Robert Jeffress On Mitt Romney Mormon Comments: 'I Am Not A Jeremiah Wright'

The Texas megachurch pastor who made waves at this year's Voter Values Summit is not backing down.

One day after describing Mormonism as a cult and saying presidential candidate Mitt Romney is not a Christian, pastor Robert Jeffress defended his remarks on CNN.

"I am not a Jeremiah Wright on the fringe, making fanatical statements," he said.

The pastor characterized his controversial statements as an honest response to a reporter's question about his personal views.

"When somebody asks me a theological question about Mormonism, I have a responsibility to tell the truth," he said. "Mormonism has never been considered a part of evangelical historic Christianity."

He said he would vote for Mitt Romney over President Barack Obama in the general election, but that he would rather support a Christian for the GOP nomination. That doesn't make him a bigot, he explained.

"To religious people, religion matters," he said. "Those of us who are evangelicals have every right to prefer and support a competent Christian over a competent non-Christian."

Jeffress endorsed Texas governor Rick Perry at the event, introducing him as "a proven leader, a true conservative, and a committed follower of Christ."

While Perry has said he doesn't share Jeffress' views of Mormonism, a recent poll suggests that many pastors do. Three out of four pastors agree that Mormons are not Christians, according to this survey of 1,000 pastor, representing dozens of denominations.

But some pastors are coming to Romney's defense. Rev. Myke Crowder, a senior pastor in Utah, released a statement condemning Jeffress.

"As an evangelical, born-again, Bible-believing Christian, and a pastor with more than 25 years' experience living with and ministering among a majority Mormon population, I find the comments by Pastor Jeffress unhelpful, impolite and out of place," he said. "Insulting Mitt Romney adds nothing to the conversation about who should be president. We're picking the country's chief executive, not its senior pastor."

Watch the CNN interview below:

Comments

[bensonwood]

07:42 AM on 11/19/2011

But he does fall under First Baptist........what a Godless drag.

[bensonwood]

07:41 AM on 11/19/2011

Other than politics........you would think this guy is ok. but when it comes to nasty....he fits the glue.
He is another Pat Robertson.
If you can't win normally get filthy. He did.

Poor old fellow. Jesus would perform miracles and he would be left in the dust.

[GDWhiteman]

09:29 PM on 10/25/2011

Jeffress: you look like a duck, walk like a duck, and quack like a duck. But you say you're not a duck???

[bensonwood]

09:10 PM on 10/22/2011

This guy is not a pastor FROM GOD.
HE IS A FIRST CLASS ..... HE HAS KNOW IDEA WHO GOD IS.
HE IS LIKE ALL HUMANS WHO CAN ONLY READ.
HE CAN READ BUT DOES NOT WHO IN THE HEAVEN WHO GOD IS.
THAT IS WHAT JESUS WOULD SAY.
LOVE

[AnonymousAnthro]

03:39 PM on 10/21/2011

Anyone who believes in the literal truth of any religion is intellectually challenged in a manner that should disqualify him from seeking higher office. I’m sorry, but it has to be said: The miraculous foundations of every deist faith are patently ridiculous. This is easily explained by the fact that these things date to a time before the advent of science and technology, when humans beings were still in the intellectual Dark Ages. First they thought that the sun was pulled across the sky by an immortal charioteer; later, they were certain that a man had parted a river to allow his people to escape their captors. Still later, a virgin gave birth to the child of God, who then went on to turn water into wine.

Yeah, sure. Tell me another one. That’s what passed for knowledge in those days, before the scientific revolution. Before anyone was aware of the facts of reproduction, at least as far as the ovum was concerned. Back when people believed in alchemy and were busily trying to turn lead into gold. Back when being left-handed or epileptic was the work of the Devil, for crying out loud! Helloooo? It's the 21st century now!

