'Annuit Cœptis' Does Not Always Apply

One of the pitfalls of Christianity, and probably many faiths, is the idea that because one believes or professes to believe, God naturally favors their undertaking. In fact, that phrase on the back of the United States seal reads  “Annuit Cœptis,” translated as “He (God) favors our undertakings.” But that is not always the case. The stories of James MacDonald of Harvest Bible Ministries and Ravi Zacharias of RZIM, among others, point out how easy it is to conflate success or religious or political power with God’s blessing. Downfall follows one way or another.

As the 2022 Election season threatens to become a geological epoch, people are still watching the race between Republican Herschel Walker and incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock in Georgia. As of this writing, it appears the Democrats will keep control of the Senate. But the party does not want to lose Warnock.

Warnock, who is ordained and the lead pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, has decided to invoke the Lord in his battle to remain in office. According to The Washington Free Beacon, Warnock took the pulpit in the church he referred to as the “spiritual home of Martin Luther King Jr., America’s freedom church” on Sunday. He used the sermon as a chance to respond to criticisms about the church-owned apartments, Columbia Tower at MLK Village. Warnock and the church have come under fire for evicting people from the building who in some cases owed paltry amounts in back rent. The apartments are ostensibly for the homeless and disabled. One renter reportedly owed a mere $28.55 in back rent. The Beacon also said that police have been called to the building multiple times since January for an array of crimes, and the fire department has responded to many calls of people stranded or trapped by broken elevators. Dead bodies have been found in the building and there are murder investigations linked to the property. The Beacon also notes that the Georgia Secretary of State is mulling a subpoena against the Ebenezer Building Foundation, a charity operated by the church for failure to cooperate with an inquiry into its registration. While the church owns the Apartments from Hell, Warnock continues to draw a $7,417 tax-free housing allowance every month.

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Warnock, however, called the criticisms “attacks” on the church of Jesus Christ by the “rulers of the darkness of this world.” He even went so far as to invoke a quote from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians stating, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against the spiritual wickedness in high places that creates hellish situations, and then cause a lot of folk to bite one another. They attach themselves, even in church. Sometimes especially in church. They poison the warmth of the fellowship with vicious and venomous words. Vicious. And Venomous. Words. Lying. And backbiting.”

Pastor Warnock claims to be a man of God and a Christian. While he appears to be familiar with convenient quotes from the Epistles, he seems to have forgotten Jesus’ warnings to and condemnation of hypocritical religious leaders. He may want to re-read Matthew 23. To save time, I’ll touch on a few pertinent highlights:

“Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First, clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”

Or, there is this quote from Luke 20:46-47:

“Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Warnock would do well to heed these verses. But Democrats are known for being fairly forgiving of indiscretions within their ranks, while they blast conservatives for failing to clear bars they never set for themselves. And it may be that as a Democrat (and a minister) Warnock thinks that rules and laws do not apply to him. And he may well get away with it all. In this world, at least. But probably not in the next.

God does not favor this undertaking.