Southern Baptist Pastor Wiley Drake of Buena Park sent out an email Monday night, saying that perhaps his prayers had been answered with the death of Rep. John Murtha yesterday.
“Maybe God took him out,” Drake wrote. “Maybe God Answered our IMPRECATORY prayer that we prayed every 30 days.”
The Pennsylvania congressman, a decorated former Marine who fiercely opposed the Iraq war, died at the age of 77 after complications from gallbladder surgery.
I asked Drake if his statements weren’t distasteful, particularly coming immediately after Murtha’s death. He said that as a Christian, he didn’t buy into the sentiment of not speaking ill of the dead.
“It’s not distasteful to pray the word of God and include somebody’s name,” he said. “I didn’t celebrate his death. I said maybe it was God’s answer to our imprecatory prayer.”
Drake regularly asks his “prayer warriors” to participate in prayer targeting “unrighteous” politicians. He typically uses Psalms 109, including these passages including in his Monday email: “Let his days be few; and let another take his office.” And, “Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow.”
At one point, Drake prayed for the death of President Barack Obama. However, he dropped that because he wants to see Obama faces charges that he is not a natural-born citizen and so cannot be president. Drake has such a lawsuit on appeal.
I cannot even fathom how people who claim to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ can follow this son of a bitch.
Here is video of an interview with Pastor "God is my hitman" Drake talking about his congregation's imprecatory prayers for President Obama's death.
Oh my God! Okay look I don't want to tell people which church they should belong to, or what religion to follow, but if you find yourself sitting on a pew in front of a man who is telling you to pray for the DEATH of a person who does not share their faith or political views, you need to stand up, gather your children, and stomp right the hell out of there!
If you stay you are providing support to a person who has completely misrepresented the Christian faith and who is using the influence afforded him by his title to proffer his own hate filled prejudice. Any adult who subjects their children to such an environment, in my opinion, is guilty of child abuse.
Can you imagine the guilt a child would feel if, in a moment of anger, they prayed for the death of their parent, teacher, or friend and by some horrible coincidence it were to come true? (I actually met somebody who had a very similar experience to this once and they were essentially an emotional cripple.)
Damn this subject makes me mad!
(If you would like to learn even more about this jerk please head on over to my friend Leah Burton's blog "God's Own Party" for even more disturbing information.)
Locked in the church safe -- I'm SURE -- is the voodoo doll this pastor or high priest, or whatever this disgrace to God calls himself, sticks with pins to more securely seal the deal.
ReplyDeleteIt must be nice, to take credit for random or obvious events that happen to anyone, anyplace or anything at anytime and inevitably, you'll have a following.
ReplyDeleteSheep, mere sheep, except Jesus' gentle lambs don't wish death or destruction on others.
This MF and his followers can go wriggle around in excrement where the sun don't shine.
I know this doesn't represent christians. This guy clearly doesn't read his bible. He doesn't know who Jesus is. If his flock knew as well, they'd be outta there in a flash. There will always be arrogant, self-righteous unfeeling legalistic letter of the law people out there.
ReplyDeleteCheck out the statistics. Christians are leaving churches in the thousands and according to some, millions in the last few years (U.S., Canada) because of these "pastors". True christians are starting church groups in homes, and hate this attitude. This spirit of hate, divisiveness is pervading the church clergy, and people aren't buying it. Whoever could say such things as this pastor Drake has said has allowed himself to be directed by another spirit, which the bible clearly teaches that will happen to christian believers if their pride gets the better of them.
What disgraceful things this pastor has said. Does he think he's God? He obviously doesn't read the verse in Romans 12 (which a believer should take into seriuos account) which says: "Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved". Old testament law was replaced by grace. Unmerited favour. In spite of our misdeeds and failures, God loves us and forgives us.
I wonder if the doctor who operated on Rep. John Murtha was a Rebiblican? The botched gall bladder surgery took place at the Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland with military doctors. His intestine was “nicked”, leading to the infection that led to his death days later. Maybe someone should check to see if the doctor’s scalpel has a biblical code inscribed on it. And I am not joking.
