Praying For Rain

The Obama Derangement Syndrome has gotten to the point where the Bible is being used for dog-whistle politics as Rabbi Brad Hirschfield notes over at Beliefnet:

Any time the citizens of a state, particularly a democracy, invoke their faith to pray for the demise of those they oppose politically, we should be concerned. When the call for such prayers becomes one of the most popular Google searches in the country, we should shake, especially those of us who believe in God, prayer and the Bible. Psalm 109, verse 8, went viral this morning in just that way.

Among the world's top Google searches today are phrases that contain the words "Psalms 109 8", and "Psalm 109 8 prayer for Obama". For those of you who may not know that particular verse, it reads "May his days be few, may another take over his position." And before anyone excuses this toxic use of scripture as nothing more than the wish that President Obama not be re-elected to a second term of office, the next verse in the psalm reads, "May his children be orphans and his wife a widow".

In fact, the entire chapter is about the prayed for death of an evil person. Not to mention that anyone who knows enough Bible to have thought about this verse in particular, surely knows the entire chapter and appreciates its message. Pretty scary stuff.

(More after the jump...)

Really, Wingers? You have little teddy bears and bumper stickers with your little code phrase that means "Boy I sure hope somebody gets rid of Pharaoh here." Honestly? On top of being Hitler and Shaka Zulu and Mammon and the Antichrist, he's now Pharaoh too? Frank Schaeffer and Ray-Ray talk it out:

What we're looking at right now is two things going on. We see the evangelical groups I talked about in my new book, Patience With God, enthralled by an apocalyptic vision that I go into in some detail there. They represent the millions of people who have turned the Left Behind series into best sellers. Most of them are not crazy, they're just deluded. But there is a crazy fringe to whom all these little messages that have been pouring out of Fox News, now on a bumper sticker, talking about doing away with Obama, asking God to kill him. Really, this is trolling for assassins. This is serious business.


It's un-American. It's unpatriotic. And it goes to show that the religious right, the Republican far right have coalesced into a group who truly want American revolution. If it turns out to be blood in the streets and death, so be it. It's not funny stuff anymore. They cannot be dismissed as just crazies on the fringe. It only takes one. You know, look at the Boston Globe article from a few weeks ago that says the threat level faced by the Secret Service has gone up 400%, higher than any other time in 52 years, for any president, Democrat or Republican. These are no jokes.

And as a personal note to all the folks that think this is apporpriate, this is the God you believe in?  One you imprecate to have the President of the United States killed because you disagree with his policy and you disagree with the majority of Americans who voted him lawfully into office?

That's between you and your God.  The God I believe in?  He's got better things to do than listen to such obviously petty stupidity.  But when you decide to turn it into a cottage industry and sell it as a political slogan, that's just being an asshole.  Assassination of the President?  What's it going to take, folks?  Here's a Psalm for you, 5:5 and 5:6:

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong.

You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors.

Have a nice freakin day.