Pro-ICE churches should be shamed

[marmar]

Pro-ICE churches should be shamed
Cities Church in St. Paul are the persecutors, not the persecuted

By Amanda Marcotte
Senior Writer
Published January 26, 2026 6:45AM (EST)


(Salon) The Christian right will never turn down an opportunity to make false accusations of religious persecution. These days, they’re especially eager to play the victim. Doing so allows them to distract from the ugly reality that they, in voting for Donald Trump, have helped to unleash in Minnesota: A woman killed in front of her wife, children ripped from their parents, a baby nearly killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents firing tear gas at a family driving home from a basketball game. On Saturday, there was another unjustifiable shooting. Video appears to show 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, an intensive-care unit nurse at a Veterans Affairs hospital, helping a woman to her feet when Border Patrol agents swarm and pepper-spray him — and then shoot him in the head.

....(snip)....

On Sunday, Jan. 18, a group of anti-racism activists disrupted services at the far-right Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, because one of the church pastors, David Easterwood, acts as a field director for ICE as it rains terror on the Twin Cities. The protesters denounced the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good at the hands of an ICE agent, as well as other ICE offenses, such as charging into people’s homes without warrants, threatening violence against protesters, and detaining and beating non-white people — including citizens, many of whom are elderly or children.

....(snip)....

Parnell is being dishonest. Anyone who watches the video can see that no one is being accosted or threatened, though it was no doubt painful for these Christians to face, even for a moment, someone speaking the truth that they are rejecting the plain teachings of Jesus Christ. At the time of the protest, Parnell described the demonstration as merely “interrupting,” so his escalation in rhetoric is likely intentional. Cities Church has a reputation for being not just conservative, but extremist. Instead of being the persecuted, the congregation’s leadership and its allies appear to be the persecutors — of women and minorities.

“They are insecure little sexist and racist power-mongers who desire to be God,” wrote Rick Pidcock, a former fundamentalist and worship music expert, in a lengthy exposé for Baptist News Global. According to Pidcock, Cities Church is rooted in a network of far-right churches that teach “male headship and female submission” so extreme that their thought leader, John Piper, has argued that women shouldn’t even occupy management positions where men might have to answer to them. ..................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/01/26/pro-ice-churches-should-be-shamed/

[samsingh]

1. they are not doing the work of God.

[haele]

4. Rather - which God are they doing the work of?

The God of Chaos and Pain?
The God Of Egotistical Temper Tantrums?
The God of Destruction?
The pissy little hell deamon "God" in the back of their heads constantly whispering Lies to them?

Certainly not doing the work of their supposed Christ Redeemer....

[rampartd]

2. i still think respecting their religion is good policy.

[oberle]

5. They do not deserve respect

They have done nothing to deserve it.

[Clouds Passing]

3. Pro-ice churches should be taxed out of existence.