{"id":14871,"date":"2021-04-06T14:49:18","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T18:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=14871"},"modified":"2021-04-06T14:49:18","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T18:49:18","slug":"raphael-warnock-accused-of-heresy-following-controversial-easter-tweet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2021\/04\/raphael-warnock-accused-of-heresy-following-controversial-easter-tweet","title":{"rendered":"Raphael Warnock Accused of \u2018Heresy\u2019 Following Controversial Easter Tweet"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Gerri Hernandez\/Wiki Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sen. Raphael Warnock has been accused of heresy after he asserted that people could save themselves through works and without the need for Jesus in a now-deleted tweet. Critics quickly condemned the statement arguing the Bible clearly states no man can save himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe meaning of Easter is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus Christ,\u201d Warnock said in a tweet on Easter morning. \u201cWhether you are a Christian or not, through a commitment to helping others, we are able to save ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Georgia senator, who served as the former pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, was criticized on social media by many conservatives and Christians.<\/p>\n

Nationally syndicated radio host Todd Starnes tweeted, \u201cHeresy spewed by a heretic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tweet generated an online discussion about the true meaning of the gospel and what the pastor was really saying. Some condemned Warnock\u2019s statement as opposing to Christian beliefs, while others fired back, saying the true heresy is \u201cidolatry of a cult leader\u201d like former president Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

MSNBC host Joy Reid showed her support for Warnock before the controversial tweet was deleted. In response to former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, who called it a \u201cfalse gospel and heresy,\u201d Reid tweeted,<\/p>\n

\u201cThis lady is literally calling the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church \u2013 The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.\u2019s church \u2013 a heretic. This actually happened today. Madame, I\u2019m gonna take @ReverendWarnock\u2019s take, as a pastor and a scholar on the Word over yours, if you don\u2019t mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ellis was one of the most vocal critics of Warnock\u2019s comments, tweeting multiple times about her issues with the Georgia senator\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Warnock\u2019s church were truly biblical and Christian, he would not be a pastor. His theology and practice is inconsistent with the Bible,\u201d Ellis said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot be a genuine Christian without accepting what the Bible teaches. Truth is an exclusive concept. Anything contrary is false,\u201d Ellis added.<\/p>\n

Following Warnock deleting his tweet, Ellis said, \u201cHe should delete Reverend in front of his name too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sen. Raphael Warnock has been accused of heresy after he asserted that people could save themselves through works and without the need for Jesus in a now-deleted tweet. Critics quickly condemned the statement arguing the Bible clearly states no man can save himself. \u201cThe meaning of Easter is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":14877,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[1660,3333,163,3330,3327,3324],"class_list":["post-14871","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian","tag-christian-news","tag-conservative-news","tag-easter","tag-easter-news","tag-heresy","tag-raphael-warnock"],"yoast_head":"\nRaphael Warnock Accused of \u2018Heresy\u2019 Following Controversial Easter Tweet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2021\/04\/raphael-warnock-accused-of-heresy-following-controversial-easter-tweet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Raphael Warnock Accused of \u2018Heresy\u2019 Following Controversial Easter Tweet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sen. Raphael Warnock has been accused of heresy after he asserted that people could save themselves through works and without the need for Jesus in a now-deleted tweet. 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Raphael Warnock has been accused of heresy after he asserted that people could save themselves through works and without the need for Jesus in a now-deleted tweet. Critics quickly condemned the statement arguing the Bible clearly states no man can save himself. \u201cThe meaning of Easter is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2021\/04\/raphael-warnock-accused-of-heresy-following-controversial-easter-tweet","og_site_name":"Beliefnet News","article_published_time":"2021-04-06T18:49:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":768,"height":512,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/140\/2021\/04\/senwarnock-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lesli White","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2021\/04\/raphael-warnock-accused-of-heresy-following-controversial-easter-tweet","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2021\/04\/raphael-warnock-accused-of-heresy-following-controversial-easter-tweet","name":"Raphael Warnock Accused of 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