Christian Bible teacher and preacher Beth Moore took to Twitter Tuesday to urge her fellow believers — particularly those in places of leadership — to condemn white nationalism.
“Let it be known, let it be declared by genuine followers of Jesus, that the man who opened fire in El Paso may invoke a christ of some kind, but it is not our Christ,” she wrote in part. “His christ would be unrecognizable to us. Unrecognizable in Scripture. We claim no christ of white nationalism.”
The attacker, who killed at least 22 people and injured dozens more at a Walmart in El Paso on Saturday, apparently wrote a manifesto, in which he chronicled his own white supremacist views.
Because of his alleged writings, federal authorities with the U.S. Department of Justice are treating the massacre as an act of “domestic terrorism.” The shooter was reportedly seen allowing white and black shoppers to leave the premises as he targeted Hispanic patrons.
Moore encouraged her fellow Christian leaders to lead by example, openly and strongly condemning white nationalism.
“Do not assume people know where you stand,” she wrote. “History will prove this to be a most critical hour and our silence to have been our shameful complicity.”
As for President Donald Trump, he swiftly condemned white nationalism after the weekend of shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio. In a statement, he said the U.S. “must condemn racism, bigotry, and white supremacy.”
“Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger,” he noted, “not the gun.”