Clearly, Dr. Steve Caudle of Greater Second Missionary Baptist Church in Chattanooga is not the “turn-the-other-cheek” type of minister. Caudle called upon his flock to choose violence in responding to the policy changes in progress in Washington with the new Administration. It is a further escalation of the rage rhetoric from Democratic politicians and pundits.
In a sermon live streamed to YouTube on Sunday, Caudle denounced Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for threatening to “steal” Americans’ information and money, and said that a violent “conflict” will be coming:
“In this nation, I’m worried that we are on the verge of bloodshed. This is an attempt to take us back to a day that we do not want to go, and we will not go. Therefore, there will be conflict. I pray that the peace of God will win out and overcome the madness that is attempting to take over this nation.”
“And I will say to you, beloved: no one likes violence, but sometimes violence is necessary. When Elon Musk forces his way into the United States Treasury, and threatens to steal your personal information and your social security check, there is a possibility of violence. Sometimes the devil will act so ugly, that there is no other choice but to get violent and fight!”
Invoking Matthew 11:12, he added:
“… Why not talk this way? Because Jesus did… Jesus said in this key verse… ‘The kingdom of Heaven suffers — what — violence. And the who — the violent — take it by force. The kingdom of God is a warzone, it is a battlefield. You did know this, right?”
There is a normalization of such violent rhetoric with mainstream figures. The result can be a sense of license for some willing to turn to violent forms of expression, particularly when given the patina of moral justification.
As I have previously written, rage rhetoric has long been a part of our political process. However, when religious figures rationalize violent action, we cross a dangerous Rubicon in the use of such rhetoric.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”
It would appear that this charlatan preacher has no clue about the tenets of Christianity, but he surely knows the power of divisive rhetoric; and it’s not surprising that he’s a democrat
“he surely knows the power of divisive rhetoric; and it’s not surprising that he’s a democrat”
He also likely is nothing but a blowhard who does not reflect the opinions of more than a handful of residents. 3 of the 4 representatives of Chattanooga in the Tennessee House are Republicans, as are both Tennessee State Senators; all 4 members of Congress representing Chattanooga are Republicans. This in spite of past Democratic Party lawfare successfully targeted at overturning the city’s at-large election of councilmen. So, let him rant until he stokes out, I doubt that anyone other than choir members (literal and figurative), and Jonathan Turley is paying attention.
The website for his church has been disabled however the wayback machine recorded the following, on Feb 1, 2022, the only capture for the church on the wayback machine:
Reverend Dr. Steve A. Caudle, a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, serves as the Senior Pastor of Greater Second Missionary Baptist Church of Chattanooga. In 1980, he graduated from Lane College, Jackson, TN, with a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in Business, and as a member of Beta Pi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. After receiving his B.S., Dr. Caudle entered into Bi-Vocational Ministry in Chattanooga, where he served as Pastor of Harmon’s Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, TN, and Green’s Chapel Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Charleston, TN. He was elected and served as Moderator of the Hiwassee Presbytery in 1990. During his Ministry in East Tennessee, he worked as a loan officer at the American National Bank of Chattanooga.
Later, Pastor Caudle enrolled and received a Master’s of Theology Degree from Dallas Theological Seminary of Dallas, TX in 1995, with a major in Pastoral Ministry. While in Dallas, he pastored the Faith Cumberland Presbyterian Church and worked with the STEP (Strategies to Elevate People) Program, an inner-city ministry focused on meeting the needs of the poor. Following his service in Dallas, he accepted a pastorate at Harmony Missionary Baptist Church in Lakeland, Fl, where he served from 1996 to 2006. While there, Dr. Caudle worked with Community Service organizations, such as the NAACP, and as a founding member of the Polk Ecumenical Action Council for Empowerment (PEACE). During his tenure in Lakeland, Dr. Caudle received his Doctor of Ministry degree from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary of New Orleans, LA, with a major in Leadership.
