“Reacher” star Alan Ritchson seemed to make another dig at conservative Christians this week, posting a video of himself reflecting on Scripture passages and applying them as criticism to certain Christians.
The Amazon Prime series star also claimed that he has been “met with violence” for sharing such views. Ritchson appeared to be alluding to the backlash received for ridiculing Trump-voting Christians and some law enforcement officers in a recent Hollywood Reporter interview.
Ritchson, who also starred alongside actor Henry Cavill in the recent film “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” made his latest claims during a new video on his “InstaChurch” YouTube channel, a set of videos where he speaks to his followers about Christianity and the meaning he has gleaned from his faith.
This time it involved a lecture about a major group of Christians in America mistreating “the foreigner” or those that do not “fly your flag.”
He first mentioned a Bible verse, stating, “Jeremiah 22: 2-3. So, if we go to the prophets, what do they say? ‘Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.’”
He paused, then applied the verse to the world. “When I think about that, I think about politics. And when I think about this, I think about an entire platform by those who mostly claim to be Christians, who are doing the exact opposite of this with their voting power!”
He added that these are people “who are not helping, the fatherless, who are making victims of widows.”
“Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow,” he continued, stating, “This is the kind of generosity that we are called to and it’s for everybody. It’s not just for believers. It’s not just for those who have been indoctrinated into the church. It’s not just for those who are American or fit your nation state or fly your flag. It is for everybody!”
In his April Hollywood Reporter interview, Ritchson slammed some Christians who support Trump, stating, “Trump is a rapist and a con man, and yet the entire Christian church seems to treat him like he’s their poster child and it’s unreal. I don’t understand it.”
The claims went viral, prompting a significant backlash to the action star, who in that same interview added, “Cops get away with murder all the time, and the fact that we can’t really hold them accountable for their improprieties is disturbing to me.”
The latter quote prompted the National Fraternal Order of Police to confront Ritchson at the time, calling him “another useless Hollywood actor, virtue signaling for attention at the expense of brave police officers around this country” on its Facebook page.
Ritchson fired back over Instagram, stating, “This kind of emotionally immature response is the epitome of what concerns me about law enforcement today. If this is how leadership handles a peaceful disagreement, what does life look like for those unseen interactions in the street?”
During his recent Christian lecture, Ritchson seemed to touch on the anger he sparked, claiming he was the victim of violence.
“If you want to see violence flee the world, be more generous to everybody! That is the Christian ethic! That is what I don’t see happening. And when I speak up about it in my own ways, I’m met with violence.”
