Yup, Fox's favorite Christian wing-nut pastor actually said that. The nice Christian pastor bashed President Obama, too. And what's even worse is that the curvy couch sitters, on Fox & Friends, thought it was just fine. Praise Jesus?
Fox's connection to the radical, Christian right is underscored by their warm embrace of Christian wing-nut pastor Robert Jeffress who says batshit crazy things. Here's a sample: Pres. Obama "is paving the way for the future reign of the anti-Christ." Gays are pedophiles. The LGBT community is leading the way to an American "implosion" and (like the President?!) paving the way for the anti-Christ. Islam "supports pedophilia." (like the LGBT community?!)
But Fox News loves Pastor Jeffress who appears on various shows in order to do his aw-shucks crazy Christian shtick including the demand that the Pope apologize to Donald Trump. Jeffress openly endorses Trump because the Bible says that "government is to be a strongman..." (talk about big government?!) Jeffress can also be counted on to bash President Obama and, in so doing, promote the right wing/Fox meme that Obama just might be a secret Muslim.
So being a good Christian and all, Jeffress was invited on Sunday's Fox & Friends to opine on the Dallas police shootings and how (not) his church is speaking out against hate. It should go without saying that the pals hung on his every word. Interestingly, one of the gang of three was Abby Huntsman who is a Mormon - a faith which Jeffress has referred to as a "cult" and a "false religion" that leads to hell.
Huntsman reported that "faith leaders have been on the front line" in responding to tensions between police and the community. Clayton Morris introduced Jeffress who is a pastor of a Dallas megachurch. To Clayton's question of how churches can "bridge the divide," Jeffress asserted that they can "engage in public displays of support for the police." (so screw the victims of police violence!) He talked about how his church has honored the police. He said that "it's equally important for ministers and churches to instill in their members a respect for the police." And that's where he, uh, ran off the rails:
"The New Testament says in Romans 13:4 that *law enforcement officers are ministers of God, sent by God to punish evildoers. When you think about it, police officers are just as called by God, to do what they do, as pastors and priests are called by God." (Ergo, cops are called, by God, to punish people which, I thought, was what the courts do...)
Jeffress whined about "so-called ministers who do nothing but sow seeds of distrust and disrespect for the police" and suggested that they be "called out" because "we ought to be supporting the police." Devout Anglican Tucker Carlson then called out mainstream Protestant and "some lunatic" churches that support Black Lives Matter. Jeffress lavished praise on the police and Donald Trump who, he believes, can "stop the downward spiral of this nation."
Jeffress, in responding to a leading anti-Obama question about whether Obama has done enough on racial issues, got in the perfunctory Obama bashing. He claimed that the President "has exacerbated racial divide instead of healing it" by (in Warsaw) only "giving one side" of the issue. He then made the bizarre claim that Obama wanted to **blame conservative Christians "in the past" for ISIS beheadings. He ended with the hope that parents would teach children to respect the police, "they wouldn't have anything to worry about." (Uh, it appears that Philando Castile was respecting police and look what happened...)
So the cop who shot Walter Scott in the back, was sent from God. The cops who put Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold were angels of the lord. And God sent those cops who gunned down 12 year old Tamir Rice when he was walking in a public park. I guess those folks deserved punishment. Who knew?!
I’d rather base my judgement on individual people.
Like a gay guy named Bradley Starkey back in the 1990s.
Bradley was a terrific guy who worked in a chemical plant in the 90s. Ideal employee. Died too young.
He was the kind of guy that would go way out of his way to explain it to you. Good guy.