Robert E. Lee descendant and denouncer quits N.C. pastor post over hurtful reaction to VMAs sp

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

He was the great-great-great-great nephew of Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee, and he felt it was his moral duty to speak out against his ancestor, “an idol of white supremacy, racism and hate.” He said as much when he took the microphone near the end of the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, when he introduced himself by a familiar-sounding name: Robert Lee IV.

Lee’s speech at the VMA’s on Aug. 27 followed the glitz and glam of red carpets and all-star performances by the likes of Lorde and Ed Sheeran. But his appearance quickly caught Internet fame as among the night’s most memorable. As he stood before the cameras, Lee stood in stark contrast to the sleek, geometric set behind him, dressed simply in a black cleric’s shirt and collar. Soon he would introduce Susan Bro, whose daughter Heather Heyer was killed 15 days before after being mowed down by a car as she protested white supremacy in Charlottesville.

“As a pastor, it is my moral duty to speak out against racism, America’s original sin,” he said, his voice never faltering. “Today, I call on all of us to confront racism and white supremacy head-on. We can find inspiration in the black lives matter movement, the women who marked in the Women’s March in January, and, especially, Heather Heyer, who died fighting for her beliefs.”

On Monday, Lee announced he would be leaving his church — Bethany United Church of Christ in Winston-Salem, N.C. — after speaking out against white supremacy and the idolization of Confederate monuments. In his statement, published on the website of the Auburn Theological Seminary, Lee wrote that while he did have congregants who supported his freedom of speech, many resented the attention the church received after the VMAs.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/robert-e-lee-descendant-%e2%80%94-and-denouncer-%e2%80%94-quits-nc-pastor-post-over-%e2%80%98hurtful%e2%80%99-reaction-to-vmas-speech/ar-AArkxtr?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=edgsp

[LonePirate]

1. So church congregants disliked their pastor for saying words Jesus would have supported?

That speaks loudly and clearly of the pastor's character and the congregants' lack of character.

[zipplewrath]

2. Much like the apostles

Strangely, his congregants behavior is not all that dissimilar to that of the apostles as Christ's behavior began to attract hostile attention.

[Initech]

3. We've been learning a lot about what the religious right's *REAL* agenda is.

Especially in the last year. And it has nothing to do with Jesus. It's bigotry and white supremacy. Their continued support of Donald Trump is speaking volumes about who they really are. They're the KKK without the robes.