Media political correctness, not any “hatred” on the pastor's part, likely caused Republican presidential candidate John McCain to reject the endorsement of televangelist Rod Parsley.
McCain acted quickly to disavow Parsley after ABC reported controversial statements by the pastor, who has long preached and written about the danger posed by an expansive Islam. The most damning quotes? Parsley labeled Islam an “anti-Christ religion that intends through violence to conquer the world” and described Mohammed as “the mouthpiece of a conspiracy of spiritual evil.” Ipso facto, Parsley hates Muslims.
ABC's report on Parsley is mostly instructive for what it teaches about ABC's politically correct mindset. ABC contrasts several of Parsley's stinging statements condemning Islam to more conciliatory remarks by McCain, but never explains why McCain should repudiate the pastor. The network simply assumes that Parsley is beyond the pale. ABC did not produce any statements by Parsley attacking the people who follow Islam.
The notion that public figures –even religious leaders -- can legitimately critique religions and ideologies in search of the ultimate truth, or merely to point out what they regard as error, appears to be alien to ABC.
It's obvious that Christian preachers who take the Bible seriously must consider Islam to be spiritual error, just as imams who take the Koran seriously must consider Christianity to be spiritual error. But in the precincts of political correctness enforced by the media, we're not allowed to speak such obvious truths aloud. The only absolute truth is that no such thing as absolute truth exists. In ABC's world, we all have our own “truths,” and criticizing somebody else's “truth” is a form of hatred.
McCain's rapid surrender has allowed the liberal media to hang two trophies on the wall. First, McCain has given credence to the notion that he has a “pastor problem,” which the media have trumped up in order to offset the very real pastor problem (Jeremiah Wright) weighing down Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Second, McCain has helped the media marginalize the conservative Christian pastor and anybody else willing to criticize Islam.