In a new Christian-nationalist video voter guide from the hate group, Focus on the Family, an FOTF official falsely claims that Mitt Romney said Mormons are not Christians — but then amazingly proceeds to give a tacit endorsement for president to the infidel Romney over Mike Huckabee, an evangelical politician, or the Democratic candidates, all of whom are Christians in good standing.
It is fundamental to Christian extremist ideology that non-believers, including Jews, Muslims and, apparently, Mormons, are without redemption and will spend eternity in hell.
It is illegal for nonprofit organizations like FOTF to endorse candidates.
In the video, Tom Minnery, an FOTF “policy analyst” says:
Mitt Romney has acknowledged that Mormonism is not a Christian faith. I appreciate his acknowledging that, but on these social issues, we are so similar and that is true.
In fact, in Romney’s “faith speech” late last year, he said:
There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind. My church’s beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each religion has its own unique doctrines and history. These are not bases for criticism but rather a test of our tolerance. Religious tolerance would be a shallow principle indeed if it were reserved only for faiths with which we agree.
It is passing strange that a Christianist organization like FOTF would tacitly endorse a non-believer since it is fundamental to extremist ideology that non-believers, including Jews, Muslims and, apparently, Mormons, are without redemption and will spend eternity in hell. The fact that FOTF will support an infidel like Romney over the Democratic nominee, even though both leading candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, are Protestant Christians, is evidence of the shallowness of the religious conviction of groups like FOTF, whose real mission is to support rightwing political causes.
When the FOTF put up its video guide on Huckabee, officials belittled the former Baptist preacher’s stands on security and fiscal matters as not meeting rightwing ideological standards:
The video on Mike Huckabee, who is the overwhelming favorite among the nation’s evangelical voters, is surprisingly harsh. After praising Huckabee’s social views, both [FOTF leader Tony] Perkins and [Minnery] hammer the former Arkansas governor for his foreign policy views. Minnery suggests that Huckabee does not understand the cause for which American troops are dying in Iraq. Then Perkins suggests that Huckabee lacks the fiscal and national security credentials needed for a conservative presidential candidate. “The conservatives have been successful in electing candidates, and presidents in particular, when they have had a candidate that can address not only the social issues, [but] the fiscal issues and the defense issues,” says Perkins. “[Huckabee] has got to reach out to the fiscal conservatives and the security conservatives.”
After a Huckabee campaign official suggested that, by comparison, the FOTF Romney video sounded very much like an endorsement, FOTF revised the Huckabee video to be more positive.
The new version of the video, which you will see if you click the above link, contains a significantly longer segment praising Huckabee’s social issue stands than was originally posted. The criticism of Huckabee appears unchanged. When I asked Staver what he thought of the new version of the video, he said, “After their attention was called to this, apparently Focus on the Family Action backtracked and edited the portion on Huckabee to make it appear more objective.”
In fiscal year 2006, FOTF revenues exceeded $142 million.
is it hard being so filled with blind hatred that you think anyone who thinks differently than you is a hate group? You do recognize that you are a hate monger don’t you? You are truly a fascinating person to read from. Not too bright, but fascinating none the less. By the way, you say that the dems candidates are all ‘Christians on good standing,’
have you ever been to Obama’s Church’s website? There is a true hate group for you. His pastor, reverend, or whatever you might care to call him, is a racist. Oh, wait no, I forgot, black people can’t be racist, sorry about that slip up, won’t let it hapopen again. cheers
I don’t often respond to articles, but felt that I should here. First, the Christian faith has been battered and misused by both sides of the issue to the point that most people don’t recognize true Christianity when they see it. We don’t hate people, just the sin. Jesus said, “Love the Lord God with all of your heart, mind and soul” and “love your neighbor as you love yourself”. If we are to do His will then we are to be a loving, forgiving and accepting (of others) group. So, because you are my “neighbor” I choose to love you, even though you are hostile toward my beliefs by your comments.
Second, if you preceive that we are a group that supports an extremist ideology it is because Jesus also said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me”. If Jesus is the son of God, and I know Him to be so, then as a Christian I must believe this statement is fact. That does not imply that all of those outside of the Christian faith are destined to an eternal separation from God because God freely offers eternal life for those who choose to accept it.
Lastly, I don’t understand why organizations who call themselves Christian will align themselves with persons or organizations that are not expressively faithful to what we believe and therefore open themselves up to this kind of critism from those who apparently see those types of actions as hypocritical.
I don’t always understand the actions of other individuals and groups who profess to be Christian, I can only be true to what I am called to do as stated above. If all of us who wear the label of “Christian” would act in accordance to that and less like “what’s in it for us” then we would find ourselves in a less hostile environment and maybe others would hear and understand the message that we are called to proclaim. God bless each of you who reads these comments.
Mormons are “infidels”? Are you, like, some sort of Iraqi “Christian”? As I read this article, it’s difficult not to imagine you sitting there with an AK-47 and a turbine while typing at your computer.
As I believe a previous commenter made clear, you claim to be Christian, but you obviously do not have Christian values in your heart. Your views are tainted by blind prejudice.
Garry,
Saying to gay people, “It’s not you I hate, it’s your sin,” said another way is, “Don’t take this personally, but I hate who you are.” This excuse may help rightwing Christians justify their antipathy for gay people, but, trust me, it does nothing to ameliorate the hate that radiates from their speech and actions.
Here’s why I believe rightwing Christianity’s obsession with homosexuality is about bigotry, not unrighteousness:
As far as sexual sins go, there is nothing more sinful in the Bible than adultery because it is the only sexual sin in the Ten Commandments. In fact, compared with adultery, gay sex is barely rates a mention in the Bible. In the Old Testament, it’s one among dozens of abominations that also include eating ham, shrimp, clams, oysters, leftovers, snakes, bugs and sacrificed animals, women wearing pantsuits and improperly covering your poop in the desert, to name a few. But all these things were negated in the New Covenant, along with barbaric practices like live animal sacrifice.
Jesus never mentioned anything about it. Paul warned against men having sex with their slaves, which has been conveniently mistranslated to downplay the reference to slavery and refer generally to homosexuality.
The prohibition of adultery is one of the Ten Commandments, and so, unlike the gay sex abomination, was not rescinded in the New Covenant. It appears that God views the sin of adultery as equivalent to murder, stealing, lying and working on Sunday — and that he views homosexual sex to be as inconsequentially sinful as eating shrimp or ham.
But Focus on the Family spends not a dime of its $100 million annual revenues to promote laws forbidding adulterers from remarrying or that allow employers to fire adulterers at will or landlords to evict adulterers because of they are sinners. FOTF and the other groups do not advocate preventing adoption by adulterers or tearing families apart to remove children from adulterous parents.
The irony here is that rightwing Christianity has a big problem internally with adultery. Over half of evangelicals’ marriages end in divorce — more than among normal couples. What causes this? Not gay marriage, surprisingly. It’s adultery, more often than not.
If FOTF and similar groups were truly concerned about moral decadence that destroys marriages and families — a real threat that is pervasive inside their own church families — you would think their main target would be adultery. In fact, the opposite is true. adulterers are embraced by rightwing Christians. TV preacher Pat Robertson endorsed Rudolph Giuliani, a serial adulterer. Mike Huckabee’s campaign advisers include two notorious adulterers: Dick Morris, a professional Clinton hater who works on Fox News, and Rev. Tim Hutchinson, the former U.S. senator from Arkansas.
The fact is, these are political organizations with a hate agenda that use religion as a cover. They are barely discernible from the white Citizens Councils of the Jim Crow era. The Klan in minivans.
But, of course, it’s not them I hate, it’s their sins.