Glenn Beck Takes a Huge Step Back

I started listening to Glenn Beck a couple of years ago and have to admit I was quite drawn to his rapid-fire style of conservative commentary. His blend of humor and hard-hitting observations about the state of politics seemed refreshing in comparison to stale and slanted network news drivel. About a year ago Glenn became the host of a televised version of the Glenn Beck Show on CNN Headline News. Apparently the show is doing okay because the secularists running that network have not given him the boot yet. Not long ago I learned that Glenn practices Mormonism within the LDS religion. The hair stood at attention on my neck but I pushed that personal prejudice aside because after all President Reagan confided with the Mormons on his staff didn't he?

During last night's show, Glenn began his monologue in an overly melancholy state and seemed consumed with teary-eyed emotion when discussing Al Sharpton's appearance on the program. Beck informed the audience that Sharpton slighted Mormons everywhere by inferring that Mormons and maybe even Presidential candidate Mitt Romney practiced intolerance and bigotry towards African-Americans seeking to establish relevancy within Utah's favorite religion. Glenn Beck subsequently proceeded to cross the line of known historical truths. Glenn informed his television audience that he was a Christian and certainly not a bigot. Glenn, I believe you are not a bigot. Discussing bigotry with Al Sharpton is like fighting the war on drugs with Robert Downey, Jr. as the head of the DEA.

Neither Sharpton nor Jesse Jackson possess the character or intestinal fortitude to offer humble apologies to the Duke University rape suspects or condemn the moral inadequacy of their accuser. Those sanctioned racists absolutely crucified Don Imus but apparently the coin owns only one shiny side. More troubling than the obvious racial double standard surrounding Sharpton like a hail cloud is Glenn Beck's reference to Christianity and Mormonism. Glenn like many others in his "faith base" refuses to accept that the coupling of those terms defines impossibility. Christianity and Mormonism are mutually exclusive terms.

Here's the real story Glenn. You can practice whatever religion you wish as guaranteed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. You can practice that religion in peace and privacy or among a host of others as guaranteed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. What you cannot do is insult the intellectual integrity of Christians everywhere by implying that Mormonism and Christianity share the same philosophical tenets.

Mormons believe the Bible is flawed and subject to interpretation from modern day prophets. Christians believe the Bible is the sacred and final word and believe the attempt to intertwine modern texts like the Book of Mormon constitutes nothing short of blaspheme. Mormons believe in a multitude of celestial kingdoms and not only will Mormons sit at the right hand of God but become exalted Gods themselves after a lifetime of performing self-meriting works on Earth. Christians believe in salvation through a baptismal in faith and humbling oneself before the Lord on Earth and in Heaven as a servant and not an equal. Mormons believe Joseph Smith had the "book" divinely revealed to him in the hills in 1829. Christians believe Smith little more than a slick talking used car salesman with a penchant for the company of many women. The Mormons successfully changed their own doctrine more than 150 times since banning plural marriage in the late 1800's. The ban exists because of political pressures and not because of religious belief or the adherence to a Christian moral code.

I could go on and on but won't because if Glenn read this and is truly a practicing Mormon, the same taught response sets in. Deny, label the writer as anti-Mormon, and let the apologists for the religion begin a campaign of rebuttal and refutation. At all costs do not examine the critics and their contentions. For God's sake, don't read what Mormonism's opponents write even if the study of such opposition sheds factual light on the dogma being forced into you on those long Sundays.

Here are some topics of interest for those that follow these issues. The divine "secret" writings of Abraham supposedly possessed by Smith written on ancient Egyptian papyrus simply stands as fraudulent. An interpretation revealed nothing more than Egyptian funerary instructions on the "sacred" parchment. Smith found the papyrus when he bought an Egyptian mummy from a traveling sideshow or circus act. The Mormon texts fail to meet any Christian standards in relation to defining the text as authentic during the period of Apostolic authorship. It is believed by many Christians that the attempt to supersede the Bible with the works of Smith parallel what Catholics call heresy. The Bible is pretty clear about "turning away" from the teachings of Christ as revealed by the apostles in the New Testament. There is no doubt in my mind or the minds of many scholars that Smith's divine revelations as professed in Mormon texts were simply based on his own life and embellished much like a good novelist does. The religion simply bears no semblance to Christianity other than the bits and morsels included to spearhead the religion's recruiting drives.

