"Christ is King" trending for all the wrong reasons

On Candace Owens, Kanye West, & the New Generation of Christian Antisemites

Last week, the conservative media network Daily Wire and commentator Candace Owens parted ways. This was the culmination of a months-long, very public dispute between DW founder Ben Shapiro and Owens that involved the Israel-Hamas war. While IBSI has taken no side in the Shapiro-Owens rift, we have called out Owens’ erroneous statements about Israel as well as her role in what seemed to be Kanye’s false story about Jews and his banking issues.

Last November, Candace Owens used the phrase Christ is King in an X (Twitter) spat with Ben Shapiro, something (as a pastor) I have personally denounced as tantamount to taking the Lord’s name in vain. Christ is King in the context that Candace used it was not only inappropriate, it was another signal to antisemites to use the phrase to attack Jews. Christ is King is trending on social media as everyone from atheists, to neo-Nazis, to Muslims, to Hamas-supporters are employning it. In this regard, #ChristisKing has become the new #BlackLivesMatter, and sadly, many conservatives are falling for the deception the way many liberals fell for #BLM.

Beginning in the fall of 2022, when Kanye viciously came for the Jewish community, even embracing Hitler and the Nazis, many Christian conservatives — Black and White — supported him or at the least refused to acknowledge the evil and danger of his words. I told our family that this was the ushering in of a new generation of Christian antisemites. Candace’s actions and manipulative use of Christianity is another indication of the dangerous place to which we’ve come.

On Tuesday, April 16th at 8 PM Eastern, IBSI Pastors Presents will deal with the issue in-depth. Though IBSI Pastors Presents is primarily for church leaders, all are welcome to attend the online event.

Event Title: What Pastors Need to Know about Candace Owens, Kanye West, & the New Generation of Christian Antisemites

Event Description:

Since Kanye West's and Candace Owens' open attacks on the Jewish community beginning in 2022, more Christian antisemites have joined the fray, particularly on social media. Kanye has even praised Hitler and the Nazis. The phrase "Christ is King" (which is a true declaration embraced by all followers of Jesus), is being used as a weapon against Jews.

Like our discussion regarding Louis Farrakhan and the spiritual battle for Black America, Owens - with millions of followers on social media - is deceptively using scripture and religious phrases to mask her blatant disdain for Jews and the state of Israel. What does this mean for the Church? How is this reality impacting the discussion on Israel-Palestine? And how can pastors and church leaders strengthen their congregations in the midst of these increasing onslaughts against Israel and the Jewish people?

Join us Tuesday, April 16th at 8 PM Eastern for this discussion.

You can register here.