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Studying The Spiritual Aspect of
THE DE-EVOLUTION OF
INTEGRITY
AMONG AMERICA'S LEADERS
Saint James College Seminary
Center for Ethical Studies in Government and Society
TWITS IN OUR GOVERNMENT:
Now that Anthony Weiner has resigned
we “spiritual types” need to do some
serious thinking and discussing.
Whether you are a member of the
ordained clergy, a trained chaplain, a
seminarian, or other spiritual/religious
professional…it is important that we
pause and consider the state of ethics
and integrity in American life today.

Congressman Weiner says that he did
not break any laws, but he
nonetheless admitted that he is guilty
of horrible judgment.   (To which we
can add a very short list of Governor
Eliott Spitzer, Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger, etc.  The long list is
much, much more lengthy!)

As we all now know, Anthony Weiner
admitted lying to reporters, to the
television audience, and to his
constituents.

In making the very public apology on
television, Weiner nonetheless told the
truth only when there was an
irrefutable body of steadily-growing
evidence that he had indeed been
tweeting sexually-explicit materials.  

There are two general types of
apology:

Type 1)        There’s the kind of
apology that comes from a personal
epiphany, a realization that your
behavior has injured others.  
Here, you have reached a deeply
individualized decision to admit
your wrongdoing.

Type 2)        There is an also an
apology that springs from the fear
of reprisal when an ever-growing
body of evidence of your wrong-
doing builds up.  They suddenly
"find it in their hearts" to
apologise in the face of mounting
evidence...evidence that will
inevitably be made public.

To his credit, Weiner apologized for
sending explicit (but certainly not
pornographic) photos of himself to
young women “friends” on Twitter.  
But, his apology was Type 2, above.  
He apologized only after the evidence
that he had lied about his online
relationship was getting to be so
extensive that he was literally boxed in.
He either had to apologize or go down
in an inglorious flame-out.

Now, it’s our turn…

As you will be reminded here at the
Center of Ethical Studies at Saint
James College Seminary, we have
seen a steady increase in dishonesty
on the parts of our government
leaders, corporate managers, and
even religious denomination
administrators and clergy.

We have become desensitized to the
errant (unethical, immoral, illegal)
behavior of many of our national
leaders.   Increasingly, we shrug our
shoulders and murmur, “what are ya
gonna do?  They’re all corrupt.  If they
aren’t crooks when they get into office,
they become crooks before too long
after arriving. It’s just the way things
are.”

We’re not getting our money’s worth
out of people in high places if they lie
to us, the American people.

University and College Seminary
professors, ethicists, theologians, and
others concerned about the direction
we are heading must begin examining
this phenomenon. We really need to
begin seriously thinking about the
impact that this epidemic of wrong-
doing by our leaders is having on our
children.  

What kind of “advance training” are
the members of the younger
generation receiving about what it
means to be a politician…or a
corporate executive?  Or, for that
matter, a teacher, a police officer, or a
priest, minister, rabbi, or imam?

We do need to think about this…and   
it’s ‘way past time that we enter
into a serious dialogue about the
future our unethical leaders are
creating for us, for our children,
and for our nation.

Who better than the “spiritual types”
that we mentioned at the top of this
page?  And, what better place to
conduct this assessment than in a
college seminary?!!!
i

HUMAN AFFAIRS PROGRAM
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Weiner resigns in the face of
Congress' blaming his
"distraction" for their own
inaction in repairing economy

And, oh, so
many, many
more!  And,
these are just
selections from
the list of
cheaters and
ethics violators
who are
currently in the
news!


Students in Saint James
College Seminary’s
CENTER FOR ETHICAL
STUDIES:  Certificates
and degrees may be
earned in this ground-
breaking program.  And,
you may be able to
positively influence our
very futures!











Before we unilaterally
condemn these men, we
seminary people must ask:

We need to ponder how this
reconciles with Jesus
saying,

"Whichever one of you is
without sin, cast the first
stone"
Adulterous woman appealing to Jesus is from Elizabeth Fletcher's
womeninthebible.net.  Copyright uncertain. Thank you!
_______________________
Mark Sanford

Is an apology          
Confession does not repair
all wrongdoing.  When you
confess, you may feel better
because your believe that
this has reinstated you into
good standing with God.

But, confession does NOT
heal all the pain that you
have caused by your
misdeeds.  The people and
institutions that you have hurt
by your actions remain
injured.  Many will carry the
sense of sadness and loss
caused by your betrayal,
perhaps for life.  

A guest clergy person wrote
in one of our lessons:  "You
may well be forgiven by God
if your admission of guilt is
sincere...but you can never
escape the consequences of
what you have done."

Our Ethics students explore
this reality.
____________________
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