Well, here is a perfect example of how Christian extremism is as bad as Islamic extremism. Unbelievable. We are supposed to be the “most advanced” nation on the planet and we still have these kinds of dangerous religious kooks calling for their god to off others who simply want to uphold freedom and human rights for all people no matter what their faith or non-faith. Though Rev. Barry Lynn is a follower of the same imaginary friend as former Navy chaplain, Gordon James Klingenschmitt, Klingenschmitt has called for prayers to end Barry Lynn’s life. He has been trying to raise money and recruit supporters through a Religious Right Web site titled prayinjesusname.org. (Warning, you will need to take a hot shower after viewing his website.) Spiritual Warfare: Ex-Chaplain Prays For Death Of AU’s Lynn
Americans United and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) took issue with Klingenschmitt’s site and his e-mail alerts that referred to him as “Chaplain Klingenschmitt” and showed him in a Navy uniform. We wrote to Navy officials, arguing that Klingenschmitt was attempting to mislead people, as he is a former chaplain.
I guess we got Klingenschmitt’s attention because he has now placed a disclaimer on this Web site admitting he’s no longer in the military. And — apparently still disgruntled — over the weekend he called on supporters to launch “imprecatory” prayers against AU Executive Director Barry W. Lynn and MRFF founder Mikey Weinstein.
For those of you not versed in the finer points of extreme right-wing theology, imprecatory prayers are prayers that bad things will happen to your enemies – things like death, loss of income, loss of property, etc.
“Almighty God, today we pray imprecatory prayers from Psalm 109 against the enemies of religious liberty, including Barry Lynn and Mikey Weinstein, who recently issued a press release attacking me personally,” prays Klingenschmitt on his Web site. “God, do not remain silent, for wicked men surround me and tell lies about me. We bless them, but they curse us. Therefore, find them guilty, not me. Let their days be few, and replace them with godly people. Plunder their fields and seize their assets. Cut off their descendants. And remember their sins. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
You can read the prayer here or listen to it here. (For the printed version, scroll down to “Saturday 25 Apr 09 One-Minute Prayer.” Note that there are a few minor differences between the printed version and the audio version.)
As Rob Boston points out, this isn’t the first Christian loon to call for the end of Barry Lynn’s life, Southern California pastor Wiley Drake has done it twice (after AU blew the whistle on his partisan pulpit politicking).
So, while we really don’t have a name for it like jihad or fatwa, it’s the same damn thing. While Klingenshit says on his site he is fighting for “religious freedom” what he is really doing is fighting against the freedom that this country was founded on and he has no respect for the rights of others who do not share his beliefs. And his public call for wanting someone dead is criminal. All it would take is one psycho to do “God’s Will” and go down as a martyr in the eyes of his fellow lunatics.
2 comments:
Why does this NOT surprise me?
It just boggles the mind that people would pray! for harm to others.
How do they square this with the fact that Jesus explicitly commanded his followers to "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
Even when I was a Christian, I thought that believers were not suffering for their faith in this country, not in any sense of the word.
At any rate, in the midst of a trial, they are supposed to 'count it all joy.' Not that they are being persecuted, that idea is laughable.
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