A Closer Look At Pastor John Hagee

You would think that with Reverend Falwell's death the world would be rid of nutjobs who claim that natural disasters are God's retribution for our sinful ways. You'd be wrong of course. It is time to accept the fact that one (super)natural resource the world has in no scarce quantity is sanctimonious, masturbatory, and destructive delusion.

Introducing John Hagee, the Texas Pastor whose recent endorsement of John McCain for president has been warmly received by the Arizona senator. Besides calling the Catholic church a false cult and "the great whore", and not missing a chance to tie the Holocaust and Hitler's design for Jews to the history of the Catholic Church, Pastor Hagee made some typical pronouncements, which it bears repeating here because Sen. McCain had no obvious qualms about accepting the reverend's endorsement.

---

God will unleash terrorists on America for supporting a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine.

I want those of you in the State Department and in government in Washington to hear this: If America does not stop pressuring Israel to give up land, I believe that God will bring this nation into judgement, because I believe what [the Bible] says. And if God brings this nation into judgement He will very likely release the terrorists that you've already let get here through the ridiculous immigration policy you refuse to stop and this nation is going to go through a bloodbath that you will have permitted because of what you have done.

It is time for America to embrace the words of Senator Joseph Lieberman and consider a military preemptive strike against Iran to prevent a nuclear holocaust in Israel and a nuclear attack in America.

On Katrina:

I want to ask Washington a question. Is there a connection between the 9,000 Jewish refugees being forcibly removed from their homes in the Gaza Strip now living in tents and the thousands of Americans who have been expelled from their homes by this tremendous work of nature? Is there a connection there? If you've got a better answer, I'd like to hear it.

More on Katrina, from NPR's Fresh Air:

Terry Gross: Do you still think that Katrina is punishment from God for a society that's becoming like Sodom and Gomorrah?

Rev. Hagee: All hurricanes are acts of God, because God controls the heavens. I believe that New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God and they are... were recipients of the judgement of God for that. The newspaper carried the story in our local area that was not carried nationally that there was to be a homosexual parade there on the Monday that Katrina came. The promise of that parade was that it was to reach a level of sexuality never demonstrated before in any of the other gay pride parades. So I believe that the judgement of God is a very real thing and I believe that the hurricane Katrina was in fact the judgement of God against the city of New Orleans.

Terry Gross: You think that the whole city was punished because of things like the forthcoming gay pride parade?

Rev. Hagee: This is true. All of the city was punished because of the sin that happened there, in that city.

These last pronouncements, that Katrina was God's way to strike New Orleans for its sinfulness, or that it was retribution for removing Jewish "refugees" from the Gaza strip (which is which, Pastor?) beg a follow up question, which unfortunately Terry Gross failed to ask, perhaps because of deference to religion, even when it is so obviously deranged:

Since God controls the heavens, can you please explain to us what he meant when the following churches were destroyed by tornadoes:

• Sharon Baptist Church, Savannah, GA. March 4, 2008.
• Third Baptist Church, Owensboro, KY. Oct 18, 2007.
• United Methodist Church, Greensburg, KS. May 4, 2007.
• St. Joseph Church, Dodge City, KS. May 4, 2007.
• Valley Missionary Baptist Church, Forth Worth, TX. Apr 2007.
• Church of God, Lady Lake, FL. Feb 2, 2007.
• Metro Baptist Church, Goodlettsville, TN. Apr 8, 2006.
• Montgomery Community Baptist Church, Symmes Township, OH. Apr 9, 1999.
• United Methodist Church, Goshen. March 27, 1994 (Palm Sunday).

I could go on and on, of course. Finding these churches took me half an hour. So send a letter to

Rev. John Hagee
c/o John Hagee Ministries
P.O. Box 1400
San Antonio, TX 78295-1400

and ask him to explain what God, whose control of the heavens is most likely not limited to hurricanes but extends to tornadoes as well, could possibly have meant to punish when he chose to destroy several temples erected in his name and kill some of the congregations that had gathered to worship him.