The battle for control of the US Senate has now shifted to Georgia where two run-off elections are taking place in January for two separate Senate seats. One of the candidates is a pastor, and he's coming under fire from some high-profile Christians for saying things they consider to be unbiblical.
Pastor Raphael Warnock is the Democratic candidate who's facing criticism from the likes of Tony Dungy, Ben Watson, and Marco Rubio. Warnock has used his pulpit and pastoral position to back his political beliefs, saying abortion is biblical and also making a controversial remark about military service.
US Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) shared a video in a tweet that shows Pastor Warnock saying, "You cannot serve God and the military." The statement was made in the context of talking about Jesus' teaching that no one can serve both God and money.
But Rubio calls the statement by the megachurch preacher "crazy," tweeting, "Not shocked #Georgia Democrat Senate candidate Raphael Warnock said 'You cannot serve God and the military' at the same time. These & even crazier things is what the radicals who control the Democratic party's activist & small dollar donor base believe," Rubio tweeted.
Not shocked #Georgia Democrat Senate candidate Raphael Warnock said "You cannot serve God and the military" at the same time. These & even crazier things is what the radicals who control the Democratic party's activist & small dollar donor base believepic.twitter.com/bQyBuKLwjb
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 18, 2020
The video tweeted by Rubio surfaced earlier this week, showing a segment from Warnock's sermon from April of 2011.
Warnock, the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, is defending his statement about "God and the military", telling CNN's Donald Judd, "What I was expressing was that as a person of faith, my ultimate allegiance is to God, and therefore, whatever else that I may commit myself to, it has to be built on a spiritual foundation. So it was about priorities."
Warnock accuses his detractors of trying to "distort the message of scripture," but his critics say he's the one who's distorting scripture to match his political beliefs. They point to another controversial statement he made about supporting abortion as a pastor.
During an interview with WGAU radio back in August, Warnock said abortion is "consistent with" his philosophy as a Christian minister.
Breitbart reports Warnock gets his talking points from Planned Parenthood, the country's largest abortion provider, who endorsed his candidacy last May.
Warnock, who is challenging US Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) for her Senate seat in January, says he does not support any restrictions on abortion. He said he has embraced the abortion industry's highly controversial stance that abortion is health care.
"I believe that healthcare is a human right," Warnock told WGAU's Tim Bryant. "And I believe that it is something that the richest nation in the world provides for its citizens, and for me, reproductive justice is consistent with my commitment to that."
"I believe unequivocally in a woman's right to choose, and that the decision is something that we don't want government engaged in – that's between her and her doctor and her minister," he said, adding that, during his campaign, he has been "focused on women's health, women's choice, reproductive justice. That is consistent with my view as a Christian minister. And I will fight for it."
When Bryant asked him, "Do you think it's consistent with God's view – that God endorses the millions of abortions we've had in this country since Roe v. Wade?" Warnock replied, "I think that human agency and freedom is consistent with my view as a minister."
Former NFL Head Coach and NBC Sunday Night Football Analyst Tony Dungy tweeted a response to Warnock's statement.
"When you say 'a minister' does that mean they represent a church? I'd like to know what book the candidate uses as their foundation for truth and their guiding principles? It couldn't be the Bible," Dungy wrote.
When you say "a minister" does that mean they represent a church? I'd like to know what book the candidate uses as their foundation for truth and their guiding principles? It couldn't be the Bible. https://t.co/UF3f7D5pFj
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) August 21, 2020
NFL star and outspoken pro-lifer Benjamin Watson said Warnock's idea of "reproductive justice" is unbiblical.
"Equal access to kill a son or daughter is NOT justice.
JUSTICE is the equitable distribution of punishment AND protection.
JUSTICE is rooted in the dignity of every human endowed by their Creator.
One cannot truly fight for JUSTICE while simultaneously denying it," Watson tweeted.
Pastor,
Equal access to kill a son or daughter is NOT justice.
JUSTICE is the equitable distribution of punishment AND protection.
JUSTICE is rooted in the dignity of every human endowed by their Creator.
One cannot truly fight for JUSTICE while simultaneously denying it. https://t.co/6Lf8ZziETb
— Benjamin Watson (@BenjaminSWatson) November 18, 2020
Have you have had an abortion, are contemplating ending your pregnancy, or would like pregnancy-related resources, please click here.
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