The worst thing about Huckabee's comments on Mormonism is that he is not telling the truth when he said in a recent television interview that he "doesn't know enough about Mormonism" to say whether it is a cult. I'm sure the churches he served as pastor in Arkansas would be surprised to know that he was that unlearned about something upon which Baptists have a clearly stated position. Either he was lying to them (Baptists) then or lying to America now. Just more of that Arkansas "what the meaning of is – is."

Screw Christ. All "it" does is cause problems.

Uhh, wrong!
And to belabor the obvious, any religion that claims Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is a Christian religion. Inform yourself moron.

Posted By Randy S. Lawton, OK : December 5, 2007 10:58 am

Hey Moron they dont believe in the same Jesus christ that regular christians believe in,,,,please people be educated if you are going to post on here…most of these leftist people on here have no clue what they are talking about and most are Atheisist who dont even believe in Christ.

First of all, those who think Mormonism is a cult or even non-christian are sadly and wholly ignorant on the subject and should keep their opinions to themselves until they have a better understanding of what they're talking about. We should all applaud Huckabee for doing just that. He is completely correct to let politics be the topic of public interest instead of slinging misinformation about other faiths around.

Posted By Sandra, Elk Grove, CA : December 5, 2007 11:00 am

Sorry Sandra but you are the misinformed or ignorant one. Mormonism is a cult, it is no form of Christianity whatsoever, please do some research before posting your POLITCALLY CORRECT post. You have no clue what you are talking about and your leftist veiw is naive and foolish.

Such hypocrasy.

Why should Romney's past experience as an LDS bishop be regarded any different at Huckabee's being a preacher?

And who gives evangelical baptists or any other denomination the right to decide if another religion is 'christian' or not?

If you don't like Romney's platforms, if you don't think he would be a good president, FINE, don't vote for him. But it is incredibly rude and degrading to say that he is incapable because of his religion. Grow up.

Not just a wise choice, but the only proper choice for any candidate to make. The quirks of Romney's religion should be a matter of concern to be discussed among voters who feel it is relevant, but no person with a vested interest in the outcome of this contest should become involved or take a public stance on such a personal matter.

That said, people need to become aware that most orthodox, denominational Christians today would consider Mormonism to be "Christian" to the same degree that Mormonism itself considers all other organized denominations to be acceptable before God.

All of them. All Catholics, all Protestants, Judaism, Islam, etc. Every single one…

The response of non-Mormon believers to Mormon teachings is simply an honest reaction to what has been dealt to them.

HEY I'M VERY HAPPY. MOST IN HERE SOUND LIKE UN-HAPPY PEOPLE. VERY SAD DEM'S IN HERE. NO SOCIAL LIBERAL DUMMYCRATS. GO AWAY PLEASE!!!!!!

"If Mr Huckabe follows the Southern Baptist Convention, he does believe the Mormanism is a Cult. It is taugt in all Baptist Churches, because I am a Southern Baptist and I've it preached many times."

WOW! This speaks for itself! I wonder why so many think that Mormon's aren't Christian! They have been preached it! I say let them decide for themselves, and actually learn from the source if they want to know. I don't go to a catholic to ask what the baptists believe in, I ask a baptist.

I appreciated Huckabee's stance on this and other lightening-rod issues. The president of the United States is the president of all citizens. For him to come out with a position on Mormons could communicate that he is anti-Mormon.

The bottom line is that if he is a former Baptist minister, he takes issue with Mormon teaching. But as president, he has to choose his issues.

Education, the war, the cost of energy, mortgage rates, debt . . . those are the issues I hope he speaks out about.

CNB is more anti Mormon than the Christian Right ever thought of being.

But you know what's really sad, that people are trying to find comfort at all from any form of organized religion. I mean they come right out and tell you to join the flock. The flock? Sheep, geese, and pigeons flock. Quit looking for imaginary men in the sky to solve all of your problems. When you die, you die, just like everything else. Why do have to be told different just to feel inclined to live a structured and moral life, we are naturally hard wired as communal animals. The very world that gave you life is only transitional? These contemptuous views only hurt the future generations that have to clean up our "transitional journeys". Whether your an Islamist, a Jesuit, or whoever, if you clings so blindly to a belief system that it controls, and manipulates all of you so collectively and evidently, it is in my opinion, unhealthy for the rest of society. We need to wake up and start thinking for ourselves, because when animals flock together blindly, its easier to control collectively. Why would God give you free will so you could hang blindly from another mans words. Blind faith brings suicide bombers and Inquisitions. How devout are you willing to be? Would you stone a witch? What's a witch? Is it an agent of the Devil. Is an agent of the devil anyone that disagrees with your point of view or chooses to life a different lifestyle. Not trying to change anyones mind on religion. Thought maybe someone could challenge my thinking.

