Former Sunday School Teacher Turned Senate Candidate Omits Reference To Jesus In Easter Post
This weekend, billions of Christians continued the two-thousand-year-old tradition of celebrating the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. This is a central, if not the central, belief of Christians throughout time. As Paul says in First Corinthians 15:14, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain.”(ESV)
But North Carolina Democrats’ Senate Nominee, former Governor Roy Cooper, who highlights his background on teaching “Sunday School” on his campaign website, omitted any reference to Jesus Christ and his life, death, and resurrection from his Easter social media posts. On Facebook, the progressive-leaning social media platform Blue Sky, and Twitter, his campaign posted a bland message that read, “Happy Easter, North Carolina. Wishing you a blessed day with your loved ones, filled with renewal and joy.”
In contrast to Cooper’s Christless Easter posts, the Republican Senate Nominee, Michael Whatley, posted messages to commemorate Jesus’s death on Good Friday and celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter.
Additionally, Democrat Governor Josh Stein, who practices Judaism, exemplified the American religious pluralist tradition by recognizing Christians deeply held beliefs about Easter.
Here is what Stein posted from his official Twitter account:
Cooper has spent decades in politics. The internet archives show that in 2015, Cooper proudly identified as a “Sunday school teacher, elder, and deacon.” But in October 2016, as Cooper campaigned against House Bill Two, the internet archives show that the campaign changed the language to “he served as a Sunday school teacher.”
In 2020 during the pandemic, Governor Cooper’s executive orders restricted religious liberty and his orders were struck down by a federal judge. The federal judge clearly stated, “There is no pandemic exception to the Constitution of the United States or the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.” In response to this ruling, Cooper’s office said that they disagreed with the decision. The archives shows that his campaign continued to describe him as a Sunday School teacher.
