Southern Baptist leader prays for Obama's death

June 13, 8:09 PMPortland Humanist ExaminerMicha J. Stone

Previous Next

10 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Portland Humanist Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

 

Wiley Drake, Southern Baptist leader and Pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif., has been praying for the death of President Barack Obama. Drake is a popular Christian radio host and the former 2008 running mate of American Independent Party presidential candidate Alan Keyes. In addition, Drake served as the second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2006-2007.

Drake, widely known and admired in the Christian community for his ant-abortion and anti-gay activities, has been making headlines lately for his unusual brand of Christian witness. Recently Drake thanked God for the murder of Wichita physician George Tiller. Drake was widely criticized for his response to the murder of the heroic woman's health advocate and abortion provider. Drake stated on his Crusade Radio Program, "I am glad George Tiller is dead." He called Tiller “a brutal, murdering monster" and said he is "grateful to God" that the physician was killed. He also said, "This man, George Tiller, was far greater in his atrocities than Adolf Hitler."

Clearly Drake does not shy away from bombastic rhetoric. As for his death wish for the President, Drake said in a recent interview on Fox News Radio that he is praying an "imprecatory prayer" against the president. Imprecatory prayers are prayers that ask for evil or misfortune. Asked whether he was seriously praying that the president of the United States would die, Drake said, "If he does not turn to God and does not turn his life around, I am asking God to enforce imprecatory prayers that are throughout the Scripture that would cause him death, that's correct."

To be fair, the Southern Baptist Convention, representing countless Baptists, has distanced itself from Drake's obscenity. Yet the fact that this man has held such prominent positions within mainstream Christianity must be disturbing to the casual observer. How deep is the hate emanating from the Christian right? How many good Christians are praying for the death of our President? And aren't those prayers a tacit endorsement of the political assassination of President Barack Obama?

Every American should be alarmed by this threat from within.