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Christianity Today, March, 2007 |

Q&A: Hugh Hewitt

Conservative blogger, political analyst, and radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt on Romney's bid for the White House.

Interview by Stan Guthrie | posted 2/27/2007 08:48AM

Conservative blogger, political analyst, and radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt just wrote A Mormon in the White House? (Regnery). The book urges Christians not to reject former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt ...

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Frank in Phoenix

Posted: March 12, 2007 6:05 PM

Guthrie asks, "What is the key political issue for Christians between now and 2008?" Hewitt responds, "The war has to be the first issue for everyone involved in politics, not just Christians." Amen! Which is why — as a Christian conservative who opposed the war in Iraq before it began — I will support the only conservative candidate who also opposes it (and does so on constitutional grounds): Texas Rep. Ron Paul. (Incidentally, Rep. Paul officially announced his candidacy today. See RonPaulExplore.com.)

Eichendorff

Posted: March 09, 2007 7:36 AM

In answer to FromNorthCarolina, there will be no adverse social or political consequences of a successful Romney candidacy. Such consequences exist only in your bigoted imagination. The legitimacy of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints depends neither on Mitt Romney’s political success nor on the irrelevant views of Protestant theologians. The only legitimacy that matters, or the Church cares about, comes from God, and the Church has had that from the instant it came into existence. The Church will continue to grow and flourish regardless of anything the Protestant world has to say about it, for the simple reason that it is sustained by the power of God.

FromNorthCarolina

Posted: March 08, 2007 11:23 AM

Evangelicals have to be concerned about the potentially adverse political and social consequences of a successful Romney candidacy. If Romney comes near to gaining the White House, he will add huge legitimacy to Mormonism, a religion that is contrary to Historic Christianity and a threat to the Gospel. Theologians such as R.C. Sproul, A. N. Martin and R. Zacharias have long contended that Mormonism is a cult and a system of belief that is at radical variance with the biblical faith. Of course, our nation's presidency isn't a theological office. That's is important to keep in mind. Even so, Christians should always be wary of indirectly promoting an anti-Christian belief system.

David Glick

Posted: March 08, 2007 5:42 AM

I think it will be interesting to see if some of these "Christians" can look beyond their bigotry towards Mormonism to the bigger picture. Will they instead vote for an adulterer (Giuliani)? Or a man who has previously sneered at evangelical beliefs (McCain)? Far be it for me to point out that ALL Christians have a terrible and evil past to their religion. Think the crusades, evil popes from yesteryear, etc.., Yes, you can say that was all caused by the Catholic Church, but you all came or evolved from it. To attack Mitt Romney based on any past Mormon "prejudices" as "Chrsity" does, is disengenious at best. Quite frankly it smacks of hypocrisy to me. Please don't take this as an attack on Christianity, of which I am a member. I fully believe in the Savior, but am realistic and I hope "Christian" enough to know that 'men' should be judged on their own merits not based on their religion.

Lizzie

Posted: March 04, 2007 11:47 PM

Now, tell me exactly how some of you "Christians" feel about all the polygamy in the Bible? Have you thrown out that book in utter disregard because Abraham and many others had more than one wife? Just wondering how you can condemn other religions when your own "prophets" practiced this very thing. Just wondering how you can condemn other religions when it seems your beliefs have originated from the words of these very men. My, you "Christians" think you are fair and understanding souls, without guile and hatred, even claiming yourselves to be full of love. You don't follow the creed Christ taught. Who are you kidding, putting your own brand of church up on a pedestal? From my perspective, it seems like you are blinded by your own egos and the self interpretations of a very sketchy piece of literature. But, one thing is clear, you haters have ugly hearts.

MIKEY

Posted: March 02, 2007 9:59 AM


Just out of curiousity, where do all the "Mormon = cult" get thier facts? Why don't you all go to the source and check it out for yourself. How many of you haved even read the Book of Mormon? How many of you even know a Mormon?

