A Little Talk with the Man Who Prayed for Obama's Death

Even by the nut case standard of the assorted pack of neo-Nazi unreconstructed Klan members, Aryan Nation haters, and the legion of loose screw religious cranks and loonies, the Reverend Wiley S. Drake's public prayer for the death of President Obama stretched far past the outer limit of credulity. The unrepentant Drake did not back away from the prayer when asked about it by Alan Colmes on Fox News Radio on June 2. He pleaded that he didn't understand why people were upset with his comments.

Drake is not just a garden variety religious crank. In 2006, he reigned as the second vice president of the nearly 20 million strong Southern Baptist Convention. The group is by far the nation's biggest evangelical denomination. He pastors a bonafide church, the First Southern Baptist Church in the middle-class bedroom city of Buena Park, California. Drake has his own popular radio show on the Crusade Radio Network. In April, Southern Baptist Convention spokesperson Richard Land even had kind words for Obama for his family values emphasis.

Convention officials, though, were far less forthright about Wiley's death prayer death for Obama. It issued a perfunctory statement saying that his views were his and his alone. It did not vigorously denounce those views, especially his Obama death prayer.

Wiley skirted the legal definition of what constitutes a threat to the president by attributing the death prayer to a phony, made up prayer from God. The operative term is willful in the federal statute that makes it an offense to threaten the president. It's punishable by up to five years in prison. Every year, the Secret Service investigates about 1500 reported or discovered threats to the president. Drake's God attribute threat didn't escape their attention.

But Drake doesn't just speak for Drake, and a handful of cranks, but says what more than a few ultra conservative, religious fundamentalists actually think and belief, and in their scariest and darkest moments the violence they actually wish for. With the murder of Kansas abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, the Holocaust Museum shoot-up, the recent report from the Southern Poverty Law Center on a surge in hate groups, and the demand by a worried US Attorney General Eric Holder for a tougher hate law, death threats against public figures can't be shrugged off.

This writer, however, couldn't let Drake's purported death prayer on Obama lightly pass. So I had a little talk with him mostly to give him another chance to back off his prayer.
Here's an excerpt from the June 19 talk with Drake:

"Did you actually pray for President Obama's death?"

"No, I was merely citing an imprecatory prayer which in scripture is a prayer mandated by God to smite down the enemies....those that do evil."

"So you're saying that you did not actually call for Obama's death?"

"I was asked in an interview about the murder of Kansas doctor George Tiller and I said in an imprecatory prayer that Tiller who was responsible for the murder of thousands of children was given a chance at salvation and that didn't happen so he was condemned in prayer to die. I had no regrets about his death. I was then asked if the imprecatory prayer for the death of evil doers could even extend to the president. I said yes. I was merely citing a prayer."

"Do you stand by that?"

"Unfortunately in the interview I said Obama. I'm not wanting (sic) the president dead. The prayer for his death is not my prayer but comes from God."

Drake said since the story hit he's gotten personal death threats and threats to picket and even burn down his church. The unrepentant Drake laughed them off saying he had nothing to fear since he was doing God's work.

A final question:

"Pastor will you come on my weekly radio show and explain to listeners the reason for citing a prayer against the president?"

"I'd better talk to my attorney first."

Stay tuned on that one.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. His weekly radio show, "The Hutchinson Report" can be heard weekly in Los Angeles Fridays on KTYM Radio 1460 AM and live streamed nationally on ktym.com

Comments

[AirForceBlue]

Guess he and the Reverend Wright have a big mouth in common.

[LMPE]

I don't pray for Wiley Drake's death. Just for the stripping of his organization's tax exempt status and a little investigation by the FBI.

[slj316]

What type of Christian openly prays for the death of another human being?

[ProudLiberalDemocrat]

Gandhi was quoted as saying something similar to, "I like your Christ. But I do not like your Christians; they are so unlike your Christ."

History gives us at least one thing to learn from Christs' teachings - do unto others as you would have done unto you. This Golden Rule is being tarnished by all these so-called Christians. Shame.

[Gidster]

The garden variety Christian prays for the death of all of his, and therefor "God's" enemies.

It's hubris.

[minimalist syntax]

I agree it is absolutely hubris to believe that your enemies are God's spiritual enemies. But I am not so sure that the garden variety Christian routinely or even ever prays for the death of all of his or her enemies.

[been2there]

No, not the garden variety. The loud-mouth variety!

[research]

FAKE CHRISTIANS!

Who would Jesus ask God to kill?

[kwinter]

Dunno, maybe Judas?

[minimalist syntax]

Well, He didn't.

[research]

Forgive them father, for they know not what they do.

[larry278]

Y not ersatz Christers? The word Christians is not appropriate for fundie, holy roller. copulatiing Christian, f3cking Gezuz freaks. What about primative the Christianity that Christers constantly speak of?

[memosyne]

Those who hate are poisoning our common well. Political discourse has deteriorated into name calling. Selfish racism is ruining our country. Satan is the father of lies. Anyone who tells a lie or passes on a lie that someone else has told is sinning.
President Barack Obama is a United States citizen born in the State of Hawaii. He is legally entitled to vote, run for office and serve as the President of the United States of America.
Look into your hearts, Christians, if your beliefs are informed by hatred, fear, and lies, you are in big trouble with the Lord. Remember: "Perfect love casts out fear".

[Rogan]

Thank you. Your comment is not just sound, astute... it's IMPORTANT, REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.

