Tag: pastor

Senator Graham reacts to the release of American Pastor Brunson after two years of imprisonment in Turkey. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well as political and business news. The…

It was a historic and bloody day for Israel but also a deeply revealing moment in US domestic politics. At the opening of the American embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, a prayer and a benediction were given by two Christian evangelicals from Texas notorious for insulting other religions. For others on the Christian right, it was an important show of solidarity with the hardline Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. And the daily barrage of scandals around the US president – including an alleged affair with the pornographic film actor Stormy Daniels – has done nothing to shake their faith. Indeed, a survey last month by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that white evangelical support for Trump is at an all-time high, with three in four holding a favourable view of the president. During the 2016 Republican primary campaign, many initially flocked to Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, a diehard conservative. According to the PRRI, Trump’s favourability among white evangelicals never reached 50% during the primary season. But as Cruz’s candidacy collapsed in the face of Trump’s populist onslaught, many rallied to the New York businessman and TV celebrity’s side. Not even the release of the Access Hollywood tape, in which he boasted about grabbing women’s private parts, cost him support among voters who regarded him as preferable to Hillary Clinton. Luntz added: “It comes from a fear of where the culture’s headed and an inability to stop it.

An Alabama pastor said that he will continue to support GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore, even if it is proven true that he sexually molested teenage girls. Pastor Earl Wise told the Boston Globe that he would continue to support Moore, adding that he thinks the women who have accused Moore have been paid. “I don’t know how much these women are getting paid, but I can only believe they’re getting a healthy sum,” Wise said. Wise said that if the stories were true, the women would have come forward years ago. “There ought to be a statute of limitations on this stuff,” he said. The Boston Globe interviewed nearly 10 evangelical pastors, all of whom said the allegations did not change their support for the candidate. Moore has been praised as a champion of conservative religious values. A group of nearly 60 progressive pastors has denounced Moore, calling him “extremist” and unfit for office. A number of Republicans in Washington, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have called for Moore to step aside in the race against Democrat Doug Jones. The special election is slated for Dec. 12.

It’s been almost one year since Dr. Andrew Brunson was unjustly imprisoned without charges in Turkey. Imagine spending a year in a Turkish prison as a hostage. Turkey has long been an ally of the United States, but has chosen to complicate and weaken its relationship with the United States and other free nations of the world through its increasingly oppressive policies. In some cases, the foreign government used local laws which are inconsistent with international human rights norms to justify violations of religious freedom. If this is how Turkey treats an American like Andrew Brunson, other Americans should hesitate before taking their business to Turkey. It is not worth the risk.