WASHINGTON – Three years ago, when things were going well for Rep. Gary Condit, his preacher father said that “God has had his hand on Gary.” Now that his son has fallen from grace, Rev. Adrian B. Condit blames “Satan.”
Whoever is at work in Condit’s life, the comments have stirred interest in his religious beliefs, as he and his family deal with his scandal.
Though his religious roots run deep, the married California Democrat remains defiant amid growing criticism over his sexual affair with missing Washington intern Chandra Levy.
Condit has shown little remorse for his behavior, which includes holding back information from police as they began their search for Levy months ago. And he has not apologized for his actions even to his constituents – chief among them Levy’s heartbroken parents.
In fact, he has yet to even fully own up to his sins, lashing out instead at the hounding media and others.
Condit’s state of denial is at odds with his family’s faith, which preaches “repentance or sincere sorrow for sin, and hearty renunciation of it” as the No. 1 condition for salvation, according to the Free Will Baptist articles of faith.
Condit was raised in the Free Will Baptist Church, tagging along with his father to tent revivals in northeast Oklahoma. He even sang hymns before his father preached, and his voice could often be heard on local radio.
His father was pastor of Airport Free Will Baptist Church in Tulsa, Okla., at the time. Then in 1967, he moved his family to Ceres, Calif., where he became pastor of Village Chapel Free Will Baptist Church. Semi-retired, Rev. Condit no longer tends to the flock there, but still conducts chaplain services at the Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, Calif.
The rise of the Free Will Baptists in America – who number some 243,000 in 40 states – can be traced to the influence of Arminian-minded Baptists who migrated to the colonies from England.
Arminius was a 16th-century Dutch theologian who became known for his break with Calvinism. Arminius said that salvation was available for all men who believe and continue to live the Christian life in obedience and faith. He believed Christ died for all men and not just the elect, that the Holy Spirit must help men do good things, and that mankind can resist God’s grace and, in resistance, even fall from grace.
That doctrine of free grace, free salvation and free will is summed up in No. 10 of the church’s articles of faith: “Freedom of will: The human will is free and self-controlled, having power to yield to the influence of truth and the Spirit, or to resist them and perish.”
Free Will Baptists believe in baptism by full immersion in water, and are among the few Baptist sects that practice open Communion.
They also practice temperance and feet-washing.
Article No. 13: “Feet-washing, an ordinance teaching humility, is of universal obligation, and is to be ministered to all true believers.”
But most relevant to Condit’s situation is their belief that God calls everyone to repentance and that whoever repents, may be saved.
Also, the church’s covenant states: “We promise to avoid all appearance of evil, to abstain from all sinful amusements.”
Rev. Condit said his son “loves God.” But he has yet to repent, at least publicly, going only so far as to say he’s “not perfect” and has “made some mistakes.”
The 53-year-old Condit argues that the media is “not the church,” therefore he does not have to confess his sins before them or ask for forgiveness.
However, he failed to address his affair with Levy in his personal letter to constituents, either.
“I am a moral man,” he told ABC’s Connie Chung.
Read WorldNetDaily’s exclusive chronology of the Condit-Levy saga.
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