John McCain rally in Iowa marked by partisan prayer

Rev. Arnold Conrad, in delivering an invocation at a rally today for John McCain in Davenport, Iowa, apparently didn't get the word from the candidate about elevating the tone at such gatherings.

Conrad, who appeared before the crowd before McCain had arrived, offered a prayer that seemed to urge divine intervention to prevent Barack Obama from winning the presidential election -- and cast the outcome as a referendum on differing religions.

The Times' Maeve Reston was at the event, and she passed along the key passage from Conrad's words:

I would also pray Lord that your reputation is involved in all that happens between now and November, because there are millions of people around this world praying to their God -- whether it's Hindu, Buddha, Allah -- that his [McCain’s] opponent wins for a variety of reasons.

And Lord I pray that you would guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their god is bigger than you, if that happens. So I pray that you would step forward and honor your own name in all that happens between now and Election Day.

Oh Lord, we just commit this time to you, move among us, make your presence very well felt as we are gathered here today in Jesus's name I pray.

Some in the crowd greeted the prayer with applause.

-- Don Frederick

Comments

[MacyDog]

It would appear from this report that Reverend Conrad is a polytheist. I thought there was only one God. Evidently Rev. Conrad has the inside scoop on this late breaking revelation.......

[Tar]

As a staunch catholic, I am ashamed and appalled by such a prayer IN POLITICS. The Lord asks us not to use his name in vain. This is just wrong. Jesus asked us to preach tolerance.

From the pulpit, this is sheer intolerance and ignorance. Not everyone is a christian... and even I, a catholic, am aware of that. This is getting out of hand.

[Scy]

These people are insane. End of the world crazies who want a theocratic America. Pity they are not only not going to get one but they will be lucky to have 40 Senate seats.

[Jon K.]

I love how people aggressively flout their ignorance. Why do they allow people this stupid to actually speak in front of other people? Crazy.

[rearden215]

Forget the backhanded slap at the gods and religions of of those of 'color', having the Republican party telling God what needs to be done to protect his rep in the earth 'hood is beyond the pale.

[David]

This was unbelievable! Look at the kind of people McCain will be supported by if he wins. Just disgusting, I can't believe these people live in America. It feels like I am watching a 1950's freak show. I am sorry Mr. Conrad but God will make you pay for what you said and what you believe.

[John]

What do you expect. I can't say I know who John McCain is deep down, but in order to win the Presidency he's made deals with all variety of bigots and scoundrels.

He accepted the endorsement of Rev. John Hagee who among other things:
1. Hates Catholics;
2. Believes Hurricane Katrina was God's punishment;
3. Believes God sent Hitler to make sure the Jews returned to Israel; and
4. Once described George Bush as a Messiah.

[cody mccall]

Religion has become just another commodity to sell and what this guy's sellin', I ain't buyin'.

[Tim McGarry]

Rev. Conrad indeed seems to have a little boy's view of God.

[Anish Banerjee]

Prayer aside, you would think the guy got the facts right. Hindu is not a God in Hinduism. Hinduism has many Gods and deities and is not a monotheistic religion. Furthermore, Hinduism seeks not to discredit any other religion. In fact, many leading theologists argue whether Hinduism is technically a religion or a way of life, seeing as how it has no procedure to convert and no standard set of rules.

[Cat]

In one week, without even an incident to point to, McCain has manage to open the nozzle of the fire hose that has been closed for three decades only this time it is aimed at anyone outside of the white box.

Whether McCain knew about the invocation in advance is a moot point. He green lighted this road to destruction.

[newageblues]

like a five year old trying to manipulate 'God'

[Marc Fischer]

When are people going to stop invoking God into politics. The Republicans are very dangerous and must be stopped. Obama will will by a landslide

[CCarter]

It's utterly ridiculous, especially when you consider that Barack Obama describes himself as "a committed Christian" (See http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/christian) -- which would mean that both candidates are on the same side, as it were.

Senator McCain says he is not "born again" and has not been baptized, although he does say he is "just a Christian" and attends a church in Arizona with his family when he's in town. (See http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1018/p01s06-uspo.html)

[janet]

jeez, i'm a catholic and pro-obama. so what God do i get?

[Richard]

Kinda reminds me of the old testament battle between Baal and Yahweh where one sends fire down to destroy the altar of the other! Too bad the Jews selected the "war god" instead of the more benign "weather god". Bronze age and maybe modern times could have been a lot better!

