Southern Baptist Minister Alan Cross from Montgomery, Alabama blasted Jerry Falwell Jr. for saying he would support President Donald Trump no matter what.
In an interview with The Washington Post on January 1, Falwell explained why Trump still has his unwavering support.
"What earns him my support is his business acumen," Falwell said. "Our country was so deep in debt and so mismanaged by career politicians that we needed someone who was not a career politician, but someone who’d been successful in business to run the country like a business. That’s the reason I supported him."
Falwell also cited the "Two Kingdoms" theory, a concept that according to Falwell, is based on "free enterprise, freedom, ingenuity, entrepreneurism and wealth." Falwell expanded on this by implying poor people are useless. "A poor person never gave anyone a job" he said.
"A poor person never gave anybody charity, not of any real volume. It’s just common sense to me."
Falwell added:
"It would be immoral for them not to support him, because he’s got African American employment to record highs, Hispanic employment to record highs. They need to look at what the president did for the poor. A lot of the people who criticized me, because they had a hard time stomaching supporting someone who owned casinos and strip clubs or whatever, a lot them have come around and said, 'Yeah, you were right.' Some of the most prominent evangelicals in the country have said, 'Jerry, we thought you were crazy, but now we understand.'”
Following Falwell's interview, Cross took to Twitter to shred Falwell's words and explain why Falwell is completely out of touch.
“This interview. Wow," Cross wrote. "Most Evangelical 'leaders' won’t say a word about this. But, Falwell’s clearly articulated 'Two Kingdoms' theology needs heavy critique. It’s the SAME approach German Lutherans took as Hitler rose to power,” Cross tweeted, alongside a link to the article titled “Jerry Falwell Jr. can’t imagine Trump ‘doing anything that’s not good for the country.’”
Cross compared Falwell's "two kingdoms" philosophy to rhetoric used during the rise of Adolf Hitler.
"Hitler advocated for 'positive Christianity' rather than a prophetic Christianity," Cross said. "Support the state as it advances its own interests and the state will leave you alone. Except, the state demands loyalty. Falwell’s position is disaster for the church in a democratic republic."
Cross's point was to emphasize the risks posed by interjecting religion into a political movement.
"None of this is to say that Trump is Hitler or Falwell is promoting Nazi ideology," Cross concluded. "Not at all. Rather, this is about how history teaches us about the way subversion happens. Falwell lays the groundwork for church capitulation to the state. He should be vigorously critiqued."
Twitter responded with a simple message: we saw this coming.
Trump has never espoused Christian values.
The hypocrisy of the religious right's support of Trump is remarkable.
Cross's message was well-received, and people see the historical parallels to Germany eight decades ago
Trump's base may be small in numbers, but included within it are powerful voices with influences over millions of vulnerable Americans.