In 2006, Dr. Caudle returned home to Chattanooga to accept the Senior Pastor position at Greater Second Missionary Baptist Church. Believing strongly in the ministry to children, Dr. Caudle has initiated the AWANA (Approved Workers Are Not Ashamed) Program, which ministers to children and youth, and the Big-Hearted Angel’s Ministry, which provides $50 for Christmas shopping for indigent children.
https://web.archive.org/web/20220201024717/https://greatersecondmbc.org/pastor.html
He earned the usual evangelical protestant academic pedigrees from institutions that are fairly well regarded in evangelical circles i.e. Dallas Theological Seminary and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
It appears he ran for political office as a Democrat for a county commission district 9 in the Chattanooga Tennessee area
Steve Caudle for County Commission District 9’s Post
https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=151292597554888&id=100080224447934
From the ecclesiastical point of view, it is difficult to remove someone like him as a church pastor because he doesn’t belong to an organization that has a hierarchy to yank him. No one can remove him except perhaps for the members of the church. Therein lies the problem what protestant churches, the hierarchy is in name only, if it exists at all.
Not all protexstant churches have this loose sort of pastorage. Presbyterians, Episcopal and many others have a hierarchy that determines the removal or appointment of pastors. It’s just the loose, self-created ort of religiosity of outliers that create this problem.
Presbyterians, Episcopal and many others have a hierarchy that determines the removal or appointment of pastors.
like the Episcopal lesbian bishop who went off on Trump recently? She is a perfect example of the Episcopal hierarchy being nonexistent
As stated the hierarchies of protestant denominations are in name only. I cant remember any recent bishop or priest being removed by a hierarchy from a Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian etc body. Lutherans are terribly fractured with their multiple synods, Presbyterian swing from far left to right, and Episcopalians are barely even Christian these days.
the Roman Catholic Church is the only one with that type of hierarchy, and sadly does it too seldomly and too late. Our Christian churches in America are a mess and that goes for all denominations.
Estovir,
I see you might get some snow later today. Fill the bath tub with water if you lose power, you can still flush. I dont suppose they sell roof rakes down your way? I know of two barns, a garage and another structure that collapsed under heavy snow loads this year. Be safe!
4″ and counting. Area schools and govt offices closed today and tomorrow. VADOT warned all drivers to stay home
Ironically you came to mind today as I started reading Megyn Kelly’s “Settle For More” book.
https://www.amazon.com/Settle-More-Megyn-Kelly/dp/0062565311
First 3 chapters are devoted to her childhood upbringing in Upstate NY. Lots of snow apparently. As if you didnt know. Im surprised anyone puts up with those kinds of winters. The book is a quick, witty yet uplifting read so you might enjoy it
Thanks for your well wishes recently due to my gym injury and post-surgery rehab. Im doing better, took myself off of Oxycotin after 2 days due to mild Serotonin Syndrome, and just sucked up the pain. The pain has subsided and Im home reading and working remotely. Life is grand.
Cheers!
When Elon Musk forces his way into the United States Treasury, and threatens to steal your personal information and your social security check, there is a possibility of violence.
I’ve got another verse from scripture for this pastor to consider:
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10
Always follow the money, but do not settle for anything less than the root of the evil. We’ll know just how close they are by the degree of resistance they face. And right now, they are very close.
If your going to be political, then goodbye tax exempt status.
now put the shoe on the other foot with a white preacher calling for violence against blacks and he would be jailed for 30 years!
BREAKING NEWS
Democrats Uncover Devious Billionaire Plot To Spend Billions Buying Social Media Company To Get President Trump Elected In Order To Access The Treasury Database And Steal Grandma’s $695 Social Security Check
https://babylonbee.com/news/democrats-uncover-devious-billionaire-plot-to-spend-billions-buying-social-media-company-to-get-president-trump-elected-in-order-to-access-the-treasury-database-and-steal-grandmas-695-social-
The real irony here is that nobody’s after anybody’s Social Security check unless the recipient is here illegally and on the roll illegally
But isn’t that, and other forms of bureaucratic corruption, what has the dems in a tizzy…they’re afraid their gravy trains are going to stop? It really isn’t about protecting grandma’s check, but rather, protecting the union worker’s jobs that push the paperwork for those checks that provide so many donations to the dnc?
