Support for President Donald Trump has been consistently strong among evangelicals, with some professing that he has been the best friend Christians have had in the White House.
On the first Sunday since a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol and five people including a police officer died, the messages from the pulpits of Christian leaders who have backed Trump were as disparate as the opinions of the nation’s citizenry.
They ranged from recitations of conspiracy theories of who was responsible, to calls for healing and following Jesus Christ rather than any individual person, to sermons that made no mention of Wednesday’s chaos and what it means for the future.
Here is a look at what some were preaching to their flocks:
Pastor Brian Gibson
Brian Gibson, pastor and founder of HIS Church, attended the rally that turned violent last Wednesday. Gibson spoke to his Christian congregation and online viewers Sunday about his bus tour around the U.S. the past month to speak with supporters of President Trump.
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“I stand up and represent Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and I preach to stand for the First Amendment. I intend to keep this nation a free nation. HIS Church, we intend to keep this nation a free nation,” he said, referencing both the president’s recent banning from social media platforms and restrictions on church assembly during the pandemic.
Gibson was onstage Jan. 5 at a “Prayer to Save America” event billed as a combination worship service and rally for Trump the day before congressional certification of the electoral votes. As he described the events of the 6th, Gibson questioned how easily the Capitol was breached, raising assertions that antifa supporters were among the violent mob.
“So now I know some, some bad actors went in and I believe potentially there were antifa up there. I think more and more I know there were antifa up there, insiders up there that started that action. And I also know that some Trump supporters followed their lead without a shadow of a doubt because you don’t get 2 million people together without having some radicals in the crowd or some simple people in the crowd that you could lead anywhere, right?” he asked.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference who delivered a prayer at Trump’s inauguration and has also advised him, told his congregation Sunday that America needs to hear a message of repentance.
“We must all repent, even the church needs to repent. The American nation will be healed when the American church repents,” he said to some cheers and applause.
“We must repent for making the person who occupies the White House more important than the one who occupies our hearts. We must repent for permitting the donkey and the elephant to divide what the Lamb died for on the cross,” Rodriguez said. “We must repent for voting for individuals whose policies run counter to the word of God and the spirit of the living God.”
Rodriguez, the lead pastor of New Season, said he was praying for a season of “instead of” — “Instead of destroying property, building altars. Instead of confrontation, conversations. … Instead of many under fear, one nation under God.”
Rev. John Hagee
The Rev. John Hagee of Cornerstone Church, a staunch supporter of Trump, did not mention the president by name but criticized the assault on Congress by what he called “a rebellious mob.”
“The Secret Service had to escort the vice president of the United States to safety out of the Capitol building. Gun shots were fired. Tear gas was deployed in the Capitol Rotunda. People were killed. … This was an assault on law. Attacking the Capitol was not patriotism, it was anarchy,” Hagee said.
His words drew tepid applause from the crowd at his megachurch, but they soon after gave Hagee a standing ovation when he rallied support for law enforcement: “This is what happens when you mob the police. This is what happens when you fire the police.”
“This is what happens when you watch a policeman shot and belittle his sacrifice for the public,” he continued. “Wake up, America! America and democracy cannot function without the rule of law. We back the blue.”
Paula White-Cain
Paula White-Cain, a longtime spiritual counselor to Trump and who served as a faith adviser in his White House, made a subtle allusion to the insurrection ahead of her Sunday sermon.
Calling the nation “deeply divided,” White-Cain condemned “lawlessness” and added that “my hope is never rested in any person, any man. My hope is in Jesus Christ.”
White, who delivered a post-election prayer service in which she called upon “angelic reinforcement” to help achieve victory, also reaffirmed her commitment to the First Amendment — an echo of the warnings from some conservatives this week that their freedom of speech was threatened.
Rev. Tim Remington
The Rev. Tim Remington, the conservative Christian pastor of The Altar church and an Idaho lawmaker, avoided specific references to Trump and the attack on the Capitol, but offered politically charged warnings.
“The next two weeks are probably the most important two weeks in the history of America,” said Remington, who in the spring led in-person services in defiance of a stay-at-home order issued by the governor. “I pray the army of the Lord is ready.”
He targeted the media in particular for criticism.
“I rebuke the news in the name of Jesus,” Remington said. “We ask that this false garbage come to an end. … It’s the lies, communism, socialism. I don’t know how we’ve put up with it this long.”
And without going into specifics, he said America “is not seeking the truth.”
“For them to suppress another person’s opinion — it’s wrong, it’s unconstitutional,” he said. “God have mercy.”
