This is vile. Now that it’s been reported that the man who showed up to an Obama event in Arizona last week carrying an assault rifle attends Pastor Steven Anderson’s church and heard the sermon titled “Why I Hate Barack Obama,” the pastor is trying to explain himself. Today in an interview with Talking Points Memo, he argued that “No where in the sermon did I advocate vigilantism.” But that’s not to say Anderson doesn’t still want to see the president dead. “I’d rather have him die of natural causes anyway,” he continued. “That way he’s not some martyr.”
Nobody wins proof-texting battles, but this passage from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is pretty darn clear: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those you persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” Sounds like Pastor Anderson needs a new WWJD bracelet.