In "The New Man from Hope" at Street Prophets, uwdonke (take a closer look at that name) has a look at the new hope of the Christian Right. uwdonke quotes Stephen Strang (another name that ought to ring a bell), a Christian publishing mogul who might be the first person on the Huckabee bandwagon.
Wads of cash is exactly what Strang is angling to secure for Huckabee. [Strang] may not have the household name that Dobson does, but through a network of televangelists and mega-church pastors whose teachings are continuously available through churches, conferences, television, radio, and Strang's own magazines and publishing imprints, his views may well trickle down to at least as many people as follow Dobson. What's more, while most of Dobson's followers are white, charismatics are diverse; indeed, the cover story of the issue of Charisma containing Strang's Huckabee endorsement was "The Changing Face of American Christianity: Immigrant Faith."Huckabee is pretty much a straight-arrow conservative clone of Sam Brownback, with one exception being that Huckabee doesn't seem to tremble at the oncoming Brown Menace. But, in contrast to Brownback, Huckabee has a jovial, easygoing manner, the kind of candidate who passes the "guy-you'd-have-a-beer-with" test the press so eagerly brandished to deliver us George W. Bush.
The other big names have yet to pour in behind Huckabee--he's not yet demonstrated the key atribute they need; the ability to win--but the small fish are starting to flop in, none more interesting and twisted than the case of Dr. Wiley S. Drake, a Southern Baptist preacher in California who used official church letterhead to endorse Huckabee's candidacy. When Americans United for Church and State protested to the IRS, Drake reacted bizarrely with threats of divine retribution.
Wiley Drake....FILLED with the love o' Jesus!
Instead of responding to Americans United’s concern of illegal activity, Drake issued yesterday afternoon a plea to his supporters to join in “imprecatory prayers” (curses) every morning for Americans United and its staff.
“In light of the recent attack from the ememies (sic) of God I ask the children of God to go into action with Imprecatory Prayer,” Drake said, in an Aug. 14 press statement issued from the First Southern Baptist Church of Buena Park. “Especially against Americans United for Seperation (sic) of Church and State.”
In a section of his press release called “How To Pray,” Drake includes a long list of biblical citations that call on God to smite enemies. For example, the alleged enemies of God “shall be judged,” “condemned,” and “his days be few….” Additionally, supporters should pray that the enemy’s “children be fatherless, and his wife a widow,” and “his children be continually vagabonds, and beg; let them seek bread also out of their desolate places.”