Rev. Darell Scott
The Rev. Darrell Scott, the Black senior pastor of New Spirit Revival Center, did not mention the events in Washington.
Scott, an early supporter of Trump’s 2016 campaign who worked with the administration on urban and prison issues, once praised the administration as “probably the most proactive administration regarding urban America and the faith-based community in my lifetime.”
But there was no talk of the president Sunday in a livestreamed service entitled “What God Has for Me,” in which Scott focused on encouraging congregants to recognize God’s involvement in their lives.
Associated Press reporters Sally Stapleton, Luis Andres Henao and Gary Fields contributed to this report.
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9 Responses
Julie, I have left twitter because of their censorship and the coordinated efforts from other tech companies to take down Parler to silence conservative voice and monopolize information. There has been a history of despicable hate speech on both FB and Twitter. I did not see this level of outrage.
There are fringe people on both sides that believe in anarchy and good people despise it. There were thousands of “peaceful” protestors at the Capitol hill protest because they believed there was a problem with the election and no one in the “system” was listening to even check into the signed affidavits and evidence. They went through the proper channels to seek the truth. I believe the system failed to take time and listen/hear the concerns. The people who were at the location where Trump gave his speech were miles from the Captiol. Many of the rioters were already at the Capitol when Trump said to walk over “peacefully” so the Congress can hear their voices.
I know emotions are high but many are generalizing Trump supporters as hateful, idolaters. But the majority are patriots who believe in law and order. They don’t all worship Trump but they are aligned with what his adminstration has done. Let’s face it. There are people who idolize leaders in the church who are believers. I left a church where our pastor was idolized. But not all people in that congregation were idolaters of the pastor. Now Trump supporting conservatives are being shunned, many are Christians and our own community is a part of this shunning. The Dems never do that. They even found a way to put the horrendous riots this summer by BLM and ANtifa in some weird positive light (as a right to protest, they are peaceful as we saw them burn building, and even take over the Portland Capitol for days!) and conservatives let them. So why would these right-wind anarchists think any different and fear law enforcement. Why aren’t we supporting the good patriots who are conservatives? Instead we lump them together and demonize them and Trump.
I don’t agree with how Trump has said/done things and I certainly don’t idolize him. BUT I do believe his administration was the first in a long time to follow through of what they promised and were friendly to Israel and Christians and right to life. We experienced some level of peace from foreign terrorist. I also don’t think he incited that violence. Sorry…the people who did that were already violent with evil intent. He was fighting to get to the truth and has been fighting for four years. No one would be able to withstand the daily backlash, coup opposition as he did. If we aren’t sober minded about wrongdoing or mishandlings of our election, we are foolish and poor stewards of truth and honesty. You think the riot at the Capitol was bad…we are going to be moving into some dark times. I believe this Catholic pastor (see below) though maybe some may not agree with how he spoke to his congregation made some very chilling/believable points of the next four years.
South Carolina Catholic Priest Jeffrey Kirby put his parishioners on notice for dark days ahead.
“Some of you, I know, voted for someone who is now going to suffer and persecute the church for the next four years. That on top of the fact that he supports the utter slaughter of the unborn,” Kirby said to his church on Dec. 29, per Western Journal.
“What have you done to your church?” Kirby questioned.
“Watch how our hospitals disappear because we will not follow government dictates. Watch how our support of unwed mothers disappears because of constant and unreasonable regulations. Watch as mother church shrinks. Watch how she is treated by this government, this coming administration.
“And those of you who voted for such an administration bear the responsibility of what you have done. Because we are in for it, folks. And they are already getting ready.
“Have you seen the appointees? Some of the most aggressive, anti-Catholic, anti-organized religion leaders in their various states. And this is what we’re in for.”
While the priest warned that Christians are going to “lose so much” in the upcoming “time of darkness,” he also offered a path of hope forward.
“We are the children of light,” he said, “and we’re going to keep fighting.”
Very good response…ty very much. With the advent of the policies of the incoming regime that are totally antibiblical and antichristian we will start to see dark days ahead for sure. In a recent podcast called Just Thinking by Darrell Bernard Harrison and Virgil Walker they make very good Biblical arguments as to why voting for Biden was wrong.
Personality/integrity wise both candidates were flawed. Anyone who thinks Biden is a man of faith and integrity doesn’t remember history. Also looking at his running mate she is much worse.
Trump had his faults and they are many but in looking at the policies they represented trump was far better. So for those who voted for Biden think about the upcoming equality act, abortion expansion, transgender support (please read or look up Abigail Shirer book on the harm it does to children) same sex marriage support etc…you helped bring this about. As James R White said on his recent podcast Requiem for a Nation you need to repent for helping to bring these policies about!!!