[Justice]

If Obama wins, the muslims and blacks win.

[Danielle Frenser]

That's not a prayer to God - that's a demand. Even Jesus on the cross, prayed "Yet not my will, but thy will be done".
What brazen arrogance, even to his own god!

[Ann]

Another example of why religion scares the heck out of me.

[Mark P.]

Tar said; "Jesus asked us to preach tolerance."

Where in The Bible does Jesus ask us to preach tolerance of other Gods?

You may not agree with the prayer, but in this nation that man has every right to do so.

Where is your tolerance?

[Alessandro Machi]

HOW DARE YOU IMPLY THAT JOHN McCAIN WAS THERE, WHEN HE WASN'T. (and I never use caps, other than links, to give you an idea at how offensive and misleading this topic is.)

http://www.HILLARY-WINS.com
http://www.WALLSTREETCHANGE.com
http://www.CAUCUSCHEATING.com
http://www.HILLARYCLINTONFORUM.net

[John]

I hope this mans church is not tax exempt. I don't have a problem with a church or preacher being partisan just as long as they pay their own taxes.

This is pretty vile stuff.

[lisa]

I am also praying that the truth will prevail and alk the greedy war mongers that are padding their own pockets will be exposed. Obama 08

[Atheist]

The Reverend should educate himself about the religions he is mentioning, and perhaps he will learn that Buddha is not a God and Allah is the same God as the God Rev. Conrad prefers. And of course as Mr. Anish Banerjee explains so clearly about Hinduism, they have multiple Deities.

Does the Reverend know that Muslims have to believe in the teachings of Christ?

I am an Atheist but even I respect the right of others to believe in whomsoever they wish to believe in and certainly would not think any less of them for believing differently than I and would never belittle their religion.

Please Rev. Conrad, kindly educate yourself before you are so disparaging of other people's beliefs. An ill-educated attack on others is proof only of your ignorance.

[Foreign Born American]

It is surprising to see how people who call themselves Christians are acting in America today. For a pastor to pray for the defeat of another Christian because he disagrees with a Christian brother is a shame, Pastor, who called you into the ministry? God or Satan? Go and read the beatitudes in the book of Mathews. The bible says " Pray for your enemies, bless told that curse you. This was the same type of hatred that helped to advance slavery in America. The church supported evil instead of condemning it. PASTOR YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF. We went to war to prevent such statements. If you are a Christian I rather have an atheist preach to me. May the true Jesus who we served convince you to repent of your wicked way. God bless you.

[Jack Kennedy]

posters are typical racist liberals hypocrites.

jesse jackson, al sharpton and company have been doing this for decades - but that is OK - cuz they are liberals

loony farrakahn callls obama the messiah and you people are ranting your vitriol on a preacher to the Real American.

if jesse, al, louie, rev wright and all other liberals do it then all get to do

so knock off your

LIBERAL HYPOCRISY

[jswiller]

Justice, honey, the grown ups are talking just now, so go out to the garage and play with that nice box of matches that I gave you.

[nathan]

it is demonstrable fact that the most religious are more likely to support mccain. the least religious are more likely to support obama.

[Albion Bluebell]

Wow. From my side of the pond, i.e. the UK, the Republicans are getting increasingly scary. As a committed atheist, I rarely feel like getting militant, but now, with loonies like the Reverend Conrad out on the loose, gosh, I don't know. Perhaps I should.
Pastor Arnold Conrad sounds like a 1950s B-movie, cardboard cut-out sort of character. Except this is half a century on. Has America regressed? While I applaud Christianity's undeniable importance in the cultural history of the West, isn't it time Christianity, as the West's leading religion, and its representatives (such as the good Reverend), became a tad more sophisticated? Or at least, as one or two of the commentators here have pointed out, more educated? How can one 'revere' anyone who has such a poor grip of theology? Or, indeed, respect his associates? Those who have studied theology in the most basic way possible know religion's raison d'être. We're scared of death. We are scared of an impoverished, meaningless life. We need comfort in times of personal tragedy. Redemptive religion, or belief in a Supreme Being, is a great palliative in all these cases. But a partisan god? I don't think so. If McCain's presidential campaign organizers are any indication of the calibre of his future administration, should he win, then god (and I invoke him or her in the most universal way possible) help us indeed.

