I’ve been meaning to blog on this story for a couple of days, and since I’m tired and want to go to sleep, I think I’ll just quickly point you towards this coverage by the AP: “Minister ex-communicates members for not backing Bush.”
The minister of a Haywood County Baptist church is telling members of his congregation that if they’re Democrats, they either need to find another place of worship or support President Bush.
Already, the Reverend Chan Chandler has ex-communicated nine members of East Waynesville Baptist Church. Another 40 members have left in protest.
During last Sunday’s sermon, he acknowledged that church members were upset because he named people, and he says he’ll do it again because he has to according to the word of God.
Chandler could not be reached for comment today, but says his actions weren’t politically motivated.
One former church member says Chandler told some of the members that if they didn’t support George Bush, they needed to resign their positions and get out of the church, or go to the altar, repent and agree to vote for Bush.
Yeah… right… it’s not politically motivated.
This is what comes from hyped up, violent rhetoric that categorizes Democrats as “enemies of faith”… the kind of hate-mongering the far-right usually reserves for gays. And there’s more of this to come.
As a non-Christian, I suppose I’m unqualified to comment on what it is to be a good Christian… but I can’t imagine this is it.
[And before anybody abuses me for the headline, it’s a play on one of the most memorable lines from Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles. So I’m not apologizing.]