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 Evangelicals are expected to account for about 40% of the Republican vote on Tuesday's primary in Florida.
January 28th, 2012
02:00 AM ET
Florida Evangelicals a different breed of voter than brethren in Iowa, South CarolinaBy John Sepulvado, CNN (CNN) - Conservative Christian activist Ralph Reed has called the Bible Belt home for decades, but he grew up in Miami in the 1970s, when the city was emerging as a diverse megalopolis. Among his middle school friends were Jews, Catholics and Methodists. Then, at age 15, Reed's family relocated to the sleepy mountain town of Toccoa, Georgia, so his dad, a doctor, could take a better-paying job. “It was very conservative,” says Reed, who now lives outside Atlanta. “At first – as would be true of any 15-year-old – I didn’t like it. I think it was a culture shock.” Ultimately, the mostly evangelical residents of Toccoa shaped Reed’s faith, helping lead him to Jesus in his 20s. But in terms of his faith-based organizing, the well-known activist drew more on his experiences in hyper-diverse Miami. "Later on in life, when I became a leader in the Christian Coalition, I had a greater appreciation [for] ethnic and religious diversification,” Reed says. That could be good news for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor is looking to regain momentum from chief rival Newt Gingrich, after the former speaker’s upset in South Carolina, in Florida’s Tuesday primary. There are signs that Florida’s evangelical voters may be more forgiving of Romney’s past social liberalism than their Iowa and South Carolina brethren – and more willing to support a Mormon candidate. “I think Romney could do well in Florida,” Reed says. A more centrist evangelicalism As a percentage of GOP voters, there are fewer evangelicals in Florida compared to South Carolina and Iowa, where Rick Santorum won the presidential caucuses, according to CNN exit polls from 2008. In that year, evangelicals accounted for 40% of Republican primary voters in Florida, compared to 60% in the Iowa caucuses and South Carolina primaries. And compared to those other early primary states, Florida is much more religiously diverse. In the 2008 primary there, Catholics were nearly a third of the Republican vote, with other kinds of Christians, Jews and those with no religious affiliation each claiming a chunk of the vote. Still, evangelical Christians claim a bigger share of the Florida Republican vote than any other religious tradition. There also are signs they may be more tolerant of a Mormon candidate than born-again Christians in the Bible Belt and Midwest. In the South Carolina primary, Romney claimed 22% of the evangelical vote, compared to 44% for Gingrich, according to CNN exit polls. Florida’s evangelicals are “more open” to the idea of a Mormon in the White House, according to Orlando area pastor Joel C. Hunter. “Our nature, of being a fairly mobile state, with a lot of tourism and a lot of transcultural and transnational interaction really makes us boundary spanning, rather than sticking to our own affinity groups,” Hunter says. He leads a congregation of 15,000 at Northland, a Church Distributed, a nondenominational megachurch of the kind that are more popular in Florida than in Iowa or South Carolina. “For any independent church, you’re going to be open – necessarily open – to non-ready made boundaries, open to other religious groups,” Hunter says. “You’ll be more likely to partner with groups that aren’t necessarily like your own.” The pastor cites his church’s partnerships with local synagogues and mosques to help local homeless children. For Hunter, teaming up with different religious traditions follows the example of Jesus. “Jesus talked to the people, the religious leaders others wouldn’t talk to,” he says. “As an evangelical, I should be ready to talk to a lot of people that aren’t like myself, because that’s what I see in the life of Christ, and I’m looking to build relationships.” Mark I. Pinsky, the Florida-based author of "A Jew Among Evangelicals," says there are other key differences between evangelicals in Florida and those in Iowa and South Carolina. “In Iowa,” Pinsky says, “they tend to be rural and older. In South Carolina, they tend to be more fundamentalist, and more likely to be affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention,” a denomination that isn’t shy about pointing out theological differences with Mormonism. Pinsky says Florida evangelicals, especially in the central part of the state, are more likely to have Mormons as neighbors, compared to their brethren in South Carolina and Iowa. “Nondenominational evangelicals are less likely to demonize someone who is a real person,” Pinsky says. Less Preaching, More Teaching Even in smaller Baptist churches in Florida’s Panhandle, there are “notable differences” with Christians in more historically evangelical parts of the country, according to pastor Curtis Clark. “There’s still a lot of yelling from the pulpit in South Carolina,” says Clark, who leads a congregation of 2,500 at Thomasville Road Baptist Church in Tallahassee. Clark says his congregation is split between Republicans and Democrats, that almost all the adults have college degrees and that the parishioners want to be led, not yelled at. “I try and teach, try and encourage,” Clark says. “Florida evangelicals are