“The real irony here is that” it’s all Fiat Funny Money. Social Security … “Security” my ass.
that is clearly a crime and he should be jailed.
Say When
I’m your Huckleberry
Got a different one for you, Steve Caudle! Supposedly, straight from the man himself and not nearly as muddled in terms of meaning or context:
Mark 12:17:
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
And now that you have decided to enter into ‘Ceasar’s realm’, Stevie, it is time that your organization pay the taxes associated with being a political actor and broadcasting political positions. And your ‘flock’ should be made aware that they are contributing to an organization in ‘Ceasar’s realm’ and not one focused on ‘God’s realm’
Because we’ve had marshmallow politicians for so long the threat of violence and name calling has worked in the past. The fact that they have no interest with eliminating misappropriation of tax dollars lends one to think they’ll experience personal loss. Hopefully Musk will be able to completely open the books and reveal the damage to the nation.
Gee, who would have thought an audit could cause such an uproar. I guess he did not get the interoffice memo that these were audits authorized by the the Chief Executive and Musk and his Wunderkinds were simply bringing the federal government out into the light.
One would almost think that the light might be causing the federal government’s computers to smoke and possibly burst into flame. Are these computers inhabited by the spirits of Vampires like Nosferatu, or Lestat, Louis, or Armand of Interview With the Vampire fame.
Having been in medicine and also been a longtime Medicare and Medicaid provider, our group always had to go through audits by the Fderal Government to make sure we were not ripping off our patients or “Gasp” the aforementioned government.
Those auditors were always totally humorless and colorless and put up with no questions or other enquiries from us. To them we always looked guilty, but they could never find a thing.
One auditor commented that “we made too much money” even though we accepted Medicare as total payment and took the bulk of medicaid in our part of the state. We thought maybe we made money because we rigidly controlled our costs and doctor – employee ratio without fail. But it was only a comment and they could never find anything since there was never anything to find.
It would seem the Federal Government and its minions do not like the bright light of truth glaring down on them. And their masters over in the Democratic Party like it even less. I suppose that once you have stolen something it is now yours until it’s pried from your cold dead hand. Hope we don’t have go that far. Like the Professor I think we need to throw Badgers into all the federal office buildings and offices.
As far as this Minister is concerned I think he is taking the Hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” a little too literally. I prefer to think of present shenanigans in Washington as a modern version of when Jesus chased the money lenders and other scum form the Temple with righteous anger.
An audit? Ha!
“. . . sometimes violence is necessary.”
Now *that* is a call for an insurrection.
Sam
(Login doesn’t work.)
Thet great 16th Century theologian Shakespeare is reported to have said something to the effect that “Even Satan can quote scriptures when it’s to his advantage to do so.” Pastor Steve Caudle proves Shakjespeare correct. The Old and New Testaments tell of times when Satan uses scripture to trick people and even God himself. We must always be on guard lest he mask his eveilness in the cloth of the clergy.
Apparently the modern left are not only a regime, but the mafia as well. Sick, and sad. Thank you for sanity, Professor.
A Malcolm X for today. I don’t see how a preacher advocating violence is worse than any one else with a platform doing so.
@Anonymous
Malcolm X went on to repudiate, violence, actually.
These people are certifiably insane.
# He’s using emotional blackmail as he’s always done. He’s using fear. People in general need to be aware when emotional blackmail is happening to them.
He’s also ignorant. The boys in the basement are Treasury employees. Mr. Musk is not pawing through anything. Secretary Bessent is auditing his books.
Is Mr. Caudle indicating a violent overthrow from the pulpit? Is he protected because he’s clergy, speaking from the pulpit or in a church? What if he says, bring your shotguns to the capitol on March 4, 2025, and with God’s hands we’ll kill the criminals?
Divine right of clergy, Pope? Or should we just insidiously preach our political mission and take their money and land? President X has our backs with the military? He’s one of us?
Anyway, no, no one’s taking your soc sec. On the otherhand there may be 100 others claiming your soc sec check in Columbia or who knows where. Or laughingly the welfare mom next door.
