strove to let it guide her actions. For Clinton the 2016 presidential campaign made it increasingly difficult to communicate her faith to the American public. “There was a misconception between who I am, what I believe, and the kind of campaign that we saw a year ago,” she shared.

What is more interesting is that Clinton seems to be under the impression that it was her focus on compassion during her campaign that caused discontent among voters. She went on to blame conservative Christians’ misguided notions, explaining:

We talked about love in a community concept, a public concept, and it was challenging to do that because there is a large group of people with a very strong opinion that if you’re a Christian, if you profess your faith, you can only have one set of political beliefs. And if you deviate from those political beliefs, you somehow are not really a Christian. I reject that completely.

No matter the reasons behind her loss, Clinton testified to a great healing that took place over the past ten months and why she chose to write her memoir:

I decided to write a book which was as much for me as for anybody else, trying to make sense of it, trying to come to grips with it, trying to find out what happened and then understand it and explain it. And that was really hard. It was excruciating to try to write it. Sometimes I would write a couple of pages and I would literally have to go lie down because it was so difficult.

To stress how much her faith guides her public life, Clinton referred to a Galatians passage instructing Christians to not grow weary when doing good works. She then followed this with two different instances of exclaiming how strenuous it is to defend others, to consistently be the one to stop people from wronging each other. “It is hard. It’s exhausting to stand up and say ‘Don’t talk about people like that. Don’t treat people like that. Don’t insult and demean a whole group of people,’” Clinton stated.

As to the Trump Administration, Clinton questioned the Christian values behind the President’s controversial plan to break down DACA. “You have to ask yourself where does that cruelty, that meanspiritedness, come from? It is not from the church. It is not from Christianity. It is not from people of faith.”

Concluding, Gaines-Cirelli described Clinton as a woman “who has stood in the midst of so much with an extraordinary amount of strength and grace and [who] we know has been grounded in faith.”

With an ending statement and call to action, Clinton rallied the audience one last time. “We need more people to join us in speaking out, but we should do it with, you know, a song in our heart. We can’t be turned into the mirror image of the people who are peddling hate and bigotry and bias and prejudice and paranoia.”

A liberal legend, Clinton has fallen into a state of mind that seems to circulate around one thing: herself. Perhaps at one time her political agenda aimed to encapsulate her faith and to help those who needed it. Now, however, she is found advocating for only her own self-interest in a country that simply wants to move forward.

  1. Comment by Eternity Matters on September 25, 2017 at 5:25 pm

    Did she explain how her “Christian” values.supported her knowingly using the stolen debate questions?

    Did she explain how her “Christian” values.supported her support of abortion to the child’s 1st breath, like all good “Christian” Leftists do?

    Did she explain how her “Christian” values.supported her serial felonies in destroying evidence of her willful defiance of laws regarding her email server?

    Did she explain how her “Christian” values.supported her use of the Clinton Foundation to launder money from her influence peddling?

    And so much more . . .

    But thanks to her for reminding me that she lost. That always brightens my day.

  2. Comment by Thomas Brown on September 25, 2017 at 6:24 pm

    Well said.

  3. Comment by Richard Meier on October 3, 2017 at 4:45 am

    Here some further points
    Did she say why she is laughing about the death of Mahammad Gadhafi?
    Here the proof: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmIRYvJQeHM
    Not even Hitler was laughing about the death of his enemies!!
    Did she say why she supported with Obama the religious fanatics e.g. the so called Free Syrian Army in Syria killing thousands of Christians and bringing death and suffering to 11,5 Mio. Syrian people?
    Here the words of Jesus: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived. The way to heaven is a narrow way. Jesus says that that most of the people are going the way to hell. Only a few find the way to heaven. Are you under this few?
    In the USA we have a lot of people clainig Chistians. But they do not know his holiness without which no man shall see the Lord:.

  4. Comment by Rick Newbury on September 25, 2017 at 6:13 pm

    Are people truly promoting Christianity and democracy or partisan right wing politics? Where is your article about Trump’s collusion with the Russians or about his vulgar sexual predator bragging or his not so subtle support for racism? Shame on you!

  5. Comment by Michael Vannoy on October 3, 2017 at 10:36 am

    No Rick! Shame on you! There is absolutely no proof of any collusion between any member of the Trump campaign or Trump himself with the Russians. This was stated by several high ranking Democrats from the Obama administration. Now be honest as a male I have said some things like that about women and I am sure you have too. Its called Locker Room talk.

  6. Comment by Andrew Hughes on September 26, 2017 at 5:38 am

    I feel so sad that there are people willing to keep listening to her moaning and groaning.

