Psalms 109:8, An Ugly Prayer for President Obama
Christian nuts are only marginally less scary than Islamic nuts.
Let his days be few; and let another take his office.
Psalm 109:8
Psalms 109:8, An Ugly Prayer for President Obama
Any time the citizens of a state, particularly a democracy, invoke their faith to pray for the demise of those they oppose politically, we should be concerned. When the call for such prayers becomes one of the most popular Google searches in the country, we should shake, especially those of us who believe in God, prayer and the Bible. Psalm 109, verse 8, went viral this morning in just that way.
Among the world’s top Google searches today are phrases that contain the words “Psalms 109 8″, and “Psalm 109 8 prayer for Obama”. For those of you who may not know that particular verse, it reads “May his days be few, may another take over his position.” And before anyone excuses this toxic use of scripture as nothing more than the wish that President Obama not be re-elected to a second term of office, the next verse in the psalm reads, “May his children be orphans and his wife a widow”.
In fact, the entire chapter is about the prayed for death of an evil person. Not to mention that anyone who knows enough Bible to have thought about this verse in particular, surely knows the entire chapter and appreciates its message. Pretty scary stuff.
All this is especially upsetting in light of the last weeks’ events at Fort Hood. Exactly how long is it going to take us to figure out the danger of linking faith claims and violent fantasies? How is it that the very same people who would have wanted to curtail access, and rightly so, to the hate-filled, violence-inducing, sermons to which Major Hasan listened, do not cry out against these prayers and those praying them?
[snip]
The issue is not the scripture quoted or the name by which God is called by those doing the praying. The issue is invoking the God in whom any of us believe, to act as executioner of those with whom we disagree.
November 19th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
While I agree that the perpetrators of this vile message are using the verses of the Bible for nefarious reasons, I wouldn’t call them “Christians”. A lot of people read and quote the Bible without having thought one of the True and Mighty God that we serve. True Christians would no more involve themselves in a campaign like this then they would against anyone else. While we may disagree with the policies of the President, no matter who he is, we are called upon to be at peace with all people. Hopefully, this situation will be resolved very soon.
November 19th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
I’ve never heard of Zazzle before but they have removed the merchandise with Psalm 109:8 from their website. Here is their statement:
Statement on Psalm 109 Products
By zazzlemike
Dear Zazzle Member or Concerned Citizen—
Today, there has surfaced a great deal of discussion and debate over certain products in the Zazzle Marketplace which reference text from Psalm 109 in combination with reference to President Barack Obama. We at Zazzle are aware of the issue, and would like to take this opportunity to respond in a unified and public fashion to all parties and viewpoints.
Zazzle puts great value on its Marketplace as a forum for discussion and debate of the issues of our day. We are proud of the fact that no matter how arcane or apparently esoteric a subject may be, there can often be found Zazzle products pertaining to it. We are particularly sensitive to Zazzle as an open forum for the expression and debate of political viewpoints. The rigorous debate and discussion of political issues, including candidates for political office, our elected leaders, and pending and actual legislation, is something that drives the very democracy that in turn allows for our freedom as citizens to make these expressions in the first place.
With that in mind, it is only after great thought that we have determined that these products, in the context of the full text of Psalm 109, may be interpreted in such a way as to suggest physical harm to the President of the United States. In deference to the Office of the President of the United States, and in accordance with federal law prohibiting the making of threats against the physical wellbeing of the President of the United States, Zazzle has therefore determined that these products are in violation of the Zazzle User Agreement and not appropriate for inclusion in the Zazzle Marketplace. We have begun efforts to remove them from our website, and we will be vigilant to the publication of similar products moving forward.
Zazzle will continue to allow and encourage the submission of products that express disapproval or approval of the President’s policies and actions, but Zazzle will not permit products that may be interpreted to suggest violence toward the President.
Sincerely,
The Zazzle Team
http://blog.zazzle.com/2009/11/18/statement-on-psalm-109-products/
November 21st, 2009 at 6:25 am
I have to pull out my bible and read psalm 109 (i know psalm 121 by memory and recite it every day) … but a dearest and true, saintly, priest friend of mine always refers to the religious right as, “the religious right who always get it wrong.”