[Zoe - Redlands, CA]

Oh that reverend is onto something... for a second:

I pray to MY God near-daily that Barack Obama wins the election and becomes the next president (as opposed to winning and not becoming the next president, Al Gore anyone?); and I pray to MY God near-daily that Barack Obama and his family will be kept safe; and I pray to MY God near-daily that Barack Obama will be a great, successful president...

But what Rev. Smug-Pants might be interested to know, is that MY God is the SAME God as HIS God...Yes, we Christians, the Christian LEFT, Red-Letter, Loving-Forgiving-God-Christians, can support Obama too!

But that's OK, Rev. Conrad: OUR God forgives you...

[Zoe - CA]

Oh that reverend is onto something... for a second:

I pray to MY God near-daily that Barack Obama wins the election and becomes the next president (as opposed to winning and not becoming the next president, Al Gore anyone?); and I pray to MY God near-daily that Barack Obama and his family will be kept safe; and I pray to MY God near-daily that Barack Obama will be a great, successful president...

But what Rev. Smug-Pants might be interested to know, is that MY God is the same as his God...Yes, we Christians, the Christian LEFT, Red-Letter-Loving-Forgiving-God-Christians, can support Obama too!

But that's OK, Rev. Conrad: OUR God forgives you...

[Kathy B]

I feel a need to point out to the reverend that the Muslim God is his [the reverend’s] God. His God is known in some circles as the Abrahamic God. The Abrahamic God is shared by the Jewish, Christian and Islam religions. So in fact, we are all praying to the same God – The Source of the Universe, Yahweh, Allah, Elohim – these are just some of the many names of God.

In addition, Hindu and Buddha are not gods at all. Hindus and Buddhists worship many gods. How and in what form they worship their gods is something of which I have little knowledge. However, it seems to me that before making a public prayer like this one, Reverend Conrad would be sure to check his facts before making broad generalizations.

I do apologize for bursting the reverend’s bubble here, but I do believe God has much bigger and more important issues to be dealing with than the election of the President of the United States of America. This is truly something we the people should be able to handle all by ourselves. Isn’t that what free will is all about after all?

Kathy B.

[tarbubble]

Egads. I'm a Christian liberal and will be voting for Obama. I would vote for Obama even if he wasn't a Christian. I personally find it maddening what a stranglehold Republicanism has on so many Christians. Aside from abortion (yes, I am an anti-abortion liberal), for the most part I find liberal principles to be much more aligned with Christian philosophy.

[JB]

i thank "Anish Banerjee" and "Atheist" for their comments, however just to correct the record, Hinduism has always been a monotheistic religion. Calling it polytheistic just because of the appearance of many gods perpetuates the misinformation.

Just as water appears in various forms, including solid (ice), liquid, and gas (vapor/steam), Hinduism's gods are various forms of a single entity.

No one argues that we have 3 different waters. Similarly, one cannot argue that we have many different Hindu gods.

[Mina]

A God called Hindu? Well, all right. I sure wouldn't want to look ignorant or anything!

[Maricela]

THERE is only One God.. Read your bible and then preach. Regardless of other religions (man-made) there is only one God who goes by many names. We All Believe and God knows We are One People in this entire world. God lives in each of us, so his reputation is who each of us IS. Stop inciting divisiness and fear.
"And Lord I pray that you would guard your own reputation, because they’re going to think that their god is bigger than you, if that happens. So I pray that you would step forward and honor your own name in all that happens between now and Election Day."

[Russ]

TRUE Southern Baptist from TX. here reading L.A. Online. I am ashamed by hearing this! Yet one more extremist in America defacing the Christian principles! Try praying and putting in Gods hands, clarity to see through twisted reality our media claims. Pray for courage to step forward and vote what you truly feel God is conveying to you. Put your own personal politics aside. This is not a team sport! It's our land and our right! Shame on you for using Gods word for personal gain!

[JSC]

This might not work out to well for the Reverand. If you are a member of his congregation and Obama wins, how much faith are you going to have in how much pull Reverand Conrad has with God. Forget asking the Reverend to put in a good word for you if he attempts to put in a prayer for McCain and gets ignored.

[The Magster]

This is just PERFECT! The McCain-Palin campaign doesn't have a clear agenda -- except to get to the White House. It is NOT a well-run, well-organized campaign. Mr. McCain selected his campaign managers. They are supposed to get the message out to the people, including the guy whose going to give the prayer. They ask: How can we trust Barack Obama? Well, Mr. Obama's campaign is much better run and organized than Mr. McCain's. The question then becomes - how can we send Mr. McCain who can't run his campaign to Washington? If he can't manage his campaign, how do we expect him to run this country and interact sensibly with foreign countries? Think about it!. I think you judge a person's ability to lead by their abiltiy to select able and smart people around them, and allow them to do their jobs!