If Mr Huckabe follows the Southern Baptist Convention, he does believe the Mormanism is a Cult. It is taugt in all Baptist Churches, because I am a Southern Baptist and I've it preached many times.

Judge not lest ye be judged. Atta boy, Mike!

I will…Mormonism is a CULT…it has nothing to do with Christianity…It is really sad that other people can not be real and face the facts. Does this make Mormons bad people??Absolutely not but it is not a form of Christianity.

Lars,

You may want to get a refund from that mind reading class!

AJ,

I have to give you credit. At least your hatred is consistent!

did Hillary answer that? or did she loan out her speach writers/campaign advisers. That sounded exactly like what Clinton would say.

A Baptist would rather say nothing at all when it comes to "evaluating" Mormons in a positive light. Now what would you expect to hear from Huckabee, a Baptist minister concerning Mormons? Nothing good will come from Huckabee if he speaks the blind hatred that the Baptists "teach" about Mormons. I guess when the Baptists don't have any new material or revelation to teach they have to criticize those that do.

"As Americans we have the right to choose what we want to believe in. Romney is no exception to this rule. I find it honorable of Huckabee to keep his mouth shut about what he thinks about someone else's religion. Politics and religion don't mix PERIOD!"

Don't kid yourself. Politics and religion have been mixing for a while now. If Huckabee is an Evangelical, then it's clear what he really believes about Mormonism whether he's stating it publically or not at this time.

As Americans we have the right to choose what we want to believe in. Romney is no exception to this rule. I find it honorable of Huckabee to keep his mouth shut about what he thinks about someone else's religion. Politics and religion don't mix PERIOD!

Failing to attack someone's religion in a country where freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution? Imagine that. Good for him.
I would take issue with Mr. Mayrson. I think the idea that we need to know a candidate's religious beliefs is out-of-bounds. We're not electing a Pope, an Archbishop or even a deacon. We're electing a President. His religion is not in question. His stand on the issues is. If I were running for office, I would categorically refuse to disclose my religious preferences and I would avoid places of worship to keep people wondering.

I'm sure Huckabee would have no problem evaluating if the other person were Islamic, Buddist, or, horror of horrors, an athiest. This guy nothing more than another lying republican.

Is this how he'll handle uncomfortable questions as President? Pathetic.

People who are making an issue of Mitt's religion are no different than Muslim fundamentalists. These people think they know everything and how everyone should live. This comes from fear in their hearts that they really don't believe themselves. Huckabee is a true believer so he does not need to convince and force the world that his religion is right.

You attract more bees with honey than vinagar!! Good choice! Stick with what you know and you can't get burned.

Mormonism is the least of Romney's issues. He represents one of the most liberal states in the country and is the biggest flip flop of the campaign. so far he has changed his stance on abortion, gay marriage, taxes, guns, etc. I think his liberalism is a larger concern than his Mormonism. But I agree with the plan not to exploit his religious belief

Why would Huck actually hold that there should be (as guaranteed under the constitution) no religious test for the executive office? This is his only card.

He vastly pails when you stack him up to any other candidate on the GOP ticket. The only thing he has is a bunch of fellow church members that want another election based on only religion and not qualifications.

"we ought to be talking about education, health care, etc" then why is the only thing you speak of and put in ads about "Christian leader", Baptist Minister, and avoid the real issues with some stupid joke?????

This Romney-Huckabee contest shows one of the Republican Party's major weaknesses. When you build religious commitments into a political platform, you set off a debate that divides your party internally and isolates it from the rest of the electorate.

A theocratic political party is inherently unstable. And it is always in danger of nominating a candidate whose thinking is so dominated by his religious convictions that he's incapable of critical thinking. Remind you of anybody?

