Hagerman church pastor stands by ‘antisemitism isn’t a sin’ sign message
The Valley Baptist Church in Hagerman recently changed its sign on its front lawn to read “Antisemitism isn’t a sin, but gossip is.”
Pastor Rick Emerson said the message is in reference to a previous message displayed on the sign, which read “Hold the Judeo, keep the Christian.” He said he received several complaints and an anonymous letter accusing him of being antisemitic, a “Jew-hater” and “not a real Christian.”
“It was brought to my attention that other people were discussing the sign with others in the community and assuming motive, without talking to me, which you know is gossip,” Emerson said. “As a Pastor in this community, I intended this as a teaching opportunity. Instead of coming to me or reaching out to me to find out my intention, ill motives were attributed to me as they gossiped with others.”
When asked if antisemitism is morally wrong, Emerson provided the following explanation:
“Here lies the heart of the issue: what is meant by ‘antisemitism’? If we break down the word into its components, ‘anti’ means against and ‘semite’ refers to the descendants of Noah’s son Shem. The descendants of Shem include the biblical Israelites, descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But it would also include many other people groups including most Arabs, Persians, and other ancient inhabitants of the Middle East and elsewhere. Therefore, being against Arabs would be ‘antisemitic’ according to a plain understanding of the word. As a Christian, my morality is defined by what God has revealed through Scripture and nature. Things that are morally right we call ‘good’, things that are morally wrong we call ‘sin’. Is antisemitism a ‘sin’? Not inherently. Being against an Arab who wants to harm my family is morally good. Having unrighteous hatred towards a Persian would be sinful ‘antisemitism’. As Christians, it is not good to use relatively new words (created in the 1880s) to define sin, especially when we already have words and concepts that have been used for the better part of last two-thousand years of Christianity.
As you can see, ‘antisemitism’ is a clumsy and imprecise word for what most people understand to be ‘Jew-hate’. But that’s the point; use an imprecise term and then import meaning and guilt into it. For example, for the last few Easter seasons, a hot-button issue on social media has been whether the statement ‘Christ is Lord’ is antisemitic. In one sense, yes, it is antisemitic. Religious Jews do not believe ‘Christ is Lord’. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day handed over Jesus to be crucified to the Romans instead of recognizing him as Lord. But does it mean ‘I hate Jews’ if someone says ‘Christ is Lord’? No. If a doctrinal statement of the Christian Faith is ‘antisemitic’, then ‘antisemitism’ is obviously not a sin or category of sin. So no. ‘Antisemitism’ is not ‘morally wrong’ because it is an ambiguous term and when defining morality, we should be precise.”
Emerson said that he stands by the statement and that it is “in alignment with Scripture and nearly 1,900 years of church tradition.”
“I was hoping it would provoke Christians into considering the sin of gossip they were guilty of instead of vague accusations of ‘antisemitism’ when they read something they didn’t understand,” Emerson said.
https://www.kmvt.com/2026/03/03/hagerman...n-message/
The Valley Baptist Church in Hagerman recently changed its sign on its front lawn to read “Antisemitism isn’t a sin, but gossip is.”
Pastor Rick Emerson said the message is in reference to a previous message displayed on the sign, which read “Hold the Judeo, keep the Christian.” He said he received several complaints and an anonymous letter accusing him of being antisemitic, a “Jew-hater” and “not a real Christian.”
“It was brought to my attention that other people were discussing the sign with others in the community and assuming motive, without talking to me, which you know is gossip,” Emerson said. “As a Pastor in this community, I intended this as a teaching opportunity. Instead of coming to me or reaching out to me to find out my intention, ill motives were attributed to me as they gossiped with others.”
When asked if antisemitism is morally wrong, Emerson provided the following explanation:
“Here lies the heart of the issue: what is meant by ‘antisemitism’? If we break down the word into its components, ‘anti’ means against and ‘semite’ refers to the descendants of Noah’s son Shem. The descendants of Shem include the biblical Israelites, descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But it would also include many other people groups including most Arabs, Persians, and other ancient inhabitants of the Middle East and elsewhere. Therefore, being against Arabs would be ‘antisemitic’ according to a plain understanding of the word. As a Christian, my morality is defined by what God has revealed through Scripture and nature. Things that are morally right we call ‘good’, things that are morally wrong we call ‘sin’. Is antisemitism a ‘sin’? Not inherently. Being against an Arab who wants to harm my family is morally good. Having unrighteous hatred towards a Persian would be sinful ‘antisemitism’. As Christians, it is not good to use relatively new words (created in the 1880s) to define sin, especially when we already have words and concepts that have been used for the better part of last two-thousand years of Christianity.
As you can see, ‘antisemitism’ is a clumsy and imprecise word for what most people understand to be ‘Jew-hate’. But that’s the point; use an imprecise term and then import meaning and guilt into it. For example, for the last few Easter seasons, a hot-button issue on social media has been whether the statement ‘Christ is Lord’ is antisemitic. In one sense, yes, it is antisemitic. Religious Jews do not believe ‘Christ is Lord’. The Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day handed over Jesus to be crucified to the Romans instead of recognizing him as Lord. But does it mean ‘I hate Jews’ if someone says ‘Christ is Lord’? No. If a doctrinal statement of the Christian Faith is ‘antisemitic’, then ‘antisemitism’ is obviously not a sin or category of sin. So no. ‘Antisemitism’ is not ‘morally wrong’ because it is an ambiguous term and when defining morality, we should be precise.”
Emerson said that he stands by the statement and that it is “in alignment with Scripture and nearly 1,900 years of church tradition.”
“I was hoping it would provoke Christians into considering the sin of gossip they were guilty of instead of vague accusations of ‘antisemitism’ when they read something they didn’t understand,” Emerson said.
https://www.kmvt.com/2026/03/03/hagerman...n-message/
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
