TMZ Bible Thumped by Rev. Wright

31. Wright is doing Hillary's job for her. Good for him, he gets his 15 minutes and screws over a friend at the same time. BTW I don't know what Bible he is reading but he sure is selective with scripture. What a piece of work he is.

Posted at 1:13PM on Apr 29th 2008 by Tigerlily

32. McCain's Spiritual Guide: Destroy Islam

Washington Dispatch: Televangelist Rod Parsley, a key McCain ally in Ohio, has called for eradicating the "false religion." Will the GOP presidential candidate renounce him?

By David Corn

March 12, 2008


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Senator John McCain hailed as a spiritual adviser an Ohio megachurch pastor who has called upon Christians to wage a "war" against the "false religion" of Islam with the aim of destroying it.

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.

Posted at 1:16PM on Apr 29th 2008 by shelli

33. hey shelli what the hell does that have 2 do with racism ???...so some religious nuts think god is punishing the us ..there crazy but at least there not going around spewing racism and saying the gov is trying 2 kill off the black man or that the gov invented aids... i saw that same damn comparison on the daily show

Posted at 1:13PM on Apr 29th 2008 by truth

34. Hey BLONDIE, are you on meds for your paranoia????? If not, you should be

Posted at 1:13PM on Apr 29th 2008 by Jemba

35. Jackie ~ I have been thinking the same damn thing and I agree with you! The Clinton's are evil and this has the handwriting of Bill Clinton all over it!!!!

Posted at 1:13PM on Apr 29th 2008 by Dallas

36. Haven't we all had enough of Bush's and Clinton's in the White House?

Posted at 1:15PM on Apr 29th 2008 by FlBiker

37. 31. LOL.. isn't pride a sin? You'd think a man running a church would know that. But instead, he has chosen to elevate his pride over Obama's bid for the White House.

Perhaps Obama should reconsider his loyalty to this man, who obviously has no loyalty to him.

Posted at 1:10PM on Apr 29th 2008 by Jade

Exactly, if I remember it goes right before the (person's) fall, hopefully it will go that way.

Posted at 1:17PM on Apr 29th 2008 by Tigerlily

38. How can anyone nowadays trust a democrat. They go hand in hand with scandal. All they want is big government. They need to keep their role where it should be..... protecting Americans. Not raising taxes to pay for stupid social programs for lazy asses who don't want to work for a living.

Posted at 1:18PM on Apr 29th 2008 by Jemba

39. Has the media not had enough of this guy? I know I sure have. Can we get a refund on his 15 minutes of fame? The guy spreads hate and dissent, paints himself as a patriot while spouting anti-American propaganda and cries racism, and all the while he is riding his newfound fame like a bull. Please, can we just ignore the man and stop making him a celebrity?

Posted at 1:22PM on Apr 29th 2008 by Zoot

40. LOL. AH so this is where all the Clinton supporters and the media people who asked those dumb ass questions from yesterday's press conference went - to the TMZ comment section!! Don't get mad because you got owned by Rev. Wright. LMAO!!

GO OBAMA 08!!

Posted at 5:21PM on May 2nd 2008 by TMZ Viewer

41. My post #34 to Blondie should also refer to SHELLI, either you also need to be medicated, or you need to get outdoors more often.

Posted at 1:22PM on Apr 29th 2008 by Jemba

42. Not to mention how Barack Obama is punishing voters by not engaging in another debate and quarreling with the DNC so a Michigan/Florida vote wouldn't happen. The voters are the ones being punished, not anyone else. And as for Michigan , Obama took his name off the ballot, in hope of winning by default. And Florida got screwed up by the Republicans!! So why punish voters?? Its funny that this candidate for "change" is the first one to run and hide behind old rules.. "change" sounds like more of the "same". Now we got Obama's Reverend making the rounds talking about AIDS linked to the American gov. and the left sided ,right sided brain thing as an excuse for African Americans to slack in school. It just goes on and on. How can anyone tell me that after 20 yrs of sitting in those pews that some of this didn't rub off on Sen. Obama?? Afterall, a preachers job is to get the message through our thick skulls. My gosh, Wright is such a wack job and Obama had this guy baptise his kids?? Give me a break....How much got through Obama's thick skull?

Posted at 1:25PM on Apr 29th 2008 by Keith Olbermann sucks

43. Jeremiah Wright is just a Al sharpton/Jesee Jackson wannabe. He is a nobody just like Al and Jessee who likes to pose anytime a camera is around.

I cannot judege what he has said in that somewhat controversial sermons because I have not heard it in its entirery. I do know the media likes to take things out of context so I give him the benefit ot the doubt there...

That does not change the fact that this is his 15 minutes of fame and he it taking full advantage of it....It won't be long before he is back in obscurity again...

Posted at 1:28PM on Apr 29th 2008 by TOMBO

44. Fight the White Hate in 08 Vote Obama

Posted at 1:52PM on Apr 29th 2008 by Rev. Wright

45. Obama doesn't attack his political opponents and he won't attack the reverend.
My white pastor preaches against homosexuality and other things from time to time that I disagree with but I attend church anyway. I've been to other churches and it's the same thing.
It smells of a Clinton/Wright alliance.

Posted at 1:54PM on Apr 29th 2008 by deedee