ReplyDeleteThese goddamn people are practicing black magik! All smart witches know you reap what you sow and what you put out comes back times three!
ReplyDeleteHopefully their "prayers" will backfire on them all :)
Not to mention Karma!
We can console ourselves that this is just the fringe, but this is the threat we face. And these are the people Palin is consciously inciting. That's why I am resolved to work to remove Palin completely from public influence.
ReplyDeleteRemember, just last week Palin said we should seek divine intervention so this country can be "safe" and "prosperous" once again.
As someone who lived through the George Wallace era I know too well the harm a few crazy people can do.
Andrew Sullivan understands this and wrote several essays on Palin and the danger she represents last week. From one of Sullivan's essays:
"She can electrify a crowd. She has the kind of charisma that appeals to the sub-rational. and she has crafted a Peronist identity - utterly fraudulent, of course - that is political dynamite in a recession with populism roiling everyone and everything. She is Coughlin with boobs - except with a foreign policy agenda to expand Israel and unite with it in a war against Islam.
Do not under-estimate the appeal of a beautiful, big breasted, divinely chosen warrior-mother as a military leader in a global religious war."
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/02/palins-triumph.html#more
Why is the God of Evangelical Christians always such a dick?
ReplyDeleteBuena Park is in Orange County, California, no? The only reason for a pastor in Orange County to care so vehemently about the death of a congressman from Pennsylvania is because the make-up of Congress may be affected. This is obvious politicking from the pulpit and should be rewarded with the immediate removal of this "church"s' 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. I am more than ready to see the IRS take a closer look at how taxpayers in this country are being asked to underwrite this sort of activity through the bestowal of tax-exempt status. Separation of church and state principles are being ALLOWED to evaporate.
ReplyDeletewhat would happen if, the prayers of these People who pray for the death of others had their prayers turned on them?
ReplyDeleteJust pray that their prayers are turned, around using their own words against them. Would they suddenly become more Christian in their attitudes? If they really feel they are killing people, by prayer, they consider enemies,They may quit in fear for their own lives....Now wouldn't that be something?
How do you spell S-I-C-K B-A-S-T-A-R-D-S ???
ReplyDeleteThey always find these kinds of pastors with prostitutes crawling around the floor in diapers.
ReplyDeleteOops--that's Louisiana senators.
Give 'em hell, Gryphen!! You are so right.
ReplyDeleteOf course, Drake never paused to consider that praying "imprecatory" prayers every thirty days ad infinitum would eventually coincide with the death of anyone on the planet. No, he prefers to wallow in the cesspool of taking credit for the death of Murtha. Disgusting man!
THIS is why I cannot abide the Talibangelicals. They are arrogant asshats that think that God does THEIR bidding. I have a very short list of people upon whose graves I plan to pee: Strom Thurmond, Jesse Helms, Dick Cheney, and George W. Bush. The selection committee is still deliberating on Jerry Falwell and Oral Roberts. Pastor Wiley Drake seems to be begging me to add him to the list.
ReplyDeleteI might even take a dump on his grave. Hell, I might not even wait until he is dead.
Spare me from a God who answers anyone's prayers for an untimely death for someone with whom you do not agree politically.
ReplyDeleteThat is the height of insanity.
I'd hate to be one who prayed 'imprecatory prayers' so that someone would have few days left.
I do believe in the law of karma. What goes around comes around, you pseudo-Christians.
IF there is a god then there is a devil: The DEVIL IS WHO THESE FREAKS ARE PRAYING TO!!!
ReplyDeleteMay your souls rest in that fiery lake for eternity. You are SICK FREAKS!
Jesus wants nothing to do with you.
Love and forgiveness is what Jesus is all about...
It would not surprise me if Sarah Palin faked her own death just to see how much the pee'ers love her, and to hear what kind of conspiracy theories developed surrounding her 'untimely' demise.
ReplyDeleteShe would come back after a year or so with a lie about being 'risen from the dead' ~ which would heartily be believed and spun by her fanatics.