a little bit more educated, and have a broader experience.” Census figures from 2010 show Florida has a slightly greater share of college graduates than South Carolina. Both the Romney and Gingrich campaigns are reaching out to evangelicals to quell concerns about their candidacies. Both campaigns held conference calls with influential conservative religious leaders last week, discussing religion, personal and policy decisions. Many evangelicals have expressed concern about Romney’s past support for abortion rights and gay rights and over Gingrich’s failed marriages. But Romney doesn’t need to win big among evangelicals to take Florida, Reed says. Because evangelicals make up a smaller portion of Republican voters, Reed says Romney only needs to win a sizeable share of their support. “If Romney gets a third of evangelical voters” Reed says, “he wins the primary.” While Romney skipped meeting with some evangelical leaders in South Carolina, including officials at Bob Jones University, his campaign has started more aggressively courting pastors and religious community networks in Florida. The campaign has participated in multiple conference calls with religious leaders and activists. “In part, I think [the Romney campaign is] more open to outreach by virtue of the Florida demographic,” Reed says. That suggests the Romney camp suspects Florida’s evangelicals will be more open to his candidacy than other evangelicals in the primary states so far.
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The chanting, singing simpletons. Supplicating themselves like pathetic fools to their non-existent hokey Iron Age sky-fairy
Your mission, Colin, should you choose to accept it, is to oppose the minions of the Sky Fairy, and, most importantly, to determine exactly what is behind all this irrationality. You can expect to spend most of your time doing this, but your devotion to humanity, rational thought and, well, your own curiosity is well known and we all know that you do your very darndest to do a real bang-up job of it. No one really cares if you succeed, but that's just the way it is. Apathy prevents me from saying more, but can we count on you?
gee, it's actually not very hard to become an evangelical. just believe in made-up stuff that someone tells you; give them money on a regular basis; go to church on sundays, put your hands in the air and close your eyes and make believe you are being bathed in the goodness of a being that did not stop hitler even though he created the entire universe and everyone in it; drive home from church, cutting people off in the parking lot and giving them the finger; repeat ad-infinitum.
Atheists wake up and believe everything they are told by scientists and other atheists, feel smug, make condescending remarks to believers, and go back to bed.
@townc: and theists use the threat of some unproven place to make us feel like we have no importance...pot meet kettle...you are a hypocrite!
I never said what your ultimate destiny is. I am not your judge. We need to respect each others beliefs. We also need to realize that there are many scientists who believe in God and look at the scientific evidence differently than you do.
Really TownC? Can you name a scientific development in the last 10,000 years that suggests there is an all-powerful sky-god looking down on 7 billion humans 24 hours a day?
Your world view starts with premise that there is no God. So you interpret all scientific data to fit this world view. I start with the premise that there is a God and all the data fits in with my world view. Therefore for me to give you "evidence" would be pointless. My point is that you have faith in your world view and I have faith in mine. We need to respect each others beliefs.
Hurry up TownC, I've got the media on speaker!!
Virtually all scientists know that evolution is a proven theory, and a much higher percentage than the general population state "no religious affiliation". Why do you think that is...
Where does this notion that "we must have respect for each others' world views" come from? I can question other people's political views and their opinions on a whole range of topics. I don't see any reason why religious delusions should be more "respected".
We attempt to draw our conclusions based on whatever factual data there may be, but we certainly don't make our conclusions first and then draw as many facts as we can to support them. That's just not logical.
For many years most scientists believed that the earth was the center of the universe or that the earth was a lot smaller than it actually was. Most scientists had no idea that the continents of North and South America existed. Be careful in following what most scientists believe. We all know that scientific theory constantly changes as new information is discovered. It is good to respect others beliefs...it helps us maintain a civil society. Respect does not mean acceptance.
"For many years most scientists believed that the earth was the center of the universe or that the earth was a lot smaller than it actually was. Most scientists had no idea that the continents of North and South America existed. Be careful in following what most scientists believe."
Science tries to prove itself wrong. That's why science can adapt. The worldview of scientists is informed by the most recent data. This is pretty much the exact opposite of religion.