Eichendorff

Posted: March 02, 2007 8:59 AM


Unfortunately, ArtbyRuth, you are just as wrong as One More Voice is. Latter-day Saints most certainly do believe that Jesus, the Messiah, is Jehovah. The Gospel they believe in is the true one found in the Bible, so there’s no curse. Mitt Romney knows who he is, what he believes and what his standing is before God better than anyone else. You have no clue whatsoever.

ArtbyRuth

Posted: March 02, 2007 8:38 AM

"And if God can make a great king of a murdering adulterer and call that man "a man after God's own heart", then where do any of us get off thinking God cannot make a good president of a Mormon (as though the one thing had anything to do with the other)?" First of all, King David was a believer in the Messiah of the Bible. Mormons do not believe the Messiah of the Bible (Jesus Christ) is THE GOD, El Elohim, Jehovah, etc. By contrast, King Saul was not a believer. What happened to him? LDS believe a false gospel and a false christ. Therefore, according to the Apostle Pauls' writings, they are accursed. As a Christian who reads the Bible as the infallible Word of God, I cannot vote for anyone who believes in a false gospel and a false christ. It would be going against the Bible. Our President invoked the name of Jesus early in his debates. That is why he is a target by the left who hate the name of Jesus. That is why the Lord has been with President Bush all this time.

Eichendorff

Posted: March 02, 2007 7:51 AM

“Cult” is a stupid and useless word. All it really means is, “A religion I don’t like.” It’s a throwaway word for lazy people. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a group of Christians who are trying to do God’s will the best way they know how. They believe their message is important, and so they send missionaries throughout the world to spread that message to anyone who will listen. They try their best to be good citizens and to emulate the example of Christ in their lives. If Mitt Romney’s candidacy achieves anything, it just might be to separate real Christians from bigots like One More Voice.

One more voice

Posted: March 01, 2007 8:44 PM

Randy - the only truth anyone needs to learn about mormonism is that it is a cult. We [Christians] don't hate you, we pray for you. We may talk tough with you, but we pray for your lost souls too. We pray that all of you will one day come to know Christ - the real Christ not your made up image of Christ- and that you will one day join us in calling him King and Savior. We pray that you will one day accept a Triune God, the bodily resurrection and the the diety of Christ. Until then we will continue to write to you of the Truth, in the hopes you may hear and believe. We will continue to correct your false teachings whenever and wherever we must do so - which happens to be in public as your group seems so fond of telling everyone how "christian" you are. In regard to Mitt Romney - I love his values, that he has faith is good. But stop asking me to vote for someone whom I believe is a member of a cult.

MIKEY

Posted: March 01, 2007 7:20 PM

I am a Mormon. Would someone please explain to me why it is OK for me to vote for a someone who is not Mormon, while it is somehow reprehensible for a person who is not Mormon to vote for a Mormon. Don't you see the inconsistancy of your position? What is a Christian anyway? From what studying I have done, it seems like "Christian" Churches cannot agree on who the Man is. Not only that, the "Christian" church philosophy has evolved so much that if you compared what it is today to what it was 20 years ago, you would see marked differences.

Tom	Posted: March 01, 2007 7:01 PM

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. I have always found it interesting that some are afraid because of what Romney (or any other LDS person for that matter) believes, as if believing in things that are not true disqualifies one for salvation. If that is the case, then we are all damned. I look at the fruits of Romney, (again or any other person LDS or not) to judge what kind of a political leader he would be. What is his record as governor? What is his record in the business world? Will he reduce the growth of government? How will he execute the war on terror? Will increase my taxes? I don't care if he believes the Book of Mormon to be factual or disproved. I didn't not vote for Bill Clinton, AlGore, or John Kerry because of their theological views or chances for salvation. I voted for George Bush not for his evangelical faith but because he better answered my policy concerns than any one else.

