McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam
Televangelist Rod Parsley, a key McCain ally in Ohio, has called for eradicating the "false religion." Will the GOP presidential candidate renounce him?
On February 26, McCain appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati with the Reverend Rod Parsley of the World Harvest Church of Columbus, a supersize Pentecostal institution that features a 5,200-seat sanctuary, a television studio (where Parsley tapes a weekly show), and a 122,000-square-foot Ministry Activity Center. That day, a week before the Ohio primary, Parsley praised the Republican presidential front-runner as a "strong, true, consistent conservative." The endorsement was important for McCain, who at the time was trying to put an end to the lingering challenge from former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a favorite among Christian evangelicals. A politically influential figure in Ohio, Parsley could also play a key role in McCain's effort to win this bellwether state in the general election. McCain, with Parsley by his side at the Cincinnati rally, called the evangelical minister a "spiritual guide."
The leader of a 12,000-member congregation, Parsley has written several books outlining his fundamentalist religious outlook, including the 2005 Silent No More. In this work, Parsley decries the "spiritual desperation" of the United States, and he blasts away at the usual suspects: activist judges, civil libertarians who advocate the separation of church and state, the homosexual "culture" ("homosexuals are anything but happy and carefree"), the "abortion industry," and the crass and profane entertainment industry. And Parsley targets another profound threat to the United States: the religion of Islam.
In a chapter titled "Islam: The Deception of Allah," Parsley warns there is a "war between Islam and Christian civilization." He continues:
I cannot tell you how important it is that we understand the true nature of Islam, that we see it for what it really is. In fact, I will tell you this: I do not believe our country can truly fulfill its divine purpose until we understand our historical conflict with Islam. I know that this statement sounds extreme, but I do not shrink from its implications. The fact is that America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed, and I believe September 11, 2001, was a generational call to arms that we can no longer ignore.
Parsley is not shy about his desire to obliterate Islam. In Silent No More, he notes—approvingly—that Christopher Columbus shared the same goal: "It was to defeat Islam, among other dreams, that Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World in 1492…Columbus dreamed of defeating the armies of Islam with the armies of Europe made mighty by the wealth of the New World. It was this dream that, in part, began America." He urges his readers to realize that a confrontation between Christianity and Islam is unavoidable: "We find now we have no choice. The time has come." And he has bad news: "We may already be losing the battle. As I scan the world, I find that Islam is responsible for more pain, more bloodshed, and more devastation than nearly any other force on earth at this moment."
Parsley claims that Islam is an "anti-Christ religion" predicated on "deception." The Muslim prophet Muhammad, he writes, "received revelations from demons and not from the true God." And he emphasizes this point: "Allah was a demon spirit." Parsley does not differentiate between violent Islamic extremists and other followers of the religion:
There are some, of course, who will say that the violence I cite is the exception and not the rule. I beg to differ. I will counter, respectfully, that what some call "extremists" are instead mainstream believers who are drawing from the well at the very heart of Islam.
The spirit of Islam, he maintains, is one of hostility. He asserts that the religion "inspired" the 9/11 attacks. He bemoans the fact that in the years after 9/11, 34,000 Americans "have become Muslim" and that there are "some 1,209 mosques" in America. Islam, he declares, is a "faith that fully intends to conquer the world" through violence. The United States, he insists, "has historically understood herself as a bastion against Islam," but "history is crashing in upon us."
At the end of his chapter on Islam, Parsley asks, "Are we a Christian nation? I say yes." Without specifying what actions should be taken to eradicate the religion, he essentially calls for a new crusade.
Parsley, who refers to himself as a "Christocrat," is no stranger to controversy. In 2007, the grassroots organization he founded, the Center for Moral Clarity, called for prosecuting people who commit adultery. In January, he compared Planned Parenthood to Nazis. In the past Parsley's church has been accused of engaging in pro-Republican partisan activities in violation of its tax-exempt status.
Why would McCain court Parsley? He has long had trouble figuring out how to deal with Christian fundamentalists, an important bloc for the Republican Party. During his 2000 presidential bid, he referred to Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell as "agents of intolerance." But six years later, as he readied himself for another White House run, McCain repudiated that remark. More recently, his campaign hit a rough patch when he accepted the endorsement of the Reverend John Hagee, a Texas televangelist who has called the Catholic Church "the great whore" and a "false cult system." After the Catholic League protested and called on McCain to renounce Hagee's support, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee praised Hagee's spiritual leadership and support of Israel and said that "when [Hagee] endorses me, it does not mean that I embrace everything that he stands for or believes in." After being further criticized for his Hagee connection, McCain backed off slightly, saying, "I repudiate any comments that are made, including Pastor Hagee's, if they are anti-Catholic or offensive to Catholics." But McCain did not renounce Hagee's endorsement.
