Religion News Service collected messages of Trump-supporting “Christians” on the Sunday following the insurrection at the Capitol.
Some excerpts from the RNS report:
Brian Gibson, pastor and founder of HIS Church, Owensboro, Kentucky
Gibson was onstage Jan. 5 at a “Prayer to Save America” event billed as a combination worship service and rally for Trump the day before congressional certification of the electoral votes. As he described the events of the 6th, Gibson questioned how easily the Capitol was breached, raising debunked assertions that antifa supporters were among the violent mob.
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, lead pastor of New Season, Sacramento, California
[Rodriguez, who] delivered a prayer at Trump’s inauguration and has also advised him, told his congregation Sunday that America needs to hear a message of repentance. … [Rodriguez] said he was praying for a season of “instead of” — “Instead of destroying property, building altars. Instead of confrontation, conversations. … Instead of many under fear, one nation under God.”
The Rev. John Hagee of Cornerstone Church, San Antonio, Texas
[Hague,] a staunch supporter of Trump, did not mention the president by name but criticized the assault on Congress by what he called “a rebellious mob.”
“The Secret Service had to escort the vice president of the United States to safety out of the Capitol building. Gun shots were fired. Tear gas was deployed in the Capitol Rotunda. People were killed. … This was an assault on law. Attacking the Capitol was not patriotism, it was anarchy,” Hagee said.
His words drew tepid applause from the crowd at his megachurch, but they soon after gave Hagee a standing ovation when he rallied support for law enforcement…
Others blamed the media, fretted about division in the country or ignored the subject altogether.