It’s one thing to be a religious literalist, but it’s another thing entirely to base your politics on it. Politics cannot be faith-based; they must be reality-based. This does, of course, disqualify the entire Republican field at the moment. . .

www.theanonymousanthropologist.com

[Slagfish]

07:26 AM on 10/11/2011

I read this quote somewhere, maybe on this forum, that I find truthful. "Patriotism, like religion, is a comedy to entertain fools and make them willing slaves for tyrants." The use of patriotism and religion in politics today bear this out. As to Mormonism being a cult, I believe that to be a factual statement as all religions are cults to those who belong to a different cult. Believing and following any of these clowns is to surrender your intellect to someone else who can then manipulate your thinking and actions. Joseph Campbell once said "anytime you have someone who proposes to speak for God, you know you've got a faker on your hands." My intent and practice is to stay away from these fakers and and not be influenced by any of them. Those who wish to surrender to someone else's ideology and be enslaved by it are welcome to do so.
But as for me and my house, we wish to remain free.

[RockyMissouri]

07:04 PM on 10/10/2011

I don't care for any religion in particular.... I try to find interesting things about all of them..... But the problem with the more fundamental ones is they claim superiority to ALL! THAT makes them dangerous.

[dirtcult]

06:45 PM on 10/10/2011

My crazy religious beliefs are better than your crazy religious beliefs!

[RockyMissouri]

06:34 PM on 10/10/2011

Evangelical Christians are just as BIG a threat as ANY FUNDAMENTALIST RELIGION..!

[iknowscottyknows]

07:47 PM on 10/13/2011

You simply do not like the fact that people of faith vote.

If you believe someone with a different opinion than you is a terrorist, and that real terrorists are just misunderstood, you might be......a liberal.

[ykmjodie]

05:39 PM on 10/10/2011

I knew this was coming. Mormons get ready and see how much you are really part of this tolerant so-called Christian society. If Mormonism was a country it would get indoctrinated right now with carpet bombing, cavity searches, water boarding, nuclear weaponry, depleted uranium, and other forms of godly Christian love. This has happened to him before, I guess he thought since Pres. Obama was Black he had an easy win, you know, ride the wave of racism and paranoia that many of you psychopaths are plagued by.

[Hamburger Time]

04:13 PM on 10/10/2011

I doubt most people have even listened to Wright's sermons. They would be hard pressed to disprove most of what he says.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvMbeVQj6Lw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc2FCJ7zWEQ

"We have got to change the way we have been doing things as an arrogant, racist military superpower"

I do not believe for one second that Obama was taking these sermons to heart. If anything, he was studying his oratory style.

[RockyMissouri]

06:53 PM on 10/10/2011

Thank you..... I've thought it was a shame that we did not have that national discussion with Rev. Wright. It's a shame that the media (Fox specifically) only aired certain - carefully-edited bits.

[Hamburger Time]

07:45 PM on 10/10/2011

love the quote.
"You've got to be carefully taught"

[Scott Anon]

01:10 PM on 10/10/2011

“When facism comes to America it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.”
Sinclair Lewis

[RockyMissouri]

06:56 PM on 10/10/2011

..........wrapped in the flag: Robert Jeffress.

[maab76]

07:06 PM on 10/10/2011

I have a favorite quote from my last series of classes leading to licensure: It comes from Public School Finance - and such utterances are to be termed, "Weasel Words."
Apropro?

[iknowscottyknows]

07:51 PM on 10/13/2011

And yet when fascism did come to the world it walked hand in hand with Darwin (survival of the fittest, the Aryan race being superior to all) which sought to eliminate religion.

[dre31]

12:15 PM on 10/10/2011

Why is Mitt Romney still alive?

[Richard Duffy]

11:56 AM on 10/10/2011

A lot of Morons consider themselves Christians and have no idea what Christ said. And no, I didn't misspell Mormon, I was referring to Pastor Jeffress.

[ddarkfury]

11:55 AM on 10/10/2011

I doubt very much that Jesus or his apostles would be accepted into the Southern Baptist church. They did not believe in the Trinity and clearly didn't carry bibles. Some were heretic enough to actual write their own inspired works!!!

Jesus' early church were also considered a cult.

Btw-- The Southern Baptist Convention was held 25 years AFTER the founding of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

[RockyMissouri]

07:05 PM on 10/10/2011

WELL SAID!