By the way – who showed that the earth is not the center of the universe – science, or religion? Which one opposed the change heavily because it conflicted with a previously held view point that was not open to change?
town c, sorry, just woke back up. yeah if being a black-hearted atheist lets me go back to bed i'm all for it. by the way, you last said that we need to respect other's views. you might try that. oh that's right, xtians never seem to practice what they preach. and back in the early days, scientists were not allowed to state that the earth was a planet of the sun because the church would kill them for heresy.
Wrong.. Atheist don't believe everything science tells them. They trust science to investigate, research, question.. You know, what intelligent man should do. If atheist reasoned the religionist, there would be bloodletting as cures, belief in the sun revolves around the sun..
Thankfully, atheist tend to have higher IQ's. And the vast majority of scientist, you know, those that cure the religionist when they are sick, don't believe in the religion nonsense.
Anyone checked with Jesus, which type of followers he is OK with? If we settled that, then we could all get on the "right" track. Maybe god will add a new chapter to the bible? although I don't know whether he'd do that in English or Spanish?
i checked. he's good with rich white gop voters.
Where do people come up with these self made opinions of our existence? Oh ya, from themselves...God created everything!!! Ya we came from a rock that just happen to spark a big bang and made us and everything around us... It all just happened, LOL...The sunset in my back yard yesterday was all from that big bang...or better yet, my 17 year old high school senior boy says a big bang made Jessica Alba =)
What's keeping your heart beating right now as you read this? How come it's a fight to reason against a creator? Why don't we see the evidence that surrounds us?
I go with what is simple to see and understand that God created us and saw that we failed to meet His living standards – sin, so He gave us His Son to pay the penalty for that sin by His death on the cross. That's love and that's something you can't reason out of....
i have a great investment plan, sure winner, 20% return per year! mail your check to....
poking holes in the rationality/logic of the agnostic/atheist viewpoint is pretty weak when you look at the illogical/irrational foundations of the faithful's argument... it's the ultimate hypocracy my friend, try another angle
18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”[a]
20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. (NLT)
Please go back to bed!!!!!!!
wow, religious rhetoric always sounds so nutty
And if I had have been hired to write the "holy scripture" I would have expounded the same sort of babble.
Amen! But we must witness, to those who don't believe, patiently and with love. Not to be judgmental. For we were once like them. Living away from the will of God. And not living under the spirit of Truth.
The United States scares me...
Let's get the religious part out of politics. Didn,t we get this out of our systems with Kennedy???? Grow up! Ask for a moral candidate but the testing against the religious principals of one group within a political party is not what the presidency is about!!! We need a world leader, with world class views and the background to carry out those ideas. We cant afford another -learn on the job individual.
amen! (pun intended)
Only a whacked out evangelical would vote for Santorum. Here's a guy whose name has become synonymous with rectal foam (deservedly I might add) and who brings a dead baby home for everyone to play with. A walking, talking human freak.
the best you can do is attack Santorum on his choices that have no place in politics and call him names, instead of reasoned argumentation. That seems like a logical flaw to me......
muslim/christian, all the same
NOT true TM!
Clearly, if you think they are the same you know nothing about the fundamentals of both religions.
I agree...relative to science and fact based/rational thinkers they are pretty much all the same...similar to someone who really believes the lord of the rings is a true story
To deny to Jesus was even a real historical figure is not based in science either. You would have to ignore mounds of physical evidence to reach that conclusion.
He may have existed or not. What we know for a fact is that none of the supernatural hocus pocus happened since that defies science, reason, and a sane mind.
Actually the claim Jesus was EVER real is a VERY unlikely concept!
we have more evidence (outside of the bible) that Jesus was a real person then we have of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great
Ok, first off, there is no physical evidence that Jesus existed. And don't point to the bible. Written many decades after Jesus was purportedly alive there is much to be said that Jesus could have been a man that was alive 2,000 years ago that lived the life of a revolutionary and then from that the story was embellished to what you have in the bible. But to claim physical evidence is totally wrong. Not one shred exists that is undeniable proof that Jesus existed, much less be the right hand man to god. Or whatever other ridiculous claims are made in the bible.
You mean writings made 70-100 years AFTER the supposed occurrence like Pliny?..Or outright forgeries like Josephus? Alexander has a half dozen surviving histories from personal accounts all cross-referenced...If you THINK that Jesus has the same historical veracity you are QUITE mistaken!
TM, please stop spreading lies. The existence of jesus is hotly debated, but if you're talking about evidence outside of the bible then it's minuscule and unverifiable at most.