Public dishonesty has become a cancer eating away at out nation. No exaggeration.

You literally can't argue with a Republican, now; they're all possessed of the same kind of intellectual dishonesty. But we can't have a political discourse, if one side continually, consistently, lies, obfuscates, changes the subject, literally does anything to avoid actual discussion or argument. A dishonesty much, much bigger than merely lying.

The other day I realized an old friend at facebook is a Republican, (now! still!) because he's plagiarizing bits of Rush Limbaugh, and posting them. I tried asking him a simple question - "Are you against domestic spending, generally?" and could get no response other than a series of personal attacks and insults that continued until I deleted him from my "friends" and blocked his page.

They ALL do that, now. They do that in Congress, in the Senate. If they don't stop, our country is doomed.

[dogsmom]

"Southern Baptist Pastor Wiley Drake bashed Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren this week, saying "God will punish" Warren for agreeing to give the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration next month.

"I pray He is kind to you in this punishment that is coming," Drake wrote in a widely-released e-mail. In it, the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park pastor criticizes Warren's "recent plan to invoke the presence of almighty God on this evil illegal alien," a reference to Obama."
OC Register, 12-23-08

Evil Illegal Alien? What a bunch of nonsense.

[momcat4obama]

I try, I really, really try, to not be too judgmental. And I never try and tell anyone that I know what God is thinking or what He will do about something. But, I will also admit that there is a part of me that would LOVE to be a fly on the "wall" of Heaven to hear the conversation God may have with Mr. Drake about his presuming to speak "for" God and his pre-judging people "for" God.

[larry278]

As I read HP's headline for EOH's blog, I thought of the old saying, "Be careful of what you wish for or pray for. You could have you wish (or prayer) granted." The good preacher is trying to parse & explain away his prayer re: Pres Obama.
Disclosure: I pray for Pres Obama's safety many times a day. This is too big for any human force. I have abandoned my ever so comfortable Atheism & I pray to God for Pres Obama's safety. My prayer is simple. I'll let God decide what to do. Yes, that was generous of me. This is a serious situation that's beyond human control. This is God's (or your favorite deity's) province & decision.

[karinova]

Ain't nothin' wrong with appealing to The Force.

Whatever is/it may be.

[Olmecvision]

I was motivated to send the below questions to an article I saw on the supreme court posted on Swamp politics.
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/06/supreme_court_voting_rights_ac.html

My questions:
Do white men have the legal ability to determine if minorities and women have or can keep the right to vote? Could the supreme court rule the voting rights act illegal, therefore eliminating the right to vote for the majority of Americans? If the court ruled against the right to vote for minorities would it mean our president could not vote in the next election? When the country is half minorities in 25 yrs will 25% of the population (white males) technically have the right to strip them of their right to vote? How can minorities say it is their country if their right to vote is conditional? Would white males fight and die for the country if their votes were conditional based on some minorities and how they felt?

Why should women and minorities care about Iranian's democracy problems if 70% of Americans cannot vote in the USA if a minority votes to repeal the voting rights act?

[sdskelton03]

wrong post for that.

[JohnFromCensornati]

There are no "real" or "fake" xians! You all worship the same three gods!
Until one of the three shows up and explains their position, you don't get to claim ownership.

[sdskelton03]

Please don't judge the rest of us by that guy.

Is this guy really a leader amongst Christians? I have never heard of him.

I sure hope he isn't.

[jill2468]

I've never heard of him either and am glad. He is a nut through and through!!

[tbonehead]

Does God need this guys help? is that what he is saying, so God is praying to God and needs the right-reverend minister to translate the prayer so who. . .God can understand the prayer that God is praying? So again, "Who's on First?" No! What's on 2nd and so on and so on.

[1differentdrummer]

"......since he was doing God's work." Does that tell you anything?

[OpalSky42]

He's channeling God? At least that's what it sounds like he believes. How convenient - he doesn't wish death on another person, God's wishing it through him. People like him make atheism look better every day.

[minimalist syntax]

Yeah. Christopher Hitchens loving kindness to everyone is impressive. Of course, Pol Pot's atheism is particularly convincing.

[writerjohnny]

Pol Pot is a piker compared to an entire history of war, death and torture fomented and executed by Christian leaders. More to the point I don't think Hitchens has killed anyone.

[Kimthejournalist]

Question: How come when Muslims pray for death to American presidents in the name of God, they're called terrorists... but when Christians do it, they're just exercising their freedom of religion?

These people are far more than just "crazies" or fringe lunatics... they are the misinformed heartland of religious America and they are extremely dangerous. Why don't they lose their nonprofit status when they make such inflammatory, blatantly political statements?

[rektruax]

Another Question: Why in this modern era does anyone pay attention when a mouth-breathing myth believer says anything about anything?

[sdskelton03]

I would be careful with the broadness of your brush. I live in the heartland. I am a Christian. I have never come across anyone who thinks like this man or would be okay with the way this man thinks.

[olmossy]

Very True. Seems we allways hear from the waay far extremes of either side.

[listeningpost]

imprecation
noun formal
a spoken curse : she hurled her imprecations at anyone who might be listening.

imprecatory
adjective
ORIGIN late Middle English : from Latin imprecatio(n-), from imprecari ‘invoke (evil),’ from in- ‘toward’ + precari ‘pray.’

[minimalist syntax]

Just looking at the etymology of words doesn't tell you much. The word "silly" used to mean "happy" or "blessed". The word "sell" used to mean "to give" (not in exchange for money).