Sigh… sham religions al sharpton have been evading taxes forever, Jim and Tammy Faye while running drugs and ladies.
Yet another day, where Turley chooses to focus on the response of fringe/minor Democratic characters (this one isn’t even a politician) rather than an actual legal analysis of Trump’s extra-legal actions.
How can you ignore yesterday’s revelation that Trump is openly violating multiple court orders?
The idea that a District Court judge can issue an order that applies nation wide strikes me as an unconstitutional judicial power grab. Congress created District Courts to cover specific geographic regions, just as it created Circuit Courts of Appeal to cover specific regions.
We’re headed for a showdown.
He must avoid criticizing Trump to protect his MAGA reputation. He knows how quickly MAGA rabid fans can turn on you. Ignorance and poor reading comprehension skills are a volatile combination Turley takes full advantage of every day to keep his readers in a constant state of rage. It’s what keeps bringing them back.
It seems Elon wants to impeach judges because they dare to stymie his illegal intrusion into private data and disseminate it to unauthorized individuals so he can make arbitrary decisions that only congress has the power to make. He’s throwing a tantrum over the fact that the TRO against him is despite the fact that it is only temporary. He’s getting the chance to explain himself in court, which is how it should be.Musk is determined to act unilaterally, believing he has a mandate from Trump while disregarding the law and established processes required to pursue his objectives. The courts have the right to stop his actions and subject them to judicial review. It’s quite ironic that Trump and his supportive Republicans claim the Executive unitary theory as their argument, but that would have made Biden’s student loan forgivness program totally legit based on their interpretation of what presidents can do.
It may take some time, but the Judicial branch and the legal system will ultimately hold Donald Trump accountable for his unlawful actions. He appears to be banking on the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) providing him with the legal justification to continue his current course of action. However, this outcome is far from guaranteed if Trump’s Department of Justice fails to present a convincing and solid argument in his favor. So far they have been unable to produce a convincing argument.
Currently, the law is firmly aligned with the plaintiffs in their cases against Trump. He finds himself in a state of anticipation, hoping that the Supreme Court will deliver a decisive ruling that clarifies the limits of his conduct. While these limits are already implied in existing law, Trump and his Republican allies are willfully ignoring them, waiting instead for an explicit mandate from the Court to halt their actions. This reliance on judicial intervention highlights the untenable situation Trump created and brings out the ongoing fight to force his dictatorial urges onto the public under the pretence of “efficiency”.
The ones who come here everyday to foment rage, to stoke anger, to criticize Professor Turley, to try to get us worked up are…………….little George and Gigi and Dennis and Anonymous!!!
Let’s give them all a big hand for being so consistent! So redundant! So revealing! So…..failed! We know better!
🤣
Wow! Hatred and violence now being spewed and justified from a Baptist church. The end must be near
# Turley’s blogs are without an emotional content. He presents it. I expect this from swindlers such as Caudle. Really sort of a tragic figure preying upon fear from the pulpit.
# the end must be near? Ah, alas, no, it drags on in this petty pace…petty place.
Outrageous fortune
Holy Shades of Jeremiah Wright! I wonder if this dude was getting some under-the-table tithes from USAID?
So did Jasmine Crockett, Maxine Waters, Schumer, Mfune and many other Democrats. When you can’t pound the facts, try to pound your enemy. That is how the liberals play.
You can tell the freezing of the USAID funds have hurt the color revolution industry in the US as democrats are having to use their bargain basement crisis actors.
That’s just playin’ chin. Just wait till the tariff taxes plus stock market bubble burst kicks in. Your days are going to get really interesting then, hullslobby.
Danger of Deep Worldwide Recession in 2025 – Ed Dowd
“The new report shows how a weak economy was propped up under the Biden Administration and how a crash, this year, is inevitable.”
https://usawatchdog.com/danger-of-deep-worldwide-recession-in-2025-ed-dowd/
Trump enacted tariffs during his first admin. And Biden kept them. Then, Biden add more.