[davelacey]

Since when does GOD vote... Only US citizens can vote in this election... God is at best " an illegal alien" with Visitor Status and no "Green Card"... and the fact that he has not paid taxes for eons also disqualifies him from participating in the election process..He's simply not on the voter registration list... .Finally if God has anything to do with democracy his single vote would be no more important than your vote or mine (a single vote). Why would the creator of all things/future/past/present care who won/lost the election? He can control/manipulate/eliminate any and all of us at any instant on the slightest whim were it not for his forgiveness, acceptance and love for all...

[pchow]

Who does God prefer McCain or Obama? If you know, can I talk to your source? I might try convincing him/her to run for president or at least be a cabinet member. Apparently there is a direct line to God!

[Sigvatr]

Hindu and Buddha are not gods. Any one who had studied world religions for about 10 minutes would know this. This person is a total idiot and their reputability is probably ruined forever now.

[Jamila Malluf]

1. Is this man telling God to be Honorable?
2. Is this man saying that if God doesnt give him what he ask for he is not a Honorable God?
3. The word Allah means 99 different beautiful things that describes God such as The Most High, The Compassionate, The Merciful etc..
where the word God has only one or two very beautiful meanings...
4. Hindu is not a God
5. Budda is not a God
What happened to the fact that sometimes God doesnt give us what we want because he is either testing us or punishing us??? Sometimes our conduct needs correcting or sometimes He is teaching us patience God is ALWAYS HONERABLE its man's choices and behaviors that are not... doesn't Christianity teach these same lessons? We do not judge God. God judges us. How dare he be so arrogant to stand and judge Gods decsions!!!!

Thank you
American Muslim
Jamila Malluf

[Bob Dogg]

Leaders have used anthrodeism to emotionally manipulate the weak minded for millenia. It should come as no surprise that when the Republicans play this card over and over again. A "Heavenly reward" is offered as substitute for a fair share the material world. They make off with the lions share and then preach damnation for all who do not subjagate themselves to this myth with a grand overseer condoning their and only their conduct.

[Ken]

True Bhuddism does not have multiple gods, but rather recognizes that everything (and nothing) is what many call "god". That is the learning that Jesus sought by travelling to "the wilderness" (aka Nepal, Tibet, India, others) to clarify his vision. Too bad the heirarchy of the Church of Peter decided ~ 680 AD that the reincarnation Jesus taught ("ye shall be born again") wasn't as profitable as "you get one chance only, give to the Church you will be saved".

[Chuck]

Perhaps someone needs to educate the good pastor that Allah is the exact same god that he and his parishioners worship. Whether or not Christians accept Muhammad as a prophet from said god is up to debate, however Allah is the same god as the Christian god. The ignorance of these so-called Christian fundamentalists is blinding. Let's also not forget that Jesus was a liberal Jew, and he spent all of his time hanging out with hookers, con-artists, and social degenerates.

[powersurge]

My father, a Christian minister, just sent him a delightful little email..
I am sure Rev. Conrad would absolutely love to hear what you all are thinking out there.

Here's his email:

aconrad105@mchsi.com

And postal address:

Interim Pastor Ministries
PO Box 549
Walcott, IA 52773

[Kyle]

I am a Christian and prayed for the best candidate to win. I let God know that I was voting for Obama and just wanted the best for America. If Obama doesn't win, then God chose it to be that way and I trust in him. I don't understand why the Reverend spoke that way. I think he needs to re-visit Titus 2:11-12.

[aegis]

"Some in the crowd greeted the prayer with applause."

The fact that ALL of them did not spells trouble for his campaign. The wackaloon evangelicals used to be their most rabid vote bloc - now, even THEY aren't coming to rallies!

If you make your voting decisions based upon the supposed thoughts and desires of a fictional character, you don't deserve to vote.

[Jonas]

Nyah, nyah, nyah -- my god can beat up your god! Just out of curiosity, if Obama wins, does that mean God voted for him? If so, won't Conrad have to re-examine his beliefs? Then there's the larger question: since God controls all events, does that mean God's always on the side of the winner? That's a scary thought.

Maybe there is no God. Or maybe there is one and he's too smart to care about our petty struggles for power.