Praying for Obama to die?: Turning Bible Verse Into Manifesto for Maniacs

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From Brad Blog: The wingnuttery continues to devolve. Last night, Rachel Maddow covered, among other recently related points, the new Rightwing "Pray for Obama" movement supporting, and selling merchandise in support of, Psalms 109:8 which begins this way: "Let his days be few; and let another take his office," and continues with "Let his children be fatherless, and his wife a widow."

Frank Schaeffer, repentant former rightwing fundamentalist evangelical, and now a contributor here at The BRAD BLOG, was on her show last night to discuss that point, and where it seems to signal that things may be frighteningly headed.(More on Frank Schaeffer...)

Rachel Maddow discusses with Frank Schaeffer the possible threat to the president by a member of the "American Taliban" inspired by the bible verse Psalm 109:8.

SCHAEFFER: Look, this is the American version of the Taliban. The Taliban quotes the Koran, and al-Qaeda quotes certain verses in the Koran, in or out of context, calling for jihad and bloody war and the curse of Allah on infidels. This is the Old Testament biblical equivalent of calling for Holy War.

Now, most Americans will see the bumper sticker and smile and think that it's facetious. Unfortunately, there are 22 million Americans, or so, who call themselves "super conservative evangelicals". Of this, a small minority might be violent, but the general atmosphere here is really getting heated.

And what surprises me is that responsible --- if you can put it that way --- Republican leadership and the editors of some of these Christian magazines, etc. etc., do not stand up in holy horror and denounce this.

Rachel Maddow, Frank Schaeffer, Barack Obama and The Antichrist Rachel Maddow interviewed Frank Schaeffer on September 18, 2009. The starting point was a poll in New Jersey that showed 18% of NJ voters think Barack Obama is the anitchrist. Schaeffer does a brilliant -- and forthrightly provactive -- job of showing why and how religious beliefs matter. Conspiracies, demonizing, scapegoating, and endtime madness.

You know, they're always asking "Where is the Islamic leadership denouncing terrorism? Why are the moderates speaking out?"

Well, I challenge the folks that I used to work with, that I talk about in my book Patience With God, and I would just say to them, "Where they hell are you? This is not funny anymore, and be it on your head if something happens to our President, if you are going to go around supporting, and not speaking out against this stuff"

It's not a question of whose doing it. The bigger question is, where are the people speaking out against these things? I don't hear those voices raised in the evangelical fundamentalist community. And, until I do, my opinion is, they're culpable.

 

 

Psalm 109:8. "May his days be few; may another take his place of leadership."

• 109:9. "May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow."


• 109:10. "May his children be wandering beggars; may they be driven from their ruined homes."


• 109:11. "May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor."


• 109:12. "May no one extend kindness to him or take pity on his fatherless children."


• 109:13. "May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation."


• 109:14. "May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the LORD; may the sin of his mother never be blotted out."


• 109:15. "May their sins always remain before the LORD, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth."


• 109:16. "For he never thought of doing a kindness, but hounded to death the poor and the needy and the brokenhearted."


• 109:17. "He loved to pronounce a curse may it come on him; he found no pleasure in blessing— may it be far from him."


• 109:18. "He wore cursing as his garment; it entered into his body like water,into his bones like oil."


• 109:19. "May it be like a cloak wrapped about him, like a belt tied forever around him."