From Times Online
Hannah Strange March 13, 2008
John McCain told to dump spiritual guide in row over "war" on
Islam
John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee,
has been called upon to renounce a church leader he considers
his spiritual guide for urging a Christian war to destroy the
"false religion" of Islam.
A number of prominent US weblogs demanded he reject the
sup****t of Reverend Rod Parsley, of the World Harvest Church
of Columbus, an influential televangelist and political figure
who campaigned alongside him in the run up to the Ohio
primary.
On February 26, a week before the Ohio vote, Mr McCain
appeared at a campaign rally in Cincinnati with the
evangelical pastor, who praised the candidate as a "strong,
true, consistent conservative". With Mike Huckabee, a Baptist
preacher, then continuing to snap at his heels, Mr Parsley's
endorsement was a boon to Mr McCain's efforts to knock out his
last remaining challenger and win over social conservatives.
Standing side-by-side with the minister, Mr McCain hailed him
as a "spiritual guide".
Since then, the writings of Mr Parsley have attracted
attention from political commentators. Several have noted that
Mr McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama, was forced to
publicly denounce and reject the sup****t of Louis Farrakhan,
leader of the Nation of Islam, after he received unsolicited
praise from the controversial figure.
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McCain and the Reverend Rod Parsley: the web reacts
The leader of a 12,000-member megachurch, Mr Parsley has
written several books detailing his fundamentalist views,
including the 2005 Silent No More. In this contentious work,
Mr Parsley castigates homo***uals, abortionists, the
entertainment industry and civil libertarians before turning
his attention to the perceived threat to the United States
from Muslims.
In a chapter titled "Islam: The Deception of Allah," Mr
Parsley speaks of Allah as a "demon spirit" and urges "war
between Islam and Christian civilisation". There is no
difference between violent Islamist extremists and moderate
Muslims, he argues.
"I cannot tell you how im****tant it is that we understand the
true nature of Islam, that we see it for what it really is,"
he writes. "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."
It is not the first time that Mr McCain's desperation to win
over the religious right has landed him in trouble. The
Republican had already angered Catholics by cosying up to John
Hagee, the leader of an evangelical Texas megachurch who has
described the Roman Catholic Church as "the great whore" and a
"false cult system". However the row did not prevent Mr McCain
from storming to victory in all four March 4 primaries and
laying claim to the party nomination.
Mr McCain had already been forced to dissociate himself from
one speaker at the rally, a conservative talk radio host who
repeatedly stressed Mr Obama's middle name "Hussein" as he
introduced the Republican candidate.
Today, several liberal commentators called on Mr McCain to
explain what he meant when he said Mr Parsley was his
"spiritual guide".
Steve Benen wrote on Crooks and Liars: "It's unsettling, but
in this political climate, it's easier for a right-wing
religio-political figure to get away with anti-Muslim animus
than anti-Catholic."
He added: "But if McCain is going to tout Parsley as a
"spiritual guide," it's certainly worth learning more about
where Parsley might "guide" the Republican nominee."
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/ar
ticle3548250.ece
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A government, of, by, and, for: Rich, Elite, Freemasons.
But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the
light:
for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
The light ****neth in darkness;
and the darkness comprehended it not.
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be
single,
thy whole body shall be full of light.
But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of
darkness.
If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great
is that darkness!
Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead,
and Christ shall give thee light.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
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