Of all people, Glenn knows the damage caused by statements like "I'm a Christian." Glenn you are an admitted Mormon so accept it on its own merit and do not dishonor the Holy Bible by referencing Christianity and Mormonism in the same breath. You rail against partisan bickering on Capitol hill and the damage done by disguising truth and progress under a veil of political correctness. Silly Al Sharpton takes a poke at Mormonism and Mitt Romney and the apparent latent dose of political correctness hiding in you spills forth for all to see. Maybe that is a learned and endorsed response to attacks on Mormonism. You can profess to adhere to Mormonism all you want with or without the public emotion and chagrin. You may want to get used to hearing a few candid and plausible refutations from those in the broader Christian community that label the Mormon religion as false and intellectually debilitating. I patiently await the expected barrage from the rabid and misguided attack mongers.

www.glennbeck.com

CNN's Biased Reporting Makes NBC Seem Rational

I recently read an opinion piece penned by Lou Dobbs, host of CNN's "Lou Dobbs Tonight." Dobbs thanked viewers for their loyalty and innate intelligence in understanding that his program adheres to nonpartisan debates on issues of concern to citizens in this country. Too bad his network cannot say the same. Perhaps only the social secularists running the news department at NBC can challenge CNN for editorial slant and biased reporting. I am equally surprised the hats at CNN have yet to lure NBC's David Gregory into the fold to co-host a nightly news broadcast with Wolf Blitzer that empathizes the plight of fundamentalist Muslims that only want peace and understanding. Yeah, the Iranian President is simply misunderstood. It is the Bush Administration's fault the British sailors humiliate themselves on state run television and the tongue of a worker fighting for better wages was removed in layers by government henchmen with ties to the Revolutionary Guard. I guess I'll wait a while before discussing freedom of speech or religious issues within the context of the modern Stone Age Middle East.

As for Dobbs himself, I agree with some of his points. I think he is dead on in regards to securing our southern border and fighting amnesty tooth and nail. Dobbs even brings in ardent opponents that support amnesty or as it is called on Capitol Hill "comprehensive immigration reform." But Lou, you have to bring in folks from both sides on EVERY issue discussed, not just those of your choosing. I know many of your segments are opinion segments but they are sold as news stories with journalistic elements. Rarely if ever do you see two sides to the stories regarding the "outsourcing" of Unites States jobs in the context of the "war on the middle class." I am not sure if Lou has a son, daughter, or brother that holds a position of esteem within one of America's corrupt and mismanaged labor unions but he might as well have. Lou, if you want to be a lap dog for big labor and state run healthcare just say so but have the integrity to bring supporters of free trade to the program. As least discuss the talking points of the opposing viewpoint. Big business cannot be taxed into oblivion or be forced to pay excessive wages and benefits for marginal worker output and continue to function as a going economic concern. Continue to preach the mantra of increased wages, benefits, and taxation to the large corporations that feed our economy and create jobs in the first place and see what happens. Outsourcing a few jobs will seem like the tiniest participle within the larger equation of economic collapse.

Dobbs recently bemoaned the Attorney General's dastardly involvement in the firings of several United States attorneys. AG Gonzales finds himself in an unceremonious retreat and his career is all but doomed. The Democrats and mainstream media have succeeded in dooping an apathetic and disinterested public into believing the situation is a scandal of national importance. There was no crime committed. It is incredulous that the story is news at all. It is simply concrete proof that the media will use any crumb at its disposal to damage the Bush White House (yes, a marred and dumb White House) to the benefit of left-wing politics. It isn't even a news story significant enough for PBS, NPR, or the failed Air America radio network. The media and partisans in Washington have succeeded with what amounts to criminalizing noncriminal acts. The President can fire attorneys because they serve at his pleasure, case closed. Gonzales made the mistake of telling a white lie (you know, like I swear she only smoked the cigar) on an unimportant subject of no significance and in so doing failed to understand the bloodlust of the Bush opponents. Not once have any of the media reports spewing venom on Gonzales and the White House mentioned the corruption committed in the same context and on a larger scale within the Clinton Administration. Clinton wiped out all 93 U.S. Attorneys and of specific note the attorney involved with the corruption investigation of Democrat Dan Rostenkowski of Illinois. Not even a blurb is reported. The state of the modern media is absurd. Sandy Berger gets a slap on the wrist and a journalistic pass for the attempted cover-up of Clinton's lax foreign policy stand on world terror and Gonzales faces the fire for noncriminal behavior in a situation as unimportant as the legal excercise of executive authority? I officially classify most outlets within the media as an arm of the left leaning zealots of the Democratic Party.

If you'll excuse me I have to run. I've invited the Iranian President over for a ham and pork chop dinner. We always watch Pat Robertson together on Saturday nights after catching up with the news on CNN.

www.cnn.com