They're crawling out of the woodwork:While some evangelical Christians are defending the presidential candidacy of Mormon Mitt Romney from an attack by Al Sharpton, another prominent pastor is going further in his condemnation – saying a vote for the former Massachusetts governor is a vote for Satan.
I am not especially enthused with Romney but this kind of attack is beyond the pale. Even the Hillary Arkancide conspiracy theorists do not equate Her Thighness with the Devil himself.
That's the word from Bill Keller, host of the Florida-based Live Prayer TV program as well as LivePrayer.com. "If you vote for Mitt Romney, you are voting for Satan!" he writes in his daily devotional to be sent out to 2.4 million e-mail subscribers tomorrow.
He and Hugo Chavez need to get their stories straight.
Sharpton, the Democratic Party activist and former presidential candidate, has been widely condemned for singling out Romney's faith as an issue in the campaign.
Could Romney's candidacy catalyze a weird new alliance between fundamentalists and lib race-baiters? We see gay-rights proponents and Hollywood libertines siding with Iranian mullahs so I guess anything is possible.
"As for the one Mormon running for office, those who really believe in God will defeat him anyways, so don't worry about that; that's a temporary situation," he said.
Keller also comes out swinging against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints as a cult. "This message today is not about Mitt Romney," he writes. "Romney is an unashamed and proud member of the Mormon cult founded by a murdering polygamist pedophile named Joseph Smith nearly 200 years ago. The teachings of the Mormon cult are doctrinally and theologically in complete opposition to the Absolute Truth of God's Word. There is no common ground. If Mormonism is true, then the Christian faith is a complete lie. There has never been any question from the moment Smith's cult began that it was a work of Satan and those who follow their false teachings will die and spend eternity in hell."
Hmmmm. I am no fan of the Mormon religion either but, speaking of dangerous cults, I seem to have missed any news of the latest spate of Mormon instigated beheadings and car bombings.
"I guess what I can tell you is it shows that bigotry can still rear its ugly head in society," Alex Burgos, a spokesman for the Romney campaign, told WND. "It's sad that anyone would target a fellow American on the issue of faith."
"We really have no comment," Kim Farah, a spokeswoman for the Mormon church, told WND.
"I am not permitted to call someone a raving psyschopath on church time."
Keller is also critical of other evangelicals who have reached out to Romney. "I have watched in horror over the past weeks as one evangelical Christian leader after another has either endorsed, supported, or just as bad, refused to denounce Romney's run for the White House and those Christian leaders who support him," Keller writes. "Last weekend Pat Robertson, founder of CBN and Regent University, had Romney deliver the keynote address to the graduates of Regent. Regent is one of the great Christian colleges in this nation, and Robertson allowed this cult member to deliver the commencement address. Is he out of his mind? Do you think there would ever be a true Gospel preacher giving the commencement address at Brigham Young?"
But the focus of his appeal to followers is to discredit Mormonism as a legitimate faith in line with the tenets of Christianity. "I have been warning you for years now about this cult born out of the pits of hell and responsible for sending millions of souls to eternal damnation," Keller says. "For the nearly 200 years this cult has been in existence they have strived for mainstream acceptance. They are the most devious of all the cults since they have always tried to portray themselves as 'just another Christian group' when in fact, they are no more Christian than a Muslim is! Their deception starts with their name, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Sounds like a Christian church doesn't it? Some Mormons have recently changed their name to simply Community of Christ to disguise even better who they are in an attempt to lure people in."
Keller goes on to say that when LDS members talk of God and Jesus they are not talking about the God and Jesus of Christianity. He claims Romney's high-profile candidacy for the presidency is an important effort by the church to gain credibility and respectability.
"There are reportedly 12 million Mormons worldwide, half of those in the United States," he says. "The worldwide holdings of the Mormon cult are in the tens of billions of dollars. Mitt Romney is the first member of this cult who has had the legitimate opportunity to help them achieve their goal of mainstream acceptance while holding the most powerful office in the world. Romney will have the full resources of this cult behind him in his bid for the White House."
He says if Romney wins the White House, millions of people will be attracted to Mormonism. "Those who follow the false teachings of this cult, believe in the false jesus of the Mormon cult and reject faith in the one true Jesus of the Bible, will die and spend eternity in hell," he charges. "Romney getting elected president will ultimately lead millions of souls to the eternal flames of hell!"
Keller also criticizes Romney for political flip-flops on issues like abortion, citing a recent report that his wife donated money to Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion provider in the world. "Please take some time today and pray for Mitt Romney and all those who have been deceived by the lies of the Mormon cult," Keller adds. "The fact is that unless they renounce those lies and turn to faith in the one true Jesus of the Bible, they will die and spend eternity in hell. Pray also for these Christian leaders who have for whatever reason, foolishly aligned themselves with Romney. Pray the Holy Spirit will convict them and that they will renounce Romney and find a candidate to support who will hold to Biblical values. There is no excuse, no justification for supporting and voting for a man who will be used by satan to lead the souls of millions into the eternal flames of hell!"
T-H-O-R-A-Z-I-N-E, now, max dose.
Keller was a businessman convicted of insider trading in 1989, a crime for which he served more than two years in federal prison. After getting out, he received a degree in biblical studies from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and has been in full-time ministry ever since.
Why am I not surprised? Be sure to check out Keller's photo at the link. What is it with televangelists and goofy haircuts?