Evidently Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee isn’t releasing sermons he’s preached. Julie Clawson wonders if he is “embarrassed by what he preached? Has his theology changed? Is he just afraid of controversy?”
She brings up a reasonable observation that it seems both pastors and politicians have an aversion to admitting they’ve changed their minds about something. I, for one, am not so worried about what Huckabee preached, as I am concerned with his political views. Having been a pastor myself, I wouldn’t want my sermons to be a factor on which acting gig I get or which website I develop. He has entered a different career.
Decisions about Huckabee should mostly be based on his political views and not his religious beliefs. Certainly, we cannot compartmentalize to the point where we do not consider something as important as religious faith, but it would be very easy to pull the focus on what matters most for politicians… how they vote and what they plan to vote for or against.
I hope no copies of Huckabee’s sermons come to the surface. I don’t want them to be torn apart, taken out of context, and abused by the media and his opponents. As far as whether he still believes them or not, I don’t really care a whole lot. I’m not voting for him, any way, and if I were, I’d be concerned with other things first.
I’ve listed to old sermons I’ve preached… let’s just say time changes a man.
Since Mr. Huckabee claims to be a “Christian Leader” he needs to be judged on the nature and content of his religious convictions. He is the one injecting his faith into the race. He must have preached stuff he knows will alienate non-evangelicals. Perhaps it would even alienate hardcore evangelicals who think him too moderate. Who knows?
But as a “Christian Leader” he needs to provide details about his alleged “Christianity”.
Aaron
December 21st, 2007
Aaron -
I agree that it matters what Mike Huckabee believes and how he views his faith in relation to his politics, but I do not think analyzing old sermons is profitable for any one. They will be taken out of context and if he has changed his position on anything, he’ll have to waste time explaining it… and most of what Evangelicals would care about would not matter to the rest of the nation as far as his sermons are concerned. They know he’s a Christian and a former pastor, let his sermons go and have him talk intelligibly about the relationship he sees between his faith and politics.
Alan
December 21st, 2007