Televangelism and sincerity aren't concepts usually associated. However, there was nothing but honesty in the voice of one US religious businessman when he called for a military takeover (yes – a coup) of the federal government this week.
Rick Joyner, a notoriously conservative Christian pastor, took to the airwaves on Monday for his pithily-named show "Prophetic Perspective on Current Events", demanding that the Lord "raise up those who will save us” to stop America from being ruined by those working to "undermine and destroy the Republic".
"Because the system is so broken... I believe our only hope is military takeover. Martial law," he said, eyes skyward.
Of course the political gridlock in Washington is bad, particularly with the debt ceiling debate imminent. Yet for Joyner the situation may be worse than any of us had feared, with the pastor predicting the very annihilation of the country, no doubt through some form of plague or pestilence.
He even suggests that Armageddon would likely come before the end of "Obama’s second term". And it turns out Pastor Joyner has plenty of form in this type of eschatological preaching, telling viewers in 2011 that Hurricane Katrina was retribution for homosexuality.