I can't get this story off my mind: Mike Huckabee to speak at strongly anti-Catholic preacher's church.
I'm not fascinated that Huckabee is going there (though it concerns me–bigotry is bigotry, and for reasons explained forth below, Preacher Hagee is a bigot). I'm fascinated by this preacher's spin: The Catholic Church is anti-Semitic and fundamentally flawed, and it always has been.
In support, he excoriates a host of patristic thinkers: Eusebius, Cyril, Chrysostom, Augustine, Origen, Justin, and Jerome. Those thinkers go back a ways, especially Origen. He was born in 185. It's not inconceivable that Origen's great-grandfather met one or more of the apostles. It's unlikely, of course, but that's how old Origen is. By striking at Origen, Hagee is striking awfully close to Christianity's roots. He doesn't seem to ask: If Catholicism's roots (which he at least implicitly acknowledges go back at least 1,800 years) are rotten, what does that say about Christianity's roots? And if he acknowledges Catholicism has such deep roots, who is he to uproot them?
His scholarship is also terribly flawed, and he apparently has no knowledge about more responsible studies of Catholicism and the Jews, especially studies about Pius XII's assistance to the Jews during Hitler. I realize the guy probably isn't a scholar, but he ought to be fair in his assessments. There's enough legitimate material to beat Catholicism with. He doesn't need to use canards and bogus material.
But I don't think he cares. He isn't trying to tell the truth, or to be fair, or to be charitable. He doesn't care about any of that because he's blind: Blinded with hatred for Catholicism. And that's why I say he's a bigot. “Truth and fairness be damned: I gotta beat the Anti-Christ RCC!”
If Huckabee goes there without apologizing or confronting Hagee with his bigotry, I will resist Huckabee's candidacy, even if it means voting for Hillary (alright, that might be a bit strong, but dang it, why is Huckabee even pushing these bigot buttons?).
Huckabee's campaign HQ phone number: 501-324-2008. It's easy to get through.
Important caveat: This entire blog post is based on that single link above. If evidence is presented that the story is unfair to Preacher Hagee, I will retract.