Eichendorff

Posted: March 01, 2007 4:44 PM

Pashley, you wrote: “For the first question, as best as I can tell, as a Catholic, Mormonism isn't Christian. Okay?” No, not okay. Would you think it was okay if I told you that you are not Christian, when you know very well you are? That is how every Latter-day Saint feels about being told we aren’t Christians. We are. No ifs, ands, or buts. We are the world’s authority on what we believe, and no one else has the right to tell us what we believe. As to the second question, the answer is no, it is not too much of a stretch to elect a Mormon president, any more than it was to elect a Catholic in 1960.

Just a guy

Posted: March 01, 2007 3:10 PM

What's the more dangerous cult? Mormanism, Athiesm, or Liberalism? Of the three, only one teaches that there even is such a thing as Truth (even if they beleive in something that isn't). Only one teaches that life is sacred. One teaches that there's something special about the mom-dad-kids family. Only one has experienced religeous persecution by the state against them. Only one holds up a definition of strength of character that I can agree with. When it comes to political and social issues, the Mormans are on our side almost every time. The others almost never are. There aren't any strong Christians running this time, so pick based on how the cantidate's stand on ISSUES aligns with yours, and on whether you can trust him to do as he says.

Pashley

Posted: March 01, 2007 1:30 PM

Many posters above confuse 2 questions; the validity of Mormonism as Christian is one question, and restricting higher political office by creed is a second, very different question. For the first question, as best as I can tell, as a Catholic, Mormonism isn't Christian. Okay? But the second question is what is at stake here. Is the Mormon world view too much of a stretch to elect someone as President. Well, any Catholic who knows his faith and tradition should take proud place beyond any other religion for the "magica", "miraculous", the bizarre even. We Catholics had 150 years of active discrimination against us, because of our supposed loyalty to a foreign power and many other reasons, take it from humanists and secularists who strive to drive us out of the public square to this day. This was bigoted discriminiation for us. To use the same arguments against a Mormon is the same bigoted crap now.

Eichendorff

Posted: March 01, 2007 12:06 PM

Christy, where do I start? The ignorance and stupidity of your comments boggle the mind. The Book of Mormon cannot be proven false. Nobody has succeeded yet (don't bring up the DNA issue; it's bogus). The Church has never been racist; blacks were welcomed in the Church's earliest days, and while there were very few black members, some of them were devout and very devoted to Joseph Smith. The idea that women are seen just as baby-makers is a real joke. The contribution of women in the church is critical to its success. Mormons do not revere Joseph Smith as a god. I'm not sure where you got that one: maybe on that other planet where you live. Such is the state of much of Christianity in America, ladies and gentlemen.

Thomas

Posted: March 01, 2007 12:00 PM

Charlie: Close, but not quite. Mormons definitely do not believe God is "an alien." He is the same God of the Bible. They do not believe that he lives within the physical universe. They do not believe that good Mormons will receive "a planet (or a piece of space) to administer in the afterlife. They do believe that the saved become "joint heirs with Christ," meaning they become one with the Father and Son in the same way those persons are one with each other. This may involve reigning over a creation of their own -- again, not within the physical universe we exist in. You can find all kinds of odd statements in the early writings of Mormon leaders. You can also find justifications for slavery and burning heretics in the writings of early (and quite recent) Christians. To state "what Mormons believe," you need to go to authoritative, up-to-date sources, not your Mormon-hating pastor.

Josh	Posted: March 01, 2007 11:48 AM

Christy, Your comments are ignorant and offensive at best and bigoted at worst. 1. Neither Joseph Smith nor the LDS "Mormon" church nor the Book of Mormon are running for President, Mitt Romney is. 2. You say: "The entirety of the Book of Mormon can be proved false; yet people still believe that it's an inspired work of God." -- Many believe the same or similar of the Bible. 3. You say: "My concern with a Mormon president is that the Mormon church is historically bigoted and sexist. " -- Many believe the same of most if not all Christian faiths. Have Catholics had female members of the ministry historically? Was it the Mormons that told the founders not to enfranchise women in voting rights? I think not, yet many of the founders were Christians of all sorts. Additionally, the same can be said of slavery and the south in general, many Christian sects and denominations had similarly seeming racist views and practices.

