GOD'S EGOMANIAC

From The New York Times:

[The Reverend Ken] Hutcherson ... claims to be the person who forced Microsoft, situated near his Antioch Bible Church offices, to withdraw its support of a gay rights bill before the State Legislature, one it had supported the two previous years.

Dr. Hutcherson had threatened to organize a national boycott of Microsoft if it backed the legislation this year. The antidiscrimination bill was defeated by one vote in the State Senate on April 21....

There is little doubt, from hearing Dr. Hutcherson tell it, that he believes not only in the power of God, but also in the power of "Hutch," especially when it comes to going up against companies like Microsoft - or anyone else, for that matter.

"God plus Hutch is enough," said the minister, who stands 6 feet 2 inches, weighs 260 pounds and has a shaved head and a thick goatee streaked with a splash of white.

He added: "I want to be to Christianity what Gretzky was to hockey, what Beckham is to soccer, what Jordan was to basketball, what Martin Luther King was to African-American rights, what the Pope was to Poland. I want to be that to Christianity."

By trusting God, he said, he hopes for "great things" and "that I will be the most feared man in America, not because of me, but because of who I got on my side."

We like ourselves, don't we, Reverend?

Here are the words of Jesus, from Luke 18:10-14:

Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Something you ought to think about.

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(UPDATE: And what does the Rev think about Jews? See this post.)