The slogan "Pray for Obama Psalm 109:8" has suddenly appeared on bumper stickers, T-shirts and, of course, online message boards. It's a hot Web search term. But what appears to be a statement of support turns out to be just the opposite.
Verse 8 of Psalm 109 says: "Let his days be few, and let another take his place of leadership," according to the New International Version of the Bible.
Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP
Diana Butler Bass of the religion blog Progressive Revival described it as "a sort of right-wing Christian equivalent of the old '01.20.09' stickers looking forward to the end of the Bush era."
While an American Civil Liberties Union official expressed concern about hostility toward the president, she didn't criticize the slogan in an interview with The Christian Science Monitor because Verse 8 is only about removing him from office.
The verses that follow are a different matter.
"May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow."
"May his children be wandering beggars ... "
"May a creditor seize all he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor."
"May his descendants be cut off, their names blotted out from the next generation."
And so on.
"Whether it's clever, funny or downright dangerous is a matter of opinion. Clearly, though, it's certainly not very nice," Cathleen Falsani said in a USA Today article.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette columnist Tony Norman called it "a veiled death threat" and likened the message to the preaching of Wiley Drake in Buena Park, Calif., and Steven Anderson in Tempe, Ariz. -- both of whom have made no secret of their prayers for Obama's death.
