Six Times Mike Huckabee Used Bad Theology To Support His Policies

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Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is expected to announce a run for president today, launching his campaign from his hometown of Hope, Arkansas. Although most pundits list him as a long shot, he will likely play a pivotal role in the GOP primary, mainly because of his popularity with a key Republican constituency: conservative Christians.

Huckabee, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, often roots his various policy positions in a particular understanding of Christianity, regularly quoting Bible passages to shore up right-wing opinions on a number of issues. But while his spiritual tropes will likely play well with some evangelical voters this year, his claims — both theologically and politically — can be dubious at best.

Here are a few examples.

1. Huckabee has repeatedly cited the Bible to justify his opposition to same-sex marriage, even though tens of millions of Christians think his argument is bunk.

For years, Huckabee has cherry-picked a few scriptural passages to bolster his opposition to LGBT equality, telling CNN that same-sex marriage “is not a political issue … It is a biblical issue,” and saying he will maintain his position “unless I get a new version of the Scriptures.” He also responded to the 2013 Supreme Court case striking down California’s ban on same-sex marriage by tweeting “Jesus wept,” and recently condemned marriage equality to a group of Hispanic evangelicals by declaring “when it comes to the sanctity of marriage, the court cannot change what God has created.”

Unfortunately for Huckabee, a growing cadre of theologians are challenging the idea that the Bible demonizes homosexuality, arguing passages typically used to condemn LGBT people have been taken out of context. This is partly why multiple Christiandenominations now formally embrace marriage equality, and why the majority of most major American Christian groups favor same-sex marriage — even if their hierarchy disagrees. Despite the best efforts of Huckabee and the Religious Right, the brand of Christianity that is narrowly focused on LGBT exclusion is a dying breed in the United States.

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