  7. Comment by Brent White on September 26, 2017 at 12:08 pm

    Sorry, IRDB. This article is uncharitable and unfair. Its main purpose is to feed red meat to political conservatives who can’t stand Clinton to begin with. Why bother?

    Yes, Clinton is a liberal mainline United Methodist like many others, and, yes, there are a host of serious theological problems with her convictions. (I say this as a United Methodist pastor myself.) But good heavens! Don’t a large minority of ordained United Methodist clergy share every one of her misguided theological convictions—including the many pastors who influenced her throughout her life? I never blame Methodist laypeople for being confused or misguided as much as their pastors. To whom much is given, much will be expected.

    While she has a liberal mainline Methodist faith, we have no reason to suspect she isn’t sincere in it. She’s been outspoken about it for her entire political career. She’s not leveraging it to win any votes now, is she?

    As for the accusation that she’s all about herself, it sounds like the main purpose of this interview was to talk about how her faith helped her cope with a devastating loss. Does anyone doubt that the loss was devastating to her? Does anyone doubt that she didn’t pray and read devotionals and find solace in her faith? If so, on what evidence?

  8. Comment by George Brown on October 3, 2017 at 12:35 pm

    “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” I have read little to nothing to indicate that Hillary’s “faith” is in the person of Jesus Christ. Whatever else she has “faith” in doesn’t really matter…that is, if we’re talking about “Christian” faith.

  9. Comment by Garry Hogue on September 27, 2017 at 6:28 am

    She received help from “spiritual readings?” Are we talking Madame Apostassia of Endor? Hmmm. Interview at Foundry Church–why should we be surprised!

  10. Comment by Jim on September 27, 2017 at 12:47 pm

    All one has to do to get a sense of the Clintons’ so-called Christian Faith is to watch this 1 minute clip of Mother Teresa commenting on the evils of abortion at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast. Note who is NOT applauding this Giant of the Faith. Mrs. Clinton would have by now eliminated religious liberty in this country had she won the election. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-JSypualLY&t=51

  11. Comment by Jim on September 27, 2017 at 1:29 pm

    It’s worth knowing I think that the interviewer’s theological position is very liberal. From the Foundry Church archives:

    “Rev. Ginger is fully supportive of Foundry’s position on the need to change the Book of Discipline to allow same-sex marriages and to allow LGBTQ people to serve as ordained ministers. Under her leadership, same-sex marriages will continue at Foundry.”

    Faithfully,

    Dan Vock
    President, Foundry Management Board

  12. Comment by Reid E. Pagliaccio on September 28, 2017 at 12:26 am

    Do you think she really, no I mean really really, no I mean really really really means what she says?

  13. Comment by Thomas More on October 1, 2017 at 6:24 pm

    I hope liberals will leave the United Methodist Church to start their own Church. Conservatives seems to be winning over them.

  14. Comment by George Brown on October 3, 2017 at 1:02 pm

    The Chorister Prayer includes the line, “grant that what we sing with our lips we may believe in our hearts; and what we believe in our hearts we may show forth in our lives.” When we pray at the end of choir rehearsal I think to myself, “whatever we believe in our hearts WILL of a certainly show forth in our lives.” What we SAY we believe is over ruled by what we DO. It thus seems to me Hillary’s faith is in Power and Self (money = abstract power). As far as I know, such “faith” doesn’t co-habitate with genuine faith in Jesus Christ. There is little plausible evidence of a Christian Hillary in my view. But Jesus gave Himself for her same as for me. When she embraces that her values and behavior will surely change. My pray for her is superior to my criticism of her.

  15. Comment by Penny on October 3, 2017 at 6:05 pm

    I will simply quote Hillary from the above article: (Ahem … )
    “It is hard. It’s exhausting to stand up and say ‘Don’t talk about people like that. Don’t treat people like that. Don’t insult and demean a whole group of people,’” Clinton stated.
    And then:
    “We can’t be turned into the mirror image of the people who are peddling hate and bigotry and bias and prejudice and paranoia.”

  16. Comment by Martin Hunter on October 4, 2017 at 1:51 pm

    Weird. The bulk of the article revolves around Clinton talking about her Methodist faith helping her through this time of trouble, and about how faith pushes her to serve others – especially the oppressed. These are strong tenets of the Christian faith and United Methodism. But the author periodically inserts words like “supposedly,” and then the final paragraph is a hatchet job on Clinton unsupported by the bulk of the material in the article. If this is going to be your conclusion, you need to present more evidence. Otherwise, you’re just wrapping a generally favorable report in your own bias.

  17. Comment by H. handy on October 3, 2019 at 2:00 pm

    We all have the capability of a mystical experience. We struggle with the same issues Hillary struggles with. Liberal or conservative, we always have that basic resource of the mystical… That makes the universal compassion common to all religions.

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