Huckabee tries to have it both ways

Another article about Huckenfreude, this time from Newsweek. The commentator, Howard Feinman, notes that Huckabee is trying to have it both ways -- a vocal Christian Fundy when talking to Fundy crowds, and a regular guy with no Fundy taint when talking to others (records of his time as a pastor are completely unavailable to reporters, creating a Lost Decade). And that brings up the question, just what does Huck believe and how far will he push those beliefs as president?

Some clues.

In a small New Hampshire church where cameras were banned (meaning nothing on the evening news) Huck gave a sermon saying that when one becomes a Christian one has signed up to be a member of God's Army, a soldier for Christ. As in a national military, it is a Christian's job to obey orders.

Never mind how much the previous misses the point of Christianity. It gets worse, straying even farther afield. Huckabee has been keeping close company with a few Dominionists, even sharing a book authorship (in 1998) with one.

A Dominionist is one who follows the writings of R.J Rushdoony. He said that every word of the Bible must be at the core of a Christian's life. That means it must replace civil laws and national constitutions. Thus a country isn't acceptable to Christ until all Old and New Testament laws become actual laws of the land -- including the death penalty for homosexuality, incest, and adultery. Never mind that the Bible itself says that salvation is not through the law.

Huck's fellow author is George Grant, who wrote in The Changing of the Guard: Biblical Principles for Political Action (1987):

"Christians have an obligation, a mandate, a commission, a holy responsibility to reclaim the land for Jesus Christ – to have dominion in the civil structures, just as in every other aspect of life and godliness.

But it is dominion that we are after. Not just a voice.

It is dominion we are after. Not just influence.

It is dominion we are after. Not just equal time.

It is dominion we are after.

World conquest. That’s what Christ has commissioned us to accomplish. We must win the world with the power of the Gospel. And we must never settle for anything less."

One of the comments to this post is apparently from a Dominionist, who claims that Huckabee can't be one of theirs if he is gives a secular reason for some of his goals as president.