Without reference to the wisdom of President Bush's latest choice for the Supreme Court, the New York Times points us to the watershed moment in her life:
By 1979, Harriet E. Miers, then in her mid-30's, had accomplished what some people take a lifetime to achieve. She was a partner at Locke Purnell Boren Laney & Neely, one of the most prestigious law firms in the South, with an office on the 35th floor of the Republic National Bank Tower in downtown Dallas.
But she still felt something was missing in her life, and it was after a series of long discussions - rambling conversations about family and religion and other matters that typically stretched from early evening into the night - with Nathan L. Hecht, a junior colleague at the law firm, that she made a decision that many of the people around her say changed her life.
"She decided that she wanted faith to be a bigger part of her life," Justice Hecht, who now serves on the Texas Supreme Court, said in an interview. "One evening she called me to her office and said she was ready to make a commitment" to accept Jesus Christ as her savior and be born again, he said. He walked down the hallway from his office to hers, and there amid the legal briefs and court papers, Ms. Miers and Justice Hecht "prayed and talked," he said.
She was baptized not long after that, at the Valley View Christian Church.
It was a pivotal personal transformation for the woman now named for a seat on the United States Supreme Court, not entirely unlike that experienced by President Bush and others in the Texas political and business establishment of that time.
Ms. Miers, born Roman Catholic, became an evangelical Christian and began identifying more with Republicans than with the Democrats who had long held sway over Texas politics. She joined the missions committee of her church, which is against legalized abortion, and friends and colleagues say she rarely looked back at her past as a Democrat.
It's an intriguing story. Although one must wonder why it had no impact on her decision to head the Texas Lottery Board.
4 comments:
Here's a quote from James Dobson: "I know the person who brought her to the Lord. I have talked at length to people that know her and have known her for a long time."
So if you remain Catholic, I guess you don't know the Lord.
Chuck, what does it mean to know the Lord? When the Bible says "know the Lord," how does it say to do it?
Mitch
Dear Mitch:
Well, I guess Catholics don't exactly "know the Lord" in that they have His phone number or know the address of his office in Washington DC. But I would assume that Catholics do "know the Lord" within the framework of Catholic tradition. And at least at the grassroots level, Catholics don't presume to question of understanding of God amongst non-Catholics.
I would certainly resent someone questioning my relationship with God. But as someone who was raised in the Catholic faith, I'm certainly aware of how many evangelicals consider Catholic tradition to faulty. Bob Jones even says that Catholic theology leads to "spiritual ruin" (i.e. HELL). I don't think about it that much. God understands my heart and mind better than any Southern Baptist ever will.
Chuck,
That's totally not what I asked but, um, okay.
- Mitch
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