Huckabee Questions Mormon Beliefs on Jesus and Devil

AP: GOP Hopeful Mike Huckabee Asks if Mormons Believe Jesus, Devil Are Brothers

While treading lightly on the subject of Mitt Romney’s Mormonism so far, it seems Mike Huckabee recently dropped a bombshell question in a New York Times article to be published Sunday.

However, I believe the question to be an almost rhetorical one. Mormonism really is a different apple than true Christianity…and even more accurately, different than having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

This from the AP story:

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, asks in an upcoming article, “Don’t Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?”

The article, to be published in Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, says Huckabee asked the question after saying he believes Mormonism is a religion but doesn’t know much about it. His rival Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, is a member of the Mormon church, which is known officially as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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.

A spokeswoman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said Huckabee’s question is usually raised by those who wish to smear the Mormon faith rather than clarify doctrine.

READ FULL STORY/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Although the AP writer quotes from the “authorative” Encyclopedia of Mormonism, the writer could have gone a step further and researched material that shows that Huckabee is really not that dumb on the subject…or far off.

The following is from “All About Cults” and on its page, “What Do Mormons Believe – Doctrinal Differences.” The publishers of this site are the same people that publish AllAboutGOD.com, a site I highly recommend.

What Do Mormons Believe: The Nature of Jesus Christ

The Mormon church views Jesus and Satan as spirit brothers and sons of God. God put forth His plan of salvation for the world, and Satan proposed his own plan. Jesus accepted the Father’s plan and offered to implement it as the Savior. The Father chose Jesus, and the spirit of Jesus was given a body through the virgin Mary. He was crucified on a Roman cross, and rose from the dead three days later to establish His deity. The character and life of Jesus is attainable by anyone who performs at such a righteous level. The Christian church teaches that Jesus Christ has existed eternally as the Son of God, the second “person” of the Trinity. Jesus took on human flesh about 2000 years ago and was born into the world through the virgin Mary. He was crucified on a Roman cross for our sins, and rose from the dead three days later to establish His deity.

To read more from the “What Do Mormons Believe?” page, click here. You’ll find answers to questions like “What do Mormons believe about how we achieve salvation?”

UPDATE: FoxNews, Wednesday, Dec. 12

Romney Says Attacking Religion ‘Goes Too Far’ After Huckabee Questions Mormonism

BOSTON — Republican presidential hopeful Gov. Mitt Romney answered rival Mike Huckabee’s upcoming published comments about Mormonism, declaring Wednesday 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?”

Romney, vying to become the first Mormon elected president, declined to answer that question during an interview Wednesday, saying church leaders in Salt Lake City had already addressed the topic.

“But I think attacking someone’s religion is really going too far. It’s just not the American way, and I think people will reject that,” Romney told NBC’s “Today” show.

Hmmm, must be a complicated answer if he can not repeat what the “church leaders in Salt Lake City had already addressed.”

Team Huckabee’s response:

Huckabee’s campaign released a statement claiming his remarks were taken out of context:

“In fact, 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,” the statement said.

Who said religion and politics don’t mix!

- Alexander

 

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