Tucker Carlson is angry at Evangelicals: Maybe he should take it up with God

During Tucker Carlson’s lengthy sit-down interview with The New York Times recently, he continued to disparage Evangelical Christians. It’s becoming a constant theme for Carlson, somewhat striking coming from someone who calls himself a Bible-believing Christian.

On the surface, you would think the so-called conservative Carlson would align neatly with traditional biblical principles, but Evangelical Christians' overwhelming support for the State of Israel has not only complicated matters – it's made Carlson go nuclear.

Do you want examples from the interview? Here’s a sampling:

“There are a lot of Evangelical Christians who are convinced that God wants you to support [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, which I find incomprehensible.”

“We have tens of millions of Evangelical Christians who unquestioningly support Israel because they believe it’s their theological duty to do so.”

"I find Israel actually geo-strategically irrelevant except to the extent that we imbue it with relevance at the behest largely of Evangelical Christians."

And then came this. When asked whether he would like to see Christian Zionists stop supporting the State of Israel in the way that they do, Carlson responded:

"Of course, immediately, on many different grounds. But it’s really simple. Christians can never support the murder of innocents, period. That’s just a bright red line. Find the place where Jesus is like, “These people are annoying, kill them all.” It’s not there. So, where are you getting this? I’m hardly a theologian. But I’ve asked many Christian Zionist leaders who will speak to me. Now they won’t talk to me, but I certainly asked Ted Cruz this. I asked Mike Huckabee this. I tried to ask Franklin Graham. But I sincerely want to know where this is coming from. It can’t all be from the Book of Esther."

There’s so much to sift through here, but let’s begin with Carlson's view that God would never command the “murder of innocents.” Has Tucker read the Old Testament and the stories of God commanding the Israelites to wipe out certain civilizations? Tough passages for sure, but it did happen.

Of course, as the Bible reminds us, His ways are not our ways, so while we may not understand it or like it, our human minds cannot comprehend the ways of God.

What Tucker Carlson is operating from here is really a form of Christian moral absolutism, where he’s elevating the ethical teachings of Jesus Christ – especially the emphasis on protecting innocent life, loving enemies, and rejecting violence – as the controlling standard for all Christian behavior. 

Under this framework, moral rules like “do not kill innocents” are absolute and never overridden by politics, war or national interest. Basically, he’s going with how Jesus’ words carry more weight than harder Old Testament passages. Essentially, he’s simplifying Christianity down to a universal moral ethic – and then using that as a measuring stick for today's geopolitics.

But where Carlson misses the mark (and he does so often) is that supporting Israel doesn’t mean supporting harm to innocents. War is tragic, but sometimes necessary under strict moral rules. The truth is the Bible’s full context matters – not just one part. 

Carlson doesn’t just stay in theology. He also intertwined politics, Evangelicals and Israel by stating, “There are a lot of evangelical Christians who are convinced that God wants you to support Netanyahu, which I find incomprehensible,” and, “We have tens of millions of evangelical Christians who unquestioningly support Israel because they believe it’s their theological duty to do so.”

Indeed, it is true that for many Evangelical Christians, support for Israel isn’t just political – it’s biblical. We’re talking about how God’s promises to Israel are forever, and the idea that blessing Israel brings blessing. And, of course, that Israel plays a central role in End Times theology.

But to suggest that Evangelicals blindly support Israel’s policies no matter what they are (abortion, for example) is preposterous. Evangelicals support Israel biblically, not morally. Furthermore, this is not about Benjamin Netanyahu at all. That’s short-sighted and wrong.

This is about supporting Israel, no matter who the prime minister is. God’s covenant with Israel isn’t determined by whether the prime minister is from the Likud party or the Labor party. God’s promise to Israel doesn’t hinge on the makeup of the Knesset.

Carlson wants to make Evangelical Christians the evil boogeyman in this story. They’re not. Neither is Israel.

If Tucker Carlson has such a problem with Evangelicals unequivocally supporting Israel, maybe he shouldn’t take that up with Mike Huckabee or Ted Cruz and instead take it up with God.