The Salty Peanut Gallery

In a twenty minute speech held last Thursday at the George Bush Presidential Library before a crowd of 300 supporters and religious leaders, Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, tried to assure evangelical Christians and other religious voters that his Mormon values matched theirs. The speech drew obvious comparisons to John F. Kennedy’s 1960 address before the Greater Houston Ministerial Association concerning his Roman Catholic faith. With Romney slipping in Iowa to former Baptist minister, Mike Huckabee, it had become imperative that he do something to shift attention back toward his candidacy.

I have to admit that there are a couple of things about that speech that I found encouraging. Romney said:

“I will take care to separate the affairs of government from any religion, but I will not separate us from the God who gave us liberty. Nor would I separate us from our religious heritage.”

“In recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning,” he said. “They seek to remove from the public domain any acknowledgment of God. Religion is seen as merely a private affair with no place in public life. It is as if they are intent on establishing a new religion in America — the religion of secularism. They are wrong.”

“I will serve no one religion, no one group, no one cause, and no one interest,” he said. “A president must serve only the common cause of the people of the United States.”

I couldn’t agree more. A true understanding and respect for the First Amendment; public acknowledgement of the Divine Author of liberty; strong opposition toward the secularization of public discourse; these are the kinds of remarks that any conservative Christian would want to hear from a presidential candidate.

On the other hand this speech really does nothing to allay the concerns of the many evangelicals who are struggling with the idea of voting for a Mormon presidential candidate. In fact in many ways I think it serves to illustrate the obvious disconnect that exists today between politicians and conservative Christians.

Romney stated, “There is one fundamental question about which I often am asked. What do I believe about Jesus Christ? I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of mankind.” He also added, “My church’s beliefs about Christ may not all be the same as those of other faiths. Each religion has its own unique doctrines and history.”

Later on he said, “No candidate should become the spokesman for his faith. For if he becomes president he will need the prayers of the people of all faiths… We do not insist on a single strain of religion—rather, we welcome our nation’s symphony of faith.”

Here’s the problem as I see it. First of all, Mormons may use similar terminology, but their beliefs about Christ are nothing at all like those of evangelicals. Our understanding of the nature of God and Christ isn’t even remotely similar. Consequently Mormonism is a false gospel that does not lead to eternal life, but rather leads to death. The Apostle Paul warned believers to reject “a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you” – Galatians 1:8-9.

Additionally, while Romney’s devotion to religious tolerance is certainly commendable, on a practical level it’s not very realistic. Isaiah 45:5-6 says:

I am the LORD, and there is no other;
There is no God besides Me.
I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting
That there is none besides Me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other;

There is only one God who hears our prayers. It may be politically expedient to welcome “the prayers of the people of all faiths,” but the fact remains that there is no power in prayers offered to a god who doesn’t exist.

Be that as it may, there are a number of evangelical leaders today that don’t see this as a problem. Some say Romney’s religious affiliation “shouldn’t be a deal breaker” for people of faith, arguing that “we’re not electing a Sunday school teacher, we’re electing a president.” Maybe they’re right. And frankly I do believe Romney when he says, “I will take care to separate the affairs of government from any religion.” But there are still a couple of concerns that we as evangelicals must be willing to face in order to support Mr. Romney for president.

Number one, would we have this same religious tolerance for a conservative presidential candidate if he were say a Muslim, or a Buddhist or a Hindu? Can evangelicals in good conscience vote for someone who worships a different god then we do?

Secondly, by supporting a devout Mormon candidate, will evangelicals in effect be legitimizing Mormonism? Put another way, how might a Mormon president affect the worldwide missionary cause of Mormonism even from a purely symbolic standpoint?

I’m not saying evangelicals shouldn’t vote for Romney. All I’m saying is that we as Christians need to be willing to ask ourselves some very tough questions before making the decision to support his presidential candidacy.