Several Southern Baptist Ministers across the nation are leading prayers in their congregations asking God to kill Obama and “leave his children fatherless.” They reference Psalm 109:8 as a biblical commandment for all Christians to pray for Obama’s quick death. John Avlon interviews two of the ministers and reports:
Praying for President Obama’s death has become a sick cottage industry for some evangelicals on the lunatic fringe. Bumper stickers, T-shirts, and teddy bears are sold with the wholesome-sounding slogan “Pray for Obama” but tagged with the more troublesome “Psalm 109:8”—which reads “May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership” followed by “May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.”
In Wingnut circles, it’s known as the “Imprecatory Prayer.” Offered not just from select pulpits, but increasingly expressed through tweets and forwarded via email, this decidedly un-Christian Christian subculture has found its most enthusiastic advocates in a few Obama Derangement Syndrome-afflicted preachers—notably Orange County’s Wiley Drake and Arizona’s Steven L. Anderson.
Pastor Wiley Drake kicked off this Presidents’ Day Weekend with an email blast to his supporters saying “Imprecatory Prayer is now our DUTY” and announcing a daily teleconference call to advance the cause. Drake has been an enthusiastic advocate of imprecatory prayer since he announced that God answered his call with the murder of Kansas abortion clinic doctor George Tiller in church last May. “George Tiller was far greater in his atrocities than Adolf Hitler,” Drake said at the time, “so I am happy. I am glad that he is dead.” This emboldened him to add “the usurper that is in the White House … B. Hussein Obama” to the list said in his church on Sundays.
It is often reported that self-identification as a Christian is declining in America. Those in the republican “family values” right wing claim its because of the left wing waging a “War on Christianity and Christian Values”. Could it be that folks are really turning away from Christianity because of lunatics like these calling themselves Christians and giving the rest of us a bad name?
Tags: Barack Obama, Faith, Family Values
And Christians want to know why I’m an atheist …. !@#
These people are not Christians. They are false prophets.
I learned of this campaign of bigotry and hatred late last fall. It is a chilling testimony to the racism still rampant in some sad quarters. Fortunately, our God is an awesome God and His will is compassionate. In my heart I know that even as the Living Savior has forgiven me and loves me, I am called to forgiveness and love for these enemies of peace and goodwill.
As an American citizen, I defend their right to free speech, however virulent and misguided. As a convicted Christian, I ask for the strength to live my life as a testimony against such evil and the power to give witness to the Word which is Love. I believe that the arc of God’s justice will bring these hatefilled plans to nought and that, ultimately, education and non-violent resistance will overcome. In my life, I have seen that God can bring good out of evil and strenth out of weakness.
Therefore, in the words of St. Theresa of Avila, “Let nothing disturb thee, let nothing afright thee, all things are passing. God never changes. Whom God possesseth, in nothing is wanting. God, alone, sufficeth.” May our beloved President and his cherished family be covered with God’s love and continue to grow in wisdom, strength and ability. I thank God for the gift of President Obama’s life of leadership and ask that they be given increased courage and resolve in the face of persecution and adversity.
Hate is destructive. It’s an emotional cancer that silently destroys perceptions, opportunities and considerations. The length of hate extends into the depths of the mind of all who consciously and unconsciously practices it. It’s allusive and deceptiveness has unfortunately can be found within the Christian church.
It offers those who may choose to not believe in the same God I believe another reason to stay away from any organized religion due to the disorganization that is easily found within religion, especially within my own; Christianity. Although there are many examples of Christians, even Baptist ministers such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to name a notable one who would have spoken directly towards this sort of pseudo-christian practices that’s employed by many covert ministers today, I am blown away by the silence of The Church. Furthermore, the silence and/or slowness to publicly confront this problem by Southern Baptists.
“If the Church and Synagogue will free themselves from the shackles of a deadening status quo, and, recovering their great historic mission, will speak and act fearlessly and insistently in terms of justice and peace, they will enkindle the imagination of mankind and fire the souls of men, imbuing them with a glowing and ardent love for truth and justice.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “A Challenge to the Churches and Synagogues”
Many Christians were taught to use the Bible as a weapon against ‘The Enemy”, but what I’m discovering is many Christians are unable or unwilling to distinguish who is against them from who just disagrees with them. So many Christians end up using the Bible and/or the pulpit as a weapon against anything or anyone they disagree with, but not as it was intended.
What a person believes is always revealed by their actions. The silence of many Christians is what gives opportunities for these sort of deeds to continue, in the name of Jesus.
How do we navigate through our religious rhetoric to a better understanding? I believe it begins with confronting this sort of intolerance and the acceptance of it by those who calls themselves Christians.
[...] There are sometimes that words cannot be found. Several Southern Baptist Ministers across the nation are leading prayers in their congregations asking God to kill Obama and “leave his children fatherless.” [...]
I guess the next thing these crazy right wing churches will do is issue an Islamic fatwa..
One thing is for certain, these right wing Southern Baptists act more like the Shia form of Islam every day.
I wonder when these so called Christians are actually going to practice the New Testament? I guess it is easier to dredge up portions of the old Jewish Text AKA the OLD Testaments to justify their right- wing idiotic believes.
Just call me a Mufi- I shall now issue a fatwa -
“Since certain Southern Baptist don’t practice the teachings of Christ, they must remove the word Christian from their vocabulary”.
After all it was these same right- winger swho that justified Slavery with their interpretation of their version of the Bible..
can we get some truth in reporting??? california and arizona is now southern baptist, on a rutherford county, tn webiste??? gaah! you know darn well that’s misleading!
MAY OBAMA LIVE LONG AND PROSPER AND LEAD THIS NATION INTO A NEW ERA OF ENLIGHTENEMENT ♥ MAY LOVE KEEP HIM SAFE IN ITS LOVING HEART OF BILLIONS OF PEOPLE THAT LOOK UPON COMING TIMES WITH HOPE FOR CHANGE FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL ♥
Love and Blessings to all
Carla, the ministers are part of the Southern Baptist Convention which includes ministers and congregations from all over the country, but started when southern Baptists broke away from the national convention around the time of the Civil War. The issue was slavery - southern baptists supported it and northern baptists did not. Since then the Southern Baptist Convention has become the largest and most influential convention of congregations in the U.S, and they seem to be advocating praying for Obama’s death.
shame on you Southern Baptist Ministers…you are acting like Satan. Shame.