Atheists have a lot of faith...in their own sources. It seems as if they think that if they say "there is no God" enough times, they actually start believing it. If everything must be proved, we still need to believe or have faith in those sources of information. Science is always changing based on new information or new interpretations of information. There are many scientists who believe in God who interpret the scientific evidence differently then atheists. Einstein is a good example.
@TM
Other than the bible, is Jesus Christ mentioned in any historical writings of the time, or shortly thereafter?
None. Despite what some people claim, there are no extra-Biblical records of him at all.
Even the Bible is not a first-hand account – the Gospels were written some 40 – 100 years after his supposed death.
There are some problems with his birth as well. The ONLY census of the area was the Census of Quirinius, in 6 / 7 AD. However, Herod the Great died in 4BC – clearly the Gospels cannot be correct.
Some Christians point to later writings by Josephus, Tacitus or Pliny. However, all of these people were born AFTER Christ's supposed death, they cannot be used as first hand evidence. Also there are serious problems with these sources – most historians (including most Christian historians) think that Josephus's mention of Christ are a later addition – a pious fraud. And Tacitus and Pliny only record Christians – not Christ, and no-one disputes that there were Christians in the first couple of centuries AD.
None of this means that he did not exist, just that the historical record is entirely lacking – that's the point of faith.
@TownC: If you think Einstein was a believer you are badly mistaken. He was an agnostic but did not at all believe in a personal god like the christian one.
I think that Jesus was a wise Jewish Rabbi that had a following but that had no intension of being worshiped. He would probably be appalled at the commercialization, brutal conversions and holy wars in his name.
TownC: "new interpretations of information" interpretation is not scientific method. And as for Einstein, get your facts straight. The god of Einstein and the god of an evangelical are totally different. I could state it here but you can look it up to get a better understanding.
There are no contemporaneous references to Jesus in any records. The first references date from 50 or 60 years after his supposed death (this includes the Gospels, but I'm particularly talking about "neutral" references, like Josephus and Pliny). Given the scale of the events as described in the Gospels and the detailed record keeping that the Jews and especially the Romans of the time kept, it would be expected that there would be records made _at the time_ that recounted the events from the Gospels, but those don't exist.
Wow, some of you REALLY don't KNOW that Jesus was a real person? rigel4 – Do you know who wrote Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? Clearly, you do not know what you are talking about like many of the other misinformed on this topic.
David- Think what you will but read what Jesus said. Either you are correct or He is and I'm sure He has it right.
@TownC,
I bet that Einstein found your version of a god to be childish. Believers love to count Einstein amongst them, but as Einstein even said, from the viewpoint of a priest, he's an atheist.
90+ % of the members of the national academy of sciences are atheists. Coincidence? Most scientists that are believers that I know believe in SPITE of the lack of evidence.
There is as much evidence of the christian god as there is for an invisible purple spotted unicorn creator.
What blows the mind is that these people will not vote for a man who has been married for many years, raised a nice family and lived what seems to be a pretty decent life because he is a Mormon...yet Gingrich is okay? The guy with a less than " Christian" past? Besides the fact why are we talking about something that should not even factor into a presidential election?
I can understand that some people might feel a need to have a belief in some original force/deity, kind of like Einstein said he did and a number of the founding fathers. But to believe in the supernatural aspects of the biblical myths and fairy tales is something I find utterly childish. The bible might be an interesting book in terms of the mythology of the time and in what it tells us about how people thought and lived back then, but to believe in the "Jesus" myth is just on a 5 year old's level. Come on people, being dead is not scary since it is exactly like it was before you were born (non-existence); enjoy your only life and love those around you.
Keep irrational Christianity OUT of Government. When someone starts professing their "God" over their responsibilities, I walk the other way. Your responsibility is to the people who elect you. Your religion is supposed to be a part of your character....too much irrational fundamentalism makes for a weak foundation and ultimately a failure as a man or person of responsibility. You can't be a leader of a society if you only help only one cultural group and shun others.
Agreed!
Absolutely agree!
hellz yeah...when people trade religion for reason it's pretty scary what chaos they can cause
My husband and I grew up in Georgia, lived in SC for 25 years and now live in Alabama. We are conservative evangelical Christians who could tell you why we think Mormonism is not a Christian religion.The fact that Romney was governor of the most liberal state in the nation would ordinarily prevent us from voting for him. However, although I much prefer Santorum, if I still lived in SC I would have voted for Romney because we strongly detest Gingrich for what we see as a total lack of a moral compass and HIS single-minded commitment to the cause of-Newt Gingrich. And as much as we would hate to do this, if Gingrich gets the nomination, we will be forced to vote for Obama, because CHARACTER DOES COUNT!
