Senator and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) denounced House Speaker Mike Johnson for weaponizing Christianity and using it to divide us.
Warnock said of Johnson criticizing Biden for celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday:
Apparently, the speaker finds trans people repugnant and I think he should think that the fact of the matter is, as you said, March 31st was an event to uplift transgender people who endure violence and bigotry Easter, the date it changes every single day (year), but this is just another example of people not knowing how to lead us and trying to divide us. And this is the opposite of the Christian faith.
Jesus put the marginalized at the center. He put the poor at the center and in a time like this we need voices, especially voices of faith, who use our faith not as a weapon to tear other people down, but as a bridge to bring us all together. That’s what Martin Luther King Jr. did and I’m honored to preach from that pulpit every single day. It is a faith that guides me in my work. As a United States Senator trying to limit the cost of insulin so people can afford it. Trying to make sure that first-time homeowners can buy a home and that our kids aren’t so swamped with student debt that they have a mortgage before they have a mortgage.
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Video:
Senator and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) on Speaker Mike Johnson using Christianity as a weapon to attack President Biden: “This is just another example of people who don’t know how to lead us trying to divide us. And this is the opposite of the Christian faith.” pic.twitter.com/FSAfMGXf9D
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 31, 2024
The nation needs more voices of faith to push back against the distortion of Christianity to fit a political agenda, or worse yet cloak authoritarian Christian nationalism in the language of Christianity when what its proponents are trying to do is both undemocratic and undemocratic Christian. .
Rev. Warnock is a true man of faith. Mike Johnson uses faith to justify an extremist political agenda.
Speaker Mike Johnson is an example of why more Americans are turning away from Christianity, why far-right voices are the loudest in the discussion, and more Americans reject right-wing bigotry and division masquerading as faith.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House press pool and a congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
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