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I agree that Michelle Bachmann will have to deal with this question. It's uncomfortable but will only fester until she addresses it. As an evangelical Protestant, I can find many faults in Catholic doctrine but have never believed (or been taught) that the Catholic Pope is the Anti-Christ. I'm a Deacon in my church, I've studied scripture and can find many Catholic doctrines that I disagree with but frankly, I find the doctrine of the Pope as the Anti-Christ to be extreme and unsupported by scripture. At best, it's a weird interpretation of scriptures describing the Anti-Christ. At worst, pure defamation - and this from an evangelical Protestant that finds the office of Pope to be the antithesis of what Jesus taught His Disciples about being humble. However, that's a theological argument that can be debated elsewhere. This is a political site and a political thread. For now, Michelle Bachmann, also my second-favorite conservative for president in 2012, has some "'splanin' to do".

Right, Jim. As Fournier points out in the article, he works with many evangelical protestants and this particular denomination has some strange beliefs. As you say, there are legitimate disputes among Christians concerning the papacy and its authority, and people can disagree on such matters. But when it degenerates into calumny, then it is a problem. She is going to have to explain this. If she can’t do so, she can’t be considered a viable candidate.

Ignoring something like this won’t make it go away.

I agree that Michelle Bachmann will have to deal with this question. It's uncomfortable but will only fester until she addresses it.

You have been under a rock of the past several days because she 1) left the church that espoused the anti-Catholic views and 2) said she loved Catholics.

All Protestant faiths are founded on Luther, Calvin, Zwigili and they pretty much thought the same way about the Pope and Catholic Church. You might want to read up on your church history.