McCain's relationship with Parsley is politically significant. In 2004, Parsley's church was credited with driving Christian fundamentalist voters to the polls for George W. Bush. With Ohio expected to again be a decisive state in the presidential contest, Parsley's World Harvest Church and an affiliated entity called Reformation Ohio, which registers voters, could be important players within this battleground state. Considering that the Ohio Republican Party has been decimated by various political scandals and that a popular Democrat, Ted Strickland, is now the state's governor, McCain and the Republicans will need all the help they can get in the Buckeye State this fall. It's a real question: Can McCain win the presidency without Parsley?
The McCain campaign did not respond to a request for comment regarding Parsley and his anti-Islam writings. Parsley did not return a call seeking comment.
"The last thing I want to be is another screaming voice moving people to extremes and provoking them to folly in the name of patriotism," Parsley writes in Silent No More. Provoking people to holy war is another matter. About that, McCain so far is silent.
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Suprise, suprise,suprise this fol is on Mc ains side. Hitler could run for president and fools like him would back him.
So much hate there.
So much hate there.
I hope the endoresments of people just like the one in this article keep coming in for McCain. It provides great fodder for the upcoming GE and seriously brings up topics for which most Americans would find themsleves adverse. If they keep coming this way the movement that started in 2000 against GWB, union busting, pro-corporate, anti-tolerance, anti-GLBT and anti-intellectual which has only gotten stronger since has the baility to be a full fledged movement with serious merits. It is amazing that this pastor does not see the hypocrisy in his statemnts against Islam as the same extreme that he is preaching against. However it is not surprising that he has found ears for this type of talk as many people feel lost in our current culture.
As an honorable person, I think he should renounce & reject.
what did he end up doing?
what did he end up doing?
whether McCain rejects the man publicly is irrelevant. A McCain presidency will legitimize and encourage these extremist views, regardless of what is said publicly against any single extremist.
I'll give Sen. McCain some spiritual advice, you'd better be ready to empty out your pockets and find Jesus in a big flippin' hurry, because if I'm right about you being a war profiteer, and I DO get George's job, and you don't come clean about whatever associations or affilations you have with the whole mismanaged, over-budget, misbegotten nightmare debt generator-thing calling itself 'defense' these days, you'd better be in your car driving like a mad dog to NASA headquarters(either behind or riding in a state cop car,I'd fully support THAT tax dollar expenditure, I'll even chip in for gas out of my own pocket) so they can help you build a rocket ship to Mars, because Planet Earth will suddenly feel cramped, crowded, and somehow confining...
Once I would have said that Parsley was just your run-of-the-mill Christian used-car salesman, but his sleazy chicanery seems to be eclipsing the rest of his snake oil brethren.
As we all know, it's hard to argue with a nut, but perhaps someone will tell Mr. Parsnips that the first treaty the new United States signed was with Muslim Tripoli. The treaty read, in part, "The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion." I fail to see how that qualifies as working to destroy the "false religion."
Do the people who listen (and believe) this crap ever read? Do they know how to read? The joke used to be that Methodists were Baptists that could read. What does that make Pentecostals, Neanderthals?
Watch this preacher on TV for five minutes and then ask why would anyone in public life want his endorsement. Be sure you watch the humpin' and heavin' parts of his sermons.
im a Muslim and i just simply feel sorry for this guy! what people like me get comfort from is the knowledge that im sat here not worried about much while some like this fool are stressing ad being scared of us! we dont follow an evil religion and we couldnt care less what some idiot in Ohio thinks of it! goodday everyone.
Sounds like they both believe in the same power - the God of War - just for different reasons. McCain wants the same foriegn policy agenda of Bush/ Cheney in order to continue the corporatization of the middle east. Parsley just sounds like a paranoid schitzophrenic who wants to shape the world according to his insane dellusion.
I frankly am so tired of these so called religious men who lack any connection to heart or to a true higher wisdom. These people are simply egos gone mad just like the sad inadequate man in the White House.
I say it is time to evolve past such ignorance, time to be and act wisely and consciously.
Joseph www.explorelifeblog.com and www.peace-together.com
Parsley has something of a point. If you study the history of Islam, you must eventually come to the conclusion that Muhammad was a very violent man--more like Osama bin Laden than Islam's moderate apologists would have you believe.
While there are many good people in the world who follow the teachings of Muhammad, there is no getting around the fact that the founder of the religion was not a man of peace. He was a man of war.
If the root is bad, how can the fruit be any good?
