Pastor Steven Anderson has used his position at Faithful World Baptist Church, in Tempe, Arizona to bring just a little more hate into the world. Pastor Anderson is praying for the death of President Obama and an eternity in hell.
“Nope. I’m not gonna pray for his good. I’m going to pray that he dies and goes to hell. When I go to bed tonight, that’s what I’m going to pray. And you say, ‘Are you just saying that?’ No. When I go to bed tonight, Steven L. Anderson is going to pray for Barack Obama to die and go to hell.”
This is of course not the first death-dealing prayers to be spoken by preachers in the United States, including such prayers for the death of President Obama, judges, or others.
Of course, hate appears to come naturally to the good reverend in Arizona.
“… And yet you’re going to tell me that I’m supposed to pray for the socialist devil, murderer, infanticide, who wants to see young children and he wants to see babies killed through abortion and partial-birth abortion and all these different things — you’re gonna tell me I’m supposed to pray for God to give him a good lunch tomorrow while he’s in Phoenix, Arizona.”
Many have called for his arrest, which would be to combine an abusive use of the law with an abuse of the church.
18 U.S.C. 871 states:
(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.
However, praying for the death of an individual is a long-accepted part of Christianity and other faiths. An “imprecatory prayer” is usually a reference to Psalm 35 where David calls upon the Lord to kill his enemies. There are a variety of imprecatory psalms containing curses or prayers for the punishment and death for one’s enemies. Psalms 7, 35, 55, 58, 59, 69, 79, 109, 137 and 139.
Such an arrest would be a deprivation of the free of speech and the free exercise of religion, in my view.
This does not mean that this not a matter of legitimate concern or investigation. It is being reported that the Christopher Broughton, the man who recently carried an AR-15 to the speech of President Obama on that trip to Arizona, is a follower of Rev. Anderson.
For the full story, click here.
charles grashow 1, August 28, 2009 at 9:12 pm
Thank God I’m an atheist
**********************
Thank goodness you are not a dyslexic. Then you would not believe in Dog and for that I know exists. Or at least what I know to be a dog.
Question to be fielded. If a most of the people believe in a deity of some sort and they meet in church or a tavern, bar or the stock exchange where do agnostics meet?
The reason I ask this, an atheist denys the existence of god? Christian affirm the existence of a god. How do you affirm your belief in agnosticism?
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
~Psalms 55:21
Thank God I’m an atheist
Did not Jesus pray for the redemption of sinners? Did not Saul covert after prayer and seeing the light? This sounds more like the law of Moses not the Teaching of Jesus. But what am I to say but the following.
Imprecatory prayer is most often used when the criminals are the rich and powerful or corrupt men in government. The prayer asks God to solve the problem and bring the criminal to repentance, or to judgment.
“You be careful with imprecatory prayer. Because if your life is not right. It can have a boomerang effect. You see, as you judge, so shall you be judged. Think about that.
Pastor Anderson has just “sinned against his talent.”
This behavior is often fatal.
Actually, Buddha, I expect that Peter Gabriel would go after him with a Sledgehammer.
Why is it assumed that ONLY 18 U.S.C. 871 apples to the facts?
Why should “churches” whose traditions include “praying for the death of an individual” be accepted/protected any longer?
“Nope. I’m not gonna pray for his good. I’m going to pray that he dies and goes to hell. When I go to bed tonight, that’s what I’m going to pray. And you say, ‘Are you just saying that?’ No. When I go to bed tonight, Steven L. Anderson is going to pray for Barack Obama to die and go to hell.”
Really. Did that come from the Leviticus too?
I’d really like to be there when you meet Jesus, you clown. I suspect he’s not going to be thrilled about it. “Oh my Dad! Peter! Gabriel! Here comes that Anderson guy again . . . help me ditch him. Distract him while I slip out through the cherubim.”
Republican supporters would love to see JFK II. Bank on it. Some GOP senators and congressmen also feel this way I’m sure. Aren’t we still fighting two wars? Isn’t there still terrorism around? How can we say such things about the president…oh wait, now I remember, he’s a Democrat.
“Cris” the AR-15 toting nut job at the Obama town hall is a member of Anderson’s flock:
http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/gun-toting-arizona-protester-belongs
PatriotBoy has been on Anderson’s case for quite awhile in his satiricaly vicious manner. He was doing the ‘Colbert thing’ way before Colbert was and dedicated a blog to it titled Jesus’ General.
it can hardly be seen in that picture but there seems to be a faint “666” just under the hair line of this so called “pastor”.
This is code rhetoric just like the abortion killers. If A=B and B=C then A should=C. A (all good americans should destroy, kill, eliminate the enemies of America)= “B” (all murderers(ABORTIONISTS), socialist, enemies of America, etc should be killed) and C (Obama is an enemy of America, socialist, unborn baby murderer, etc.).
Is it so hard to decipher what these people are really saying???
The older I get the more surprised I become. When I was a child I could never imagine a people of faith accepting spiritual guidance from “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Of course that was way back before the decision in Roe v. Wade precipitated a new theology proclaiming life begins at conception and demanding rights for the unborn.
As a liberal, I was about the only kid on the school bus supporting Adlai Stevcnson, I have always believed that the best antidote to toxic speech is more speech, healthy speech. As a liberal, I have always been contemptuous of sedition laws. I feel a surprise coming on.
I live in Kansas. I know what it is like to wade through a tinder box of angry sentiment. Our “Home on the Range” is home to America’s most outrageous church. The AM band talk radios are flooded with diatribe and pathetic analysis. I have seen otherwise normal men driven to monomania over abortion by those who pretend that their invented theology bears true faith and allegiance to the one true God.
Seriously, one day I had to talk a well propertied, business owning, church going, family man out of bombing an abortion clinic.
The election of President Obama has brought into the open radical elements of the most irrational sectors of our society.
We have alleged Christian ministers calling for the President’s death and damnation when the simple duty of every believer is to love, especially those they consider to be enemies.
We have had a physician assassinated in his church.
We have armed demagoguery at political events by persons who neither properly exercise rights under the First or Second Amendments.
And I am surprised that I am saying this, but I believe we are about to test the “imminent lawless action” standard established by Brandenburg v. Ohio.
Sedition, do we have to protect ourselves from America’s domestic enemies, the self-proclaimed right wing terrorists, by enacting laws against sedition?
C.E.K.
No, it means God’s justice is slow. God’s time is not your time fool! It will happen sometime, and when it does, it will have been solely because God was listening to Pastor. If you can think of some other reason, (like say you think people die of natural causes and such), may God strike you down!
Seems to me it would be more Christian-like for the good pastor to pray that God will enlighten President Obama, and guide his feet to whatever it is the pastor believes in.
On the other hand, I’d just as soon see him thrown in prison for publicly espousing the death of the president to a herd of critters who, if they had the capacity to think for themselves, would have got up and left the church.
Jonathan, do you have a link to anyone calling for his arrest for saying this? It’s just so clearly not a violation of the statute and so clearly constitutionally protected . .. .
Kook,
Nah, it just means the God works in mysterious ways. Remember God always answers prayer, sometimes the answer is just “What is wrong with you? No!”
Oh come on, the Liberals did this when Bush was in office. I mean those dirty hippies were ALWAYS calling for Bush to die, and I lost count of how many times some tree-hugging granola muncher brought herbal tea to a protest. Everybody know you could very easily brew the tea with something poisonous, dip a blow dart in it and use it to kill somebody. There’s no right to keep and bear tea in The U.S. Constitution.
how disgusting.
so…if Obama doesn’t die..does that mean there is no god and the (ahem)good pastor is a fraud?