He’s also lying (or, more accurately, prevaricating) about his college record, something they praised him for not doing earlier. So now we clarify their position: God’s servant judiciously lies. He knows when to lie and when not too.

The more likely take on his earlier answer about the need for forgiveness is that he’s theologically illiterate (perhaps even inept).

When I recall my own upbringing, however, it dawns on me that many fundamentalists (who have usurped evangelicals) believed a man illiterate in theology was pure in heart and faith.

Denial threads its tributaries throughout the soul and its waters are potent and addictive.