Jesus and the Devil: Brothers?
The latest flap I have heard among the candidates is Mike Huckabee's comment about what Mormons believe about Jesus and the Devil:
Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?
Mitt Romney, the Mormon candidate, replied "attacking someone's religion is really going too far." This caused a hullabaloo among the media and Republicans, and eventually Rev. Huckabee was forced to apologize for making the statement.
But are they brothers? Here is what the Mormon church says about it:
We believe, as other Christians believe and as Paul wrote, that God is the father of all," a spokeswoman for the LDS church, Kim Farah, told the AP. "That means that all beings were created by God and are his spirit children. Christ, on the other hand, was the only begotten in the flesh and we worship him as the son of God and the savior of mankind. Satan is the exact opposite of who Christ is and what he stands for."
So let's go to the definition of "brother". As I see it, brothers are humans (and non-human beings) that have a common parent, either a father or a mother or both. What do we see here? God is the father of all. That would certainly make Jesus and the Devil brothers. In fact, it makes all of us brothers, even women. It does not say so, but I would certainly take it from this passage that Satan was a son of God. Since both Jesus and Satan are sons of God, Jesus and Satan are brothers.
I don't see what all the hoopla is about. From the Christians I know, it seems that Christians in general believe that God is the father of all. This makes the statement "Jesus and Satan are brothers" a trite tautology. So I don't see what all it's all about. To me this whole episode discredits both Huckabee and Romney and turns the Republican Presidential race into a three-ring circus. Huckabee was not attacking Romney's religion; he was just stating what his religion says. But it seems that Huckabee was trying to make a big deal of it. In that sense, he was hyping to the media.
But take another look at the religions of both Huckabee and Romney. Their beliefs imply that God is Satan! Here is the proof: God created everything, so God created Satan. Satan is evil. Creation of an evil entity is itself an evil act (for example, Hitler creating Auschwitz). Therefore, God is evil. Since God is the Supreme Being, he is the Supreme Being of Evil. Therefore, God is Satan. But let anyone in the Presidential race try to say that. But it's what their religions imply.
We can go one step further. God created Satan. God is Satan. Therefore, God created himself, which is a contradiction. Nothing can create itself. That says that all this is make-believe, that there is no God or Satan, and that if Jesus existed, he was a human being just like the rest of us.
It's best if the political candidates keep God, Satan, and Jesus out of their campaigns.
Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?
Mitt Romney, the Mormon candidate, replied "attacking someone's religion is really going too far." This caused a hullabaloo among the media and Republicans, and eventually Rev. Huckabee was forced to apologize for making the statement.
But are they brothers? Here is what the Mormon church says about it:
We believe, as other Christians believe and as Paul wrote, that God is the father of all," a spokeswoman for the LDS church, Kim Farah, told the AP. "That means that all beings were created by God and are his spirit children. Christ, on the other hand, was the only begotten in the flesh and we worship him as the son of God and the savior of mankind. Satan is the exact opposite of who Christ is and what he stands for."
So let's go to the definition of "brother". As I see it, brothers are humans (and non-human beings) that have a common parent, either a father or a mother or both. What do we see here? God is the father of all. That would certainly make Jesus and the Devil brothers. In fact, it makes all of us brothers, even women. It does not say so, but I would certainly take it from this passage that Satan was a son of God. Since both Jesus and Satan are sons of God, Jesus and Satan are brothers.
I don't see what all the hoopla is about. From the Christians I know, it seems that Christians in general believe that God is the father of all. This makes the statement "Jesus and Satan are brothers" a trite tautology. So I don't see what all it's all about. To me this whole episode discredits both Huckabee and Romney and turns the Republican Presidential race into a three-ring circus. Huckabee was not attacking Romney's religion; he was just stating what his religion says. But it seems that Huckabee was trying to make a big deal of it. In that sense, he was hyping to the media.
But take another look at the religions of both Huckabee and Romney. Their beliefs imply that God is Satan! Here is the proof: God created everything, so God created Satan. Satan is evil. Creation of an evil entity is itself an evil act (for example, Hitler creating Auschwitz). Therefore, God is evil. Since God is the Supreme Being, he is the Supreme Being of Evil. Therefore, God is Satan. But let anyone in the Presidential race try to say that. But it's what their religions imply.
We can go one step further. God created Satan. God is Satan. Therefore, God created himself, which is a contradiction. Nothing can create itself. That says that all this is make-believe, that there is no God or Satan, and that if Jesus existed, he was a human being just like the rest of us.
It's best if the political candidates keep God, Satan, and Jesus out of their campaigns.
posted by Jim at 5:25 PM
2 Comments:
Jim, you make some good points. However, the reason it was a "religious attack" goes beyond the obvious, and into the realm of conventional "anti-mormon" dogma. This line is usually used to simply keep faithful evangelic minds from even considering 'Mormon' doctrine--and unfortunate though that standard tactic is--it isn't a very germane statement. That's why it was a religious attack, with absolutely no place in political discourse. Mr. Huckabee lost any and all respect as a serious candidate right then, if you ask me.
You're wrong that 'Mormon' belief implies that God and Satan are one. We do NOT believe that God is everything, or even in control of everything. The agency of every single person, as well as the agency of Satan, were not created by God, and could not have been created by God. Else you'd be right. I agree with you that there seems to be a fundemental conflict in the beliefs of a lot of religions on this point. But what I believe to be true religion does not have such a conflict. That's why I needed to let you know.
Joseph Smith was called a prophet. Dum dum dum dum dum.
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