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On this weekend's The Chris Matthews Show, while discussing whether the Obama campaign might attempt to use Mitt Romney's Mormonism against him during the presidential campaign and the trouble Romney has had openly discussing his faith, panel member S.E. Cupp had this explanation for why Romney's religion might not be a problem for him:

CUPP: Second, you know, G.K. Chesterton said that the test of any good religion is whether you can make fun of it or not. And, you know, Mormonism has really come into its own in pop culture, whether you're looking at The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, or Big Love. I mean, Mormonism, as uneasy as America may have been about it in the past, I think it's having a pretty good day this year in pop culture. Mormons are kind of everywhere. So I don't know that it's as impenetrable and clandestine as it used to be.

I used to think Matthews' show on the weekend couldn't get a whole lot worse with the typical group of beltway Villagers he has as regular guests. I was wrong. This is the second show where he's had Cupp on there. I'm failing to follow the logic here. So somehow, a Broadway musical and a show on a cable premium pay channel, HBO, are Mormons being “everywhere?” And if I'm not mistaken, I don't think the church was exactly thrilled to put it mildly about either of these productions.

Sorry, but I don't think either is going to have a thing to do with the average voter, or anyone else for that matter, potentially being more comfortable with Romney's religion. As the other guests on there did point out a little later in the discussion, the hatred of President Obama is the one thing that will allow the Evangelical voters out there to get over Romney's religion and vote for him in the general election after snubbing him during the primary races. It's not going to be because of what those “elitists” in New York or Hollywood are doing and because they've made a play and a cable series making fun of the Mormon Church.

I haven't seen the play, but I watched Big Love on HBO and it sure didn't make me feel any more comfortable about the Mormon Church and their history of polygamy. I'm sure Romney doesn't want to remind anyone of that since it's not that far back in his own family's history where polygamy was practiced as well.

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A Catholic cardinal who is supporting a lawsuit against the Obama administration's mandate that all health insurance cover female contraceptives refused on Sunday to say whether presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was a Christian.

During an interview on Fox News, host Chris Wallace asked Cardinal Donald Wuerl if Mormons were "true Christians."

"I never get into defining other people," Wuerl explained. "I define myself. That's one of the reasons, by the way, why we are in court."

"I don't want the president to define me so I'm not going to define somebody else."

Throughout his campaign, Romney has been dogged by the accusation by some evangelical Christians that faith was really a "cult."

Those accusations echo concerns that evangelical Christians also had about Catholicism while John F. Kennedy was running for president in 1960.

"Catholics in America faced perils virtually since the beginning of the republic," Columbia University Professor of History Alan Brinkley recently wrote. "They experienced Protestant fears of the Vatican and the pope. They have struggled against the belief that Catholicism was something close to a secret cult."

"In 1960, this fear threatened the campaign of John F. Kennedy – the first and still only Catholic president. Everywhere he went, Catholicism dogged Kennedy’s path."

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Televangelist Pat Robertson may think Mormonism is a cult, but he has given his most vocal endorsement of presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney yet because "you don't have Jesus running."

Robertson began Monday's edition of CBN's The 700 Club by highlighting Romney's commencement address to Liberty University, a Christian school founded by Baptist Minister Jerry Falwell.

"His opposition to gay marriage scored big points with this audience," CBN's Terry Meeuwsen noted.

"Looks like the people who were worried about his Mormonism, that crowd is diminishing somewhat," Robertson agreed. "The question is if you have two candidates, you don't have Jesus running against somebody else. You have Obama running against Romney."

Although Robertson has called Romney "an outstanding Christian," he had previously declined the to offer an endorsement of the Republican candidate, who a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. CBN's website lists Mormonism as an example of a "cult," arguing that "the Mormons are far from the truth."

Earlier this year, Robertson came to the conclusion that Romney would not "interject the Mormon religion into the way he governs."

An endorsement of the current Christian White House resident is apparently out of the questions because the TV preacher worries that President Barack Obama may secretly be a Muslim.

"I don’t know if he was trained in a madrassa, one of those Muslim schools, but nevertheless that is his inclination," Robertson said in 2011.

But Robertson's endorsement may not even matter because earlier this year, the televangelist revealed that God had already told him who the next president would be -- and it's a secret.

“I think He showed me the next president, but I’m not supposed to talk about that,” Robertson explained. “So I’ll leave you in the dark — probably just as well — I think I’ll know who it will be.”

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Houston-based mega church minister Joel Osteen said on Sunday that same sex marriage should be illegal, but insisted he was "not for discriminating against gay people."

In an interview on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace asked the pastor if being gay was a sin.

"I believe that the scripture says that being gay is a sin," Osteen smiled. "You know, every time I say that, Chris, I get people saying, 'You're a gay hater and you're a gay basher.' I'm not. I don't dislike anybody. Gays are some of the nicest, kindest, most loving people in the world. But my faith is based on what the scripture says, and that's the way I read the scripture."