You’re foolish. If 60 State and Federal Judges and 9 Supreme Court Justices twice don’t convince Donald Trump is a bold face lying Cop Killing Criminal your God Is Donald Trump. Good Luck With That.
I agree totally with you. This man was and is their god. They worship him and his hateful ways. He may have done some good in some areas. But, the lying, bullying, the bragging about how great this or that is. This man said he’s his own god. And I believe him. He showed everyone that rules his life. But, he still has to answer to a God that hold the life of every man in his hands. This can of snakes that he opened up, can not to contain or changed. Because their hearts has been exposed. They are hateful, murderous people. As this country go forth, we are to pray continually for our country and our President, and Vice President, because they are in the site of some real live murdering people.
I don’t believe in fear mongering. I believe in faith and facts.
Fact: abortions have continued to decline since the 70s, regardless of who is in office. Even when Republicans have had SOLID control of Congress, the WH, and even swayed to a conservative SC majority, they have FAILED to bring any legislation or court cases to reverse Roe v Wade. You’re being played. All Republicans have to do is say taglines about being prolife or protecting the unborn, and too many Christians start following blindly without looking at track records.
Fact: we heard the same “doom and gloom” about socialism, abortion, and “evil” destruction of our rights and how we will “lose so much” when Obama was voted in. Before then, we heard it when Clinton was voted in. It’s the SAME fear mongering because “the guy I voted for lost!”. But the facts show we STILL are a capitalist nation, abortion is STILL on the decline, the first and second Amendments are STILL in tact, etc. Again, you’re being played. We have three parts of government who balance one another out in support of our Constitution for a reason.
Fact: just as Trump supporters have been generalized, so have those who do not support Trump or – gasp – DARE to be Democrats. Not all of those who supported Biden/Harris are socialist, anti-police, God-hating, baby-killing Antifa-supporters. If we are able to see this as a fact, perhaps we can stop divisive labeling and come together to have conversations. We’d likely find we have more in common than we realize.
Fact: too many people are misusing the term censorship. That term applies to the GOVERNMENT silencing dissenters through harassment, bullying, or imprisonment. Conservative principles generally support keeping the government OUT of business (hence the term “free enterprise”) which means allowing companies like Twitter, Facebook, etc. to run their platforms according to their values as they see fit without government interference. To do otherwise would actually lean towards Communism, where the state controls business. (Ironic, huh?) It is every tech company’s right to take down or ban those who do not align with their values. It’s also their right to hold values you disagree with. Just like it is a bakery’s right to deny service to an LGBTQ couple (didn’t hear complaints then, huh?) and it is a restaurant’s right to enforce “no shoes, no shirt, no service”.
Fact: tech and social media has grown at a pace that exceeds the interpretation of our laws. Same thing happened with intellectual property law, which saw huge increases in demand in the early 2000s (who owns IP once it is on a tech platform – the author? the platform owner?). Let’s be patient as our laws sort a lot of this out.
Faith: NONE of this surprises God. He remains in control. Those of you who were singing songs of “God appointed our POTUS for a reason, let’s trust Him!” should STILL be singing the same song instead of tuning into the “doom and gloom” stations you’re subscribing to now – all because Trump lost. THAT makes him an idol. Trump alone is not why we have our freedoms or way of life. He had no ability to give and no ability to take away. Trump does NOT have that much power.
Pause and pray, my fellow disciples.
Mary makes some very good points to think about. Consider what the SC priest says. It’s ironic that Biden, who says he is Catholic, is making policies that run in the opposite direction of his claimed “faith”.
It’s also disheartening to Christian believers arguing with each other on social media and blogs. We are disturbed, but about different things. Why are we not coming together to repent and pray.
I hear people crying out for a great awakening. But for that, we must humble ourselves, repent and pray.
Let us pray for the Church and America in this hour. Let the Awakening come. Let it be so.
Amen
Here’s another thing…Mr. “Viking Guy Baphomet” is posing with a preacher. Lord, we pray this young guy know you for real and get saved. amen!
Yes, Father. Bring this young man, and every person involved in this rioting, to repentance, for Your glory, honor and praise. Give them such remorse and guilt over what they did, that they will fall to their knees, begging for Your forgiveness. Save them, and make them whole, as only You can do. I ask Thee, Father. Amen and Amen.
I believe the New Testament refers to such actions on both sides of the political divide as folly – we Christians (some of the most reviled people in our country by the left) are in for some dark years ahead.
A house divided against itself will not stand. Pity the man who has built his house on sand…..