John McCain's "Spiritual Guide" Calls For Destruction Of Islam

Mother Jones:

Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage a "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it.

On February 26, McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati with the Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, a supersize Pentecostal institution that features a 5,200-seat sanctuary, a television studio (where Parsley tapes a weekly show), and a 122,000-square-foot Ministry Activity Center. That day, a week before the Ohio primary, Parsley praised the Republican presidential front-runner as a "strong, true, consistent conservative." The endorsement was important for McCain, who at the time was trying to put an end to the lingering challenge from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a favorite among Christian evangelicals. A politically influential figure in Ohio, Parsley could also play a key role in McCain's effort to win this bellwether state in the general election. McCain, with Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister a "spiritual guide."

Read the whole story: Mother Jones

Comments

[johnpherson]

Rod Parsley and John Hagee are far worse than Farrakhan, they have more followers, the Corportate Media give them a pass and worst of all John McBush embraces them. No one will ask him to do othewise, no denouncements or refusals, or rejections. Meanwhile the Obama/Clinton feud goes on full tilt.

[Svenson]

Really? Obama's spiritual leader wants to destroy America.

Well maybe Obamdiots and Olberman should watch this video from ABC News.


http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4443230

Now will Olberman make his 'state of his union with Obama speech' and what is he going to say?

Obama should apologize to all Americans!

[fuzzwald]

This guy's writings could have been a screed out of Mein Kampf. Scary times we're living in!

[dhb4u]

Never heard McCaine mention he wanted to destroy islam as the stories title suggests. Not a fan of McCaine, but do think that the media needs to report real facts and not manipulate reality. You can not run for president and be out to end a religion. He and most rational people may be against religous "fanatics'" but it is a blatant manipulation of facts to say he is against an entire religion.

[1differentdrummer]

Didn't read it, did you? Or is it a comprehension issue?

[owiseone]

OMG! We're infected with a bunch of crazies who are trying to take over the world.

[Backatcha]

The story describes this clowns church as Pentecostal ...in other words they welcome the end of the world ....they long for the rapture. Ignorant superstitious undereducated controlled by their irrational fears sheep

[PhyloSeFiser]

Wow, if McCain doesn't denounce and reject this guy, I don't see how his campaign can survive because he'll lose the support of all of the sane Americans. Then again, if he does denounce and reject him, I don't see how his campaign can survive because he will lose the support of his political base.

Perfect.

[eej]

I can't wait for McCain to visit Kansas. And he'd better: there is talk that Kansas could go Democratic in this election for the first time since they did it for LJB.

He'll want to pay a little visit to Fred Phelps and his followers at the Westboro Baptist Church, and get their support.

[JulieSA]

No. They're Democrats, and they're anti-military. They're YOUR problem.

[BigFootJesus]

Sane Americans supporting John Mccain? I think you fall right out of the sane category the minute you support that war mongering feeble old relic of the past. But I understand what you are saying.

[LaurieLee]

Sane Americans will have to know about this guy's views, as well as the anti-Catholic views of Hagee, in order for them to reject McCain because of his poor judgement in picking advisors. If these are the types of people he associates with while being scrutinized for the job, what will he install as cabinet members?
Pass the information about these nutters to your friends, it's unlikely they read about it in the press.

[Svenson]

Really? Obama's spiritual leader wants to destroy America.

Well maybe Obamdiots and Olberman should watch this video from ABC News.


http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4443230

Now will Olberman make his 'state of his union with Obama speech' and what is he going to say?

Obama should apologize to all Americans!

[PaulRaymond]

How quickly we forget. Back in the days prior to and during the beginning of the Iraq war, George W. Bush mentioned embarking on a crusade. Well, that helped recruit a lot more folks to deal with the "infedels" than they ever could have imagined. It's good to see that Johnnie's supporters will be just as helpful in stirring up the hatred.

[frappe]

Oh, that's great. Let's have 21st century reenactment of the "Crusades"! What utter lunacy. This so-called "spiritual guide" of Sen. McCain's will be guiding the world towards complete chaos and a world consumed by hate and fear rather than promoting a world of mutual respect, love and understanding. Some spiritual guide, eh? Where's the spirituality? Sounds more like extremism and politics than religion to me.

[ApolloniaCreed]

And we wonder why a lot of athiests and agnostics think religious people are crazy and moronic. Are so-called Christians once again "crusaders". "God" help us...

[owiseone]

It's this kind of thing which makes atheists and agnostics. When "God" is invoked as a mask for wrong, in this case, what will amount to genocide--or an attempt anyway (don't Muslims outnumber US citizens something like three or four to one? And we must not forget that the US has its own Muslim population--are we going to destroy our own?) it is a sign of sick, sick thinking, or as this evangelist should say--the devil is at work.

