Mike Huckabee undoubtedly has what might be called a "pulpit trail" -- but he won't let anyone see it.
This, from Mother Jones:
Before beginning his political career, Huckabee was a Southern Baptist minister for 12 years in his home state of Arkansas. He assumed the pastorate at Immanuel Baptist Church in the town of Pine Bluff in 1980, at the age of 25. Six years later, he moved to Beech Street First Baptist Church in Texarkana. In both locations, Huckabee's energy, ambition, and skills as a communicator energized his congregation. Under his leadership, each church grew.
When asked for copies of the sermons Huckabee delivered at Immanuel Church, an employee there claimed none could be found. A Beech Street Church pastor's assistant maintained that much of the archival material from Huckabee's tenure as pastor had been destroyed during a remodeling. The rest, she said, was not available to the press.
When Mother Jones contacted the Huckabee campaign and asked if it would help make his previous sermons available, the campaign replied in a one-sentence email that it had received multiple requests for such material and was "not able to accommodate" them.
So Huckabee can't produce copies of all the sermons he gave. How sinister???
ReplyDeleteBut I know no Catholic priests or deacons who could provide all their sermons of the last 20 years.
This strikes me as just one more "hit job" by the liberal MSM directed at someone who believes in traditional Christian moral values.--Deacon John B.
Deacon, this doesn't strike me as an unreasonable request.
ReplyDeleteThey're not necessarily asking for "all the sermons." They went to the places where Huckabee served, and no one could find a single sermon. Not one.
The reasons given are, frankly, a little odd.
Compounding that, Huckabee himself won't release any sermons that he might have tucked away in his files.
I dare say, if the media had approached, say, Jesse Jackson (another minister) with a similar request, and had gotten a similar answer, the right-wing MSM would go nuts.
Blessings,
Dcn. G.
I have never read any politician who is proud to be a catholic and supports the bible.
ReplyDeletedo I miss something?
Dcn G, Wake up!!! There is no such thing as right-wing MSM -- the MSM is a functional of the LEFT.
ReplyDeleteAnon:
ReplyDeleteThere are a number of media outlets in the MSM that are unabashedly conservative and increasingly influential -- FOX, WSJ, NY Post, Wash Times, among others. They (and a lot of others) would scream bloody murder if the scenario I described happened.
The MSM is many unflattering and infuriating things, but it's not exclusively liberal.
Dcn. G.
Indeed, many media outlets, most notably FOX news, have become what you might call "right-winged." But it'd be more accurate to say it has become a part of the "neo-conservative" movement. Pro-war commentators (rude, ignorant, and unprofessional) like Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity are their poster childs.
ReplyDeleteHuckabee's true beliefs are in his sermons, if anyone cares to check.
ReplyDeleteGreg--You bring up a good point about Jesse Jackson--But as far as I have read the MSM has never asked for copies of his sermons in order to rummage through them for passages that could be twisted and taken out of context.(BIAS???)
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess I am odd because noone will ever find a past sermon of mine in either of my past parishes--or my current one (I have been a deacon for 27 years)
I destroy them almost immediately because it keeps me from using old--and usually stale-- illustrations or examples.
Also, none of the pastors I have served under save their sermons.
So, I think it is unfair to Huckabee to presume it "odd" if he is not one of those preachers of high ego who think their sermons deserve protection for posterity.
Deacon John B.
Note: a week or two ago the format below your combox changed and the above is the only way I can identify myself. I don't like being solely "Anonymous."
Deacon John ...
ReplyDeleteHow weird. I dunno why the combox changed.
I think Jackson ran for president during a very different era, when a candidate's religion wasn't such a big deal. (As more than a few people have mentioned, when Romney's father ran for president, no one really cared that he was Mormon, or pressed him on it.) And Huckabee himself has made his Christianity a centerpiece of his campaign in a way that Jackson never did, inviting the very scrutiny that Mother Jones undertook.
As for saving sermons: personally, I'd WANT to save my old sermons -- they're all preserved here online, anyway -- precisely to make sure I don't repeat myself and revisit old territory. I can check if something sounds a little too familiar to my ear.
But that's me. Your mileage may vary. :-)
Blessings,
Dcn. G
Puhleeeeeeeze! Tell me you're joking! Who would need to ask for a copy of Jesse Jackson's sermons? The most dangerous place to be is between Jesse Jackson and a camera! Therefore, there are plenty of impossibly moronic quotes of his to choose from without seeking any further. And yes, despite your comments to the contrary, the vast majority of MSM outlets are unabashedly liberally biased. Is there any doubt that they wanted those sermons for any reason other than to find a quote to take out of context to hang him with? As far as jc is concerned, try tuning in your beloved MSM outlets such as CBS, ABC,CNN or MSNBC - there you'll hear truly rude and ignorant commentary passing as unbiased news coverage from the likes of Chris Matthews or some other screamer.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, despite your comments to the contrary, the vast majority of MSM outlets are unabashedly liberally biased.
ReplyDeleteI'm always amused by so-called "conservatives" who think the essential conservatism of the MSM is liberal. You don't know what "liberal" means.
Thats funny, I'm greatly amused by so-called "liberals" who liberally use words they don't comprehend, amd then liberally acuse conservatives of being ignorant. There, I just took the long way around the barn, as you did, to tell you what I suspect you already knew - that somewhere between adolescence and MTV, you quit tuning into actual news, and tuned into Walter Cronkite instead.
ReplyDelete