God-o-Meter joked earlier about adding a special "11" rating for Mike Huckabee, but now it is seriously considering doing so. From an article in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine called "The Huckabee Factor":
Huckabee is, indeed, a discreet fellow, but he has no trouble making his feelings known. He mentioned how much he respected his fellow candidates John McCain and Rudolph W. Giuliani. The name of his principal rival in Iowa, Mitt Romney, went unmentioned. Romney, a Mormon, had promised that he would be addressing the subject of his religion a few days later. I asked Huckabee, who describes himself as the only Republican candidate with a degree in theology, if he considered Mormonism a cult or a religion. ‘‘I think it’s a religion,’’ he said. ‘‘I really don’t know much about it.’’I was about to jot down this piece of boilerplate when Huckabee surprised me with a question of his own: ‘‘Don’t Mormons,’’ he asked in an innocent voice, ‘‘believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?’’
After the Associated Press broke a story about the forthcoming Times Magazine story last night, the Huckabee campaign issued this response:
....the full context of the exchange makes it clear that Governor Huckabee was illustrating his unwillingness to answer questions about Mormonism and to avoid addressing theological questions during this campaign. “Governor Huckabee has said consistently that he believes this campaign should center on a discussion of the important issues confronting our nation,” said Senior Advisor, Dr. Charmaine Yoest, “and not focus on questions of religious belief. He wants to assure persons of all faith traditions of his firm commitment to religious tolerance and freedom of worship. Governor Huckabee believes that one of the great strengths of our nation lies in its diversity of thought, opinion and faith.”
But after studying the exchange in the Times Magazine (excerpted above in full) God-o-Meter has to agree with the crew over at Evangelicals for Mitt: the context doesn't change anything. Huckabee's remarks go beyond his earlier coyness in refusing to say whether or not Mormonism is a cult. That was one thing. His Christian Leader ad was another. But does anybody out there still believe that Huckabee is not playing the anti-Mormon card?
10
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
No Mormon religion is not a cult, just strict beliefs.
I grew up in a Mormon home and no, Jesus is not the father of the devil. Maybe if you are going to spew nasty comments on Mormons you should read up on them first and not some tabliod information either. I mean really read up on them. What they say, what they believe, how they live. I have never heard any Mormon say anything bad about other religions. We have a freedom of choice/religion and you may believe in one thing while we believe in another. We may not agree with what you believe in but we do not criticize you for your believes. I find other religions fascinating and different. I read up on other religions before I even debate with anyone about their religion. It sound to me that RELIGION is becoming the new POLITICS!
I believe that Mike Huckabee, like most other politicians, will play any card he can to get elected.
What a person does says so much more about his/her real moral values.
BETH--As a Mormon yourself, do you think Huckabee has been making subtle (or not-so-subtle) attacks on your faith or Romney's faith?
I grew up Southern Baptist. Went to seminary when the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary was under attack by Fundamentalists in the denomination for it's "liberal" views. I'm proud to have been there in the good 'ol days when freedom of thought was revered and dogmatism, especially of the Fundamentalist kind (believe my way or you aren't a Christian and damned for all eternity.)
While I was there for both my Masters and Doctorate, I could not believe the attacks on freedom of thought from the religious right.
To them I say, I can think for myself, read, and study for myself, quite well, thank you. I will consider your opion--and that's all it is--but if I disagree, don't you dare judge me to be damned for all eternity.
Who died and appointed you God? Who gave you the right to judge me? My faith? As a student I had once said, "Ain't none gonna judge me but the Big Man Himself." While my own thinking has a problem with God as purely male, I understand what he meant.
The hatred of the Religious Right is apparent to all but themselves. These are the Neo-Nazis of our time. Assured of their own righteousness, they have no qualms about forcing their views on others with the proviso added, believe as we do, or be damned.
To say that this reveals an immature, childish, psychologically pathologial, if not sociological attitude/belief system, must be the understatement of the twenty-first century.
There was a time, back when I was at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Ky., when the word evangelical stood for something beside bigotry and hate for those who thought differently. Sadly, with Southern's present administration, and the destruction of academic freedom that followed, that is no longer the case.
The SBC was once a great denomination, where freedom of thought was highly accepted and valued. Today, that is no longer the case. And that is sad.
Alan G. Trent, D. Min.
To answer your question, yes, I do believe he has been making attacks on beliefs. It's a deisgrace that it has come down to this. If Romney was any other faith, would any of us be talking about this right now? I don't think so. All over the world people think negatively and judge Mormons, but know nothing about the religion itself. They just heard bad stuff and they are going to stick to it. I am saddened by this!
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.