A prominent Christian pastor is refusing to wear a mask on the grounds that Jesus probably wouldn’t wear one either.
Andrew Wommack, a television evangelist from Colorado, recently spoke out against face coverings despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“I don’t know that they have a Constitutional right to require you to wear a face mask and stuff like this,” Wommack said.
The self-proclaimed healer went onto suggest that because individuals should strive to mimic Christ, wearing a mask makes little sense.
“Well, you know, we’re supposed to see ourself in Christ… and I just can’t even picture Jesus wearing a mask as he goes around praying for people,” Wommack added. “It just doesn’t compute for me.”
The pastor’s comments are nearly identical to those made on Monday by Ohio State Rep. Nino Vitale, who likewise denounced face masks after arguing that people are made in God’s image.
“This is the greatest nation on earth founded on Judeo-Christian Principles. One of those principles is that we are all created in the image and likeness of God,” Vitale said on Facebook. “That image is seen the most by our face. I will not wear a mask. That’s the image of God right there, and I want to see it in my brothers and sisters.”
Wommack’s mask commentary is not his first run-in with controversy since the deadly coronavirus outbreak began. The pastor also claimed last month that any Christian who catches COVID-19 is not a devout enough believer.
“What about the people who are Christians and they love God and yet they’re sick? Even Christian leaders and stuff?” Wommack stated. “And I said, ‘Well, I’m not condemning anybody, but I can guarantee you God has provided healing. And if we get sick, it’s not God who failed, it’s me that failed.’”
The evangelist is not the only prominent Christian figure to raise eyebrows with their remarks on the coronavirus.
Tony Spell, a pastor out of Louisiana, stirred outrage last month after urging his followers to donate their entire stimulus checks to other pastors and ministries. Critics argued that food banks, for example, would find a much better use for the money as opposed to already-wealthy preachers.
Televangelist Kenneth Copeland, America’s richest pastor, also made headlines in April after defiantly blowing air from his mouth in an attempt to destroy the coronavirus.
“COVID-19! I blow the wind of God on you! You are destroyed forever,” Copeland said. “And you’ll never be back. Thank you, God.”
Unfortunately, and unsurprisingly, thousands more have died since Copeland blew hot wind on TV. As of Wednesday evening, over 73,500 Americans have died due to COVID-19.
READ MORE:
- Defiant pastor tells followers to give their entire stimulus checks to churches
- ‘We’re good now’: America’s richest pastor blows the coronavirus away
- This Florida megachurch is ignoring social distancing during coronavirus
H/T Friendly Atheist
