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McCain Breaks With Hagee Over Controversial Sermon From 1990's

By Howard M. Friedman

A number of newspapers, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, reported yesterday that Republican presidential candidate John McCain has formally rejected the earlier endorsement he received from controversial televangelist Rev. John C. Hagee. Hagee, who is pastor of Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, was also a founder of Christians United for Israel. McCain's statement came after an audio recording of a Hagee sermon from the 1990's became available in which Hagee said that the Holocaust was part of God's plan foretold in the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah. This disclosure followed a series of others about controversial Hagee statements. About the same time that McCain announced his break, Hagee issued a statement withdrawing his endorsement of McCain and ending any active role in the campaign in order to prevent his remarks being used politically against McCain. Newsweek has the full text of both McCain's and Hagee's statements.

Later yesterday McCain also rejected the endorsement of Ohio preacher Rod Parsley who has said that Islam is an inherently violent religion. (AP). An article published in Mother Jones in March outlines some of Parsley's other anti-Muslim remarks.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on May 23, 2008 (boomark / email).