But this is exactly what the Republican base seems to want. I hope they're happy now that they have it.

Answer the freaking question HUCK!

AMERICANS, well myself anyways, would love to know what you think of the MORMON faith! ITS NOT just cuz your running for President that you shouldnt answer this question, you dont answer it because you well know that the back lash would Kill your campaign!

maybe you should read some letters from x-mormons and give them a Presidential Pardon, or maybe not even read the letters!
LMAO

Mormons are taught to not drink alcohol, swear, use tobacco in any form, drink coffee or tea, break their vows of chastity, say daily personal and family prayers, help others of any faith via service projects or donations, read the Bible (and yes the Book of Mormon too) and to actively worship in church services and serve in unpaid clergy positions. They have a considerably longer life expectancy than average Americans. The name of their church is The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints. Those things deserve distrust?

The only smart thing this man has said lately.

Hey I thought America was a land built on freedom, freedom to have whatever religios beliefs you want? The fact that there are people who are saying someone isn't good enough to be pres basied on the fact they do not beleive the same things they do is sad. After reading this and other posts over the last few days, I'm sad to say theer are a lot of people who do not need to be anywhere near the government, or pretty soon we'll have a state religion and we'll be breaking out the fires again.

Mormonism is polytheistic, a belief in more than one God again someone showing the total lack of knowledge. How about you go get some facts before you spew more falsehoods

Let's see . . .
Guiliani lies and is inconsistent.
McCain isn't an expert in education, doesn't really know how to approach the subjet, and whole-heartedly supports a war over 70% of Americans are against.
Huckabee doesn't believe that faith and politics mix and Arkansas has rising unemployment.
Romney belongs to a cult and can't hold a position to save his life.
Thompson is in it for the cameras.
That leaves Tancredo and Paul. . . .
Personally, I didn't see how the candidates in the last debate were trying to "out-Tancredo, Tancredo". I haven't heard anything all that great come out of his mouth.
So, that just leaves Ron Paul. The OB/GYN with principles that he isn't afraid to voice and are displayed in his 10-term Congressional voting record. He's consistent, outspoken, and has a reputation that lobbyists know to avoid. Oh, and he was the first one to say "The IRS needs to be abolished". He was saying it long before the recent rising popularity of Huckabee. Goodness gracious, people, the Republican race is really a no-brainer. You are making it far more difficult that it needs to be.

Yeah right. The only people Huck has to thank for his "surge" in the polls are CNN, FOX News, and the polling companies.

And i think it was awful telling that Mr. Huckabee didnt jump at the chance to call out Mr. Romney at the CC/Youtube debate when he flat out LIED and said he believed the bible that the kid was holding and asked specifically about. Mormons have their own bible – its completely different. Romney nearly peed his pants out of fright…and then Mike let him get away with it. Hmmmm. Looks like someone is still trolling for that VP nomination.

Mormonism is polytheistic,

Posted By steve mayrson, henderson, nv : December 4, 2007 7:58 pm

Uhh, wrong!
And to belabor the obvious, any religion that claims Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is a Christian religion. You're sitting at a computer, surely you've heard of Google. Inform yourself before posting such idiocies, moron.

Yeah, he better not. Not like his religion is spot on great. SB has more holes in it than swiss cheese. So keep your opinion to yourself if you want to be the leader of a country that is so diverse.

First of all, those who think Mormonism is a cult or even non-christian are sadly and wholly ignorant on the subject and should keep their opinions to themselves until they have a better understanding of what they're talking about. We should all applaud Huckabee for doing just that. He is completely correct to let politics be the topic of public interest instead of slinging misinformation about other faiths around.

Mormonism is polytheistic,
Posted By steve mayrson, henderson, nv : December 4, 2007 7:58 pm

Uhh, wrong!
And to belabor the obvious, any religion that claims Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is a Christian religion. Inform yourself moron.

The reason Huckabee won't talk about Mitt's religion is he CAN'T. IF he does it honestly, he will have to say he and the "right" wing christians believe Mormonism is a cult and they are all doomed to hell…These are the real "neo-cons" that highjacked the GOP…thank "whatever" for some candidates that bring back a voice of reason and tolerance to our party. Huckabee scares me. Religious nut, LOTS of tax raises, wants to send kids of illegals to college? NO WAY!

