Reverend Nathan Empsall warned about the pro-Trump "ReAwaken America Tour" hijacking the "name of Jesus" in a new opinion piece published on Friday.
The "ReAwaken America Tour," which has traveled across the United States and has featured a number of high-profile conservatives rallying in support of former President Donald Trump, kicked off its latest event in North Las Vegas on Friday. The tour has been shrouded in controversy over its speakers' embrace of far-right conspiracy theories, antisemitism, alleged support for violence and other extremist remarks, drawing scrutiny from many Christians who have raised concerns about the rally's emphasis on Christianity.
During the rally on Friday, anti-vaccine activist Leigh Dundas used military rhetoric during a speech, telling the audience: "When you are facing enemy attack, the wrong thing to do is nothing. Do you hear me?! When you are facing war and enemy oppression and tyranny, what do you do?! You stand up and you fight!"
Empsall, a frequent critic of Christian nationalism who serves as the executive director of the organization Faithful America, penned an opinion piece for Religion News Service (RNS) titled "ReAwaken America is back. So is the right wing roadshow's antisemitic rant," highlighting his concerns about the rally.
Empsall warned about the rally allegedly promoting antisemitism, pointing to remarks from the organizers such as conservative influencer Clay Clark and retired U.S. General Michael Flynn, who has called for the country to have "one religion."
"Flynn and other speakers, including Pastor Jackson Lahmeyer and the tour's organizer, Clay Clark, regularly send out antisemitic dog whistles from the stage, referring to opponents as "godless globalists," a term the American Jewish Committee notes has long been conspiracists' code to refer to prominent Jews, particularly philanthropist George Soros," he wrote.
Empsall described the sentiments expressed by the tour speakers as "both blasphemous and an existential threat to the country and our churches."
He also called on his fellow Christians to voice opposition to the rally, Christian nationalism and antisemitism.
"Hate peddled in the hijacked name of Jesus is too great a threat to our neighbors, our churches and democracy itself for Christians to remain silent. We cannot shy away from taking a stand against antisemitism and Christofascism, whether found on the ReAwaken America Tour, national presidential campaigns, apostolic sermons or local government meetings. The fear that we might lose church members or friends is not a sufficient excuse for allowing Christ's name to be used as a weapon. Hate is not why we are here," he wrote.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign and Faithful America for comment via email.
Faithful America previously started a petition urging North Las Vegas city officials to refuse to host the rally on public property. More than 16,000 people signed onto the petition, which said the toxic nationalism has no place in a publicly owned venue.
Empsall previously told Newsweek that the rally is a "repugnant showcase of antisemitism, political violence, and reckless COVID-19 misinformation" and that city officials were "legitimizing the hatred, violence and misinformation" by hosting the rally.
In October, one speaker, Bo Polny, warned that the "angel of death" would be coming for several politicians, including President Joe Biden and Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican. Meanwhile, concerns that the conference would draw white supremacists prompted a venue in Rochester, New York, to cancel the event last July.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
