The Uninspired Manifesto

I am a big supporter of American's United. They've done a lot of good over the years for the cause of 'church-state seperation'. But you can't be in their line of work, without picking up some evangelical enemies. The latest of which, if you haven't been surfing the blogs, is Rev. Wiley S. Drake. Why? Well, I'll let this article from the American's United Blog explain it.

Thanks to our friends in the blogosphere, we are learning more and more about the Rev. Wiley S. Drake, and it’s far from pretty. The Buena Park, Calif., pastor, who is urging supporters to pray for the demise of Americans United and its staff, is a radical character with alleged ties to some of our nation’s most extreme Religious Right operatives.

Drake called for “imprecatory prayers” (curses) against Americans United after we asked the Internal Revenue Service to investigate his misuse of church resources to endorse Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. All nonprofits, including houses of worship, are barred from endorsing candidates for public office. Churches that do wade into electioneering place their tax exemption in jeopardy, subject themselves to fines and frequently invite divisiveness into their pews.

It's not an entirely unreasonble request by AU, but it drew a lot of attention from one of the more fucked up church leader.

Drake’s outburst, however, has brought some much-deserved scrutiny of the pastor’s associations and work.

In a post on Talk To Action today, veteran student of the Religious Right Frederick Clarkson says, “It is worth noting that Rev. Drake has been associated with the violently anti-abortion Army of God — an association he now denies. However, his name appeared for years on the Army of God web site endorsing James Kopp’s assasination of abortion provider Dr. Barnett Slepian. (It has since been scrubbed.) Drake also maintained a close relationship with the late Robert Ferguson, whom the Army of God considers to be a ‘Hero of the Faith,’ alongside James Kopp and other convicted criminals.”

Additionally, Brian Kaylor reports for EthicsDaily.com that Drake, who apparently sees God as some sort of heavenly hit man, is defending his calls for curses on Americans United, saying, “God’s Word says if they continue to attack God’s people, God will curse their children to become orphans and their wives to become widows.”

Kaylor also reports that earlier this year, Drake “found himself in the midst of controversy after his name was discovered on a petition supporting the killer of an abortion doctor, although Drake denied he signed it.”

The company Drake has allegedly kept is telling, though not terribly surprising. On his radio show today, Drake repeated his calls for “imprecatory prayer” against AU. He also agreed with guest commentator Bill Wilson who repeatedly dubbed Americans United a “threat to national security,” communists, and subversives that need to be brought down. “Amen, amen,” replied Drake.

How the fuck does this guy get a radio show? Especially a guy who is literally calling for the death of people so he won't be fucking audited.

Just one more example of an evangelical leader on a fucking power trip, thinking he's above the law, and anyone who questions him should incur the wrath of god.