Sanford’s “spiritual adviser” gives interview

By
Carissa Smith
 – June 30, 2009

Warren “Cubby” Culbertson, marriage course leader and “spiritual adviser” to Gov. Mark Sanford, apparently consented to an interview about the Sanfords. He doesn’t seem to give away any details revealed to him in confidence (not that haven’t already been revealed to the nation, anyway), but it still seems an ethically iffy choice for a pastoral figure. What do you think the boundaries should be? Should pastors and religious advisers to politicians and celebrities ever speak out in this kind of situation?


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About the Author

Carissa Turner Smith is a compulsive reader, writer, and Irish dancer. She earned her Ph.D. in English at Penn State and currently teaches literature and composition courses there. At age three, she announced that all she wanted to do was “sit at a desk and read and write,” and she has been trying to make good on that promise ever since. Fortunately, she is occasionally distracted from this mission by her husband Stephen and their cheese-obsessed cat. A loyal native of Arkansas, she has always loved the fact that Jesus dwelt in an underappreciated corner of Galilee (see John 1:46).