Joshua Feuerstein

Last updated
Joshua Kane Feuerstein
Born (1981-01-07) January 7, 1981 (age 43)
Stanislaus County, California, U.S.
SpouseJessica Reynolds (m. 2014)
Children6
Parents
  • Thomas K Feuerstein [1] (father)
  • Kathleen Ashworth Feuerstein [2] (mother)

Joshua Feuerstein (born January 7, 1981) [3] is an American right-wing evangelical internet personality. Feuerstein received media attention in 2015 for posting videos on social media wherein he discussed then-recent events such as same-sex marriage legislation in the United States and Starbucks' red holiday cups, [4] [5] [6] and is known for his opposition to COVID restrictions, gun control measures, and what he views as America's obsession with arguments about race. [7]

Contents

Life and career

Feuerstein was born on January 7, 1981, in Stanislaus County, California. [3] He married Jessica Reynolds [8] in 2014, and the couple have six children. Feuerstein and his family reside in Fountain Hills, Arizona. [9] [10]

Online videos

Bakery video

Feuerstein first received media attention in April 2015 after he posted a video where he denounced Cut the Cake, a bakery in Longwood, Florida. [11] In the video, Feuerstein stated that he had called the bakery on April 1, 2015, and asked them to make a cake with an anti-gay marriage message on it. After the owner refused, Feuerstein posted the video and encouraged his followers to call the bakery themselves and show what he said was hypocrisy. This resulted in his followers attacking the bakery's Facebook page, including posting one-star reviews. [11] Feuerstein later removed the video and stated that he had done this as part of a social experiment on religious freedom. [12] Cut the Cake commented on his video, stating that his video had hurt their business and that they had received death threats over his actions. [13] The bakery held an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, through which they raised over $13,000. [14]

Second Amendment video

Feuerstein received more media attention in July 2015 after uploading a video that some media outlets such as Salon and Logo TV implied that he was encouraging followers to use violent actions against backers of anti-discrimination measures and legalized same-sex marriage. [15] [16] In the video, Feuerstein cited several media cases to back up claims that there were attacks on Christianity, such as claims that owners of the Hitching Post Wedding Chapel were going to face jail time and fines if they did not perform same-sex marriages. Towards the end of the video, Feuerstein stated "They are coming after our First Amendment constitutional rights. Well, check this out. This is one pastor that will not bow. Why? Because my First Amendment right is guaranteed by my Second Amendment right." [17] The Advocate heavily criticized Feuerstein, calling the video "disturbing". [18] Writers for The Advocate and HuffPost also asserted that several of his claims were inaccurate. [17] [18]

Planned Parenthood video

On July 29, 2015, Feuerstein also uploaded a video onto the video-sharing website Vimeo, in which he is shown saying, "I say, tonight, we punish Planned Parenthood. I think it's time that abortion doctors should have to run and hide and be afraid for their life." [sic] The original video was taken down on November 30, 2015, in the aftermath of the Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood shooting but it was saved and reposted on YouTube by several others. [19]

Starbucks video

In November 2015, Feuerstein posted a video on Facebook criticizing Starbucks for removing Christmas-related symbols from its seasonal cups in favor of a solid red design. [20] The video made national headlines and Feuerstein appeared on CNN that same month. In his appearance, he stated that his post was not just about the Starbucks cup, adding, "The silent majority is sick and tired of consistently being bullied to be quiet about our beliefs and trying to remove Christ out of Christmas." [21] He appeared alongside radio personality Pete Dominick, who heavily criticized Feuerstein and stated that his energy would have been better spent feeding the homeless, which he stated would accomplish Feuerstein's point "without all the hatred and bigotry and cynical self-promotion". [5] [22] [23]

2021 storming of the United States Capitol

On January 5, 2021, Feuerstein spoke at a rally in D.C. where he and a number of other anti-abortion pastors, including Pastors Ken Peters and Jon Schrock, spoke in support of Donald Trump's claims that election fraud happened during the 2020 United States presidential election. During his speech, Feuerstein specifically talked about Mike Pence's role in the following day's counting and claimed he would not refuse to certify the election "like the little coward, the little swamp monster, the little slimeball he is." [24] Feuerstein would go on to condemn Senators Ben Sasse, Mitt Romney, and Mitch McConnell for allowing the "steal" to happen. Feuerstein concluded his speech by saying, "It is time for war! And let us stop the steal!" [25] [26] As a result of his participation in this rally, Feuerstein was suspected of inciting the insurrection attempt that happened the following day, as many of the attendees at the January 5 rally were arrested during the following day's events. In a televised interview with Newsmax, