Baptist Church demonstators at Tiller's funeral services
Pastor Wiley Drake prayed that abortionist George Tiller's wife would become a widow. Tiller is now dead. Drake claims that his death is an answer to imprecatory prayer. Now he is praying an imprecatory prayer for the death of our president.
Imprecatory Psalms are psalms that contain curses or prayers for the judgment of a nation's enemies, invoking evil upon them. Psalms 7, 35, 55, 58, 59, 69, 79, 109, 137 and 139 are ones that Drake finds his prayer material in.
Drake repeats words from the book of Psalms in his imprecatory prayers such as Psalm 109:9 where it is written "May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow." This is what he prayed for the late-term abortionist before he was murdered. He says that it is our Christian duty to pray along these vengeful and vindictive lines for religious, political, and personal reasons when other means for change have been exhausted. http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/44143894.html
"Imprecatory prayer is agreeing with God, and if people don't like that, they need to talk to God," Drake told syndicated talk-show host Alan Colmes. "God said it, I didn't. I was just agreeing with God." http://tinyurl.com/lvn6bw
Drake is the ignorant pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, California; and he would do well to follow the example of Jesus, who teaches us just the opposite application for responding to injustice.
From Luke 6:27-36:
"[27] "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, [28] bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. [29] If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. [30] Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. [31] Do to others as you would have them do to you.
[32] "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. [33] And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. [34] And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. [35] But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. [36] Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."
Drake's prayers did not cause the death of the late-term abortionist. His ridiculous ritual is akin to black magic or spell casting. He may have taken certain Scriptures to use in a self-made formula for what he believes to be a prayer to God, but he is gravely mistaken. He is, in fact, not only not agreeing with God, but acting in defiance to instruction given by our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is what Catholicism teaches us about imprecatory psalms:
"The Psalms are at once most human and most superhuman; they sink to the lowest depths of the human heart and soar to the topmost heights of Divine contemplation. So very human are the imprecatory psalms as to make some to wonder how they can have been inspired of God. Surely Jahweh cannot have inspired the singer who prayed:
"As for them that plan my soul to destroy, Down to the depths of the earth shall they go; To the grasp of the sword shall they be delivered; A prey to the jackals shall they become". -- Psalm 83:10-11 (82:10-11)
Such an objection is based upon a misunderstanding. The perfection of the counsels of Christ is one thing, the aim of the good Levite is quite another thing. The ideals of the Sermon on the Mount are of higher spirituality than are the ideals of the imprecatory psalm. Yet the ideals of the imprecatory psalm are not bad -- nay, are good, are Divine in their origin and authority. The imprecatory psalms are national anthems; they express a nation's wrath, not an individual's. Humility and meekness and forgiveness of foe are virtues in an individual; not necessarily so of a nation; by no means so of the Chosen Nation of Jahweh, the people who knew by revelation that Jahweh willed they should be a great nation and should put out their enemies from the land which he gave them." http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12533a.htm
Please pray for the end of abortion with virtue--humility, meekness, and forgiveness, as Jesus taught us to pray. Pray for abortionists and those who assist them but as our Lord would. As Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann wrote in his column, "We need to continue to speak the truth about abortion, but always with love. Those who perform abortions and those who procure abortions are not our enemies. We must recognize in them the same God-given dignity that inspires us to be so passionate in protecting the lives of unborn children." http://www.theleaven.com/columnist/archbishop_column.html
Comments
While your article is almost in decent taste, this topic of praying for death should not be approached even with this level of acceptance. Castigate the Pastor who does wrong so knowingly.
Once again proving that ignorance thrives in an environment in which people feel justified for their feelings and actions that cause pain and suffering to another: the bible. I will never understand how people can live by only that which they agree on. I think this is part of the reason organized religion is seeing a decline in followers and will continue to do so.
Shouldn't this pastor simply pray for the melting of Obama's heart toward the unborn?
When the Egyptian King prayed against the Jews, it backfired on him....remember he wanted all of the first borns to die and instead his own child and those of Egyptians lost their lives. You have to be careful what you pray foe!
What do you expect for an outfit like Fox. I refuse to watch any trash from this network. There should be zero tolerance for blasphemy and treason like this.
Wilely Drake is certainly an extreme individual, but let's be clear that there are many extreme individuals in many faiths - including Roman Catholicism. In fact, some of the most extreme, theocratic anti-abortionists have converted to Catholicism over the years. Most Baptists - even Southern Baptists - are appalled by Drake.
let's see... fundamentalist dogma, political agenda that restricts rights and freedom using violence to scare and control people... our own American Taliban
My lifelong hangup with The Bible, and the religions it inspired has been the conflict between the Old and New Testaments regarding violence. As I child, I wondered if warfare could be sanctioned by God, and lo, in Abraham, I found the answer to be yes, most definitely. But Jesus had a different view. So how could Christians ignore Christ in favor of the pre-Christian, Jewish writings?
Then I learned that the vast majority of Jews see the Old Testament as tribal fables, and certainly not the explicit Word of God (which is why Israeli's refrain from stoning to death adulterers, thieves, and drunks, even though the Book demands these punishments).
Finally, I have concluded that each individual is responsible for their own thinking, and religions that attempt to remove this responsibility from the individual are actually harming the cause they exist to support. I still don't have an answer to why people are so afraid to think for themselves.
Thank you for explaining imprecatory Psalms and that these are a demonstration of the lower vengeful part of people. As you said, The Sermon on the Mount holds a higher standard for Christians of all traditions. Drake is wrong-praying for the death of someone does not stack up with Christian teaching. Yes,we may agree that abortion is wrong but we need to pray for these people not issue threats. Thank you for presenting a lucid alternative along with your scholarly explanation.
Pamlea
This man is taking action with the intent of bringing about the death of the President of the United States. He should be tried for attempted assassination.
Never...never let your child near a christian church lest they hear evil men like this one doing what they call "preaching".
Thank you for your comments. You know, cursing people happens among non-religious people, too. I hear "G-d damn" all the time.
I wrote a response to your comment on my entry about Dr. Tiller.
I'm debating about whether to paste it here now. ...
Theresa: I beg to differ that this was not a religious crime; definitely abortion has its political nuances but to say religion doesn't play a part is incorrect and irresponsible. And who is to say that the shooter didn't say, "For the sake of Jesus" when he pulled the trigger?
The first I heard of Private Long, May He Rest in Peace, was when I read your note the other day. Maybe the reason you didn't hear a Muslim speak out about it is because the Muslim population in Little Rock, Arkansas where it happened is so small (0>2000), or because you have no Muslim friends or because you don't know of any authentic Muslim sites to check.
Theresa, which Islamic organizations do you follow on a consistent basis? The Center for American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). Which? I would strongly recommend you go to the CAIR webpage for a visit. Check out the dozens of articles that have condeming 9-11 and terrori
..terrorism. Presently, at the top of the Cair(dot)com webpage is a condemnation of the recent shooting at the Holocaust Museum in D.C.
Muslims don't believe in doing such things; Islam forbids murder.
Look no further, here's me, a devout Muslim speaking out against such horrible acts; I think these murderers are delusional if not severely misguided and ignorant.
It's unfair to sit back and wait for a Muslim to knock at your door every time a deluded 'mozlem' commits a horrible transgression against Islam's teachings. You have to be active in seeking out the truth, you know. Join some Muslim newsletter lists and frequent Islamic websites (first ask a Muslim which ones you can trust; all the orgs I listed earlier are fantastic) to find out what the vast majority of Muslims preach and practice.
Sakina, you wrote: "Presently, at the top of the Cair(dot)com webpage is a condemnation of the recent shooting at the Holocaust Museum in D.C.
Muslims don't believe in doing such things; Islam forbids murder."
Nobody from CAIR has condemned the murder of Private Long by an Islam-believing terrorist. Where is it that CAIR wrote about that? Muslims do believe in such things even though it seems that you wish they didn't. And by the way, this topic should have been continued over at your column. If you'd like me to go back over there, just say so.
I would not let any of my children anywhere NEAR a "church"... They're liable to lose their humanity, their dignity, their money and their virginity.
Where are the FBI, the Secret Service, and the Police? They should be breaking down this monster's Door to have him committed to a Mental Institution--at the very least.
The problem with Talibangelicals is that they don't read their own bibles.
Excellent essay! Very powerful, knowledgeable, and insightful analysis.
What's wrong with this pastor? Is he afraid there won't be a new crop of children for him to molest?
Thou Shalt Not Kill applies to the living as well as the unborn.
Gee, maybe we should have prayed for Adolf Hitler too. We should have showed him a little more love.
Obama is a threat to Christianity, he is nero, that dog, veil in good intention. Why is this country filled with idiots?
I am prying right now really really hard for Pastor Wiley Drake's death!! yippy i so hope it happens soon!
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