Wallace also pressed the preacher on the issue of marriage equality.

"I don't think we should discriminate against anybody," Osteen replied. "There was an issue where somebody couldn't go visit a gay loved one in the hospital. I don't think that's right. I think they love each other. So, I think there should be some [rights]."

"I'm not for gay marriage, but I'm not for discriminating against people."

But while Osteen thought that LGBT people should be excluded from the institution of marriage, he didn't feel the same when it came to Mormons being labeled as Christians.

"I believe they're followers of Christ," the Dallas pastor said of Mormons like presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. "I don't believe that Mormonism is traditional orthodox Christianity. I realize there's differences there, but I go back to when I hear Mitt Romney and some of my Mormon friends say, 'I love Jesus. He's my savior. I believe he was raised from the dead.'"

"They follow the teachings of the Bible. I believe they are followers of Christ and that they're my brothers. And I'm not looking to exclude them and, you know, push them out."

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MSNBC host Martin Bashir on Thursday read from the Book of Mormon to make the point that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney might win the White House by lying but he would be condemned to "eternal damnation."

"Mr. Romney seems to be having some trouble telling the truth," Bashir explained. "In fact, yesterday Mitt the mendacious offered a hat trick of falsehoods."

The MSNBC host pointed to disputed claims that Romney's campaign had not sought the endorsement of Ted Nugent, that there was a "vast left-wing conspiracy" by the media to defeat him and that President Barack Obama promised to keep unemployment "below 8 percent."

"It is something that the president had never written or said," Bashir pointed out. "Mitt Romney prefers to tell lies, which brings us the moral codes of Mormonism that Mr. Romney claims to live by."

According to Section 63, in verse 17, of The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, "[T]he fearful, and the unbelieving, and all liars, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie, and the whoremonger, and the sorcerer, shall have their part in that lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."

And the Book of Mormon's 2 Nephi 9:34 says, "Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell."

Bashir concluded: "Given what the Book of Mormon is clearly saying, Mr. Romney has but two choices. He can't either keep lying and potentially win the White House, but bring eternal damnation upon himself or he can start telling the truth. The question for him, I guess, is which is more important?"

(h/t: The Huffington Post)

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A Texas pastor who has repeatedly called Mitt Romney's religion a cult is now endorsing the former Massachusetts governor because President Barack Obama "opposes Biblical principles."

Dallas pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress first said in 2007 that Romney was not qualified to be president because “Mormonism is a cult.”

"Mitt Romney is a Mormon, and don't let anybody tell you otherwise," Jeffress told his congregation. "Even though he talks about Jesus as his Lord and savior, he is not a Christian. Mormonism is not Christianity. Mormonism is a cult."

"It's a little hypocritical for the last eight years to be talking about how important it is for us to elect a Christian president and then turn around and endorse a non-Christian," he added. "Christian conservatives are going to have to decide whether having a Christian president is really important or not."

But in an interview with Fox News on Sunday, the pastor reversed course after Romney became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

"I haven't changed my tune," Jeffress insisted. "In fact, I never said Christians should not vote for Mitt Romney. When I talked about his theology, I was answering a question about theology. And I still maintain there are vast differences in theology between Mormons and Christians, but we do share many of the same values, like the sanctity of life and religious freedom."

Fox News host Clayton Morris noted that Jeffress was quoted in October as saying, "Evangelical Christians should not vote for Mitt Romney because he’s a Mormon, therefore not a real Christian."

"Critics would argue that President Obama is a real Christian," Morris continued. "By that metric then, why wouldn't you support Barack Obama?"

"Well, again, I never said that quote that you attributed to me," Jeffress argued. "There was a spurious article in one magazine that just completely fabricated that quote. I've never said don't vote for Mitt Romney because he's not a Christian. But in my book that you were so kind to reference, I said, given the choice between a Christian like Barack Obama who embraces non-Biblical principles like abortion and a Mormon like Mitt Romney who embraces Bible principles, there's every reason to support Mitt Romney in this election. I've been consistent in that."

Jeffress added that he expected evangelicals across the nation to put Romney in the White House because Obama "opposes Biblical principles."

"When we have seen what the president has done especially in the last six months in launching this war against religious liberty -- I'm not just talking about the [Health and Human Services contraception coverage mandate], but I'm also talking about last October when he tried to rescind the church exemption in hiring practices -- I think as more evangelicals are aware of what this president is doing, I think they will turn out and vote," he said.

"Not for partisan reasons, but because he opposes Biblical principles."

(h/t: Media Matters, Mediaite)

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Mitt Romney just got another ringing endorsement from one his fellow Republicans who is also a member of the Mormon Church... or maybe not. On this Sunday's Meet the Press, Rep. Raul Labrador had this to say about Romney appearing to have the nomination wrapped up:

LABRADOR: Like I said before, I have not endorsed Mitt Romney, I'm not going to go out and endorse him, but I think he's going to be the candidate. And I do believe it's time for Republicans to get around... to get behind him, because we know he's going to be the candidate and it's time to beat Obama.