Peddle hard, cretin. Some tariffs are necessary to balance markets. Trump has, and had, a first graders understanding of that reality, thereby f ING up his use of them. Signaled by his crashing the economy under his watch. Covid played a role, yes. But it doesn’t make up for the fact Biden’s economic numbers surpassed even the best of trump’s riding the back of Obama’s economic recovery.
Bidenomics fallout: Highest electric costs ever
“The Payless Power survey of prices under presidents since Jimmy Carter showed a price of 16 cents per kilowatt-hour during Biden’s term, a 24% jump over the first Trump administration when it was 13 cents.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/3315369/bidenomics-fallout-highest-electric-costs-ever/
I’ll give you the take home message for this because you’re clearly too gullible and stupid to understand…, here I’ll even put it in a fox style jingo….’thanks for leaving the country a financial wreck, trump!!’
You make up stuff and spread falsehoods. I post actual economic data that shows how bad Bidenomics has been. As I have stated before, and others have noted, the great Biden economy was an illusion. It was propped up by massive government spending which in turn gave us Bidenflation. Here is another source proving Bidenomics was a failure, https://www.statista.com/chart/33790/nominal-and-real-wage-growth-in-the-united-states/
Biden had set up for a crash as others have noted. We all knew it was coming. Things will get worse before it gets better. Just remember, while you will try to claim it was Trump’s fault, we will be able to point out the reality it was Bidenomics.
“the great Biden economy was an illusion. It was propped up by massive government spending which in turn gave us Bidenflation.”
The illusion was also bolstered by deliberately inflated, distorted, and downright fabricated employment data from official government sources:
Lost In Today’s Job Revision Chaos: Over 1 Million Foreign-Born Workers Found A Job… And No Native Borns
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/lost-todays-job-revision-chaos-over-1-million-foreign-born-workers-found-job-and-no
“Slowly, the unprecedented payrolls fabrication of the Biden administration, which we spent much of the past 4 years exposing to our readers, is starting to unravel.”
Number 6,
Well said!! For those of us who know how to read the BLS Jobs Report, we knew this was ongoing for some time now.
“while you will try to claim it was Trump’s fault, we will be able to point out the reality it was Bidenomics.”
What some call Bidenflation and Nancy Pelosi called Putinflation was actually started by the Covid relief package circa May 2020. Many people were out of work due to lockdowns and many industries began losing money instantly. Pres. Trump 45, Pelosi, and everyone supported paying individuals and businesses for not working and not collecting rent. Then some people had enough free time on their hands to riot all summer.
I believe “covid played a roll” is all we need to see how stupid you are. Really Einstein, you think covid payed a roll in the economic issues of 2020? The Democrat lockdowns! The Democrat riots that were countenanced during the lockdowns!
“. . . Biden’s economic numbers surpassed even the best of trump’s . . .”
There are your delusions. And then there are the economic catastrophes, caused by Biden’s statist policies:
Cumulative inflation of some 30%
Energy prices skyrocketed around 40%
Interest rates went up about 4X
*Real* wages decreased
2024 was the “year of bankruptcy” (personal and corporate)
The middle class raided its savings, retirement, and maxed out credit cards — just to pay for living expenses
The delusion is yours…, and it’s statistically borne out. This shouldn’t even be up for discussion as D administration’s are always statistically better than R administration’s….
That’s even with the first months of D administrations always having to sweep away the smoldering wreckage of R administration’s before them. It’s built into Rs desire to suck the dick of trickle on economics.
Biden’s administration did as good as a neo liberal governing body could do…only way he could’ve done better is to have attacked the true culprit of inflation other than corporate price gouging…, that being not taking measures to adjust pay to cost of living. They just let it catch up on its own.
Bite me magats.
Anonymous, odd that you never worried about retirees losing 20% of their purchasing power in 4 years?? Odd that you have no issue with FEMA money giving NYC 59 million to house illegals??? Odd that you have no issue with hundreds of thousands dead in Europe due to your feckless president?? Odd that you have no issue with Iran getting billions of OUR money in order to foment terror in the ME??
Odd that you are so odd.
Hullslobby: impressed by your recitation of fox chirons…too bad they’re not true.