Monday, February 18, 2008

Letting the Prince of Peace Be a Beacon Unto Them

A Baptist pastor in California used church letterhead and an affiliated church radio program to endorse Mike Huckabee for president. After Americans United for the Separation of Church and State filed a complaint that the pastor was illegally endorsing a candidate in violation of tax-exemption laws, the pastor invoked Psalm 109 in asking his church to pray for death and destruction on Americans United, principally on Rev. Barry Lynn, the executive director of the watchdog group:
...For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues .... May his days be few; may another seize his goods! May his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow! May his children wander about and beg; may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit....

Gosh, the Old Testament is handy when you need to really hate someone!

For its part in reporting the story, Christianity Today seemed more amused than outraged by this display of (self) righteous anger.

But then, some notable Christians today seem quite willing to countenance a whole bunch of preemptive smiting, all over the place.

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