![]() In fact, Locke has been so openly hostile to COVID restrictions and vaccinations, that he has threatened to kick anyone out of his church simply for wearing a face mask during his services. See the main article on this topic: COVID-19 pandemicĭuring the COVID-19 pandemic, Locke displayed unusual hostility towards public health measures and vaccines, and even dismissed the notion that a pandemic was happening at all (Locke called COVID-19 a "fake pandemic" in December 2020). Reportedly Locke was extremely angry about media coverage about him, and in a late June 2021 sermon announced his plans to sue CNN and Newsweek for the "defamation" of accurately quoting him and posting clips of his "sermons". Īll of this, of course, attracted much attention from the media. The event was also marked by yet another "Let's Go Brandon" chant erupting in a church. The event notoriously featured Trump associate and QAnon nut Michael Flynn calling for America to have only " one religion under God", rejecting the freedom of religion principle that is a major part of America's foundation. In mid-November 2021, Locke appeared at an event (that was part of a tour called "Reawaken America") at John Hagee's Cornerstone Church alongside many other far-right conspiracy theorists, such as Roger Stone, Mike Lindell, and Alex Jones. Burns and Locke later, in September 21 2021, appeared at a "Salt and Light Conference" (hosted by an organization run by Ralph Reed, the first executive director of the Christian Coalition) along with several other prominent Republican politicians, and other noted conservative figures such as Joe Arpaio and E. While guest preaching, Burns spread transphobic lies concerning the "bathroom" debate and relished when the crowd spontaneously erupted into a chant of "Let's Go Brandon" (a minced oath for the phrase " fuck Joe Biden"). On October 24 2021, Locke's guest speaker was Mark Burns a pastor who also happened to be a Republican Congressional candidate. In a late June 2021 sermon, Locke's tone even took on shades of QAnon when he called Joe Biden a " sex trafficking, demon-possessed mongrel" and Kamala Harris a " jezebel demon", with non-sequitur references to typical QAnon targets like " pedophiles in Hollywood", Pope Francis, Oprah Winfrey, and Tom Hanks. Later, Locke hosted the conservative youth activist Charlie Kirk as a guest. In late August 2021, Trump political operative Roger Stone was a guest speaker at the church, and the congregation accordingly was decked in MAGA paraphernalia. ![]() presidential election, right up until Trump urged people to get their COVID vaccinations. Locke continued to be vocally supportive of Donald Trump, grumbling about how Joe Biden stole the 2020 U.S. Increasingly in the 2020s, Locke's church started looking less like a temple dedicated to worshiping Jesus and more like a proxy of the radicalized Republican party, dedicated to a pro- Trump (until he renounced his support) vein of Christian nationalism. ![]() See the main articles on this topic: Wingnut and The United States as a Christian nation He has been roundly criticized for among other things abandoning the Church of the King James Version, but much more seriously for having allegedly abused his wife both physically and psychologically. If so, however, some of his fellow Christians have not. He eventually divorced his wife to marry his girlfriend, so no doubt he thinks that God has forgiven him for his breach of the Ten Commandments. Locke's prophetic and godly status was somewhat tarnished when it was reported that he cheated on his wife with the church secretary and packed the wife and children on a bus out of town so he could focus on the sinful delights of his new girlfriend. Locke came to prominence when he criticized Target's decision to provide gender-neutral toilets. Locke uses his substantial online following on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to transform his childhood propensity as a class bully into the literal bully pulpit, with his vision of "always being filled with hate and rage" directed toward transgender people, gays, and cross-dressers, just as he thinks that Jesus surely would have wanted him to. Palestinan) faith healer Benny Hinn in a 2005 self-published book entitled Blinded by Benny. Locke's first notable foray into the public sphere (after his many arrests, of course) was an example of the "stopped clock" saying: it was a takedown of Israeli Arab (i.e. Greg Locke (1976–) is an American transphobic, homophobic, climate change-denying Baptist pastor and professional grifter at the Global Vision Bible Church, in Mt.
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