God As Umpire: "Three Strikes, You're Out, McCain!"
The Iowa Independent reports that a minister who spoke at John McCain’s rally in Davenport, IA today injected a divisive statement into his invocation. Here’s what Pastor Arnold Conrad said:
I would also add, Lord, that your reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November, because there are millions of people around this world praying to their god* — whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah — that his opponent wins, for a variety of reasons. And Lord, I pray that you will guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their god is bigger than you, if that happens. So I pray that you will step forward and honor your own name with all that happens between now and election day.
If you go to Grace Evangelical Free Church of Davenport, IA, you'll see that Conrad's former church is challenged by grammar:
"Our missions is to help people become authentic followers of Jesus Christ."
Why are McCain's "pastors" so (I hate to say it) illiterate and theologically challenged? Hagee strenuously accounts why Israel needs to be whole again and says that God purposely caused the Holocaust. Rod Parsley uses military language in every sermon because he REALLY wants the U.S. to destroy Islam!! And McCain's latest, Pastor Conrad, needs courses in history and comparative religions. He also needs a course in religious tolerance.Poor McCain. Poor God.
* The words in green are errors in grammar or logic:
"god" should be plural "gods"
"Hindu" is a religion, not a god
"Buddha" is not a god
"Allah" is really the same Abrahamic god of the Bible.
"their god" should be parallel - "gods"
"honor your own name" is theologically ridiculous - God does not have to honor anything. He's God.
Notice that Conrad never says that there are NO OTHER GODS. He makes it sound as if God is in competition with other people's gods.