Huckabee at Liberty University: Are You Willing to Be Despised for Your Beliefs?
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee asked students at Liberty University on Monday if they are willing to be scorned for taking a stand for what is morally right, saying that as Christians, they should be different than others in the world.
Huckabee charged the audience attending the weekly Liberty University Convocation to be bold Christians that take a stand for what is right and not just what is popular. "Sometimes we as believers have to say no. Are you willing to be hated, despised and take the type of stand that will not make you popular?" he asked the students.
Liberty University's convocation is North America's largest weekly gathering of Christian students that invites well-known Christian leaders as speakers, including Franklin Graham earlier in January, and will feature NFL quarterback Tim Tebow later this semester.
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At Monday's convocation, Huckabee did not mince his words, telling the evangelical students, "If going to a Christian University does not make you uniquely different to the point that you develop such a deep sense of personal calling from what God has called you to do that you are not willing to take man's scorn in order to experience the glory and grace of God, you may be in the wrong place."
The former Republican presidential candidate and leading Christian conservative leader is no stranger to taking a stand on cultural war issues, including spearheading a grassroots Chick-fil-A appreciation day last year that sent hundreds of thousands of Christians to buy meals at the fast-food chain to support the owner's support of traditional marriage. Huckabee also expressed public support for Hobby Lobby in January as the crafts store fights the HHS mandate that requires employers to cover contraception, including abortifacient drugs.
"Godly people have failed to say no to the ungodly things," Huckabee said at Liberty University. "Culture is moving away from godly values that it is almost unrecognizable from what it once was. You must find God's purpose and do it no matter what the cost."
"What we have is a sin problem. And since we've ordered God out of our schools and communities; the military and public conversations... we really shouldn't act so surprised when all hell breaks loose."
Prior to his political career as Arkansas governor and then presidential candidate, Huckabee served as a pastor for 12 years and became one of the youngest-ever president of the Arkansas Southern Baptist Convention. He now hosts a number one-rated weekend television show on Fox News and has been named by Time Magazine in the past as one of America's best governors.
Huckabee last spoke at the Liberty University Convocation in 2009.