You vote based on someone's religion? Really, where do you people come from? Do you KNOW anything on how this country was formed? The original settlers came to escape religious persecution and here, 405 and some odd years later, you use exactly the same mindset to prejudge people who you would force to be of your religion if they wanted your vote. Religion has NO PLACE in government and a person who votes as such is a fool.
I'm sorry, but didn't Jesus preach forgiveness, not only seven times- but seventy times seven? I am fairly certain that Newt Gingrich has professed his sincere change from his ways of past, AND if you live in the DC- Metro area, you could see PROOF of that every Sunday as he and his wife ((who by the way, has one of the best singing voices I have heard)) attend Church together ((and become highly accessible to the public as well)). I'm not saying Gingrich is my first choice, I prefer Santorum, personally. But in saying "character does count", are you narrowing in on one area of his life where Speaker Gingrich transgressed? What about the "character" of a sitting president that allows one third of an innocent generation to be lost, EVERY DAY?
character: (n) moral or ethical quality.
Pretty sure morals can be rebuilt with Jesus' help, unless you want to limit the all powerful God.
And I'm pretty sure President Obama's "ethics" aren't exactly what Jesus would go for.
Jus' sayin.
Martog – I found your 10 signs interesting to read. As a Christian, I do often wonder why there is hostility from non believers. I can see your logic and understand how foolish and narrow minded we may seem. Sometimes it doesn't matter the way things are, but what the perception is. I would just say that everyone can't be right. All religions can't be right. By definition, they are all different and are saying different messages. So, are you mad that someone believes something different or is it because it seems too hard to believe? My guess would be that you are in the celebrate diversity crowd. Are you saying people should be able to believe anything they want- as long as they don't actually believe it's true! ??
They can't all be right so Government shouldn't favor ANY of them. That is what the founders KNEW was the answer to responsible governance. Get irrational religious people far away from positions of responsibility. The Government serves ALL Americans, not just the one in "your" cult.
First off any Church that doesn't follow the Holy Bible isn't Christian. Second I'm tired of left and right wing people hijacking the faith in the name of the party. Both parties do it and I am sick of it. Jesus isn't a D or R he is a spiritual leader who died on the cross for peoples sins and after raising from the dead ascended to Heaven to be with God. When he comes again I wonder if he'll find any who truly believe in him. It's time to get back to the Bible and stop this crazy nonsense.
Given that resurrection is impossible, you sound like a fool for believing the story. There is no evidence for heaven or god for that matter and until there is physical evidence your claims remain false! Do you not care whether or not your beliefs are true?
amen.
Jesus isn't coming back. Have you ever consider from where after 2,000 years is he coming back from? I know, a 1,000 years is like a blink in time for Jesus. Sure. I would have wrote the same thing if I were tasked with writing the bible. Which, by the way, is a poor example of literature.
"Well, believing in X makes me a better person." Doesn't Santa Claus also motivate children to be good people? I really don't think truth is what you're looking for, more like comforting lies.
It is heartbreaking to see so many non believers posting. Christians really need to pray for these folks. When Jesus returns he will be the Judge and you will face him. Think before you reject him.
amen!
Which Bible do you mean? You do know about books being deleted and added by various Church Councils over the centuries as well as during the Reformation, right? And if you say the KJV, you're a heretic and should be burnt.
Will someone please tell me how the news media defines "evangelical"? They seem to be lumping ME in there and I haven't evangelized in 20 years. For the record, "evangelism" is when you go out and try to convert other people to your faith – something the atheists have been doing a lot of lately, not me. Oh, and "fundamentalist" means you adhere strictly to the fundamental doctrines of your religious tradition. One would assume that if you don't at least try to adhere to them, you don't really believe them. The only way "fundamentalist" is bad is if the doctrine isn't true. And they throw around the phrase "born again" as if it's a label ! People, "born again" isn't an organization, denomination or type of Christianity. It means that you have put your faith in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth and have decided to start living a new life guided by the principle of forgiveness that Jesus so perfectly illustrated. That's what a Christian IS. So if you're not "born again", you're not really a christian at all, you're just wearing the label – like Romney is trying to do.
There is no converting anyone to Atheism. As Stephen Roberts said “I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.”
