I may not be the best Christian–far from it, to be honest–but I am a Christian. I’m also a military veteran. I’ve never looked at these two things really being at odds with one another. After all, it’s not like the Bible doesn’t contain plenty of wars being fought by some of God’s favorite people.

But it seems there are those who think you can’t do both. There always have been, of course, and I respect people who say their beliefs are contrary to serving in the military. I don’t agree with it, but they’re making a stand regarding themselves and I can respect that.

What I don’t like is when people try to judge the men and women who serve.

Especially when those people end up running for Senate.

Democratic Senate candidate Raphael Warnock said in a 2011 sermon that Americans cannot serve God while also serving in the U.S. military.

The newly unearthed comments threaten to complicate Warnock’s candidacy in a tight Georgia Senate race: Georgia is home to the fifth largest active duty military population in the country, according to a 2018 Department of Defense report.

“America, nobody can serve God and the military,” Warnock said in the sermon delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where he serves as senior pastor. “You can’t serve God and money. You cannot serve God and mammon at the same time.”

“America choose ye this day who you will serve. Choose ye this day!” he added.

Video of the remarks surfaced as Warnock is facing criticism for other controversial statements, including his claim that “America needs to repent for its worship of whiteness.” He has also come under scrutiny for his support for his religious mentor James Hal Cone, who said that white Christians practice the “theology of the Antichrist” and described white people as “satanic.”

This, of course, runs rather counter to the Rev. Raphael Warnock I keep seeing on my television. That one accuses his opponent, Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of name-calling and implying that she’s distorting the truth.

The only distortions I’m seeing, though, are from Warnock who is a Deep South version of Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the controversial pastor with ties to Obama. In fact, it now makes perfect sense why Obama did a commercial for this guy. He probably felt right at home in Warnock’s church.

Seriously, this is the guy Georgia Democrats came up with to run for the Senate?

The men and women who serve in our military are perfectly capable of defending this great nation and, if they so choose, also serving God. I’ve seen plenty of them do it, both during my own service and since. That’s because much of what our nation stands for is also what Christians stand for. The two aren’t mutually exclusive.

Yet by making this statement, Wright Warnock is claiming that they can’t do any such thing.

Which is funny, because if their service to this country is so antithetical to Warnock’s theology, then just what in the hell should we make of his desire to sit in the United States Senate? If serving anyone but God is incompatible with serving God, then who the hell will he be serving as a senator?

I’m going to take a stab in the dark and say it won’t be the Georgians he represents, that’s for sure.