Conservative and Christian leaders reacted to the launch of MSCHF's 'Satan Shoes' and release of Lil Nas X's music video celebrating "debauchery" on Palm Sunday.
Six leading conservative figures criticized and warned against the twisting of Scriptural truths through commercialization schemes like that of MSCHF's, a company that makes merchandise off controversies.
Through a Facebook post, Samaritan's Purse head Franklin Graham branded MSCHF's Satan Shoes "a dangerous marketing endeavor."
On the order page for the shoes, the marketing tag line states, "better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven." MSCHF put on sale 666 pairs of shoes on Monday and it got sold in less than a minute says a BBC report.
"The morals in this country have fallen so fast, and many times the entertainment industry is leading the way," he wrote in reference to the part of Lil Nas X's new music video where the rapper is seen descending to hell using a stripper pole and giving Satan a lap dance.
"The Word of God says, 'And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell' (Matthew 10:28). Hell is a real place, and so is the eternal torment of those who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior," reminded the son of renowned pastor and evangelist Billy Graham.
Bob Reccord, founder and chairman of Total Life Impact Ministries, Inc. and former head of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board, told The Christian Post that "most all of our Founding Fathers are turning over in their graves about now."
"Those who hold and treasure our Judeo-Christian heritage are surely staggered by the wanton disrespect and demeaning for everything that made this nation great and gave it moral and spiritual anchors. Do not dismiss God's punishment when they choose to abandon the God who had done so much for them, and his anger burned against them ... I sincerely hope the world is watching - and praying for America," he pronounced.
In her Sunday tweet, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem lamented the subtle conditioning of today's young people.
"Our kids are being told that this kind of product is, not only okay, it's 'exclusive.'" she tweeted.
"But do you know what's more exclusive? Their God-given eternal soul. We are in a fight for the soul of our nation. We need to fight hard. And we need to fight smart. We have to win," wrote Noem.
Candace Owens, a conservative author and talk show host, also blasted the so-called "Satan shoes" in her tweet. She argued that such acts are counter-productive to the advance of Black America.
"We are promoting Satan shoes to wear on our feet. We've got Cardi B named as woman of the year. But we're convinced it's white supremacy that's keeping black America behind." she pointed out.
Alex McFarland, a conservative author and evangelist, also gave a statement to The Christian Post saying,
"Believers and non-believers alike have questions about Satan and the demonic. Some youth seem especially prone to curiosity about the dark side. There is no shortage of references to Satan in pop culture to satisfy public fascination, but it is important that our opinions on such be Biblically informed," he said.
Mark Burns, pastor of Harvest Praise & Worship Center in South Carolina, contended the necessity for Christians to be battle ready.
"These #SatanShoes by #Nike & #LilNasX with 666 and a drop of human blood in the sole is a reason why we Christians must be prayed up ready to battle in the spirit with the Voice of the Holy Spirit," he tweeted.
