Mohler: Both Sides ‘Bear Responsibility for Weaponizing Language’ That Can Lead to Violence

Theologian and seminary president Albert Mohler Jr. says both conservatives and liberals in the U.S. are to blame for using extreme language that demonizes opponents and that has led to what he calls “an alarming rise in political violence in the United States.”

The facts about the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, are not yet clear, Mohler said, but America is nevertheless facing an increase in rhetoric that goes too far. He mentioned the violence that wounded former Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the threats against conservative Supreme Court justices.

“Christians have to start out by saying that we know that violence in this kind of context is just entirely wrong,” said Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He made the comments on his podcast, The Briefing.

“… I want to speak to those on the right, to conservatives. We bear responsibility for weaponizing language in a way that can mislead by the very use of violent imagery, can mislead someone who is diluted or troubled into thinking that the answer to a political problem is some form of violent act. … The incendiary context of social media, many of the memes and themes and much of the language that is being used is not going to age well.”

Christians, Mohler said, must “advocate for our own political party and candidates and the positions we want to see enacted in law” without “personalizing this to the point that we demonize our political opponents to the point that at least some hearing us would think that what we’re saying is that we would be well off without them on the political scene.”

Mohler bemoaned what he called “an alarming rise in political violence in the United States.”

Politicians on the left and the right, he said, are guilty of using language that crosses the line. He called it “demonizing people.”

“You know it’s true,” he said. “On the left and on the right, there are people who say things that are over the line. And some of them get a lot of attention on both the right and the left for saying things that are clearly over the line. … What about political parties? What about political organizations? What about those who are paying for political advertisements? Yeah, a lot of irresponsibility goes around.”

The media, Mohler said, also is to blame. He referenced the “demonization that many in the mainstream media have directed towards the conservative justices who sit on the United States Supreme Court,” particularly over the issue of abortion.

“We understand that argument is a part of politics, and sometimes that argument gets hot, but that argument must not become violent,” he said. “And we must be clear about that, especially those of us who have influence and those of us who bear responsibility as leaders. One of the responsibilities of leaders is to call out the best in those who will follow us, not the worst.”

Photo courtesy: ©Public Domain/Creative Commons

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

Source