Orange Country Pastor Wiley Drake fired off an email to his supporters this morning, telling them that all 219 Democrats have been placed on the “imprecatory prayer list.” “We’ll remember in November and pray Psalms 109 while waiting,” he urged, before listing each offending congressman by name in “Satan’s domain in Washington D.C.”
This modern Manichean, who sees Good and Evil n such bright colors, and who is quite sure he knows how to identify each without fail, is calling for people to pray for a quick death for those who voted for health care reform.
At a site that highlighted this story, a commenter wrote: "praying for death for people is crazy….not christian". I would love to be able to endorse this view, but in fact, consistency forces me to admit that this kind of thing, as ugly, unBiblical, ungracious, and foreign to the Good News as it may be, should also be called Christian precisely because these folks consider themselves Christian, they are worshiping in a Christian church led by an ordained clergy person. Also, we shouldn't forget that the Christian Church has a long history of praying for death - supporting forces fighting wars, for example; of course, let us not forget St. Bernard of Clairvaux preaching the first Crusade, enthusiastically whipping crowds in to a frenzy for killing Muslims; there were local preachers who got the ball rolling by preaching death to local Jewish communities as well, resulting in pogroms across central Europe at the time - and we would be false to our history if we simply wrote all this off as a bad idea, or misunderstanding.
Just as it is difficult to claim that violent jihadis are "not true Mulsims" because of the history of Muslim violence, we should at least have the courage to shamefacedly admit that people like this are, alas, acting out part of our collective heritage, repugnant as it may be.
It is for this reason we need to embrace repentance. Not for whatever petty things we have done. For these people who present that shadow side of our collective Christian heritage to the world, we who insist the way of Christ is not that of seeking the death of others, we need to say to the world, "Yes, these, too, are our brothers and sisters in Christ. For this, I am heartily sorry, and do seek your forgiveness."
