Mccain Debases Himself With Ohio's Most Prominent Bigot

[Algorem]

Parlsey On The Side
John Mccain Debases Himself (again), This Time With Ohio's Most Prominent Bigot

Phttp://www.freetimes.com/stories/15/44/parlsey-on-the-side

When we last caught up with the Rev. Rod Parsley, the rightwing evangelical who heads World Harvest Church outside Columbus, he was stumping the state spreading love for Secretary of State Ken Blackwell in his train-wreck run for the governor's office and spreading hate for, well, just about everyone else: gays, Muslims and anyone else he deemed insufficiently upstanding and moral.

After helping Blackwell launch his gubernatorial campaign in 2005, Parsley's profile dropped considerably the following year. When Blackwell launched a "pastors love me" drive a few months before the November 2006 election, Parsley was nowhere in sight. It wasn't clear if this was because the IRS was making noises about looking into churches violating their nonprofit status via partisan campaigning, or because it was becoming obvious that Blackwell was going to go down to epic defeat. Anyway, Parsley was busy growing his TV empire and selling 37-inch cross-inscribed replicas of King Arthur's sword (seriously).

But now Parsley is back, attempting to attach his star to yet another rising (he hopes) political figure. On Feb. 26, Parsley was spotted in Cincinnati beaming at the side of likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain, stumping with him during his appearances. In a mutual lovefest, Parsley was quoted in the Columbus Dispatch as calling McCain "a strong, true, consistent conservative," while McCain dubbed Parsley a "spiritual guide."

Those who've been following Parsley for a while will recall that among his choicer statements were vicious attacks on Islam, which he called in his 2005 book Silent No More a "false religion" inspired by "revelations from demons," and "an anti-Christian religion that intends, through violence, to conquer the world."...

[Vanje]

1. McCain's "spiritual guide"

Financial embezzlement, assault, and claims of divine annointing

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=10473
excerpts:
"...Lewis Bungard, alleged that Parsley choked him and that Parsley's father punched him after an argument over money owed him under a contract to paint Parsley's new home, during which Bungard accused the pastor of deceiving his followers."

"Dwayne Endicott sued Parsley in 1995, claiming that he was forced out of his job as a maintenance worker at the church after Parsley discovered that he had complained to a friend about the lack of overtime pay. In a sworn affidavit, Endicott testified that Parsley “yelled, screamed, and berated me for almost 10 minutes, stating that I was causing dissension and discord in the church.”


"The notion that Parsley himself might actually be divinely anointed -- and thus someone to whom congregants owe utter obedience -- is an unmistakable part of the marketing strategy at World Harvest."

[Vanje]

2. More on McCain's "spiritual guide"

Whats a kooky right-wing hypocrite without a sex scandel?
http://www.pfo.org/parsley.htm

Excerpt: "In 1992, The Columbus Dispatch newspaper reported the filing of a lawsuit by 48-year-old Naomil Endicott against Parsley and his father, claiming that the father had sexually harassed her and offered her money for sex with Parsley’s knowledge.11 The woman is Parsley’s aunt and was an employee of his World Harvest Church."


The link provides a lot of information about Parsley's , er, "theology", which is nutty.
The rev. Parsley is NOT in the evangelical mainstream.