You people who call yourselves Christians according to your own definition, but who do not accord to others the same right (i.e. Mormons), are a particularly frustrating bunch. You have come to consider protestantism the "orthodox" Christian doctrine. You have a short historical memory. Protestantism, as its name suggests, was established through a beak with other doctrines that were at the time considered the "orthodox" Christian faith. Jesus himself established a doctrine which at the time ran completely counter to the "orthodox" religion of his society. What you are trying to do through this charge that Mormonism runs against orthodoxy is to paint Mormonism as strange, bizarre, and therefore illegitimate. In each of the other breaks from orthodoxy I mention above, that same critique would have been leveled against the new doctrine, including your own protestantism. And what is it about Mormonism that is so much stranger, objectively, than orthodox Christianity? Is it objectively more strange to believe in a Garden of Eden, or to believe that the Garden of Eden was located in Missouri? I pick this example only because its been in the news recently. If the beliefs of "orthodox" protestants were examined by an atheist, they would appear no less objectively strange than does the doctrine of the LDS church. Indeed, in some ways it would appear more strange. Many "orthodox" protestant Christians believe in the literal interpretation of the Old Testament, and some have even established museums to try to reconcile the belief in the 6 day creation of the earth with scientific findings. Mormons do not believe doctrinally in the 6 day creation of the earth, and so our views are more in line with scientific findings. Which is the more strange by this accounting? Mormonism is Christianity and would be judged so by any fair minded person. Our belief is in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Savior, and the Holy Ghost as they are testified of in the Bible. The Book of Mormon does not change any doctrines of the Bible, it simply adds another witness of them. I am tired of people telling me that we are not Christians.

I think Huckabee is taking the high road here and I applaud it. On the other hand, I'm sure he understands good and well that there are others who are making these religious attacks for him.

The furor with which anti-Mormon sentiment has spewed out in these political columns (and more especially in the commentary), and in the push-polls, betrays a kind of feverish frenzy of the part of the anti-Mormons to hurt not just Mitt Romney but all Mormons. One has to wonder why. Certainly they believe they are right and therefore the Mormons must be wrong. But then, of course the Mormons must also believe in their own position, and yet the hate only seems to flow in one direction.

What emerges is that we have two groups that both claim to be followers of Christ. One is slavering and chomping at the bit to denigrate, degrade, defame, and discredit the other. The other tries to defend itself where it can, but its members are often forced to answer simply that this is their belief, that they feel that God has witnessed to them of its truth. And this answer is simply sneered at. The question of who, if any, of these groups is Christian becomes as ironic as it is trivial.

This isn't just religious discrimination. That would be not hiring someone or perhaps not voting for someone on account of their religious beliefs (though the latter of course is not illegal and shouldn't be). No, this is simply hate and the highest order of religious intolerance. It's not enough to simply exclude. They feel the need to pour their acid down the throat of every Mormon, to punish them for their beliefs.

The trouble Mitt's been getting on account of all this just reveals the tip of an iceberg that's been floating along in this country for 175 years.

Did Huckabee intend to use the very specific phrase "doctrine and faiths" knowing that one of the books used by Mormon's is the "Book of Doctrine and Covenants"?

And LDS is NOT Christianity! The Mormon church's current President, Prophet, Seer and Revelator Gordon B. Hinckley said in 1998 that "The traditional Christ of whom they [people outside the church] speak is not the Christ of whom I speak. For the Christ of whom I speak has been revealed in this Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. He together with his father, appeared to the boy Joseph Smith in the year 1820, and when Joseph left the grove that day, he knew more of the nature of God than all the learned ministers of the gospel of the ages." Joseph Smith later wrote the Book of Mormon. LDS teaches that Jesus is the brother of Satan.

Huck has torn apart Romney. His stance won't last though…I'm afraid Rudy is now a shoe-in.

It's amazing how much I like Huck, given how horrifying his policy stances are.

Until they start grilling Reid over his mormon beliefs or any other lib leaning politician, I dont see why any GOP candidate should be forced to talk about it. No bias at all in the media.

