Beth Moore: Pastors must resist white nationalism
Christian leaders are continuing to speak out about the evil of white nationalist ideology amid ongoing revelations about the motivations of the gunman who murdered 20 people at an El Paso shopping mall Saturday.
In a series of tweets Tuesday, popular Bible teacher Beth Moore did not mince words.
“Any ‘Christ’ that can be invoked in support of white nationalism is a false Christ of the highest, most hellish order. An anti-Christ. A wholly-opposite christ. No such christ is the Christ Jesus of Scripture who taught His followers a love that sacrifices life & limb for others,” Moore said.
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“Let it be known, let it be declared by genuine followers of Jesus, that the man who opened fire in El Paso may invoke a christ of some kind but it is NOT our Christ. His christ would be unrecognizable to us. Unrecognizable in Scripture. We claim no Christ of white nationalism."
The Justice Department is reportedly considering bringing hate crime charges against the shooter. The attack is being treated as domestic terrorism.
Police say the shooter, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius, wrote a manifesto called "The Inconvenient Truth" in which he voiced support for the white supremacist in New Zealand who earlier this year killed several Muslims in a Christchurch mosque. The United States "is rotting from the inside out," he wrote, expressing his disdain for Hispanic immigrants and for "race-mixing." Hispanics will take control of his "beloved Texas" and turn the state into "an instrument of a political coup which will hasten the destruction of our country."
Other points in the manifesto mention how the hyper-consumerist American lifestyle is destroying the environment and suggest that Americans are too stubborn to change their ways and that "the next logical step is to decrease the number of people in America using resources."
Christian leaders must actually lead, Moore added in another tweet.
“Do not shrink back in cowardice. Be bold. Be clear. Do not assume people know where you stand. History will prove this to be a most critical hour and our silence to have been our shameful complicity,” she said.
Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, urged people to come together and put aside partisan squabbling.
"We live in dark times," he said soberly in a Monday Fox News interview.
"The only way to address this issue is for us to go beyond the partisan divide and stop politicizing. As a Hispanic American, I am disgusted by the individuals that are politicizing what took place in Ohio and El Paso for political gain. That's morally reprehensible."
"We need to build a firewall against bigotry, hatred, white nationalism, white supremacy and simultaneously address the mental issues that motivate and compel some of these individuals to execute many," he added.
Asked to respond to whether this subject reflects cultural breakdown, the NHCLC president said children must be taught that every human being, citizen and immigrant alike, bears God's image. The nation also needs comprehensive immigration reform and a great spiritual awakening in the name of Jesus, he added.
