On his “Washington Watch” program, host Tony Perkins reminded his audience of an Axios story from November of last year. It describes a "shocking" number of clergy running as Democrat candidates in state and federal races.
That political tactic is not all too surprising, Perkins allowed, since the Democratic Party has acknowledged the party’s need to connect better with religious voters.
“But here’s the question: Does a candidate's religious title necessarily mean that the candidate's public policy positions reflect biblical truth?” he asked.
Answering that question on the program, Well Versed ministry founder Dr. Jim Garlow came with a list of liberal church pastors who are running for Congress. They are running for office, he said, in Iowa, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, and Missouri.
The denominations those candidates represent, including the United Methodist Church and Presbyterian Church USA, have embraced liberal theology and taken liberal political stances.
One of those mentioned by name is a Texas congressional candidate, Rev. Frederick Douglass Haynes III. He is described online as simply a Baptist pastor, but Garlow pointed out Haynes and his church are part of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, or PNBC.
The campaign website for Haynes describes him as a “faith-rooted servant leader and senior pastor” who is committed to justice, opportunity, accountability, and the people.”
Down under the “Issues” portion of the website, a section called “Faith, Freedom and Justice” describes how Haynes is “guided by values” because he is a person of faith. That section also states that his faith “informs” his values and offers a “moral framework” for justice, dignity, and caring for others.
Another candidate mentioned by Garlow on the program is UMC pastor Adam Hamilton. Hamilton (pictured at right), who is running for the U.S. Senate, oversees a huge church that is one of the largest UMC congregations in the country.
AFN previously reported more than 700 Christian leaders in Kansas signed their names to a letter criticizing Hamilton's liberal theology.
Garland insisted Democrats have a theological problem on their hands. The Bible defends the innocent life in the womb, it upholds the sacredness of marriage, and it shows that God created humans male and female, not multiple genders, he stressed.
“Abortion kills the babies. Redefinition of marriage has tried to kill off God's definition of marriage. And then we have a loss of gender specificity,” Garlow warned.
