Posted on 12/12/2007 8:41:31 AM PST by xzins
Republican Mitt Romney retorted to questions about his faith by surging rival Mike Huckabee on Wednesday, declaring that "attacking someone's religion is really going too far."
In an article to be published Sunday in The New York Times, Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks, "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"
(Excerpt) Read more at lasvegassun.com ...
Asked if he believed Huckabee was speaking in a coded language to evangelicals, Romney praised his rival as a "good man trying to do the best he can," but he added, "I don't believe that the people of this country are going to choose a person based on their faith and what church they go to."
>>And Huckabee believes that murderers should go free to kill again. Wouldn’t waste a vote on either RINO.<<
Part of me thinks we should be happy to see them fighting but it would be so much better if the focus was on the issues and particularly on issues important to conservatives.
Huckabee should know better than to comment on the religion of another candidate. He’s running for president, not bishop. I’ll be glad when these “my God is better than yuor God” candidates fade away and we get some discussion on the real issues.
I'm a born again Christian. I haven't decided one way or the other. I think Romney has several good qualities and like him as I do all the other nominees other than McCain. Paul and Trancredo. However, I want to see how Romney is going to handle these questions on Mormonism. If he can't deal with it now, how will he deal with it when the media starts sniping?
Did Huckabee lie?
Huckabee did not bring religion up. Romney did.
And, I’m sure you’ve heard the venom directed at Huckabee for being a “baptist.”
Shame on both of them.
This is a pretty weak response. Faith may not be an issue among the Rats, but it sure is among Christian conservatives. If Romney can't stand up for his faith then what will he stand up for if President?
Not ignorance — the natural question for anyone from a historic Christian denomination to ask and to want clarified.
Do you really believe that was Huckabee's motivation (hand on the Bible now)?
Mitt never said he supported “homosexual scoutmasters”. If you can find a quote from Mitt which says otherwise, post it.
It is not going too far. People can question anything they want, and you can choose to answer or not in any method you want.
Religious beliefs are not immune from scrutiny. Whether it is wise to bring it up is a completely different question.
Is Huckabee wrong? Why avoid the question? If it can't be answered now when will he be able to stand up for his faith?
Yes. Having been raised a baptist, I think that’s exactly what was on Huckabee’s mind.
A natural question to cross the divide. Even Romney took it that way and said he trusts Huckabee’s motives.
The only thing that remains is to answer the question.
The answer is simple: Historic Christianity is Trinitarian, Jesus is co-eternal with the Father & the Holy Spirit, and mormonism is not trinitarian, and the Jesus is the offspring of God as are ALL other heavenly spirits, to include Satan.
The authoritative Encyclopedia of Mormonism, published in 1992, does not refer to Jesus and Satan as brothers. It speaks of Jesus as the son of God and of Satan as a fallen angel, which is a Biblical account....
"That means that all beings were created by God and are his spirit children. Christ, on the other hand, was the only begotten in the flesh and we worship him as the son of God and the savior of mankind," she said.
While I do not agree with the Mormon view of how Jesus became the "Son of God" (prefering the mystery of simply believing), Lucifer was created by God. I also don't use the term "spirit children", but in some sense I am Jesus' brother.
But I don't find it particularly "presidential" for a candidate to be asking questions about religious doctrine, especially in a blatant attempt to disparage another candidate based on that religious belief.
When Huckabee is castigated for some part of Christian faith, he can remember that he has no standing to complain because he started it.
Well, Fred Thompson and his supporters are certainly hoping that the President isn’t chosen based “on their faith and what church they go to”.
When Mormons start blowing up innocent people and crashing planes into buildings, I’ll answer your question.
But, ah...that’s verboten. Not to be asked or talked about. It’s off the table. Asking a Mormon President about Mormonism is bigotry. And besides, he more or less said ask the higher ups in Salt Lake. Not that they are involved in anyway. No Sir. Not a bit. Why, he’s his own man, he just can’t answer.
I find it peculiar that evangelicals are anti-Mormon bigots, and their followers are in erroneous beliefs about Mormonism, due to as often stated by Mitt supporters, the money grubbing pastors and priests. And yet any bumpkin questions are answered not with patient answerers by howling screams of bigotry, or hate, or hateful bigotry.
At best people will throw up their hands with Mitt and Mormonism. They’ll capartmetalize a unknown zone, and Mitt will be gut checked as odd. Coming from Massachusetts, a fairly secret and discrete career as a private money guy, even his wealth will be suspicious to the vast majority whom the NYSE seems impenetrable. How much do you read here about ‘Banks this, and Banks that’ here on FR? As if it is the 1860’s? Hedge funds, private capital amongst the great mass of unwashed voters?
And yet Mitt and his supporters are snippy, sensitive, card dropping.
It is all very, odd.
The issue isn't Romney's faith. The issue is what Huckabee said and why he said it. If Huckabee has a degree in theology he should have known what the Mormon position on that particular issue is... especially after all these months. He said it for one reason, to spread disinformation and divisiveness. By the way, don't Baptists believe in drowning black children? How idiotic a question is that? Hey when are Baptists going to stand up for their faith? Make sense? Not to me either.
Huckabee does not have a degree in theology.
He has a master of divinity from Southwest Baptist Seminary. As a holder of an MDiv, I can tell you that it’s a training program to be a pastor. In his case, in the baptist denomination. (In my case, the Methodist denomination.)
In my MDiv we never once discussed Mormonism. Ever.
That's nice.
I wouldn't choose based on someone's faith either. I would find it hard to support someone who claims to be of a particular faith, but can't defend it or worse doesn't know what that faith believes in.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.