This nation is not ready for a Baptist minister to be president, first of all the only happy citizens will be the religious right who will have someone to spit out there messages, the rest of us will feel like we are living in Saudia Arabia or elsewhere in a nation of Islam…there is nothing wrong with a christian being a president but not a minister there needs to be a separation between the church & state…and all of our concerns need to be considered not just the religious right…I do not feel Huckabee can be fair in considering anything that he does not believe is good for his religion or faith.

Good, it's about time someone took the high ground!!

More proof that Huckabee's rise is based on religous intolerance and ignorance. No answer meant, he does not believe Mormons are Christian. Can such a bigot really be a serious candidate?

Good for you, Huckabee!!

That's ok Huck, you don't have to tell me what you think of a Mormon, IF your're a true Southern Baptist, one only has to attend a Baptist church service and listen to the preacher rail against Mormons, Catholics, Muslim and every other religion under the sun.

Well. Duh. I don't think Huckabee has to say anything about Mormons. His supporters will do that for him. Huckabee wouldn't go there, of course. That would certify him as a definate bigot. But then, one can only wonder what gets said by the Huckabee Camp behind closed doors.
(By the way, I wonder if Dr. Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention would give equal advice to Huckabee to address the possibility of suspicious Mormons in the Utah area, that he also will not be running to become their Pastor In Chief, the same way he advises Romney to do in the South.)

It's truly amazing to me that Mike Huckabee and the rest of the freaks in illegalize-abortion camp can tell a woman what she can and can't do with her body, can oppress and deny civil rights to the GLBT community but they will not question someone because they are a Mormon. That's inappropriate. If by some fluke this man is elected President (or even if he just gets the nomination), it will only serve to solidify my opinion that Republican party has been completely hijacked by religious facists that have a lot of money and absolutely nothing better to do with their pathetic lives than attempt to legislate their own irrational breed of morality. Why not just say what's on your mind Mike. Tell everybody that Mitt Romney is going to hell along with everyone else on this planet who does not adhere to your own particular brand of religious zealotry.

About time someone said something about it. Now maybe the media will get a clue and realize we're not voting for a new pope or spiritual guide… we're voting for a president.

Jesus, Salamanders, and Indians, oh my!!! No more of a stretch than intelligent design, I suppose. Kucinich and his flying saucers are looking more believable by the minute.

He won't comment because he doesn't want to ruin his image as the innocent preacher.

This is an interesting response. Romney's Mormonism will definitely hurt him to some unknown degree. No doubt Huckabee as a Conservative Baptist Preacher believes Mormonism is not Christian, as do most Christians, but it would be wrong to make Romney's religion a campaign issue. Some one's religion shouldn't be used against them.

“We ought to be talking about education and health care and energy independence and all these other things,” said Huckabee. “And for me to discuss anybody’s faith, whether it’s Mitt Romney’s or John McCain’s or Rudy Giuliani’s or Hillary Clinton’s – other than to say I want to have great respect for anyone else’s belief system – it’s theirs to explain, not mine.”

He is absolutely right! yet the people who follow him expect just that! They expect Romney to explain his relegion to their satisfaction. When it comes to Romney its ALL about relegion. What a bunch of hypocrits, and they call themselves Christians!

Good for Huckabee. What a breath of fresh air. I'm certainly no conservative, but how nice is it to hear and see someone have respect and stick the issues.

Hey Huck…if Hillary's the nominee, I'll leave the Dem party for you. Let's get the Fair Tax going.

Whats this? Decency from a Republican?

This guy is as dirty as the muddy banks of the Mississippi. Look into his record. Hickl-libby will run out of jokes soon and won't be the cute little gopher people see now. Do we really want to vote for two liberals in Nov '08? Please tell me no!

Huckabee's thoughts on Mormonism is a non-issue. Romney's relationship to the church and how his status as an LDS bishop might effect his presidential choices THAT IS A HUGE ISSUE

Good for you Mike; your wisdom is one of the things that will help you when you win the election.

I am a registered Independent, but I tend to lean strongly toward the Democrats in any election. I am also what those among the faithful would consider a non-Christian. That being said, Huckabee has earned some of my respect with his responses to these questions. I would most likely not vote for him, regardless, but I admire him for not taking the easy road and scoring some cheap-and-easy political points.

