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Support for President Donald Trump has always been strong among evangelicals, with some claiming he was Christians’ best friend in the White House.
The first Sunday since a crowd of his supporters seeking to overturn the election of President-elect Joe Biden stormed the United States Capitol and five people, including a police officer, died, messages from the pulpits of Christian leaders who have supported Trump were as disparate as the opinions of the nation’s citizens.
They ranged from recitations of debunked conspiracy theories about who was responsible, to calls for a healing and following Jesus Christ rather than any individual person, to sermons that made no mention of Wednesday’s chaos and this. what this means for the future.
Here is a glimpse of what some preached to their flocks:
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OWENSBORO, Kentucky
Brian Gibson, pastor and founder of HIS Church, spoke to his Christian congregation and online viewers about his bus tour of the United States last month to speak with supporters of President Trump.
“I stand up and represent Jesus Christ of Nazareth, and I preach 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, referring to the president’s recent ban on social media platforms and restrictions on church assembly during the pandemic.
Gibson was on stage Jan. 5 at a “Prayer to Save America” event billed as a combined worship service and rally for Trump the day before Congress certified electoral votes. As he described the events of the 6th, Gibson wondered how easily the Capitol had been violated, raising disputed claims. that the antifa supporters were part of the violent crowd.
“So now I know some bad actors came in and I think there was potentially antifa up there. I think more and more I know there were antifa up there, insiders up there who started this action. And I also know that some Trump supporters have followed their lead beyond a shadow of a doubt because you don’t bring 2 million people together without having radicals in the crowd or simple people in the crowd that you could lead n anywhere, right? He asked.
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SACRAMENTO, California
The Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, who delivered a prayer at Trump’s inauguration and also advised him, told his congregation on Sunday that America needs to hear a message of repentance.
“We must all repent, even the church must repent. The American nation will be healed when the American church repents, ”he said to cheers and applause.
“We must repent of making the person who occupies the White House more important than the person who occupies our hearts. We must repent of allowing the donkey and the elephant to divide what the Lamb died on the cross for, ”Rodriguez said. “We must repent of voting for people whose policies go against the word of God and the spirit of the living God.”
Rodriguez, New Season’s senior pastor, said he was praying for a season of “instead of” – “Instead of destroying property, build altars. Instead of confrontation, of conversations. … Instead of much fear, one nation under God.
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SAINT ANTHONY
The Reverend John Hagee of Cornerstone Church, a staunch supporter of Trump, did not mention the president’s name but criticized the attack on Congress with what he called “a rebel mob.”
“The Secret Service had to escort the Vice President of the United States to safety out of the Capitol building. Shots were fired. Tear gas was used in the Capitol rotunda. People have been killed. … It was an attack on the law. Attacking the Capitol was not patriotism, it was anarchy, ”Hagee said.
His words drew lukewarm applause from the crowd at his mega-church, but soon after, they gave Hagee a standing ovation when he rallied support for law enforcement: “That’s what’s happening. happens when you harass the police. That’s what happens when you fire the police.
“This is what happens when you watch a policeman shoot and minimize his sacrifice for the public,” he continued. “Wake up, America! America and democracy cannot function without the rule of law. We support blue.
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APOPKA, Florida
Paula White-Cain, a longtime Trump spiritual advisor who served as a religious advisor in his White House, made a subtle allusion to the insurgency ahead of her Sunday sermon.
Calling the nation “deeply divided,” White Cain condemned “anarchy” and added that “my hope never rests with any person, any man.” My hope is in Jesus Christ. “
White, who delivered a post-election prayer service in which she called in an “angelic backup” to help achieve victory, also reaffirmed her commitment to the First Amendment – an echo to warnings from some conservatives this week according to which their freedom of expression was threatened.
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COEUR, D’ALENE, Idaho
Reverend Tim Remington, the conservative Christian pastor of The Altar Church, avoided specific references to Trump and the attack on Capitol Hill, but offered many politically motivated warnings.
“The next two weeks are probably the most important two weeks in American history,” said Remington, who in the spring ran in-person services in defiance of a stay-at-home order issued by the governor. “I pray that the Lord’s army will be ready.”
He targeted the media especially for critics.
“I rebuke the news in the name of Jesus,” said Remington. “We demand that this false waste stop. … These are lies, communism, socialism. I don’t know how we put up with it for so long.
And without going into details, he said America is “not looking for the truth.”
“For them to suppress another person’s opinion – it’s wrong, it’s unconstitutional,” he said. “God have mercy.”
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CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio
Reverend Darrell Scott, the senior black pastor of the New Spirit Revival Center, did not mention the events in Washington.
Scott, one of the early supporters of Trump’s campaign in 2016 who worked with the administration on urban and prison issues, once hailed the administration as “probably the most proactive administration when it comes to l ‘Urban America and the Faith Community of My Life’.
But the president was not mentioned on Sunday in a live broadcast entitled “What God Has For Me,” in which Scott focused on encouraging the faithful to recognize God’s involvement in their lives. .
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Associated Press reporters Sally Stapleton, Luis Andres Henao, and Gary Fields contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press religious coverage receives support from the Lilly Endowment via The Conversation US. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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