Alabama's governor: only Christians are his "brothers and sisters"

I have two words for this: good grief.

From FoxNews:

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley has only been in office three days, but he’s already facing criticism for remarks he made the day of his inauguration.

Bentley, a Republican, told a crowd at Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church on Monday that if they haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, they are not his brother or his sister.

“The governor does not have to be a seasoned politician to understand the impact of remarks like that,” said Bill Nigut, the Southeast regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. “These are remarks of a man who truly believes what he said, apparently. This seems to be quite clear that Christians are part of an exclusive relationship he has with his brothers and sisters and the rest of us are not.”

Bentley was sworn in shortly before he spoke at the church where the late civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was once a pastor. According to The Birmingham News, during his speech he said it was important for Alabamians to ”love and care for each other.” He also told the crowd he is color blind. But just minutes later, he went on to say if they don’t have the same ‘daddy’ then they are not brothers and sisters.

“There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit,” Bentley said during his speech. ”But if you have been adopted in God’s family like I have, and like you have if you’re a Christian and if you’re saved, and the Holy Spirit lives within you just like the Holy Spirit lives within me, then you know what that makes? It makes you and me brothers. And it makes you and me brother and sister.”

Read more.

Also blogging on this:

Who is my brother?  Who is my sister?

New Governor Gets MLK Exactly Wrong

Msgr. Charles Pope