Who would have thought that an ad touting a sermon entitled, "The Only Way to Destroy the Jewish Race," would cause problems? Not the Portland Press Herald, apparently. A story from that paper:The minister of a Baptist church in South Portland asked for forgiveness Monday for frightening members of the Jewish community with a provocative newspaper advertisement that promoted his Sunday sermon about anti-Semitism.
The ad for the First Baptist Church appeared on the Religion & Values page of the Portland Press Herald on Saturday, touting a sermon titled, "The Only Way to Destroy the Jewish Race."The sermon was supportive of Jews but the words in the ad generated fear and anger, as well as complaints to the church and the newspaper."Dear friends, please forgive me for causing alarm in your hearts," the Rev. Philip Andrukaitis wrote in a statement released Monday afternoon. "No doubt, several folks have already jumped to conclusions about me and this church."Andrukaitis' sermon, the text of which he gave to Jewish leaders and the news media, called for Christians to support Jews and the nation of Israel. He said the sermon title was intended to spark discussion and referred to his message that God will never allow the destruction of his chosen people. "I never expected it," Andrukaitis said of the uproar caused by the ad.The newspaper also apologized on Monday, for publishing the ad containing the sermon title. The newspaper's guidelines "prohibit advertising copy that might appear offensive in nature," and the publication was the result of a mistake, according to a written statement released by Rob Blethen, director of advertising."The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram apologizes to all who might have been offended by this unintentional oversight. Additional safeguards have been put in place to avoid a similar situation in the future," the statement said...
