The Landover Baptist Church – a fictional church that parodies American Christian right-wingers – have once again incurred the rage of hundreds of Icelanders when they posted their screed, God Hates Iceland.
The rant itself is chock-full of trolltastic inaccuracies, starting with the very first sentence: “The Icelandic Flag mocks the cross by turning it sideways. Satanists mock Jesus by turning a cross upside down. This is very similar. This is proof that Iceland hates Jesus!” The accompanying image is the flag of Norway. The jist of the troll-rant is that Iceland has brought upon the wrath of God by, among other things, allowing gay marriage and universal health care, for having a penis museum, and that most Icelanders are pagans, but “the few Christians are Lutherans, who are hellbound anyways.” Because of these transgressions, the eruptions have happened.
Although the church’s website has been online since 1993 and has been internet famous for at least a decade, apparently not everyone, everywhere recognizes satire when they see it. A Facebook group called “Ég hata The Landover Baptist Church/I Hate the Landover Baptist Church” has claimed over 200 members. They encourage people to join “if you can’t stand it when people speak badly about our country.”
It is uncertain at this time whether the group’s members aren’t aware that the church doesn’t exist, or if they simply take issue with the parody. Needless to say, it wouldn’t be the first time Landover has convincingly imitated America’s religious far-right.