Dallas Pastor Says Trump Given God's Authority To 'Take Out Kim Jong-Un'
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A Dallas pastor is saying that the Christian God has given the President of the United States authority to kill North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.
Dr. Robert Jeffress, leader of the megachurch First Baptist Dallas, has weighed in with his opinion on the recent political turmoil surrounding President Donald Trump and the ongoing war of words between the US and the North Korean leader.
President Donald Trump says that North Korea "had best not make any more threats to the United States" or "they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen."
In a statement to the 'The Brody File,' Jeffress says that God has given President Trump authority to kill the self-imposed leader of the country of North Korea.
"When it comes to how we should deal with evil doers, the Bible, in the book of Romans, is very clear: God has endowed rulers full power to use whatever means necessary — including war — to stop evil. In the case of North Korea, God has given Trump authority to take out Kim Jong-Un." Jeffress said in his statement.
As one of President Trump's early supporters, Pastor Robert Jeffress gave an inauguration day message that God had chosen Trump to keep the country safe. It's also God now, Jeffress said, who gives the President the go ahead to use war if he needs to.
"There are moral absolutes," he said at First Baptist Church in Dallas Wednesday. "There is absolute right, there is absolute wrong. Kim Jong-Un is an evil person and I believe the government and President Trump have a god given responsibility to protect its citizens from evil."
Disagreement about Jeffress' statement followed on social media, where some told Jeffress to stop putting words in God's mouth.
Midway Hills Christian Church in North Dallas displayed a sign saying "No Bob Jeffress. Jesus is not cool with nukes!"
Jeffress sees that as confusion over biblical passages that say not to repay evil with evil.
"That's talking about our individual relationships," he said. "But then in the next chapter Paul talks about the role of government. Government is never told to forgive or turn the other cheek. The bible says government is to quote, avenge those who practice evil."
The threat of nuclear action he says, makes the stakes higher. And he clarified he's not advocating for war, just the moral right of the president to wage it.
"I think we need to understand that diplomacy's always the best solution, but when it doesn't work we cannot allow evil to triumph," he said.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke to reporters Wednesday after President Donald Trump and North Korea traded escalating threats of "fire," with the North saying it was examining plans for attacking Guam to contain U.S. bases there.
Tillerson says that "Americans should sleep well at night." He says that they should "have no concerns about this particular rhetoric of the last few days."
