Yesterday I was writing about Rev. Dwight McKissic, the pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas. In my current book manuscript I describe the role McKissic played in an anti-gay marriage rally in Arlington, Texas back in May 2004. Today I call your attention to McKissic’s role in the Evangelicals for Harris movement. Over at MSNBC, McKissic explains why, as a conservative evangelical pastor, he is voting for Harris. A taste:
To be clear, my opinions on the issues mentioned above havenât wavered. I still believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman and feel just as passionately about protecting life in the womb as I ever have. Democrats havenât changed their stance on those two issues, either. But Republicans have changed. I donât even recognize the Republican Party anymore. This year, for example, the GOPâs platform abandoned its long-standing call for a national abortion ban and removed the language that says marriage is âbetween one man and one woman, and is the foundation for a free society.â
The party I knew and loved would have never chosen as its nominee the adulterous, childish, habitually lying and criminally convicted Donald Trump. Evangelical leaders rightly called Clinton out for his sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky and then his lying about it. Itâs astonishing to see these same leaders ignore Trumpâs many sex scandals and ignore that he was found liable in court of sexually abusing a woman.
Itâs sickening to see people who say they read and believe the same Bible I do not only refuse to denounce Trump but endorse his candidacy.
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It looks like The Atlantic is now covering Flashpoint, the YouTube “news” channel that features the pro-Trump charismatic prophets. Here is a taste of Stephanie McCrummen’s piece:
From the beginning, the show has framed politics as a great âspiritual war.â It launched on the Victory Channel, a streaming platform and satellite-television network that is part of the well-funded empire of Kenneth Copeland, an old-guard televangelist in the multifaceted world of charismatic Christianity. Copeland himself never exactly belonged to the apostle-and-prophet crowd. But he was part of the broader mobilization of charismatic Christians behind Trump, and provided the most prominent prophets with the platform they needed to build a movement they likened to a new Great Awakening. Among these was Lance Wallnau, the chief marketer of the idea that God anointed Trump. Wallnau quickly became a FlashPoint regular.
The Victory Channel had virtually no presence on YouTube before FlashPoint debuted, according to Matthew Taylor, a religion scholar at the Institute for Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies who has documented the involvement of NAR figures in the January 6 insurrection. As FlashPoint began amplifying election-fraud conspiracy theories, viewer data show, the Victory Channelâs overall YouTube views grew from 152,000 in October 2020 to 32.4 million in January 2021. On the evening of January 6, 2021, FlashPoint covered the insurrection that its guests had helped foment, broadcasting live from Copelandâs Texas church, blessing what has become a lasting narrative of the day for millions of Americans.
Bailey brought on a pastor who cast himself as a reporter, who said that he had âconfirmed that the FBI had a busload of antifa people come in and infiltrate the rally.â The host tossed to a prophet named Mario Murillo, who said, âI know that there is a spirit in the land that wants to take away our Christian rights and our freedoms and that today we demonstrated to them we are not going to let this happenâand anyone who thinks this ends tonight is totally mistaken.â Wallnau Zoomed in from Trump International Hotel in Washington. He described the march to the Capitol as a âgiant Disney parade,â and said the violence had been carried out not by âour peopleâ but by antifa and Black Lives Matter, calling them âthe devilâs people.â Bailey turned to Kunneman: âWhatâs God showing you?â Kunneman videoed in from Omaha, calling the violence âa smokescreen from the Devil.â âRemember,â he continued. âBig God, little devil. Big God, little corrupt Democrat rat. Big God, little Republican pathetic person that cannot stand for their democracy.â People clapped.
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Alice Herman of The Guardian has a story on Eric Metaxas’s use of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I was happy to help with the story. Here is a taste:
In the long run, experts worry that the push to liken American liberal democracy to Nazi Germany could spur political violence, citing past examples of Christian extremists who invoked Bonhoeffer to justify bombing and shooting up abortion clinics.
âWeâre worried about post-election political violence, and this is a way of inspiring that,â said Victoria Barnett, a theologian and eminent scholar of Bonhoeffer and the Holocaust who has advocated for a nuanced understanding of Bonhoeffer and has cautioned against depicting Bonhoeffer as a kind of evangelical âLone Rangerâ.
According to documents obtained by the Guardian and Documented, the production and distribution of the movie, called Letter to the American Church, was coordinated by the rightwing group Turning Point USA and American Letter Productions â the film division of Metaxas Media, an entertainment business founded by Eric Metaxas.
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Gabriel Salguero of The National Latino Evangelical Coalition has issued a statement about the disparagement of Puerto Ricans at last Sunday night’s Trump rally in Madison Square Garden. Here it is:
âAs a Puerto Rican living in Florida, with parents and siblings born on the island, many relatives still residing there, and family members who have courageously served in the United States military, I find these remarks deeply offensive and personal. Puerto Ricans are patriots, who serve this nation in spite of too-often being treated as second-class citizens. The crude insinuation that my wife, children, parents, extended family, and friends are âgarbageâ is not just hurtfulâit is a direct attack on their dignity. As a Christian, I am called to forgive offenses, and I do forgive. However, forgiveness does not absolve accountability. I urge those responsible to repent and issue a sincere public apology for promoting rhetoric that wounds our community and sows division. In the meantime, we advise our communities to hold candidates accountable for actions that demean our communities.â
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What is happening on X:
Not sure the results of this poll represents a “line” to “hold”:
For Charlie Kirk, “godly values” are only about abortion. Kirk speaks with such certainty here. That might work with these college students, but it is a pretty shallow and limited argument for Trump. It makes me wonder: Is Kirk really interested in persuading this college students or he is just looking for an “own the libs” moment so he can share it on social media and boost his brand:
David Brody is invoking Thomas Jefferson to get people to vote for Trump on Tuesday:
Shane shared this post with Franklin Graham, Sean Feucht, Robert Jeffress, and Charlie Kirk:
The Barna survey continues to shape the MAGA evangelical response to this election:
God’s anointed vs. Jezebel:
“You have an obligation to leave”:
Church discipline. This guy does not mention that Trump thinks it is perfectly acceptable for a state to legalize abortion. If Mr. Gruber votes for Trump, should he be placed under church discipline?:
Johnnie Moore is back in court evangelical PR mode:
Greg Laurie urges Christians to vote. (Translation: Vote for Trump). He actually believes that Matthew 5 applies to voting for Trump.
According to Josh Howerton, there is no moral equivalence (or immoral equivalence) in this election. In his view, one candidate is clearly more moral than the other:
Translation: Vote for Trump:
Franklin Graham at a Trump rally:
Let’s check in on the theobros:
Owen is voting for Trump. But wait, isn’t Trump also pro-choice?
Andrew T. Walker sounds like he is also voting for Trump:
I wonder how Andrew knows that these guys “impregnate at will like dogs”:
Ed Stetzer:
Rick Warren’s voters guide is the book of Amos:
Driscoll and Lake: