Rev. Raphael Warnock, a Democratic U.S. senator from Georgia and pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, has removed a controversial Easter tweet stating that even non-Christians can save themselves by doing good.
“The meaning of Easter is more transcendent than the resurrection of Jesus Christ,” Warnock wrote on Twitter Easter Sunday. “Whether you are Christian or not, through a commitment to helping others we are able to save ourselves.”
After backlash, the tweet was removed from Warnock’s social media page.
The tweet caused some to accuse the 51-year-old reverend who won a Senate runoff election in January and propel Democrats to the Senate majority of heresy.
“Warnock deleted his heretical tweet,” President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Jenna Ellis responded by tweeting. “He should delete Reverend in front of his name too.”
In an earlier tweet, Ellis said that Warnock’s tweet was “false gospel and heresy.”
“We cannot save ourselves,” she wrote. “The absolute truth and only meaning of Easter that matters is the literal, physical resurrection of Jesus Christ, and we must accept Him as Lord and Savior.”
Ellis challenged Warnock to “read Romans.”
MSNBC host Joy Reid came to Warnock’s defense in response to Ellis’ tweets.