Cool answer Mike Huckabee. If the mormans are a cult (which I don't Know)
that theres to be. We have this Jeff guy in jail for his rapeing of young girls by him self and others in his cult. However Mitt Romney is not that sort of person. He has one wife and I think intends to stay that way. (much better morals than Rudy)
Bottom line is Huckabee is going to represent me the way I want to be represented. For now Huck is the MAN
He show Common Sense!!

Too bad The Huckster is not being truthful in this interview. In fact, Huckabee IS taking advantage of anti-Mormonism by trying to brand himself as "The Christian Candidate." It's obvious that he's trying to contrast himself with Romney, implying that Romney is the non-Christian candidate. By doing this, he hopes to piggyback on the widespread evangelical belief that Mormons are not Christian. This kind of politicking is particularly disgusting…tearing town another's faith to achieve your political ambitions. It shows Huckabee is (a) not as Christian in his behavior as he says he is, and (b) is just another politican…speaking out of both sides of his mouth.

I am a Democrat and an Obama/Edwards supporter. But if Hillary is the Democratic nominee, I will gladly throw my support behind Huckabee.

The Huckster won't answer the Mormon question, not because "I’m just not going to go around evaluating other people’s doctrine and faiths, that is absolutely not a role for a president to engage in,”

He has done so in public already – Fox News, Aug. 1, 2007, on the tussle with Brownback – "I consider Sam Brownback a Christian brother and know that he feels likewise toward me," he said. "Like Senator Brownback, several key members of my staff are Roman Catholic. As believers, we don't have time to fight each other."

He won't answer the question because it will reveal the ugly religious bigotry he subscribes to. The Southern Baptist Convention, Huck the preacher's religion, considers Mormons strictly and adamantly "non-Christian," as if they have the authority to determine who is and who is not.

Huck has some very interesting dark sides, (read what the Arkansas media has to say of him) masked by his "nice, likeable, compassionate" front.

I hate labeling people, even politicians, but The Huckster is a label well and truly earned.

Huckabee's brand of christian religion and Mitt Romney's mormonism are both zany and looney in their own ways, but they are clearly different.
Huckabee denies evolution and claims the earth to be not much more than 6000 years old. He is a christian but a fundamentalist believer. You may believe that he is backward but his religion is chritian.
Mormans belive that Joseph Smith is a prophet and found golden plates in his backyard in New York state a century and half ago. They acknowledge the old and New Testament but added on the "The Book of Morman" like christians added the New testament books to the old. Christians are not Jews and Mormans (as well as Muslims) are not Christian as they "added on" prophets and a book to that which was before.
Mormons also think that you can become a god and live on your own planet after death as well as a host of other bizarre ideas. They are uniquely American, and they've built upon the American brand of christianity, but it is not Christian given the "add-ons".
However in some circumstances they may want to be identified as "Christian" and confuse people so that it would be easier to convert those already believing in Jesus to the "add-ons" of Mormonism.
It's all strange and batty, but it is different. Frankly I'd prefer that the United States be led by someone who would return us back to reason and progress rather than this wild stuff or an anti-science attitude, but for republican voters that get into this seriously, they should at least understand that mormons like Mitt are no more christian than christians are jews. Each belief system "added on" in fundamental ways.

SHOWS HOW SMART HE IS! GEAUX HUCK——-

Everyone knows Mormons are the true church, whose followers are they only ones going to Heaven.

A bunch of Sheep!

Nice to see people are finally taking issue with Romney's Mormonism. That is Romney's Achilles heel and it should be exploited and be shone under the glare of the campaign lights. Huckabee's position is nice, but it won't last.

Hi ya Huck-
Can you please try to convince me why I should trust you sir?
The last one that came out of Ark sold us down the river

,and the last time I went threw Ark- months ago I saw alot of huge empty places where JOBS used to be
seems like that is a scary reminder of what will come you you are
"sworn in"

I completely agree with Huckabee. An attack on someone's religious beliefs is not right and has no place in politics or any other reasonable conversation. Let's stick to the issues like education, the environment, social security, etc.

The worst failure a candidate for president can display is that of not revealing to the public their own inner beliefs. Mormonism is polytheistic, a belief in more than one God. Very simple no arguement. Therefore in the Christian mind it cannot be a Christian religion.