McCain's Spiritual Advisers
David Knowles
Contributor
Posted:
03/13/08
Two of John McCain's self-proclaimed "spiritual advisers" are evangelical leaders with some rather controversial views on religions other than their own. Denise Williams has already detailed the case of John Hagee, the man who has called Catholicism "a cult," and has likened it to "the Great Whore" in Revelation 17. Yesterday, Mother Jones published a bit on another televangelist whose support McCain actively courted, and who has since spoken at McCain rallies. Meet Ohio Minister Rod Parsley. Among the planks in his pious platform is the armed eradication of Islam. Not just it's radical extremists, mind you, but the whole screwy religion.
Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it.
That should go over well in diplomatic circles. Here's more of Parsley's literalist world view:
So while Hagee is busy angling for the rapture by making sure that there's no peaceful settlement to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, Parsley wants to mobilize the country in a Christian-style jihad against Muslims. To these followers of the Prince of Peace, the only way forward seems to be to start the mother of all wars. I guess we can hope that McCain is playing these guys and their followers just like Bush and Rove played them in 2000 and 2004.