BelieveIt

Posted: March 01, 2007 11:41 AM

Were I you, Christy, I would be careful how you throw around the word "cult". Religion in general and Christianity in particular (Mormons included) are coming more and more under seige, and the vocabulary and phrasology you're using could just as easily be used by secularists to target any mainstream Christian deminination that isn't moving quickly enough toward accomodating the humanist agenda. To many an atheist, to believe in an being that controls everything and spoke to people thousands of years ago is tantamount to mental illness. At the very least, many feel about it the same way that your average person would feel about the Loch Ness monster, UFO's, or Bigfoot. And then we spend time trying to convince them that believing in God is logical. Most open-minded folk feel that those in the Mormon faith seem to be good people, following an admittedly eccentric, but otherwise benign form of Christ-centered worship. Mitt could be a good choice- better than the Democrat alternatives.

Eichendorff

Posted: March 01, 2007 11:35 AM


Joseph Smith was neither a fraud nor a charlatan. He was imperfect, to be sure, but no more than the rest of us. He believed everything he taught and lived his life accordingly. The real frauds are all those so-called “Christians” who persecuted and brutally murdered him.

sunshine48

Posted: March 01, 2007 11:30 AM


I totally agree with Christy! NEWT RUDY

Ralph

Posted: March 01, 2007 11:11 AM

The real problem with LDS is its founder Joseph Smith. Smith was not a 'holy man' looking for salvation. He was a known fraud and charlatan. His founding of a faith puts the entire faith into question and, of course, puts into question anyone who takes this faith seriously. There are many many good people who are Mormons, most of whom have little true knowledge of Smith. Unfortunately, Mitt Romney probably does not have that "excuse".

Eichendorff

Posted: March 01, 2007 10:00 AM

You don’t seem to be able to understand that belief that the Book of Mormon is true is irrelevant to the Presidency of the United States. It will not affect Romney’s policy decisions, how he conducts a war, or legislation he might propose. A president ideally should act with integrity, live up to his oath of office, and possess leadership and statesmanship qualities, but while the principles expressed in the Book of Mormon inspire all of those qualities, it is by no means the only source of such inspiration. I am constantly amazed at the paranoia that many people feel toward the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There is no justification for such paranoia whatsoever. It is simply an organization of Christians who worship God and strive to do His will. In my view, anyone who refuses to vote for Mitt Romney solely because he is a Mormon is a bigot. There is no other way to describe it.

BE	Posted: March 01, 2007 9:40 AM

I don't understand why people making a decision on whether to vote for Romney based on his beliefs are being characterized as bigots by Mr. Hewitt (he used the term "bigoted" on his radio show 2/28/07 to a caller). If an atheist decides not to vote for a Christian because we believe in extraordinary things like the Resurrection, Heaven and other things which surely affect our worldview (and thus our policy), then this isn't bigoted. So if some Christians are concerned that (if) Romney believes that the Book of Mormon is historically true despite overwhelming evidence of its inaccuracy about the Americas of the time, and despite the illustrated parallels with a preceding fiction book of the time, then why should we not at least pause? I would certainly vote for Romney, but too often Mr. Hewitt is dismissing those with "concerns" based on a person's _chosen_ beliefs (not race, appearance, etc.) with "that's bigoted," when at this early stage this is usually reasonable inquiry.

Brakel

Posted: March 01, 2007 6:47 AM

Thanks for the reminder that whatever our personal theological convictions be (and mine significantly depart from Mr. Romney's) the issue is whether this individual will be a good president. How many true Christians will vote for someone that can't win or lead--but who appear to fall in their own sphere of the evangelical world? This was not the intention of our foounders--many of whom had the same convictions we hold.

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