Article VI Blog

Someone called "PastorBlaster" writes in a effort to justify his intolerance.  One has to dig through multiple blogs and links, but he is apparently a Baptist pastor out of Vancouver, WA.  If one strips the post of the sheer dismissal and insult, the arguments are twofold.  One, he compares Mormons to Islam.

At a time when we face a horde of religious fanatics who treat women as second class citizens, indoctrinate children, try to convert you by force, and have just plain crazy theological ideals, these men are asking many Americans to set aside their good sense and vote for someone whose religion espouses much of the same kind of ideology!

All I can say is it would be nice if he backed up those allegations with facts, and specifically facts from the last 50 years or so.  Please note, we presented an historical arguement just this week that unlike Islam, Mormonism has in fact reformed.  The second charge is; however, the reason I picked this ignorant blog post, out of the uncountable ignorant blog posts out there for linking here.  He flat out accuses Mormons of being liars:

Latter Day Saints do not want the carefully painted veneer they have plastered on over the decades to be stripped away.

Again, where is the evidence?  But more importantly where is the evidence that Mitt Romney is a liar?  Sadly, there is no counterargument to a baseless accusation of lying.  Again this week as we have begun looking at the Reed Smoot hearings and the events surrounding them (Part II here) and had some discussion about what we learned to date as we did here, it has become apparent that there was a period in history where part of the LDS did practice deception.  However, that was 100 years ago and the LDS have worked hard to purge that sort of thing from there midst since then.  However, later in the post the guy's real problems emerge:

My father had to lie about his own religious affiliation for years when my family lived in Utah. When it was discovered, even though he had just received outstanding awards for his work and was widely recognized as the best warehouse manager his company had at the time, he was let go. My father’s problem: He was a devout Catholic in a company run by Mormons.

People who lose their jobs are often known not to tell the whole story to their families, but let's take this at face value.  Shall I begin to list the nastiness of such forms that have flowed from this guy's Baptist traditions.  (Why I personally, as a good Presbyterian, have been told by some Baptists that I was going to directly to hell for any number of sins I have committed while claiming faith, from cussing to hanging around with Mormons.)  A faith, any faith, may not be judged by the ugly actions of a few.  In fact the jerk nature of the Mormons this guy encountered, must be compared to the actions of other Mormons like my friend Lowell, or Governor Romney.

What saddens me most is that my faith, the creedal Christian faith, which prides itself on mercy, justice, and grace has adherents that are so graceless, and so condemning of a whole on the basis of the bad actions of a few.  I mourn for Pastorblaster's father's mistreatment, but I for one refuse to declare all Mormons liars and thieves just because some are.  I also refuse to condemn them for history they have struggled to overcome and leave behind – isn't that the very essence of the Gospel?

Lowell:  For whatever it's worth, I will just add that as a native Utahn (I left 25 years ago) I find Pastorblaster's story about his father hard to believe.  It runs counter to my own experience and that of everyone I know in that state.

Brownback is a "Wilberforce Republican."  This may be soft pedaled, but it is identity politics pure and simple.  It is little different than Obama walking into the ghetto and shouting "Vote for me I am black."  The words of Martin Luther King keep coming back to me, "A man will be judged not by the color of his skin" [his religious affiliation] "but by the content of his character."  Yes, religion affects character, but it does not define it.

Lowell:  I must admit, it appears that Brownback is actively seeking to associate himself with Wilberforce and the "Amazing Grace" movie.  If he really is, that's pretty unseemly.

Powerline's Paul Mirengoff looks at the MSM onslaught aimed at Romney from the get-go.  I think his analysis is dead-nuts on, and it would have happened to whatever conservative was up this cycle, but what he fails to note is that unlike any other time, the religious angle has made that onslaught uniquely ugly.  I have not heard similar stuff since my childhood visits to family in Mississippi in the '60's.  What is really sad is that the liberal MSM plays the game this way BECAUSE THEY THINK WE CONSERVATIVES REALLY ARE THAT BIGOTED.  Do we really want to play to their false images of us?

Lowell:  A question:  When a politician has moved from anti-abortion to pro-choice, instead of in the other direction, has anyone in the MSM ever attacked that politician for "flip-flopping?" Think Al Gore.  Just something to wonder about.

Lowell and I keep trying to tell you that if we conservatives make decisions based on Romney's faith we open ourselves up for similar attack.  Here's proof.  (Warning:  this is left-ugly at its non-cussing best – if you are religiously inclined, almost any religion, you'll come away angry.)

Dean Barnett looks at Romney and sees The Champ.  Then he does the numbers.  You know what I think, the chattering classes are trying to call the election before all the campaigns have even started.  Are we going to have to start talking about "staying the course" through 18 months of election campaigns?

I have a piece on my Godblog today about how Mormons appear to be beating us creedal Christians at our own game.  It is my fervent hope and prayer that such is not the source of religious opposition to Romney's candidacy.

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