trading baptisms for baths

The Miami Herald reports that one army chaplain in Iraq controls a 500-gallon pool of water, and won't allow soldiers to have access to it, during the water shortage the troops are experiencing, unless they agree to be baptized, and listen to an hour-and-a-half sermon and then another hour of bible quotes during the baptism itself.

'' 'You have to be aggressive to help people find themselves in God,' he said."

"He calls himself a 'Southern Baptist evangelist,' and justifies the war and killing with a verse from the Gospel of Matthew, which he often recites: 'Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.' "

###

It's too bad he's a Baptist and has to immerse them... he could "aggressively help" so many more souls toward salvation if he would just take a water pistol around the camp and spritz anyone who looked unsaved.

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This page contains a single entry by thom published on April 7, 2003 2:28 PM.

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Thom Watson was born in a "pro-America" part of the country but then grew up to become a gay, liberal, Harvard-educated atheist living in northern California. He has come to terms with the fact that this pretty much disqualifies him from ever holding public office.

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