We don't need a war, we need a mass exorcism in our own country.

[eej]

These are terrible times, when Christians are identified as a force for evil. Christianity has much to offer mankind. These days I would be ashamed to be called a Christian, regardless of my admiration for Jesus' teachings.

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians­." -- Mahatma Gandhi

[BlackWidowPilot]

Jesus admonished his followers:

"Be thou not as the hypocrites, who love to pray on the street corners and in the synagogues, that they may be seen by men, for I say unto you, they have their reward!"

To this non-denominational Christian, to accept the teachings of Christ is to reject the Pharisees, the Old Testament "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, life for a life" mentality and embrace compassion, justice for the very least of us, and courageous humility and perseverance. It is to reject hypocrisy, it is to reject greed, it is to reject cruelty in all of its forms.

The Hagees, Parsleys, Falwells, and Phelps' of the world have nothing to contribute, no truths to offer, no examples to set save that of the hypocrites Jesus warned against. To reject them is to embrace the true meaning of being a Christian, intentionally or not. IMHO it is to embrace the true meaning of what makes us all human.

I am not ashamed to be identified as a Christian, as much as an honest adherent of Islam who rejected the depravity of the jihadists would not be ashamed to be called a Muslim.

By their deeds will you know them one from the other.

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[SEQUOIABISON]

This is No Country for religious bigots and pro war old men.

[Jonahson]

I am loss for words, I do not know what to say.

[Svenson]

Really? Obama's spiritual leader wants to destroy America.

Well maybe Obamdiots and Olberman should watch this video from ABC News.


http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=4443230

Now will Olberman make his 'state of his union with Obama speech' and what is he going to say?

Obama should apologize to all Americans!

[mimsnpips]

As a man who has been in recovery from the disease of being born again for 15 years I can assure everyone Parsley is a bonafide kook. Yeah he has a big following, so did Jim Jones. What is the Iraq war about?: god, oil (money), and power. What are these 'christian' advisers/leaders about?: god, money, and power.

[AxelDC]

This isn't going to end well.....

[eej]

I agree. Divisive politics and rhetoric are alive and well with McCain. America will not survive much more of it.

Another reason we need Obama over Hillary: she isn't going to endorse the destruction of any religious group, but still, she's not as much of a uniter as Obama is.

[klmebane]

i hear you my friend! what the hell is going on?? islam has fanatics and so does christianity, and this guy is a prime example. advocating murder, and he calls himself godly. religion is a disease. this guy is desperate to return to the crusades and murdering children. does he really think that this is going to get muslims to want to become christians?? whatever he's smoking i wish he'd share! i thought "god" was supposed to be about love and tolerance and acceptance?? he would execute anyone who didn't agree with him! wow, that sure is a country that i wanna live in.... NOT! i should move to canada before they close the border. this is INSANE!! none of the mainstream religions should be advocating violence, but then i guess thats kind of what they've always done, isn't it? if god existed i'm sure he'd be crying after hearing what this man believes he wants him to do.

[Curly15]

One always hopes to see a little more tolerance in American politics and society in general. Islam per se is a peaceable religion, the problem lies in some of it's adherents who have a fairly non secular agenda to follow. Strange how there are no calls to destroy Judaism, or those so called Christian churches which run more like business ventures.

[TLV]

Beware, people. Those who have been helping to bring down the economy and the dissolve the strength between us and our other allies has been the Saudi Royal family! They, coupled with the least expected bed-fellows - the Israeli government and the American neo-cons - hope to destroy all we have become.

So, yes they will certainly call for the destruction of Islam because it is impossible - but it sure rouses the haters of this world, doesn't it? It is the exact opposite of what they really want! That is exactly the same type of lie the Bush clan has been using since way back before King Poppy was president.

[TLV]

Falwell was tied to the drug trade. He proudly admitted participating in the plot to bring Monica Lewinsky from California to seduce Bill Clinton. And though it was he who endlessly brayed about the "evils" of which Jim Baker partook, Jerry Falwell was probably thousands of times worse.

Hagee and Parsley are more than likely NOT what they profess to be. You can be sure they are drinking, drugging, and screwing way more than you or me while they laugh all the way to the bank. We know that Parsley is under investigation by the IRS because he allowed former Secretary of State of Ohio, Ken Blackwell, to campaign for governor from the pulpit and wrote off the expenses as "faith-bas­ed."

[beerguy]

Time to go back to your rubber room.

[A Meat Beetle]

beerguy:

You are, sadly, correct. In a world where insanity is the rule ("Obama will save us--he can do ANYTHING!") it is the sane (e.g. TLV) who will be locked away.