Support for President Donald Trump has been strong among evangelists throughout, and some have claimed he was the best friend Christians have had in the White House.
On the first Sunday since a crowd of his supporters overthrew the election of President-elect Joe Biden, the American Capitol stormed in and five people, including a police officer, died, were the messages from the pulpits of Christian leaders Trump supported, just as diverse as the views of the country’s citizenship.
They ranged from presentations of denied conspiracy theories about who was responsible, to calls for healing and imitation of Jesus Christ rather than any individual, to sermons that made no mention of Wednesday’s chaos and what it meant for the future.
Here’s a look at what some have preached to their flock:
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OWENSBORO, Kentucky
Brian Gibson, pastor and founder of HIS Church, spoke to his Christian congregation and online viewers last month about his bus tour of the United States to speak with supporters of President Trump.
‘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, referring to the president’s recent ban on social media platforms and restrictions on church attendance during the pandemic.
Gibson was on the scene on Jan. 5 during a “Prayer to Save America,” a combination of worship and a rally for Trump a day before the congressional election certification. Describing the events of the 6th, Gibson questioned how easily the Capitol could be violated, and he made denials. that antifa supporters were among the violent mob.
‘Now I know some bad actors went in and I believe there could be antifa there. I think more and more I know there were antifa in there, insiders up there who started the action. And I also know that some Trump supporters have no doubt followed their lead, because you can not get 2 million people together without having some radicals in the crowd or some simple people in the crowd who can lead you everywhere not, or how? he asks.
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SACRAMENTO, California
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, the president of the National Spanish Christian Leadership Conference who prayed during Trump’s inauguration and also advised him, told his congregation 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 is converted, ‘he said to some cheers and applause.
‘We must repent because we make the person occupying the White House more important than the person occupying our hearts. “We must repent because we allowed the donkey and the elephant to share what the Lamb died on the cross for,” Rodriguez said. “We must repent because we have voted for individuals whose policies are contrary to the word of God and the spirit of the living God.”
Rodriguez, the chief minister 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. ”
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SAN ANTONIO
Rev. John Hagee of Cornerstone Church, a strong supporter of Trump, does not name the president by name, but criticizes the assault on Congress by what he calls “a rebellious mob.”
The secret service was to escort the Vice President of the United States to the Capitol building to safety. Gunshots were fired. Tear gas was deployed in the Capitol Rotunda. People were killed. … It was an assault on the law. “The attack on the Capitol was not patriotism, it was anarchy,” Hagee said.
His words caused the crowd to drop on his mega-church, but it was hailed by Hagee shortly afterwards when he gathered support for law enforcement: ‘This is what happens when you harass the police. This is what happens when you fire the police. ”
“This is what happens when you see a policeman shoot and belittle his sacrifice to the public,” he continued. ‘Wake up, America! America and democracy cannot function without the rule of law. We support the blue. ”
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APOPKA, Florida
Paula White-Cain, a longtime spiritual adviser to Trump and who served as a faith counselor in his White House, made a subtle allusion to the uprising before her Sunday sermon.
White-Cain called the country ‘deeply divided’ and condemned ‘lawlessness’, adding that’ my hope is never rested on any person, nor on anyone. My hope is in Jesus Christ. ”
White, who rendered a post-election prayer service in which she called for angelic strengthening to help her win, also reaffirmed her commitment to the First Amendment – a version of the warnings of some conservatives this week that their freedom of speech is 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 the Capitol, but offered many politically charged warnings.
“The next two weeks are probably the most important two weeks in the history of America,” said Remington, who led personal services in the spring in defiance of a home order issued by the governor. “I pray that the Lord’s army is ready.”
He particularly criticized the media.
“I rebuke the news in the name of Jesus,” Remington said. ‘We ask that this fake rubbish come to an end. … These are the lies, communism, socialism. I do not know how we endured it for so long. ”
And without going into details, he said that America “does not seek the truth.”
“For them to suppress another person’s opinion – it’s wrong, it’s unconstitutional,” he said. “God must be merciful.”
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CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio
Ds. Darrell Scott, the black senior pastor of the New Spirit Revival Center, does not mention the events in Washington.
Scott, an early supporter of Trump’s 2016 campaign that worked with the administration on urban and prison issues, once praised the government as “probably the most proactive government on urban America and the faith-based community in my lifetime.”
But there was no mention of President Sunday in a live service titled “What God Has for Me,” in which Scott focuses on encouraging congregations to acknowledge 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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