Newt Gingrich tells The Brody File he 'felt compelled to seek God’s forgiveness'

03-08-2011
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Newt Gingrich, who is expected to run for President tells The Brody File that he “felt compelled to seek God’s forgiveness” over his past marital infidelity. And now that he’s at the grandfather stage he is “truly enjoying the depths of my life in ways that I never dreamed it was possible.”

The Brody File sat down with Gingrich Monday afternoon at The Machine Shed Restaurant in the suburbs of Des Moines before the big Iowa Faith and Freedom event.

We’re posting three clips from the interview below with transcriptions.

There will be those Evangelicals who can’t get past Gingrich’s transgressions from earlier in his life. But let’s remember. Evangelicals know all about grace and redemption, too. and if Gingrich can connect on issues important to Evangelicals (especially in Iowa and South Carolina), then look out. He has a path to the nomination. Don’t write him off. He can compete strongly for the Evangelical vote.

Gingrich on God's forgiveness:

Newt Gingrich: There’s no question at times of my life, partially driven by how passionately I felt about this country, that I worked far too hard and things happened in my life that were not appropriate. And what I can tell you is that when I did things that were wrong, I wasn’t trapped in situation ethics, I was doing things that were wrong, and yet, I was doing them. I found that I felt compelled to seek God’s forgiveness. Not God’s understanding, but God’s forgiveness. I do believe in a forgiving God. And I think most people, deep down in their hearts hope there’s a forgiving God.

Somebody once said that when we’re young, we seek justice, but as we get older, we seek mercy. There’s something to that, I think. I feel that I’m now 67 I’m a grandfather. I have two wonderful grandchildren. I have two wonderful daughters and two great sons-in-law. Callista and I have a great marriage. I think that I’ve learned an immense amount.

And I do feel, in that sense, that God has given me, has blessed me with an opportunity as a person. Forget about all this political stuff. As a person, I’ve had the opportunity to have a wonderful life, to find myself now, truly enjoying the depths of my life in ways that I never dreamed it was possible to have a life that was that nice.

Gingrich on the makings of a great President:

Gingrich: In the end, the presidency is different than any other job. You’re looking for somebody who is going to lead the nation. You’re looking for somebody who should be, ideally, the unifier of the nation. And, you’re looking to somebody to whom you’re going to loan enormous power for four years.

You want to be able to look into them and understand, do they share my values? Do they know what I’m frightened of? Do they have answers that are real? Are they stable; are they capable of doing something? It’s one thing to be an advisor. It’s another thing to be a doer. And then it becomes a summary judgment, a lot of it’s just gut instinct. You watch all of these folks for a while, and because it’s the presidency, they’re in your living room or your kitchen, or wherever you happen to watch TV. And, you get to know them over time.

Gingrich on our Judeo-Christian society:

Gingrich: In a sense, our Judeo-Christian civilization is under attack from two fronts. On one front, you have a secular, atheist, elitism. And on the other front, you have radical Islamists. And both groups would like to eliminate our civilization if they could. For different reasons, but with equal passion.

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