From thechristianpost.com
By CP Staff
“The Bible is the Word of God. PERIOD. Tucker’s thinking he can choose what he likes from it — and discard what he dislikes — is mindbendingly arrogant. And deeply wrong. And his ‘interpretation’ of it is a satanic inversion,” Metaxas said in an X post on Wednesday.
Metaxas, who also serves on the White House Religious Liberty Commission, was responding to a clip of Carlson’s monologuefrom last Thursday, during which he claimed both U.S. global dominance and post-WWII American Protestantism appear to be declining in tandem.
Carlson discerned the Iran war and its support from some prominent Evangelical leaders as a pivot point for both trends, which he suggested are inextricable. He singled out evangelist Franklin Graham’s citation of the Esther story in a prayer he made over Trump before delivering the Gospel message at a White House Easter luncheon last Wednesday.
Graham, who has repeatedly appealed to the Old Testament when commenting on the Iran war, likened the modern Iranian regime to the ancient Persians and President Donald Trump to Esther, both of whom he said were raised up “for such a time as this,” quoting Esther 4:14.
Claiming there are “many Protestant American church leaders who are preaching a religion that bears no resemblance to Christianity,” Carlson questioned why Graham would effectively endorse the Iran conflict by citing Esther, which Carlson described as “the story, among other things, of the genocide of Persians.”
“Oh yeah, 75,000 Persians,” Carlson continued. “Not just people who committed crimes, but people who were Persian, and that’s why they were killed. And it’s in the book of Esther, which you should read, because it’s interesting.”
According to Esther 8:11, after Queen Esther helps foil Haman the Agagite’s genocidal plot against the Jews, they are given a royal edict permitting them to destroy their enemies, including women and children. They slay 75,000 “of those who hated them” in the provinces, according to Esther 9:16, which does not explicitly identify such people as Persians.
The verse also clarifies that, despite legal permission to do so, the Jews “laid no hands on the plunder” of those they killed, implying their actions demonstrated their motivation was not greed, but solely self-preservation.
The Jewish festival of Purim, which fell this year two days after the U.S. and Israel launched their attack on Tehran on Feb. 28, commemorates the events in Esther, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also applied the story to the modern conflict.
Noting Martin Luther questioned the canonicity of Esther, Carlson said the book has been “controversial” and claimed it is the only one in the Bible not to contain the name of God, though the Song of Solomon also does not explicitly reference Him. Despite including it in his famous German translation of the Bible, Luther held the book of Esther in low regard, claiming “it Judaizes too much, and hath in it a great deal of heathenish naughtiness.”
Laying aside the historical debate, Carlson expressed concern about using the Old Testament as a foreign policy blueprint, and implied Graham appealed to the book of Esther because of its violence.
“Why is there no mention of Jesus? Why would Franklin Graham refer to the book of Esther, the only book in the Bible that doesn’t mention God, when he talks about Christianity with the president of the United States?” he asked.
“Because you can’t mention Jesus. That’s why. Because there’s no evidence that Jesus was for genocide, killing civilians, murdering the innocent, murder at all,” he argued.
In another comment in response to Carlson’s monologue, Metaxas accused him of being ignorant of Christianity and claiming that Graham is not a Christian.
“The arrogance in saying Franklin Graham isn’t Christian, and here again in talking about which books of the Bible are canonical — given the fact that he obviously knows SO LITTLE about Christian faith — is truly breathtaking. Is there ANYONE speaking into his life who can help?” said Metaxas, who also reposted a lengthy tweetfrom Christian author Larry Alex Taunton explaining why he believes Carlson’s take on Esther was “devious blasphemy.”
Metaxas’ pushback against Carlson is the latest in months of escalating tensions between the two, which comes amid the backdrop of a wider intensifying debate among Christians regarding the application of the Old Testament, especially in the context of modern-day Israel.
While Trump and Carlson have increasingly distanced themselves from each other as Trump’s political base fractures over the Iran war, Metaxas has remained an outspoken Evangelical supporter of the president.