There are many in this country who believe Islam is a false religion. There are many in this country who believe Catholicism is a false denomination of the Christian religion (I'm an ex-Catholic and am no fan of the Catholic Church). There are many who believe Christianity is a false religion. There are many who believe all religions are false and hatefully call the vast majority of Americans who do practice their faith all kinds of vile names (don't deny it; it's true). You know what they call this? Protected speech under the 1st Amendment.
And by the way, the U.S. first battled the Islamist extremists who led the Barbary pirates, and crushed them. Where do you think the line "the shores of Tripoli" in the Marine hymn came from?
One other thing. The difference between Parsley and Hagee and the Obama supporter Farrakhan is that Farrakhan is an abject racist and his religion preaches racism. Neither one who is a Catholic or a Muslim is part of a different race because of their religious beliefs; the Nation of Islam states that all white people are "the Skunks of the Planet Earth."
And why doesn'y yhe hood Reverend son some armor, pick up his sword, incite his followers to join him and get over to Iraq or Afghanistan and 'kill those Moslems'?
What Gospel of Jesus Christ does he use to justify his blood lust for Arabs and other Middle-Easterners and Asians?
C. Davie
RE previous post: Oops! 'yhe = the' and 'son = don'. sorry for the typos.
Steve...Just because a moron like you believes something, it doesn't mean "many people in this country" believe it. Judging from the Nation Of Islams broad appeal including republicans like Jack Kemp who called Farrakhan's philosophy "wonderful" and John Ashcroft who sat down for dinner with the man, I can safely say that maybe many people in this country think White people are "The Skunk of the Earth"
You know what they call this? Protected Speech under the 1st amendment.
I live 15 minutes from Parsley's "meg-church". I have a hard time listening to the advice of a man who considers bedwetting a sign of "possession" (told to me by a visitor to a "service")and is chauffered in a limo to and from his mansion!
Mark F, you obvious use the same dubious sources on your information on Islam. The Prophet of Islam was not a violent man, he fought when he had to in self defense both for himself and his followers. Pick up a history book, fool.
Parsley on the other hand belongs to a satanic sect of Protestant Christianity which eagerly awaits Armageddon. They're terrorists, pure and simple.
Rod should actually read the Qur'an first. He'd probably find the surah "Maryam" quite interesting... and familiar as well because it's all about Jesus. Guess that's just a bunch of the demon lies, huh?
Sadly, hatred of Islam and Muslim bashing will probably get McCain more votes rather than less.
There was a direct correlation between church attendance and desire for war and torture. In a way, I'm glad America had 8 years of GWB. It blew the cover off the pro-life movement as the biggest fraud ever perpetrated onto the american public. I considered GWB the ying that's going to lead to the yang.
This man is a charlatan through and
through. Another money changer in
the temple. That this fool has any
influence at all speaks to our
sad condition.Do unto others...?
Holy.... is he trying to start a global jihad? Wow. WOW.
I pray many of you will take the time to read and contrast the Holy Bible with the Holy Qur'an. When you do, you will find we believe the same things except for the trinity. Muslim believe in the oneness of God - Allah (which is the arabic name). Furthermore, when you study the history of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) you will find that a Christin King gave the prophet and his followers refuge in his kingdom. Muslims and Christins have lived harmoniously for centuries. True believers should not allow people like Parsley, Farahakan and others devide us. Islam is about peace. Anyone that speaks otherwise is NOT a Muslim nor a Christian. You are a not Christian or Muslim if you promote violence.
Peace and Blessings!
The dude looks like he was a regular on the old t v show HE---HAW
Parsley wants to destroy Islam, seem he has the same mentality as he claims Islam does only his theology is different. Ask yourself if he ha d been born In Saudi Arabia he would quite likely be one of the extremist types. I think Parsley and his ilk are mentally ill.
Parsley and McCain have one thing in common: Hunger for war, destruction and discrimination.
Hillary unfortunately is using the same strategy to gain her presidency.
Just what an unstable world needs a real "false religion. Let's face the facts. There is a whole world of people out there who believed that churches like Parsley's World Harvest Church are the trouble makers who want to overrun the world with there mindless screaming to a God that they know damn well they'll never get close to.
Hooking up with John McCain only shows your true colors.
Someone should ask John McCain if he is as committed to refighting the Crusades as is his supporter. Why just go back to the 19th century when you can go all the way?
With "Christian" philosophies such as Rev. Parsley's, Americans are going to find themselves friendless in a world of rising diversity with us becoming a country of waning diversity and narrow views. History shows that such a phenomenon leads to the rapid downfall of great powers. Examples: Rome, Spain, Islamic Empire (circa 1000 AD).
