Problem is with God, not Mike Huckabee

John Hankes wrote a wonderful letter to the editor last week about Mike Huckabee. I say wonderful because it would be the perfect letter for any language arts or philosophy class in which the teacher wanted to give a prime example of illogical arguments and seemingly intelligent letters with little to no substance.

All Hankes did was attack Huckabee for beliefs Hankes does not hold, but he gave no rational argument for what he believed or why he believed it. He used "ad hominem" attacks left and right, threw in "red herrings" and "poisoned the well" so effectively that people reading his letter might actually think he had a point.

However, upon close examination, he had none other than the fact that he disagrees with Huckabee, and throws enough mud to make it seem as if Huckabee is actually crazy.

I would like to answer a few of what I think are his questions. Christians think that abortion is wrong because 1) God ordains life and creates each one of us specifically, 2) life, whether you call it a choice, a fetus, or a baby, starts at conception, not when delivered from the womb, and 3) innocent people do not deserve to be murdered.

I find it inconsistent that he is arguing against an illegal war that is causing death (according to the DoD, 3,893 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq since fighting started) while believing that abortion is OK (3,700 babies murdered each day in the U.S.).

In a country where we find killing dogs for sport cruel, we are OK with the idea of partially delivering a baby and then stabbing it in the head. What is the justification?

As for the idea Huckabee is condemning people to Hell, it is just a basic misunderstanding of Christian doctrine. Christians do not condemn anyone to Hell, but we believe God's word that those who do not accept Christ will be condemned to Hell.

Hankes would like to pretend his objection is to Huckabee, but it is actually with God.

Jeff Otterby

Wheaton