(We, however, would know she faked it because she would sloppily leave photographic evidence around...)
I'm thinking that Wiley may have quit publicly praying for Obama's death for reasons other than he stated. I'm betting that someone pointed out that his imprecatory prayers could land him in hot water with the Secret Service and might be construed as a threat against the President of the United States. Methinks his commitment to those intercessory prayers doesn't run THAT deep.
ReplyDeleteI wonder from which Gospel Rev. Drake draws upon for such calls for violence? I'm not aware that Jesus EVER called on his disciples to pray for the deaths of anybody.
Re: Liz I.'s post:
ReplyDeleteI know our dear Andrew Sullivan does not fancy women, may not have ever touched one in a 7 minutes in heaven game when in the closet (pun intended) as a youth, but Sarah Palin big-breasted?
Not even when 'pregnant' or 'nursing' Trig. Guess she forgot to find empathy boobs.
Plus her atkins diet Dr. Pepper and thigh burnin sanity seeking runs have burned what little she had off. Anyone catch her odd lie about losing weight because she weaned Trig? The mother of four babie's dang well knows you lose weight nursing and regain weight weaning.
Idiot.
Gasman, I'll vomit alongside you for good measure.
ReplyDeleteIt's called The Golden Rule. What normal sane person would ever say such a thing? It is repulsive that a man of God ( of any faith) would say/promote such a thing. The fundies are really scaring me!
ReplyDeleteI believe God remembers we are dust. We may sometimes forget this. We don't believe it. We say "I am NOT dust". However for each of us our elements of the earth are worth approximately $1.40 Even dick cheney. Also, the scriptures I believe say that man's governments are like mists, here today and gone tomaui. And they are aren't they. Having a relationship with God is very important. It needs to be authentic. He is Holy, Holy, Holy. We can not order Him about with imprecatory prayers or otherwise. I believe its unfortunate that these individuals may be misrepresenting God. They may be praying to Satan! Instead. He's been a killer for a long time. These are my beliefs.
ReplyDeleteJohn Murtha was my congressman and he did so much for this area (with earmarks, yes). But, people outside cannot begin to comprehend how he RESCUED this area of PA. Thousands have jobs because of his advocacy, and the secondary jobs that these created. He was here for us (which is what we want our Representatives to be). To think that a "Christian" (WTF?) would be praying for the demise of one who helped so many......WWJD?
ReplyDeleteThese people are not Christian by any means. If they are following a religion, it is one of their own making, one that is vile, vindictive and prejudicial to anyone unlike them. There are so many people who are filled with hate who talk of a "god" who will send people to hell if they don't do as they say here on earth.
ReplyDeleteWith people like this, is there any wonder why there is a backlash against religion? The very idea that there is a prayer for a man to die and leave his wife a widow and his children, fatherless, is disgusting beyond words. These are the people who give religion a bad name. No one in their right mind would believe in a prayer for God to take the life of an innocent man simply because you disagreed with his political beliefs. There are truly no words to describe just how hateful these people are.
I don't understand how Christians can pray for the death of someone. I don't understand why they would wish to take credit for the death of anyone as a result of their prayers.
ReplyDeleteWhat hubris to think that they could ask God to kill someone and that God would do it, let alone listen to them.
This is beyond disgusting.
I find it strange (and maybe its just the area of the country I was raised in) to state they are "christian" where I grew up people said.."catholic""lutheran""baptist" etc.
ReplyDeleteWhen someone makes the point (usually in the first 5 min of meeting them) that they are "christian" I am always suspect and wonder why they think I give a rats ass what church they attend.
A recovering catholic
Karma is an amazing thing, I can't imagine any God who answers these twisted prayers from twisted people with twisted minds.
ReplyDeleteTo speak ill of the dead, especially so close to their passing is unconscionable. I've lost four close relatives these past few years, and can't imagine how Mr Murtha's family's grief being compounded by the words of these idiots. There but for the Grace of God go all of us, these people should be ashamed of themselves.
