A southern Illinois pastor says a sermon he gave comparing abortions to casualties of war sparked an FBI investigation.
The Rev. Randy Steele, senior pastor of the 120-member Southwest Christian Church in Mount Vernon, said Wednesday that FBI agents interviewed him Nov. 24 after someone in his congregation accused him of advocating violence during his Memorial Day sermon.
Steele said during the sermon he talked about "the sanctity of life" and likened the number of American soldiers who have died in battle with the number of abortions performed since the 1973 Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion.
"The main thing I think the FBI was here to do was evaluate my demeanor and determine if I was this radical preacher that this person made me out to be," Steele said.
Marshall Stone, a spokesman for the FBI's Springfield office, would neither confirm nor deny that an investigation was conducted into Steele's comments. However, he said such an investigation would not be uncommon.
"It's not unusual to get tips or complaints about potential violence against abortion providers," Stone said.
Steele said the FBI agents wanted to know what he meant when he told the congregation: "I want to share with you another war that has been taking place here in this country and around the world. It's a war that is being fought under the presupposition of freedom."
Steele said he gave the FBI agents a manuscript of the sermon. The FBI was also concerned about a reference he made in the sermon to an abortion clinic in nearby Granite City, he added.
Steele denies that he was advocating violence. The sermon was part of a series of speeches dealing with "cultural issues," he said.
"If I said there is war against obesity going on, I'm not saying let's round up all the obese people," Steele said.
Steele said he was surprised by the investigation because he is very careful about the language he uses while preaching.
"I definitely review and look over my messages very carefully to make sure that what I say is exactly what I mean," Steele said.