Posted by
Phil E. on Tuesday, November 20, 2007 2:59:05 AM
The ubiquitous clip
How does Rush Limbaugh find those juicy audio clips from years back of people saying silly things? I wish I knew.
I don't have those resources, so I can't find an audio clip just now of Mitt Romney saying "I'm proud of my faith" in my growing collection of Romneyisms. But I'll bet you've heard him say it enough times that you can hear it in your head when you read it. As
I've mentioned before, John Harris of Politico has observed that Mitt Romney seems "too programmed." Even his laugh seems programmed.
FUNNY AUDIO.
He often sounds like he's stuck in an endless loop, he repeats the same things so often. A Google search for the terms "Mitt Romney" and "proud of my faith" (with the quotes like that) returns more than 2800 hits ... so far. [To be fair, if you go to page 10 of the hits, the number shrinks to 72. The rest must be "echo chamber" effect on the web. Still, 72 times in a year is more than once a week.] He said it again just today (Monday, November 19) in
an interview with Byron York at National Review Online.
Actually, I did find an audio clip ... on-line. It's in the infamous Jan Michelson interview. You can watch the salient part on YouTube.
Or
here's the transcript.
The author of confusion?
Now,
in the Bible, Jesus was rebuking some Pharisees for confusing who He was. You see, the Pharisees knew a guy named Jesus. They "believed" in Him. That He existed. But it's what you believe
about Jesus that's important. Instead of believing He was God in the flesh (not "a" god), they said He was from the devil.
To drive the point home for Mormons, consider this: I believe in Joseph Smith. I really do. Does that make me Mormon?
I believe he existed. I believe he was born in 1805 in Sharon, Vermont and died in 1844, when he was in
jail for treason and shot and
killed two men.
But I know Joseph Smith wasn't a true prophet. That's why I'm not Mormon. I believe in a different Joseph Smith than Mormons do. And in the same way, when you tell me that the name of your church is "the church of jesus christ" (but your jesus belongs to "the latter-day saints" -
diagram the poorly constructed name for yourself) but believe that your jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer, had to earn his godhood by being married and a polygamist, had to learn the secret passwords and secret handshakes in the temple to become a god, etc., well, then, you're not Christian. You "worship" (and I use the word hesitantly) a different jesus than the Jesus of the Bible.
If you're having emotional trouble disassociating yourself from this analogy, let's talk about Muhammad instead. I bet most of us Westerners, both Mormon and Christian, don't believe Muhammad was a prophet. We acknowledge that there was most likely an historical figure named Muhammad, but we don't believe what he wrote was from God. So we're not Muslim even though we "believe" in Muhammad. We just don't believe what the Muslims believe.
Some in the church at Corinth had this problem too. See
2 Corinthians 11:4Jesus finished His rebuke of the Pharisees by noting
For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. Matthew 12:37
How mean. (You know, the Pharisees really hated Jesus. They hated Him so much, they murdered Him.)
Now, with the words of Mitt Romney in mind, let's consider
the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector.
Remind you of anyone? (Apologies to Craig Ferguson)
Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God [heavenly father], I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers [
gentiles], adulterers [I've been faithful to my wife for 38 years]—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week [actually, once a month on
Fast & Testimony Sunday] and give a tenth of all I get.'[i.e. a tithe]
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven [or try to get a temple recommend], but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. ["Exalted" doesn't mean to become a god.]
More hope for Hillary
While I realize Hillary Clinton is an evil woman (not a Christian), and this election might come down to a choice between
the devil you know vs. the devil you don't, there may be more hope for Hillary repenting and becoming a Christian than there is for Mitt Romney!
While I occasionally hear comments from the Hillary campaign that she
is a devout Methodist (actually, "United Methodist") who works out her faith privately, I've never heard her say that she was "proud of her faith."
Like the difference between the Pharisee and the hated tax collector, there is more hope for her than Mitt Romney. Who knows? Maybe Hillary Clinton will become a Christian in office?
Mitt Romney has
repeatedly said I know there are some people hoping that I will simply declare in some way that my church is all well and good but that I don't really believe it and I don't try to follow it.
That's not going to happen.
I think God will take him at his word.
But go ahead. Vote a Mormon in the White House. See if God will be pleased with someone who's proud of their faith. We already know the answer.
Please help me get the Word out, 'cause I can't do it all by myself.
Please copy and paste the following clip to your friends and in the comment field of pertinent blogs or news stories. (Copy it because the link needs the http:// part in the address, not www.):
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Check this out:
http://romneyforpresident.townhall.com/
Like Mormonism, the blog isn't what it seems.
(Funny photos too.)