Fox's Sean Hannity interviews Paul of Tarsus, transcript below:
SEAN HANNITY: In news that may well end the campaign of Paul of Tarsus (formerly Saul), inflammatory youtube videos have emerged of the man Paul refers to as his "spiritual advisor" for the last twenty years, a fiery, anti-Roman Middle-Eastern preacher some radical Jews call Yeshua, others Jesu, and still others Jesus Christ. Paul likens the fiery preacher to family, calling him a "father." And now this same father is threatening to derail Paul’s campaign to save the world from eternal damnation. Here’s a sample from one of Jesus’s sermons:
JESUS: Truly I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God! [cheers and dancing from raggedly dressed Middle-Eastern peasants]
HANNITY: And here’s another. I’ll go ahead and warn listeners that this is extremely disturbing material:
JESUS: "You cannot serve God and money! [cheers, two peasants pat Jesus’s back] No, no, no, you CAN NOT serve GOD and MONEY! [more cheers] See, now, a rich man named Dives didn’t give any of his food to a poor man named Lazarus, and when the poor man died, where does he go? He goes to HEAVEN! Rich man died, where does he go? He goes straight to HELL! [barefoot peasants cheer] And he says, "oh please, please, let that poor man just dip his little finger–just the PINKY finger!–in some water and give me just a drop, a tiny, little drop." And God says, "ah, ah, ah, no, no, no, you’ll stay right here in Hell, rich man!" [peasants cheer, jumping up and down, slapping each other five] And rich man says, "oh please, please, please, send some prophets to warn my family, my rich relatives so they don’t go to hell like me!" And God says, "I’ve already sent my prophets! You had your chance, rich folk! YOU’RE GOING TO HELL!" [peasants go crazy]
HANNITY: Disturbing stuff, certainly, and it’s raising new questions throughout the Middle East about Paul’s ability to bring people together in what he calls the "universal church." Many people are saying they would never let their children go to Paul’s preacher’s church, and that Paul should have distanced himself from Jesus a long time ago. Joining us now from Ephesia is Paul of Tarsus. Paul thanks for joining us.
PAUL: Thank you, Sean. It’s good to be back on Fox News.
HANNITY: Paul, your longtime pastor, the man you refer to as a father, has said that the world will be split up into goats and sheep at the judgment, and that the sheep helped the poor and the goats didn’t. And Jesus says the goats will go to hell and the sheep to heaven. How do you think those sentiments will play in middle-Corinth?
PAUL: Well, obviously I’m shocked, and I can’t make this clear enough: I reject and denounce these particular statements, and I never heard them from Jesus himself. You know–look, what I heard about the preaching of Jesus was basically about faith, about loving God. I was never present when Jesus said those things, and if I had been, I would have questioned him about them.
HANNITY: But you’ve associated yourself with this man, you’ve called him a father, you’ve been baptized in his name–you say all children should be baptized in his name. This is the same man that says, and I quote, "if any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Do you hate your mother and father, Paul?
PAUL: You know, Sean, look, we have to remember that Jesus is from a different generation. You know, it was the first century, and there was a lot of Jewish anger and frustration at the Romans. Jesus had seen a lot of bad things go down. And this is part of the Jewish experience–Jewish history. But I’m part of a new generation, and I want to bring people in a new direction –
HANNITY: You like Amos? Think he’s a great man?
PAUL: I’m sorry?
HANNITY: Your church, your preacher has endorsed Amos, called him a great Jew. Here’s audio of Amos preaching:
AMOS: Gaaaawd says: "For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes – they that trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth, and turn aside the way of the afflicted. . . . I will punish you! [cheers in the background] I will punish you for your inequities!" [cheers] God’s going to take you away with hooks! [laughter and cheers] He’s going to take you away with fishhooks! God says "I hate your pledge of allegiance! I hate your songs! I hate your Toby Keith!" God says, "let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream!"
HANNITY: Do you think God will damn Israel, Mr. Tarsus?
PAUL: Look, you know, I can’t make this clear enough: I find that rhetoric inflammatory and offensive. I deplore divisive statements, whether they come from my supporters, from the Hebrews or from the Romans.
HANNITY: Do you think the rich should sell all they have and give it to the poor?
PAUL: I--
HANNITY: Do you believe the last will be first and the first will be last?
PAUL: You know, look–I’ve said repeatedly that slaves should regard their masters with honor, that wives should obey husbands. Sean, I like order– I’m the one that said you should obey authorities–
HANNITY: Jesus raids a mega-church, topples the cash register in the Starbucks, and yells out "the church is a den of robbers!" That's your preacher! You say you favor law and order, and yet the man you call father goes around doing property damage to upscale cafes in conservative mega-churches--
PAUL: No, no, no, Sean–look, I want to bring people together. That’s what I stood for at the beginning of this campaign, and that’s what I stand for now. I’ve said that love never ends, that God is love, you know. I’ve been saying all along on the campaign trail that there are no Jews, no Greeks, no slaves, or free, we’re all human, you know, no circumcision–I want to do away with circumcision, Sean! I think that'll bring people together. That’s my message. And I hope people will judge me by that message.
HANNITY: Before you go, I’d like you to sing the Roman national anthem right now for our listeners. Can you do it?