A Faith-Based Question for John McCain

Peterr is a Lutheran Pastor, now serving at a small church near Kansas City. He's a longtime contributor to the blog firedoglake. He's graciously allowed me to reprint his open letter to John McCain, based on McCain's answers to some of the questions posed to him by eliminationist televangelist, Rick Warren, during last night's televised candidate forum.

For me, it was quite sad that on CNN, both presidential candidates kicked off their debate/forum regime at an eliminationist mega-church, hugging a pastor who welcomes Nigerian and Ugandan clergy who fund hunting expeditions that kill hundreds of non-Christian people.

Here's Peterr's letter:


Dear Senator McCain,

I'm no Rick Warren.

I'm not friends with Barack Obama or with you -- I've never met either one of you, for that matter. I haven't written a book that sold 30 million copies and is published in fifty languages. I don't have a church with a weekly attendance of 22,000 people. I've never had my picture on the front page of the NY Times or splashed across cable television.

Like I said, I'm no Rick Warren. But if you'd indulge a simple parish pastor like myself, I do have a question for you.

According to the Gospels, Jesus was turned over to the occupying military authorities in Jerusalem and to their partners in the local religious establishment for a cash bounty paid out to one of his followers. Jesus was convicted in a kangaroo court proceeding where the judge admitted that there was no real evidence against him, he was tortured by his guards, and strung up to die in a media-driven spectacle, complete with crowds cheering for his death.

Here's the question, Senator McCain: How is it that with all these crimes committed against the one you call your savior, you can endorse the use of the same governmental tactics by our government that were employed against Jesus: the use of kangaroo courts for trials of people who were turned in for cash on the barrelhead despite the lack of any evidence against them, the use of torture (or "enhanced interrogation techniques, if you prefer) against these detainees, the seemingly limitless detention faced by some held at Gitmo, and the creation of media-driven spectacles to drive crowds to cheer for war, war, and more war?

I'm no Rick Warren, Senator -- but I still would like an answer to this very faith-based question.

Your Brother in Christ,

The Rev. Peterr, Ph.D.

image by unknownkarmic