Glenn Beck often speaks about faith on his radio show and Fox News program, but he almost never mentions his own faith — Mormonism. Beck’s audience largely consists of conservative Christians, many of whom consider Mormonism to be a “cult.” So as to not alienate his followers, Beck obscures his religion, and focuses instead on broad themes common to many Christian faiths.
But out of view of his general audience, Beck readily explains that the Church of Latter-Day Saints made him who he is today. “I was baptized on a Sunday, and on Monday an agent called me out of the blue,” Beck said in a Mormon promotional video. And the Church has rewarded Beck. For example, the Mormon-affiliated LDSTravel.com website is currently promoting Beck’s 8/28 rally in Washington, D.C., offering travelers an entire day as part of a seven day tour of the East Coast.
Today, Bill Keller, the “leader of the world’s largest interactive Christian website” — an internet ministry with over 2.4 million subscribers — is attempting to expose Beck’s “deception” about his faith, explaining Beck “lies to people by stating he is a Christian”
Keller states, “Beck likes to call out people for their lies and deception, yet he portrays himself daily as a Christian. The fact is, the beliefs of the satanic Mormon cult are totally inconsistent with Biblical Christianity. He uses the words “god” and “jesus,” yet the god and jesus of the Mormon cult are NOT the God and Jesus of the Bible!” [...]
Keller concludes, “I could care less what Beck chooses to believe, but I do care that he lies to people by stating he is a Christian when a person who believes in the lies of the Mormon cult is no more a Christian than a Muslim is.”
Keller — who said during the 2008 campaign that a vote for former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney “is a vote for Satan” — is clearly an intolerant bigot, but his attack on Beck exposes a potential rift between Beck and his largely conservative Christian followers.
Indeed, Beck’s appearance at Rev. Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in May “generated an unusual amount of public infighting among evangelicals.” Conservative Christians share many of Beck’s political and social views, but “many of them also remain extremely suspicious of Beck’s Mormon faith.” Several evangelical pastors said they were “shocked and disappointed” that the school had allowed Beck to speak there.
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