About a week ago, a popular priest on TikTok (who doesn’t publicize his name or church on that account) went viral with an incredible takedown of U.S. Christians who claim to be persecuted.
It opens on a staged image of a man in prison with the caption “When being a Christian becomes illegal.” That’s when the priest, @knothead9620, begins his rant:
Stop it! Stop! Stop the whining and the sniveling right now!
There are Christians in this world who are oppressed, yes. There are Christians in North Korea who can’t go to worship without risking being thrown into a gulag. There are Christians in Palestine who can’t even get to their churches because of Israeli checkpoints and walls.
You are not oppressed as a Christian in this country! Quit your sniveling whining!
That savior you claim to serve said “Take up your cross and follow Him” and you’re whining and crying because what?! Because nobody’s letting you treat gay people like shit anymore? What the hell is wrong with you?! Quit whining! Stop it!
Short, sweet, right to the point. You can see why that video was so popular. If more priests had that sort of courage — and a wider platform — we’d be in a much better place.
But you can also see that I didn’t embed the TikTok video because… it no longer exists. The priest took it down. Apparently, some Christians were so upset by his words that they doxxed him and sent a threatening message to his church as well as some of his parishioners. In order to play it safe, especially on behalf of those in his church for whom he feels responsible, @knothead9620 removed older videos from his popular channel and vowed to step away from the platform for a bit.
He explained all this in one of only two videos that are currently up on his channel. He says that while he may be going dormant for a while, he’s encouraging people to donate to the Trevor Project to support LGBTQ people.
@knothead9620 Here's the deal about doxing. #christianhate ##doxxed ##feedsoulsnottrolls ##progressiveclergy ##christiantiktok ##pastorsoftiktok@@trevorproject
As of this writing, the fundraiser has brought in nearly $6,000, which led to the priest’s second video expressing gratitude:
@knothead9620 From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU! ##thankyou ##love ##feedsoulsnottrolls ##progressiveclergy ##progressivechristian ##pastorsoftiktok @trevorproject
It’s an incredibly uplifting and wonderful way to respond to something awful.
Incidentally, I was able to figure out who this priest is. I’ll just say it’s not an act. He’s the leader of a Lutheran church and these videos do seem to be an extension of his typical ministry. Shutting down his channel wasn’t for show; he locked down or limited the rest of his social media as well. (He did not respond to a request for comment.)
Here’s hoping he comes back on TikTok soon. In the meantime, supporters can always donate to a good cause.
(Thanks to David for the link)
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