I was ready to ignore the John Edwards scandal as the delusion of yet another politician who thought he could grasp for the public’s attention while trying to live a different life outside of our view. But then Slate’s Christopher Beam dug up the transcript of an interview with Edwards at a CNN forum on faith last summer:
O’BRIEN: What is the biggest sin you’ve ever committed? Are you willing—are you willing to say? You can take a pass, sir, as you know.
EDWARDS: Just between you and me?
(LAUGHTER)
O’BRIEN: Just between you and me and the 1,300 people in the crowd.
EDWARDS: I’d have a very hard time telling you one thing, one specific sin.
(APPLAUSE)
If I’ve had a day—I turn 54 years old this Sunday—and if I’ve had a day in my 54 years where I haven’t sinned multiple times, I would be amazed. I believe I have. I sin every single day. We are all sinners. We all fall short, which is why we have to ask for forgiveness from the Lord. I can’t—to try to identify one particular sin that was worse or more extreme than the others, the list is too long.
It’s obvious why Edwards didn’t specifically confess the blatant sin of adultery at that time: it would have immediately torpedoed his campaign for the presidency. He didn’t confess it until the rumor was out in the open and it was clear that nobody was going to buy his denial.
Contrast that to the story of a man in New Mexico who heard the gospel while in prison and as a result decided to write a letter of confession, admitting responsibility for an unsolved murder he had committed years before. He has now been charged with first-degree murder:
A prisoner’s letter to a church resulted in murder charges filed against him.
Jeremiah Ordonez, 29, who is serving time in the Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque for another murder, was charged with the November 2005 murder of 25-year-old Daniel Perez, Dona Ana County Sheriff’s officials announced Thursday.
Authorities said Perez was killed shortly after Thanksgiving three years ago at a trailer in the 5800 block of Sorrel.
According to the Perez’s girlfriend, he got out of bed and grabbed a shotgun when he heard a noise at the door. She heard a gun shot and later found him shot in the upper left chest. Officials said Perez died moments later.
On Thursday, a secretary from First Family Church in Albuquerque received the confession letter from Ordonez. In the letter, Ordonez said that he wanted to speak with authorities.
A portion of it read, “Daniel Perez was assassinated by Jeremiah Ordonez. I walked into his house and shot him once in the chest with a shotgun. I know where the shotgun is and who gave the order.”
The letter ended with the phrase “Thou shall not kill.”
Jeremiah Ordonez was willing to repent and endure the consequences for his sin. John Edwards was not.
Which one do you most resemble?