A Christian preacher known for leading an anti-gay "hate group" in Arizona has launched a spiteful attack on bushfire-ravaged Australia, labelling the disaster as the "judgement of God".
Steven Anderson, the founder of the controversial Faithful Word Baptist Church, denounced Australia for "banning and deporting preachers of the Gospel" in a Facebook tirade on Saturday (NZ time).
"Maybe if Australia weren't banning and deporting preachers of the Gospel, they wouldn't be under the judgement of God," Anderson, 38, captioned a series of images of the devastating bushfires. He then linked a sermon titled, 'Natural Disasters as Judgement from God'.
Anderson's Faithful Word Baptist Church is a self-proclaimed "old-fashioned, independent, fundamental, King James Bible-only, soul-winning" institution.
His extreme anti-Semitic and homophobic views have been highly-publicised, with the Southern Poverty Law Center categorising the church as an anti-gay "hate group".
Anderson is banned from entering more than 30 countries, including South Africa, the UK, Europe's Schengen states, Canada, the Republic of Ireland and Australia, for his sermons wishing death upon the LGBTQ+ community, Jewish people and in 2009, Barack Obama.
Facebook users have not responded well to Anderson's latest message.
"During this extraordinary disaster, we have witnessed far more humanity and Christianity on the ground and in the communities, than has been displayed in this post," one person wrote.
Another said people like Anderson "are doing more damage than anyone".
The preacher has previously praised the shooter who killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida in 2016, calling the victims "disgusting perverts and paedophiles" who "the Bible says were worthy of death".
According to news.com.au, Anderson also claimed the deaths of all homosexual people would be a "cure for AIDS" and has advocated for governments to execute LGBTQ+ people.
In October, Anderson was denied entry to New Zealand based on character grounds. He subsequently uploaded a rant to his YouTube channel, claiming New Zealand is "under the wrath of God" for turning him away.
