September 7, 2009 | 1:02 pm

Pastor prays Obama ‘dies and goes to hell’

Posted by Brad A. Greenberg

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I voted for Barack Obama, and I’m pleased to say that his efforts since taking office in January have validated that decision. He wasn’t just handed one or two messes to fix, but a plethora. And I’d say thus far he’s done about as well as anyone could have hoped for—except for on the whole health reform debate; that’s been a bit indecipherable.

But no matter what else he does in office, some will not be able to reconcile approval of Obama’s job with disapproval of his stance on abortion. At the top of that list would be Pastor Steven Anderson of Faithful Word Church:

“Why should Barack Obama melt like a snail? Why should Barack Obama die like the untimely birth of a woman? Why should his children be fatherless and his wife left a widow, as we read in this passage?” Anderson asked in a sermon heard in the above video. “Well, I’ll tell you why: Because it Barack Obama thinks it’s ok to use a salty solution—right?—to abort the unborn. Because that is how abortions are done, my friends, using salt. And I would like to see Barack Obama melt like a snail tonight.”

Scary stuff, indeed. I don’t think it’s part of the trend that CNN’s Rick Sanchez seems to fear. But certainly scary.

Anderson isn’t my kind of Christian, and it’s upsetting to think that he is the shepherd to some misguided flock. But over at GetReligion, E.E. Evans looks at how the media has covered this story and whether Anderson should be seen as more than just some radical nutjob.