Murtha was 77 years old. If God killed him for unrighteousness he sure took his sweet time.
ReplyDeleteI was raised in a fundamental home. We had the 'Fruitages of the Spirit' on our refrigerator--a daily reminder that 'by these acts' true Christians would be known. I am no longer affiliated with any organized religion, but I think it is worth comparing the list of required attributes from the Bible to what these clowns are up to. So, without further ado (Galations 5:22):
ReplyDelete1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Long suffering (opposite of intolerance)
5. Gentleness
6. Goodness
7. Faith
8. Meekness
9. Temperance
If these are the behaviors that God says distinguish true Christians, in fact clearly states that it is only by demonstrating these qualities he will be able to recognize his true followers, then we are left with only one possible conclusion--people who would pray for the death of another and then publicly brag about it simply cannot be Christian.
Theopedia has a article about immpreccatory prayers
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theopedia.com/Imprecatory_Psalms
You can go to www.SBCTakeover.com
and read how the "fundies" aka Dominionists took over the Southern Baptist Convention
Agree with Gryphen check out Leah Burtons blog.
Now another thing that is explained by this website or at least the book which can be read there or ordered is the fundies use of the word "liberal"
The fundies description is:
1)Does not believe in divine inspiration or spiritual truth value of the Bible.
2)Does not believe in the divinity of Jesus.
3)Does not believe in salvation by grace through faith in Christ.
The Southern Baptist Convention was taken over by fundamentalist's in 1979.
It is a very good book and shows how these fundies are trying to take over all churches.
And when these people say these fundies are not christian they are right! This is a dominionist movement of which Palin is a part of...
talk2action.org
(she has her very own page)
and you can see when the troll come on her and call us "you liberals" the meaning is entirely different, a insult for those people who are liberal in thought but consider themselves Christian!
Check out Leah's blog and talk2action...eye opening and scary and shows where these assholes spewing immpreccatory prayers are coming from and its a crazy place.
First, as a Pagan, I'd like to say that Drake is fully representative of Christianity as it is shown in this country. If other people insist that he's not a "real Christian," maybe they ought to get off their duffs and start publicly demonstrating THEIR brand. I see no particular reason to believe Drake isn't typical. Online is the only place where I see people insisting that he's wrong. Until I see people protesting this publicly I don't have any reason to believe that Christians are being unfairly represented by Drake and his ilk.
ReplyDeleteSecond, please don't refer to this operation as "botched." It's unfortunate but true that the inside of the human body isn't necessarily a neat, tidy place. "Damage to surrounding tissue" and "infection" are known surgical risks that have been spelled out on any surgical consent form I've seen for the last 30 years. Nobody except the surgical team knows what kind of a sticky, adherent, friable mess that gallbladder was, and sometimes, sadly, things like this happen. It's tragic. It's life. You're still statistically safer in surgery than you are driving on the freeway, although I freely admit that being told that flying is safer than driving does nothing to alleviate my fear of flying.
IVYFREE, The inside of a body is a very "neat and tidy" place. While it is true the type of surgery Murtha had does carry some risks,a bowel nick is very rare "botch" that I have only seen in an ICU once done by a rookie doctor. That said it is true that even a very experienced doctor can make a mistake, like all other humans. What is even rarer is dying from septic shock so soon after. Normally they are ill for a very long time in the ICU on antibiotics and IV pressor agents. I also find it strange that he did not seek help until he was so far gone. Did he go to the customary appoinments to be assesed to make sure he was OK? The scenario of going home and coming back to the hospital with a fever after three days makes no sense. He would have gotten a fever sooner. Of course he could have been on prednisone or something that might suppress the symptoms of infection. The condition of his gallbladder had nothing to do with nicking the bowel. Considering where he had the surgery done many have wondered about this story in light of who he was and the military-industrial complex.
ReplyDeleteThese are the same type of people who killed their own children and themselves because Jim Jones told them to! Cults are filled with people like this and it amazes me that their are adults who could follow someone like this and teach their children this way! God, save us from (some of) your followers.
ReplyDelete