When Trump sparked widespread backlash for a profanity-laden social media post on Easter Sunday that threatened civilian infrastructure while mocking the Islamic god, Metaxas approvingly reposted Christian author Dinesh D’Souza, who defended the president’s rhetoric by likening it to Elijah mocking the prophets of Baal.
“Trump knows the god of the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard] Muslims is a false and evil entity, just as Baal is. I love that he would mock that God publicly. We need MORE of this, not less,” Metaxas wrote.
When Carlson excoriated Trump’s Easter post as “vile on every level” earlier this week and questioned the prudence of a U.S. president scoffing at the world’s second-largest religion, Metaxas accused Carlson of exhibiting “ignorance on the issue of faith” and defending Islam, which he said is “seriously shocking.”
“He talks as though all religions are good. Islam is EVIL. How glorious that we have a president wiling [sic] to mock an evil inhuman ‘faith.’ And how sad that Tucker talks about things he doesn’t understand at all,” he wrote.
Last October, Metaxas was among the chorus of conservatives who were intensely critical of Carlson for what detractors described as a softball interview of far-right podcaster Nick Fuentes, who has openly espoused anti-Israel and white nationalist views.
Carlson drew criticism for claiming during his interview with Fuentes that he dislikes Christian Zionists “more than anybody,” while labeling their beliefs about Israel “heresy” and a “brain virus.” He subsequently apologized for his remarks, which he said were made in anger toward Christian leaders whose theology leads them to promote neoconservative, interventionist foreign policy.
Unlike some Christian commentators who have mocked Carlson for claiming he was demonically attacked in his sleep during his final months at Fox News in 2023, Metaxas has suggested he believes the story and that Carlson has been swept up in a spiritual war.
Following his interview with Fuentes, Metaxas implied Carlson was playing a role in a demonic plot to sow discord among Trump’s MAGA base.
“What’s really going on is that we are seeing Satan trying to push Christian faith out of the MAGA movement. Those who love Jesus love the Jews. Read my Bonhoeffer book on that. Let’s pray Tucker repents of this grievous misstep,” Metaxas wrote at the time.
During a March 23 episode of his eponymous show, Metaxas claimed Carlson is “deceived” and that he believes “that demonic attack that he talked about was real.”
“Something happened. Nothing can really explain what’s going on with him. It is really, really bizarre,” he said.
Accusing Carlson of “trash-talking the president of the United States,” Metaxas said, “He is now saying that the president is being manipulated by Netanyahu… Can you imagine? Like, who are you going to trust? Trump or Tucker Carlson? I’m sorry, I’m going to go with Trump.”
In November, Metaxas condemned Carlson for claiming that famous German pastor and anti-Nazi dissident Dietrich Bonhoeffer effectively decided “Christianity is not enough” when he took part in a failed plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Metaxas, who rose to prominence for writing a bestselling biography of Bonhoeffer in 2009, cited the Old Testament to defend Bonhoeffer, whose actions led to his arrest and execution in 1945.
“Tucker’s statements about Bonhoeffer are WRONG. It’s seriously shocking he would say these things,” Metaxas wrote. “Bonhoeffer did not advocate MURDER, which would have been sinful, but he did understand that within a just war people are KILLED. Will Tucker now condemn David for killing Goliath?”
During an interview last month with Carrie Prejean Boller, a conservative Catholic activist and former Miss California USA who was ousted from the White House Religious Liberty Commission in February following a tense exchange about antisemitism with Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, Carlson called Metaxas “a sad, very troubled guy” who “has a lot of personal problems,” though he did not elaborate.
Metaxas dismissed Carlson’s characterization during a subsequent episode of his show.
“I’m not troubled, Tucker. Trust me, I’m fine. Praise Jesus, I’m fine,” he said, going on to accuse Carlson and other figures like him of unwittingly wanting to break up Trump’s coalition and “drag the country down.”
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