Today, a new U.S. embassy will open in Jerusalem. The embassy was previously located in Tel Aviv, and the move has been extremely controversial, sparking massive protests in Gaza. Much of Jerusalem is highly contested.
Among the speakers scheduled to be at the opening are controversial pastors Robert Jeffress and John Hagee.
Former presidential candidate, Massachusetts governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Mitt Romney took to Twitter to post a scathing string of Tweets, specifically targeting Jeffress and previous comments he has made about Jews, Muslims and Mormons (Romney himself is a Mormon).
He tweeted, “Robert Jeffress says ‘you can’t be saved by being a Jew,’ and ‘Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.’ He’s said the same about Islam. Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem.”
Theological ideas about salvation and different religions aside, Jeffress is known for often polarizing political comments. He is a strong supporter of President Trump and said, “Evangelicals know they are not compromising their beliefs in order to support this great president,” and suggested that his recent scandals involving an alleged affair with a porn star don’t really matter to Christians.
In response to the recent criticism, Jeffress told Fox News: “These were comments ripped out of context from years ago. Historic Christianity, for 2,000 years, has taught that salvation is faith in Christ alone, and the fact that I, and millions of evangelical Christians still believe that, is not bigoted and not newsworthy.”
