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Parishioners Come Armed To Defend Pastor Who Prays For Obama's Death

By Howard M. Friedman

In Tempe, Arizona yesterday, members of the Faithful Word Baptist Church came to services armed with guns after Pastor Steven Anderson said he and his congregation have received death threats. The threats came in response to a sermon by Anderson earlier this month titled "Why I Hate Barack Obama", in which Anderson said that he prays for Obama's death. (recording of sermon.) Yesterday Anderson says he wants this to occur by natural causes: "I don't want him to be a martyr, we don't need another holiday," he said. All of Anderson's recent sermons are on the church's website. ABC15 News today reports that Anderson yesterday welcomed his armed parishioners, saying that "guns are a great deterrent." The night after Anderson's Aug. 16 anti-Obama sermon, one of his parishioners, Christopher Broughton, carried an AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle outside President Obama's speech to the VFW at the Phoenix Convention Center.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on August 31, 2009 (boomark / email).