Thursday, November 1, 2007

You'd Think a Baptist Minister Would Know!

On the O'Reilly Factor last night, Mike Huckabee, presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Governor, again refused to confirm beliefs held by the majority of conservative, born-again Christians.

When asked about his answer in the now famous debate from June of this year concerning evolution, he continued to be ambiguous, saying, "I represent 90% of the American people who believe God was 'involved' in the creation." Really? God was just 'involved' in the process? I thought for sure He was totally responsible for creation.

But it doesn't stop there. O'Reilly presses him further, saying, "But most of us--and I believe God was involved in creation too--believe that there was an evolutionary process." To this, Huckabee replied, "There well could have been." Unbelievable! So now the Baptist minster believes in evolution, after being one of three candidates (Tom Tancredo and Sam Brownback being the other two) who raised his hand at a previous debate when the question was asked, "Is there anyone on this stage who doesn't believe in evolution?" Huckabee went on to mention Dr. Frances Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, who he identified as an evolutionist and a "very devout evangelical Christian", in an attempt to try to justify his apparent position that evolution and Christianity are not incompatible.

Combine these with his repeated remarks about creation in regard to not knowing how God did it, or how long it took, and I think conservative Christians who support Huckabee would be wise to probe a little deeper. While I understand that there are different views among Christians concerning creation, you would think a Baptist minister would at least have a position.

O'Reilly continues pressing Huckabee on his faith, asking, "Do you believe that people who don't believe Jesus is God can get to Heaven?" Huckabee: "I believe Jesus is the way to Heaven. That's what the Scripture teaches. If someone else has a different belief and they figure out how to get there apart from that, that's the only way I know how to get there." That's the only way he knows how to get there? Does that mean he thinks there might be other ways? How about saying there is only one way to get to Heaven, period?

O'Reilly: "OK, so you say that you're secure in your own beliefs, but you're not telling anybody else that they are or are not going to Heaven?" Huckabee: "That's not my job. My job is to make sure I make it on my convictions." Again I ask, really? I thought it was our job as followers of Christ to preach the Gospel and make disciples, which would entail letting people know that Jesus is the only way, and without Him there is no hope for spending eternity in Heaven.

Toward the end of the interview, Huckabee criticizes people who say they're Christians, but then don't live like it. Maybe he should take the log out of his own eye before trying to find a speck in someone else's!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds to me like Huckabee is a "cool Christian" as I like to say. He doesn't push his beliefs on others. He simply lives his faith and hopes others will see how wonderful his life is through faith and want to join. I "know" I'm gonna go to hell. That won't attract me to your religion. What might attract me is seeing how happy and wonderful your life is because you live it through Christ. It isn't anyone's place to tell me where I am going. No one truly knows my relationship with God, outside of me and God. Seems like Huckabee knows this.

The Activist said...

Stacy, what you are describing, and what Huckabee is doing, is opposite of what the Bible says. The Bible doesn't say to keep the truth from people because it might offend them. In fact, it says the message of the cross is offensive, and most will reject it.

We are to share the truth in love. Trouble is, many well-meaning Christians leave out the truth part. They may present a message that is more attractive to you, but that is not the true Gospel, and is of little value to you from an eternal perspective.

You cannot understand your need for a Savior (Jesus Christ) unless you understand the need for the cross. You cannot understand the need for the cross unless you understand what sin is and the consequences of it. You cannot understand the consequences of sin unless you know there is a real place called Hell that we are ALL destined for, if we don't put our trust in Christ.

Christians who only show you love and never talk about sin or Hell may make you feel more comfortable, but most likely they are loving people right into Hell. What is more loving--to tell someone the harsh truth so they can be saved, or to tell them what they want to hear and let them perish?

Now, you may not believe the Bible, nor agree with what it says, but that is the difference between you and Huckabee; he claims to believe the Bible. To use his own words, he prefers "an atheist who is honest about his beliefs to a Christian who doesn't live like one." Well, Stacy, you are at least honest about your beliefs and you live your life accordingly. In Huckabee's case, he either isn't putting his beliefs into words very well, or he has not been honest about what his beliefs are.

I'm not saying that he should go around telling people they are going to Hell. What I am suggesting is that, as someone who professes to be a conservative Baptist Christian, he should have the boldness to not shrink away from his beliefs.

While we should try to live our lives in a way that is attractive to non-believers, we are not to do that at the expense of sharing the true Gospel with others.

The Activist said...

Stacy:

A couple more thoughts came to mind. I agree no one knows your relationship with God, outside of you and God. However, you have already stated on more than one occasion that you are going to Hell. I don't know if you are being sarcastic or if you really believe that. If you really believe it, I think you need to talk with someone about your relationship with God.

First, you have to define who the God is in which you believe. Where do you get your notion of God? Then, you have to determine what is required for you to have a saving relationship with Him.

Lots of people have a concept of God that is based on nothing more than what they would like--their ideal. This is most often a god who won't send anyone to Hell, and accepts whatever you do (unless it is something really bad, like murder) and just wants you to be happy. But that god does not exist except in the minds of the people who believe it. It is an idol that people have fashioned in their own image. It is a god that thinks the way they do. That is not the God of the Bible, and it is not a god to whom you can entrust your eternal destiny.