Let the war between the imaginary friends begin
Parsley is not a christian! He is just using christianity as a front for his extremist ideas. A christian is suppose to represent Christ in the truest sense of the word. They have to love their enemies. Can you imagine Christ speaking the way Parsley does? I can't. Whatever happen to compassion, peace, love, gentleness, kindness, and humbleness? This guy lacks humility and behaves as though his words are God's words. Wrong! He appears to a hate monger and there is no room in christianity for such individuals. Parsley does not speak for christian. He need the conversion he tells other about.
Mark F, you charge Muhammed with being a 'violent' man....but, you do not address the violence associated with the crucifixion of Christ nor the riots that dogged the Gentiles' apostle, Paul, everywhere he went.
Most 'religions' experience violence of one degree or another during their formative periods, e.g. the persecution of Mormons in the 19th century.
I hate to be nasty, but your singling out Muhammed as a violent man is plain ignorance on display.
I would have to contest that. What active religion has not had turmoil or bloodshed. Christianity is based on blood and riches. There was and has been more corruption in the christian religion becuase the church has profited by placing the "son of god" on a pedestal. And to continue the practice, how many wars have been waged?
The fact that the man may be a religious fundamentalist, a supporter of the right, a Republican, does not make him wrong about Islam. Islam is not the religion of peace that liberal stooges would portray it as. The History is there to read as well as the theology. Islam is a religion of conquest and war, a religion of intolerance, not to mention the oppression of women. Investive will not chnage these facts. Christianity and Judaism are dhimmi to the Muslim, and other religions even lower. Please wise up before you speak of Islam as being OK. Unless your being a slave is OK.
Arguments like this have all the intelligence of the old playground line: "My dad can beat up your dad." The only difference is that this argument is far more dangerous, with lasting effects.
TyRight47: Your argument is pretty baseless, if you replace the word Islam with Christianity. There are examples (the Crusades, Salem Witch Trials, the Inquisition, Christopher Columbus...) that fit right in with the tenets of Christianity, or at least those who practice it.
All religions preach intolerance on some level. All religions are pernicious. As are generalizations.
You are wrong, TYRIGHT47. Christians and Jews in the Quran are respected as "People of the Book" and the status of women was upgraded significantly, e.g., right to inherit property, right to a divorce.
Is not Islams creed, join us or we kill you?
The good preacher seems to have solidly flunked the three basic admonitions of the New Testament: Love thy neighbor. Do unto others. And particularly, judge not.He is not alone in his failure, however, as most so-called Christians have the same problem.
I feel sorry for the man (& McCain). He has just earned himself a spot inhell-fire.
Muslims should not apologize for 9/11. 9/11 was a Zionist job. Go to www.iamthewitness.com to get an education.
its too bad such an ignorant fool is running for the presidency of the US.
"We may already be losing the battle. As I scan the world, I find that Islam is responsible for more pain, more bloodshed, and more devastation than nearly any other force on earth at this moment."
Without accepting the validity of the statistics behind that statement, does that mean that Christians would be winning if they were the ones causing the most pain, bloodshed, and devastation?
People who claim a religious motive for campaigns of hatred and violence are liars and frauds. They have political, economic or sociopathic agendas which they couch in religionist jargon to deceive others. People like Jerry Falwell, Osama bin Laden, Ronald Reagan, Erik Prince, the state of Israel, and this guy, Parsley.
McCain doesn't understand the Christianists any better than he does the Islamists - they all seem like "wackos" to him - but he knows that Parsley represents money and votes, and that Islam happens in the countries where he plans to wage war for oil.
So McCain will do the Machiavellian thing (just like Reagan and the Bushes) and suck up to every cheesy televangelist with a following of 10 or more, while rattling his sabre and glaring darkly at anyone or anything remotely related to Islam.
Understanding of complex issues is difficult to attain; prejudice, on the other hand, provides the ready answers and absolute certainty needed to mount a Crusade.
Sounds like a medieval Pope calling for one of the original crusades.
You would think that Christians would have learned a valuable lesson from that experience.
I don't think it is the purpose of world religions to slaughter each other into oblivion; but to bring peace, understanding and love to the world.
Pure fascistic drivel. For the edification of Parsley: "Allah," i.e., "God" in Arabic, is derived from "Allaha" which also means "God" in the ancient Aramaic language as spoken by Jesus. In other words, Jesus referred to God as "Allaha" or "Allah." Parsley also seems to be unaware that of the three Abrahamic faiths (i.e. Judaism, Christianity and Islam), only Islam recognizes and reveres the prophets of the other two.
I never cease to be amazed and depressed by the gross ignorance of the likes of Parsley and apparently, McCane, he of the nineteenth century mind set, who will grovel before any scoundrel/con artist/hatemonger to gain political support, money and influence.
