Shyster Messiah

Puerto Rican born José Luis de Jesús Miranda claims that he is Jesus Christ. More specifically, he describes himself as the Anti-Christ. He believes himself to be the Jesus Christ of the Second Coming, but also self applies the term anti-Christ because according to him people are no longer to follow the teachings of the Old Testament and focus entirely on the teachings of Paul. To emphasize this point, Miranda has tattooed the numbers 666 on his forearm and many of his followers - to emulate their dear master - have as well. With Pope Benedict's visit to the US this month, Mr. Miranda has once again called upon the destruction of the Catholic Church (Gee, I wonder why?)and has declared that sin and hell are non-existent. Furthermore, he calls prayer a waste of time and the Ten Commandments anachronistic and inconsequential moral guidelines.

Miranda, a sixty one year-old father of four, is a former heroin addict who did jail time in Puerto Rico for petty theft. He claims that in 1973 he had the epiphany that revealed to him he was Jesus Christ reincarnate, when a host of angels spoke to him in a dream. He now leads the "Creciendo en Gracia," Spanish for "Growing in grace" church (which uses a seal very similar to that of the United States government) that has exercised belligerent tactics in order to sway or intimidate congregants of larger churches. In Florida, as well as in Latin America, they have disrupted services and smashed crosses and statues of Jesus.

Mr.Miranda believes that someday he will lead the biggest and most powerful government ever seen on earth.