DENVER -- Interior Secretary James Watt's minister says the controversial Reagan Cabinet appointee 'feels the strength of the Holy Spirit' and has had his deep religious beliefs misinterpreted by his critics.
The Rev. Howard Cummings, in an interview Sunday in the Denver Post, said Watt's fellow congregants at the Aurora First Assembly of God Church often pray he will 'be strong and that he won't be unfairly criticized.'
But Cummings said unfair criticism has been leveled by environmentalists.
Meantime, one of Watt's subordinates, Bureau of Land Management Director Robert Burford, has blamed another group for the interior secretary's image problems.
He recently told 35 rural newspaper editors at the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union the interior secretary's 'press image doesn't show the true Jim Watt.'
'He's sometimes very abrupt in his answers, but he's a very intelligent man,' Burford said. 'His devotion to his religion has been attacked by various segments of the press, and that shouldn't happen. No one should be ridiculed for their religious devotion.'
Watt's most quoted statement about religion ('I don't know how many future generations we can count on before the Lord returns') drew heavy criticism from groups that already were attacking him for supporting development, rather han preservation, of the nation's natural resources.
The statement was interpreted in some circles as a belief by Watt that the end of the world is imminent, and therefore the condition of the environment is not important.
Cummings said the Assemblies of God denomination does not take a hard and fast view of ecology, but most members 'feel keenly about stewardship, about protecting and preserving the land and its beauty. I don't think Jim Watt's view would differ from that.
'He's not a fatalist,' Cummings continued. 'He's concerned about what he leaves his children.
'I think we ought to be thankful we have a guy there (in Washington) who believes and prays and is a committed Christian,' Cummings said.
Watt was converted in 1964 and attended church regularly with his family in Denver, said Cummings.
Watt has 'testified' to speaking in tongues, also called glossolalia. The practice can be in the form of spiritual praying. It is also considered by some to be the voice of God through a human intermediary.
