Four veterans from Georgia blasted Democratic Senate candidate Raphael Warnock for claiming in a recently unearthed sermon that “nobody can serve God and the military.”
In a video with Turning Point Action, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Darryl Wilson, Army Sgt. Meg Peters, Marine Corps Maj. Jeff McDonald, and Army Capt. John Sours agreed that Warnock’s comments were insulting to those who have served in the U.S. armed forces and disqualified him to serve in the Senate.
In an April 2011 sermon, Warnock said, “America, nobody can serve God and the military. You can’t serve God and money. You cannot serve God and mammon at the same time. America, choose ye this day who you will serve. Choose ye this day.”
“What Bible has he been reading?” asked Peters, who served in Afghanistan and lost someone under her command. “Since the beginning of time, the good Lord has raised up armies to fight evil.”
Wilson, who served nine years in the Navy, said that Warnock’s comments were “an insult to all of us who’ve worn the uniform,” and characterized the Senate candidate’s attitude as one that “flies in the face of everything we hold sacred in this country.”
“Those of us who’ve been out there in uniform, those who are there now in uniform, certainly rely on their faith to get them through the tough times in the dark of night,” Wilson added. “I don’t understand how this person who calls himself a man of God can separate the military from God when it is God that, in fact, gives us the strength to do what we do.”
“It just makes me kind of sick to my stomach,” said McDonald, who served 14 years in the Marine Corps. “I served God and I served in the military,” he continued, recounting how one night he thought he was going to die and begged God to save his life.
Sours, who served four years active-duty in the Army, said Warnock’s statement “is as absurd as it is obnoxious” and that the reverend “has never been anywhere near the military.” He went on to describe Warnock’s views as “so extreme, so far out of the mainstream of American values and traditions, that he has absolutely no business running for public office.”
“Now is not the time for Warnock,” Wilson added. “Now’s the time when our country needs to come together, we need to heal, and we need leadership, strong leadership.”
Warnock will face Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) in a runoff Senate race in Georgia on Jan. 5, which has drawn national attention for its potential to swing the upper chamber to the Democratic Party. Also facing off on Jan. 5 are Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) and Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff.
Related: ‘Scandal To The Faith’: Group Of Black Pastors Rebuke Warnock For ‘Open Advocacy Of Abortion’