The FundamentaList: This week in the religious right: [View All]

[Joanne98]

This week in the religious right: Evangelicals debate whether Obama has "a spirit of the Antichrist," religious group airs anti-Obama ads on MTV, and conservatives claim Rick Warren will give Obama space to defend his "gospel of condoms."

Sarah Posner | July 30, 2008

1. Religious Right Debates Whether Obama Has "A Spirit of the Antichrist."

At a state GOP convention and across the American Family Association's (AFA) radio airwaves, religious-right activists reacted to Obama's speech in Berlin by suggesting that he will undermine America's sovereignty and greatness and that he might just be channeling the Antichrist.

Mike Huckabee, speaking at the Arkansas GOP convention, said that "the kind of change would bring makes us more of a part of some global, mushy, middle-of-the-ground , milquetoast world in which America loses its sovereignty and distinction."

The AFA reaches a rural audience through its radio stations -- it owns over a hundred of them, making it the sixth-largest radio-station owner in the country -- and its daily AFA Report show presents a "Christian worldview" on the news of the day. On Friday, the day after Obama's Berlin speech, the AFA Report's host, Fred Jackson, made note of the "messianic tone" of the speech, then quickly denied that he believes Obama is messianic. Ed Vitagliano, one of the program's roundtable guests, chimed in, "I don't think he's the Antichrist, but there is a spirit of Antichrist at work in the West in a very strong and open way that is leading people to want to solve their problems and have a desire to have their lives improved without Christ. That's what the spirit of Antichrist does, it denies Christ." In other words, Obama's not the Antichrist. He's just like the Antichrist.

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_fundamentalist_073008