MAGA pastor and self-proclaimed “prophet” Hank Kunneman of One Voice Ministries recently said that uncircumcised people are trying to steal the nation. His comment was part of a bizarre transphobic and Islamophobic statement on the midterm elections.
“I am not going to let uncircumcised, uncovenanted people try to steal this nation that was dedicated to Jesus Christ, the God of my covenant!” Kunneman said in a broadcast recently shared by Right Wing Watch.
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“That’s why you need to get out at the midterms and you need to vote. Show up in force! Say we’re tired of these people walking into our bathrooms dressed as a woman but you’re a dude!” he continued. “Men, get out of women’s sports, you uncircumcised philistines! Islam, this nation belongs to the God that we’re in covenant with!”
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While he specifically mentioned Islam, the Bible references uncircumcised individuals several times, sometimes as foreigners who are stubborn, rebellious, or spiritually closed off to God. Republican Christian conservatives nationwide have increasingly demonized Muslims (who are typically circumcised) as anti-Christian religious extremists in an attempt to paint themselves as defenders of Christian nationalism.
Conservative white Christians have also embraced the Trump administration’s attacks on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), misunderstanding DEI as an anti-white and anti-Christian part of the “Great Replacement Theory,” which they fear will lead to their invisibility and loss of power by non-Christians, immigrants, and other people of color.
In the past, Kunneman has falsely claimed that Jesus used anti-gay slurs, and spread the lie that schools are putting litterboxes in bathrooms because “mentally disturbed, demonically possessed” students are identifying as cats. The claim has been repeatedly refuted by school districts and journalists, but right-wingers continue to repeat it as a way to vilify schools with transgender-inclusive policies.
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