They're all holding their nose with their support of him. The Boston Globe has more on some of the earlier portion of the segment above where Labrador was complaining about Lawrence O'Donnell saying mean things about the Mormon Church -- Media will make Mitt Romney’s faith a major campaign issue, Rep. Raul Labrador predicts :

Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho predicted Sunday that the media would make Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith a major issue in the Republican front-runner’s expected general election contest with President Obama.

Romney’s religion was on the table Easter Sunday during religion-themed political talk shows, including NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where Labrador was a guest. Labrador, also a Mormon, was responding to Utah Senator Orrin Hatch’s statement Tuesday that the Obama campaign is “going to throw the Mormon Church at him like you can’t believe.”

“I think the media is going to do that for the Obama campaign,” Labrador said.

As evidence, Labrador cited “nasty things” said Tuesday by MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell.

“Mormonism was created by a guy in upstate New York in 1830 when he got caught having sex with the maid and explained to his wife that God told him to do it,” O’Donnell said on his show. “Forty-eight wives later, Joseph Smith’s lifestyle was completely sanctified in the religion he invented to go with it. Which Mitt Romney says he believes.” [...]

Labrador, who has not endorsed Romney for president, said “everyone in politics is going to be influenced by their faith.” But he agreed with Romney’s argument that religion should have minimal influence on voters.

“What you need to look at is the man, Mitt Romney,” Labrador said. “We need to look at his life and the things that he’s done. And clearly he’s had a very good life.”

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I don't know if Jon Meacham has just been ignoring the things Mitt Romney has been saying on the campaign trail, or if he knows full well and he's just being completely dishonest here. On this Sunday's Meet the Press, Meacham suggested that "religion will be less important" and that it's not "in either candidate's interest to be bringing up specific religious issues" come the general election. I guess he missed this:

Romney: Obama Wants to 'Establish a Religion Called Secularism'

Romney is already attacking President Obama's faith, but par for the course with Romney, he's doing it completely dishonestly by trying to pretend the President is an atheist. The reason for doing so being obvious, which is, as Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out the other night, the only group voters trust less than Mormons, is atheists (which I find extremely depressing).

And Meacham's suggestion that Mitt Romney's Mormonism is not going to be an issue in the general election is ridiculous, given the large number of Evangelical voters in the Republican base and their mistrust of his religion. There is exactly one candidate where it would not be to his advantage to talk about his faith for that very reason, and it's Mitt Romney.

I think we're going to hear this sort of rhetoric from Republicans on the campaign trail as their primary race finally winds down and the GOP and the media begin doing their best to revive Romney after what's been a really damaging primary season. President Obama doesn't need to go after Romney for his faith. His fellow Republican presidential candidates have already done most of the damage for him.

Transcript below the fold.

Continue reading »

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Evangelical Saddleback Church founder Rick Warren says that Christians have a disagreement with Mormonism because it "denies" certain fundamental Christian beliefs.

In an Easter Sunday interview on ABC, Jake Tapper noted that Mitt Romney, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, was almost certain to be the Republican presidential nominee.

"Are Mormons Christians?" Tapper asked Warren.

"Well, the key sticking point for evangelicals and actually for many is the issue of the Trinity," the evangelical pastor explained. "Orthodox Christians, Catholic Christians, Protestant Christians, evangelical Christians and Pentecostal Christians all believe in the Trinity; that’s the historic doctrine of the church, that God is three-in-one. Not three gods; one God in Father, Son and Holy Spirit."

"Mormonism denies that. That’s a sticking point for a lot of Catholic Christians, evangelical Christians, Pentecostal Christians, because they don’t — they don’t believe that."

"Now they’ll use the same terminology, but they don’t believe in the historic doctrine of the Trinity," Warren added. "And people have tried to make it other issues. But that’s really one of the fundamental differences."

Throughout the primary season, Romney has had a problem getting support from evangelicals. He lost the evangelical vote by double digits in Tennessee, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Georgia and South Carolina.

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LGBT students at Brigham Young University, a school with close ties to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, are speaking out in a new video about their religion, which forbids gay sex.

The campus group Understanding Same-Gender Attraction (USGA) recently created the video to speak out about the difficulty of being gay or lesbian at a Mormon school.

Several of the 22 students in the video confess that that they had thought about taking their own life. In fact, 74 percent of LGBT students at Brigham Young have contemplated suicide, and a remarkable 24 percent have actually tried to kill themselves.

A 2007 clarification to the BYU honor code first allowed students to admit that they were gay or lesbian. And in 2010, LGBT advocacy was first allowed on campus.

But straight students at the school continue to have more rights than LGBT students, who can't kiss or express affection in public.

(H/T: Gawker)