So why does reality frighten you?
Yeah, that's why fundamentalist religions are all bad. They believe resolutely and single-mindedly to something that isn't true.
Truthprevails – that's a great quote.... so true
There is an o;d southern saying "you throw a rock into a pack of dogs, the one that yelps the loudest got hit the hardest" sooo we can see which dogs got hit here. Beside for all you narrow minded and broard minded folks there is a vast difference between "religion" and "a relationship". True christianity is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Ya'll can arguee all day long or the rest of your lives but in the end, which is soon, we will find out who is right and who is left behind.
Man, now I'm really scared!
Jesus is not a real historical figure. We are all left behind to feed the worms.
We all end our days the same way and return where we came from in all the same way. Believe what you may but in the end when you and I are dead, neither of us will know who was "right" because there is nothing. We truly cease to be. Like we were before we were born. Nothing. Jesus, if he really even existed, was a man. Nothing more. Mohammed was a man. Joseph Smith was a man. Good intentions may have been their initial objective but that has long since been changed and forgotten. Religion hampers the development of mankind. It puts up silos. Builds walls. In this day of age when walls are being torn down, religion is a has-been. Good enough for our ancestors who believed in boogeyman, witchcraft, flat world. But for mankind in the 21st century, not plausible. Ridiculous notions. Religion is used to create wealth, exert power and control the will of all that are a part of it. Nothing more.
RJ, you can't explain the difference between religion and a relationship with God to someone who doesn't have a relationship with God. They don't get it. They can't get it.
Who's left behind. That right there is a key nugget into why evangelical born agains are the dregs of society. You say when we die we'll see who gets left behind, but in your narrow fundamentalist minds you already prejudge people who should get to go to heaven or not....It's always a race to you fools. The true sinners are false pious creeps who think they can do all they want during the week because the pastor will forgive you on the weekend. Sad, small and ultimately will be the last.
Absolutely agree!
Want to make sure this post is understood correctly-I absolutely agree with RJ.
MSADR: just like you can't explain to someone who isn't delusional or who doesnt suffer any other countless mental illnesses, what it's like to have one of them. Right?
It's hard to have a relationship with someone you never met and can't even be sure exists... I used to have a relationship with Santa Claus and God, then my family/society admitted there was no santa claus...that's when I realized what being brainwashed felt like, and started to understand that my belief in god was no different than my previous belief in santa claus... we believe what we are told to believe, except for agnostics and/or atheists who were raised by religious people and had to unlearn on their own...to be that's a more powerful argument than just spewing the same rhetoric you are fed every sunday and throughout your life
What if Jesus comes back in a space ship? I would like to see the look on these evangelicals faces. Holly Sh!@. I don't know how you argue with people that believe myth over science. You can't argue with people that can't face reality. Dealing with people in denial is tough. The GOP has become the party of denial.
If he really was a Christian he would see that Mormonism is an Anti-Christ type of cult. The founder actually changed the Bible and added his own foreshadowing of him coming. The way Jesus was foreshadowed in the Old Testament. So technically these Christians in Florida are not Christians at all if they vote for him. The Bible clearly states you should not add to it the way the Mormons have.
So he is a big time hypocrite The same kind of Christians that judge non Christians or just normal people that don't express their spirituality
as public ally as he does and yet he wants to say we are not Christians. LOL.
Lance Poverty–Actually the bible has been added to and taken away from a lot since it was compiled by the Roman Catholic Church centuries ago. The Bible did not exist in its present day form until well after the death of Christ. The scripture in Revelations about adding and taking away was part of that book. You would do well to seek a full understanding of things in life before making comments that just end up showing your ignorance to particular issues. God Bless!
I don't know where the Bible says you can't add to it. It's been added to, subtracted from, rewritten, and reinterpreted for 2000+ years. As ridiculous Mormonism is (as are all/most religions) I think it's clear the same kind of thing happened 2000 years ago. I'm also not sure why someone who votes for a non-Christian is technically not a Christian. Religion is such a silly, irrational thing!
OK, DS, it was said in Revelations then (no changes). Interesting. I wonder who changed it to say that. "This is my version now, don't change it!." Clever.
Interestingly, none of the authors of the books about Christ ever met him. They were written about a century later. Imagine trying to write about a family member 100 years later in a culture with few written records. It was all just stories, handed down (and changed) over the generations. No wonder the books are so different.
But the guy who commits adultery is cool, right? At least he isn't a Mormon!