My reply to "Concerned American"
"Concerned American" left the following comment on my entry on Romney's speech. I deleted it, since it's not only slanderous but non-responsive to the post. But on second thought, I think he needs to be answered.
Here's what he has to say:
And here's my reply:
"Concerned American," that's a lie. Mike Huckabee has never uttered any "anti-Mormon talking points" at all. Your real gripe is that he declines to answer questions about whether or not Mormons are Christians- which, according to the boundaries of Christian doctrine a majority of Christians have adhered to ever since the Council of Nicea in 325, they are not. The bottom line is that you want him to lie and to say something which would violate his own religious convictions instead of charitably refusing to answer the question at all.
Your slander of Gov. Huckabee is despicable, as is your resort to ad hominems to fortify your lie. If you have specific criticisms of Gov. Huckabee's positions on the issues you mention, by all means make them. But I have no intention of publishing any more unsupported venom from you.
As for whether or not he can be elected, I think you need to consult the polls- which of late have showed Huckabee to be the most electable of the Republican candidates.
ADDENDUM: Perhaps "Concerned American" is addressing an incident in which Gov. Huckabee, in declining to answer questions about Mormon theology and expressing a relative lack of information on the subject, asked "Don't they believe that Jesus and Satan are brothers?"
Which, of course, they do. "Spirit brothers," to be precise.
A spokesman for the Mormon Church responded
Actually, Paul wrote no such thing; popular culture to the contrary, Scripture uses the term "children of God" only of believers in Christ. Only they are His children. God certainly is the Creator of all- except Jesus, Who, being God, was not created but begotten from eternity. The two teachings have nothing whatsoever to do with one another, and in fact are mutually exclusive. And the concept of pre-existent "spirit children" begotten of God and awaiting enfleshment through human conception is itself a unique Mormon teaching that bears no resemblance to anything believed by Christians generally.
For a summary of some of the ways in which Mormon doctrine conflicts with basic, generally agreed Christian doctrine (including the "spirit brother" bit), see this from Gene Veith.
Christians teach that Jesus was not created by God, but eternally begotten of the Father, and is Himself God- the Second Person of the Holy Trinity- whereas Lucifer was a fallen angel. Mormons deny the Trinity, and regard Jesus and Lucifer as "spirit brothers."
There's quite a difference. And the question of the relationship between Mormon teaching and historically Christian teaching is not a debate either the Romney campaign or the LDS should want to get involved in.
Trying to use the Romney campaign as an opportunity for apologetics is not going to work well either for Romney or for Mormonism. And neither is smearing Gov. Huckabee by complaining tht he's picking on Mormons.
Better to talk about the issues.
Here's what he has to say:
Self-proclaimed "Christian leader" Mike Huckabee can't defend his record on spending, taxes, crime, immigration, aids, ethics, Cuba, etc., so he resorts once again to spouting standard anti-Mormon talking points in order to distract his evangelical base from the issues. He has obviously succeeded to some extent as demonstrated by the absurd posts on this site and others.
Huckabee is a buffoon who has no chance of being elected. He should apologize and slink back to his snake hole in Arkansas with his own spiritual "brother" Slick Willie Clinton.
And here's my reply:
"Concerned American," that's a lie. Mike Huckabee has never uttered any "anti-Mormon talking points" at all. Your real gripe is that he declines to answer questions about whether or not Mormons are Christians- which, according to the boundaries of Christian doctrine a majority of Christians have adhered to ever since the Council of Nicea in 325, they are not. The bottom line is that you want him to lie and to say something which would violate his own religious convictions instead of charitably refusing to answer the question at all.
Your slander of Gov. Huckabee is despicable, as is your resort to ad hominems to fortify your lie. If you have specific criticisms of Gov. Huckabee's positions on the issues you mention, by all means make them. But I have no intention of publishing any more unsupported venom from you.
As for whether or not he can be elected, I think you need to consult the polls- which of late have showed Huckabee to be the most electable of the Republican candidates.
ADDENDUM: Perhaps "Concerned American" is addressing an incident in which Gov. Huckabee, in declining to answer questions about Mormon theology and expressing a relative lack of information on the subject, asked "Don't they believe that Jesus and Satan are brothers?"
Which, of course, they do. "Spirit brothers," to be precise.
A spokesman for the Mormon Church responded
We believe, as other Christians believe and as Paul wrote, that God is the father of all. 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. Satan is the exact opposite of who Christ is and what he stands for.
Actually, Paul wrote no such thing; popular culture to the contrary, Scripture uses the term "children of God" only of believers in Christ. Only they are His children. God certainly is the Creator of all- except Jesus, Who, being God, was not created but begotten from eternity. The two teachings have nothing whatsoever to do with one another, and in fact are mutually exclusive. And the concept of pre-existent "spirit children" begotten of God and awaiting enfleshment through human conception is itself a unique Mormon teaching that bears no resemblance to anything believed by Christians generally.
For a summary of some of the ways in which Mormon doctrine conflicts with basic, generally agreed Christian doctrine (including the "spirit brother" bit), see this from Gene Veith.
Christians teach that Jesus was not created by God, but eternally begotten of the Father, and is Himself God- the Second Person of the Holy Trinity- whereas Lucifer was a fallen angel. Mormons deny the Trinity, and regard Jesus and Lucifer as "spirit brothers."
There's quite a difference. And the question of the relationship between Mormon teaching and historically Christian teaching is not a debate either the Romney campaign or the LDS should want to get involved in.
Trying to use the Romney campaign as an opportunity for apologetics is not going to work well either for Romney or for Mormonism. And neither is smearing Gov. Huckabee by complaining tht he's picking on Mormons.
Better to talk about the issues.
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