What does it look like when a Christian church fully embraces right-wing conspiracy theories and merges them with religious delusions?
Just look at what Pastor Brandon Burden of KingdomLife in Frisco, Texas did this past Sunday.
During a long rambling sermon just days after the Capitol coup, he told his (maskless) congregation to stock up on weapons, celebrated a God-ordained siege of Washington, spoke in tongues to give his statements added oomph, claimed Apple would create a national blackout, railed against FOX News and Mitch McConnell for not being conservative enough, urged everyone to stock up on generators and food, and said with absolutely certainty that Donald Trump would be president for eight straight years.
How would that last part happen considering Joe Biden‘s inauguration is next week…? With military tribunals that execute traitors, of course.
It’s just an unhinged rant that shows how broken these people’s brains are. They live in a bubble completely untethered to reality.
Because the whole sermon was bananas, I couldn’t condense the crazy to just a minute or two… so here’s about 10 minutes of a 90-minute service. But holy hell, it’s all insane.
“We are locked and loaded at the Burden house,” he said.
The pastor advised churchgoers that it’s illegal to shoot a trespasser on their lawn, but he said they can if someone tries to enter their home, citing the state’s Castle Doctrine.
During the service, Burden shouted in tongues while a woman at the altar waved a large American flag in front of him. In his sermon, the pastor cited “prophetic voices” who have said God told them Trump would be president for eight years.
“We have an executive order — not from Congress or D.C., but from the desk of the CEO of heaven, the boss of the planet,” Burden said. “He said from his desk in heaven, this is my will; Trump will be in for eight years.”
This is what happens when your church rejects critical thinking and embraces conspiracy theories that have the added weight of God’s approval. Burden is a cult leader. Is there any doubt that pastors like him are part of the reason so many Christian Nationalists stormed the Capitol last week? They believed they were on a holy mission.
If Muslims did anything like this, you can bet the same Christians in this room would be screaming about the dangers of a holy war. Yet here they are, using God to justify their irrational and arguably dangerous beliefs about an election their side lost. They treat Trump as their savior but give Jesus lip service along the way, which allows them to ignore his corruption and bigotry and lies while endorsing their mythologized version of who he is and what he can do.
Burden, by the way, was a candidate for the Frisco City Council a few years ago. He lost, but not by much.
Tell me again why churches like these deserve tax-exempt status.
(Thanks to Henry for the link)
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