Hypocrisy Encore: John McCain
Just after I published my post on Hypocrisy, this crossed my feeds:
Mega-Church Pastor in Texas Backs McCain
Senator John McCain got support on Wednesday from an important corner of evangelical Texas when the pastor of a San Antonio mega-church, Rev. John C. Hagee, endorsed Mr. McCain for president. Mr. Hagee, who argues that the United States must join Israel in a preemptive, biblically prophesized military strike against Iran that will lead to the second coming of Christ, praised Mr. McCain for his pro-Israel views.
My friends, he must reject, repudiate, denounce this endorsement. Or else we must make sure McCain is not elected, because it’s not just that McCain was endorsed by this guy, it’s McCain’s statement that he’s “honored” to have his endorsement.
Mr. McCain, who has been on a steady search for support among conservative and evangelical leaders who have long distrusted him, said he was “very honored’’ by Mr. Hagee’s endorsement.
Key things you should know about John Hagee:
- He promotes hate speech, particularly toward gays. See the article “Rebuilding the Gates (PDF)” in the most recent JHMagazine.
“The gates of America are burning down when main line churches ordain homosexuals into the pulpit. The gates of America are burning down when the accepted climate of “new morality” is to throw the Ten Commandments out the window. This acceptance has tossed the Bible out of public schools and replaced it with condoms. Your children can’t read the words of King David, but they are forced to learn witchcraft through the required reading of the Harry Potter novels. The gates of America are burning down and the foundations are being destroyed when most churches in America live so far beneath the standards of New Testament holiness that if you joined most churches you would need to backslide
to be in fellowship. - He is a fierce advocate for Israel not because he believes in democracy as he claims, but because he views Israel’s existence as a keystone for the ‘end times’. His endorsement of an invasion of Iran shows how far he is willing to destroy this country in favor of his ‘end times’ strategy.
His most recent sermon series is entitled “Vote the Bible”, which he describes in the most recent newsletter (PDF):
One party is for a socialistic government where government controls every element of your life with a tax and spend philosophy that’s breathtaking.
The other party promises a strong national defense, to be pro-life, pro-Israel, and sustain the Bush Tax Cuts. Literally, the future of the nation is hanging in the balance.
When you go into the voting booth, I want you to take your Bible positions on political issues and vote the Bible. If every Christian in America will do that in this coming election, America’s future will be secure.
So I looked through my Bible, but I couldn’t find a damn thing on the Bush Tax Cuts. Funny thing, that.
By the way, this particular endorsement steps very close to crossing the line between what is, and what is not, acceptable activity for a church with tax-exempt status. The senior minister’s personal endorsement of McCain alongside a sermon series that is clearly intended to signal the endorsement of the church toward a specific candidate (since Huckabee clearly does NOT support the Bush Tax Cuts) certainly walks very close to the line of what is and what is not considered ‘political activity by a church or tax-exempt organization’.
I can almost smell the brimstone now.
Technorati Tags: McCain, Religious right, christian extremists, religious terrorism, Iran