Last we reported on St. Pete evangelist Bill Keller, who decided recently that he'd add a some more kindling to the burning fire that is the "ground zero" saga in New York City, by launching his plan for a "9-11 Christian Center at Ground Zero."
On Sunday, Bill Keller launched his 9-11 Christian Center at ground zero in front of about 50 people (about half of them members of the media) by targeting Muslims and Mormons as hell-bound followers of false faiths. Of those wanting to build the cultural center known as Park51, Keller said cheerily, "All these people will die and burn in hell."
And Keller, who gained a lot of fame when three years ago when he blasted Mormonism by saying, that a vote for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was a "vote for Satan," kept up the Mormon bashing by castigating one of the faith's most famous disciple's, Glenn Beck.
Keller said he is looking at three different sites for his church near the "hollowed ground," near the site of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Newsweek's McKay Coppins was one of those members of the media in attendance. His take?
Since his nationally syndicated TV show was canceled for relentlessly hammering Islam, his ministry has been relegated to a website and a program on a small Florida TV station – and Keller understands now more than ever that his success depends on press coverage. One blogger at the service told me that he had recently gone on TV and blasted the preacher, only to receive a thank you note from him the next day. “He loves the press,” the blogger said.
For all the interviews Keller gave on Sunday, though, one question remained: Is this project really an earnest (however inflammatory) attempt to save souls, or is it just a cynical stunt meant to antagonize the Muslim community? Keller insists his efforts are guided by God’s love. “If I hated people, I’d be at home lying by a pool saying, ‘I’m saved, to heck with everyone else!’” he said. “I’m here to save souls.”
Meanwhile, the 9th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks will take place this Saturday. President Obama, who has had fewer news conferences than any president in recent history this far into his first term in office, will probably address the topic when he meets the press this Friday.
This article appears in Sep 2-8, 2010.