Although the war against Iran is the hottest topic in the world right now, the issue with ICE agents in America remains unresolved. While many condemn the organization for its lack of due process and aggressive behavior, ICE agents still have plenty of supporters. Among those who back them is Eric Lundberg, a pastor from Graham, Washington. He leads Living Word Lutheran Church and has been outspoken in his support of ICE.
Here are some of the things this Washington pastor has said. In one instance, he claimed that the actions of ICE agents were justified and that they were meting out justice upon the wicked. Regarding the shooting of Renee Good, he started off by stating that it wasn’t necessary for the ICE agents to shoot the woman, and yet he claimed that the act was justified.
The Washington pastor also accused leaders on the left of misleading their supporters into believing that ICE agents were the real issue. That justification was also his reasoning for why he believed that Renee Good was in the wrong for getting in the way of the ICE agents that day.
The Washington pastor also stated that he believed the protesters were the ones perpetrating violence and chaos in America. He further claimed that America has been infiltrated by Marxists who wanted to ruin the country.
Online, many internet users were outraged after hearing what the Washington pastor was saying about Renee Good’s death. Many couldn’t believe that he still supported ICE despite the violence that the agents have caused to civilians. “No hate like Christian love yet again,” one user said.
Others argued that other Lutheran pastors did not share the same view as this Washington pastor. One Redditor said, “Please be aware that this congregation is part of a splinter group that broke from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over the ELCA’s acceptance of LGBTQ people. This is absolutely not the mainstream Lutheran view.”
One user who claimed to be a pastor also expressed disagreement with the Washington pastor. They said, “I’m not even a hyper progressive pastor, but I completely disagree. And so do a lot of my peers. I oppose this immigration policy because it dehumanizes and endangers humans, humans that I believe are made in the image of God. The violence that occurs happens to the personhood of immigrants when we rob them of their dignity.”
Some users accused the Washington pastor of being a con artist who wanted to instill fear in his followers. “He’s a con artist who preys on people’s fears and insecurities. He encourages them to persecute ‘those other people’ lower than them on the socioeconomic ladder to justify their feelings of superiority. He is a charlatan and his followers are morally lost,” one user said.
