Last week I noted now Brannon Howse, who had been leading a crusade against Glenn Beck because of his Mormon faith, had started explicitly comparing Mormonism with Islam:
Both belief systems teach that they have the only true and complete religion on face of the earth. Both reject Christianity as corrupted. Both taught the plurality of wives, both on earth and in here-after. Both teach that the Bible is corrupt and mistranslated. Both revealed God’s true scripture. Both reject original sin and the doctrine of the trinity. Both teach a salvation by good works. Both use a lay clergy. Both founded by a holy uneducated prophet. Both founding prophets had angelic visitations that they were to restore Adamic religion. Both prophets’ words were above scripture or earlier prophets. Both teach a theocratic form of government.
I guess it should not come as much of a surprise to learn that many of the Religious Right activists who are most vocal in attack Islam also have a long history of attacking Mormons as well.
Case in point is Bill Keller:
To an audience of about 50 people — fully half of whom were members of the press — Pastor Bill Keller launched his 9-11 Christian Center at ground zero this morning with a fiery sermon targeting Muslims and Mormons as hell-bound followers of false faiths. Keller took aim in particular at Glenn Beck, a Mormon, and Imam Rauf, the organizer of the Park51 Islamic community center.
Keller first made a name for himself a few years back by attacking Mitt Romney, claiming that vote for Romney was a vote for Satan.
Keller’s anti-Mormon attacks against Romney were echoed by Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, who proclaimed that “Mormonism is a cult” and that Christians could not vote for Romney because “Christians are uniquely favored by God, [while] Mormons, Hindus and Muslims worship a false god.”
So it is entirely predictable that Jeffress likewise hates Islam:
Prominent Pastor Robert Jeffress of the First Baptist Church of Dallas gave a sermon a few weeks ago saying, among other things: “The deep, dark, dirty secret of Islam: It is a religion that promotes pedophilia – sex with children. This so-called prophet Muhammad raped a 9-year-old girl – had sex with her.”
…
First Baptist’s Sunday evening service on August 22 featured an “Ask the Pastor” segment, in which Jeffress called Islam “oppressive” and violent.” He also said that “around the world today, you have Muslim men having sex with 4-year-old girls, taking them as their brides, because they believe the prophet Muhammad did it.”
“I believe,” Jeffress added, “as Christians and conservatives, it’s time to take off the gloves and stand up and tell the truth about this evil, evil religion.”
…
“It does incite violence. It is used to oppress women around the world,” he added, continuing that he “was not talking about this country” when referencing pedophilia. But, Jeffress said, “the worst thing about Islam is that it is a deception that leads people from the true God.”
Jeffress contended that “we do not hate Muslims” and noted: “I have a very good friend here in Dallas who is a Muslim.”
Something for Glenn Beck to keep in mind as he gins up anti-Muslim sentiment and opposition to Park 51: people who hate Islam generally have equally harsh views about all other faith traditions as well, including Mormonism.
