The Rev Mike Pence, deputy pastor at the Church of the Poison Mind, Washington, DC, has been quoted as saying “What the American people need is not more health care.

What we need is more Jesus care.” Coming from a so-called Christian, this attitude is appalling. A true Christian would do everything in their power to help the weak, the poor, the needy.

Smugly advocating prayer while consciously kicking away their meagre support is religious hypocrisy of the most repulsive kind.

This sort of cultish behaviour has previously been confined to the lunatic fringe of religion if not politics. Although the Rev Pence is not believed to be part of a cult, he has nevertheless been described as “a one-man cult”. Or something sounding quite similar.

This is not confined to the USA. Vicar’s daughter Theresa May, who takes offence at the lack of Easter branding on chocolate eggs, still allows healthcare to wither on the vine while rewarding her filthy rich cronies. What would Daddy say, Theresa?

Jesus would be spinning in His grave – if he hadn’t been resurrected and ascended to Heaven – but then He wouldn’t have been Jesus, would He?

The Rev Pence later claimed to have been misquoted, though he conceded that the main thrust of the quote was accurate. Services at the Church of the Poison Mind have increased in popularity at an exponential rate. Every
Sunday, thousands of supplicants gather to hear pastor Pence preach and to hope for the chance of a miraculous healing. Afterwards they are turned away, though to be frank most of them are too sick to move.

Tickets to worship at the Church are now retailing at a price in excess of
$5000 each.