John McCain is Bad

What a day it's been in the world of religion! The Republican candidate for president -- Senator John McCain -- has denounced, renounced, and rejected two of our most highly respected pastors. This from a supposedly conservative Republican. He just totally dumped on them!

I've heard of having religious doubts -- but I've never heard of this kind of wholesale rejection in such a sudden way. You know, it usually goes like this: fervency in the faith, then cooling off, then quietly picking at doctrine, then shopping around the different faiths, then dropping out of sight, then final rejection. The whole process can take up to a week. But John McCain got the job done in one day!

You're a well-respected pastor -- in this case, you are two separate men -- and John McCain is among your flock, milling around, asking polite questions about angels dancing on the heads of pins, and perhaps you're delving together into the end-of-days, when suddenly it's Apocalypse Now, not for the world, but for a very precious relationship, one you've treasured, the relationship of brothers in the faith. Finished.

Yes, this has been quite a day. Pastor John Hagee and Pastor Rod Parsley, both what I would call fairly moderate voices in the church (a bit liberal for my taste, if truth be told), were simply rejected, disposed-of, thrown under the bus by John McCain. You've heard of the kiss of Judas? John "Judas" McCain went all the way on the first date! This is a fickle, fickle man, even an apostate. A flaming apostate!

We've all heard some of the supposedly "radical" things that Pastor Hagee preaches. He called the Catholic Church the Great Whore. But really, who hasn't read Revelation and made that connection? Do you reject a guy for stating the obvious? And all that business about New Orleans destroyed because of a parade. I would have destroyed it simply for those Zatarain commercials, but, hey, that's just me. But the topper, the real biggie appears to be Pastor Hagee's assertion that God raised up Hitler to hunt the Jews so they would go back to the Promised Land. So what's the big deal? That six million were killed? OK, point taken, but it's easy to misspeak...

So one pastor down. Rejecting one pastor was a terrible thing for McCain to do. But then there was another. And I've seen this scenario play out time and time again: If a man sins once, it takes away his determination to resist, and subsequent sins are easier. Common sense. John McCain fell into that trap. He proceeded recklessly on the very same day to renounce and reject Pastor Parsley. For what? For saying that God established America in order to destroy Islam? Now, I am not going to say much about that; I'm not Salmon Rushdie here; I don't want to die.

All that aside, let me conclude. My point is that John McCain, if he truly respected these men in the first place and considered them brothers, would have sat down with them and resolved their theological differences, then extended forgiveness, and parted as friends. But he didn't.

Bottom line: John McCain is bad.