Legendary NFL coach and Hall of Famer Tony Dungy slammed CNN host Don Lemon this week for his comment about the perfection of Jesus Christ.
“Jesus Christ, if that’s who you believe in, Jesus Christ, admittedly was not perfect when he was here on this earth,” Lemon said to his colleague Chris Cuomo this week. “So why are we deifying the founders of this country, many of whom owned slaves?”
Given that Christians believe that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh, Lemon’s suggestion that He was just another imperfect teacher completely slapped all Christian doctrine in the face. Dungy, an outspoken and admitted Christian, called the host out on Twitter.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Lemon, but just who ‘admitted’ that Jesus Christ was not perfect here on earth? Not anyone who believes the Bible. Not anyone who trusts in Jesus as their savior,” Dungy tweeted. “I’m not sure the point you’re making but your premise is dead wrong. That was the point in Jesus coming!”
I’m sorry Mr Lemon but just who “admitted” that Jesus Christ was not perfect here on earth? Not anyone who believes the Bible. Not anyone who trusts in Jesus as their savior. I’m not sure the point you’re making but your premise is dead wrong. That was the point in Jesus coming! https://t.co/KXUS9Z0GLA
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) July 9, 2020
As noted by Fox News, multiple Christian leaders stepped up to denounce Lemon’s comments. Pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church of Dallas said the statement “makes him and his network the uncontested champions of Fake News.”
“Don Lemon’s comments are, first of all, heretical, and it contradicts the most basic tenet of the Christian faith and demonstrates how tone-deaf the left is to faith issues,” said Jeffress. “Our founding fathers, like all of us, were imperfect human beings, but Jesus Christ was different than any other man that lived, and as the founder of our faith, he had to be perfect.”
Eric Metaxes also stated, “‘To be embarrassingly culturally ignorant may be regarded as a misfortune, but to proclaim one’s ignorance whilst hosting a major tv show looks like carelessness!’ — Oscar Wilde.”
Don Lemon also sparked controversy this week when he lectured actor Terry Crews for emphasizing the importance of black lives not killed in police violence, going as far to say that the phrase Black Lives Matter does not mean “All Black Lives Matter.”
“The Black Lives Matter movement was started because it was talking about police brutality,” Lemon said. “If you want an all black lives matter movement that talks about gun violence in communities, including, you know, black communities, then, start that movement with that name. But that’s not what Black Lives Matter is about. It’s not an all-encompassing [movement].”
“So if you are talking about — if someone started a movement that said cancer matters,” Lemon continued. “And then, someone comes and says why aren’t you talking about HIV? It’s not the same thing. We’re talking about cancer. So the Black Lives Matter movement is about police brutality and injustice, in that manner. Not about what’s happening in black neighborhoods. here are people who are working on that issue. And if you want to start that issue, why don’t you start it? Do you understand what I’m saying?”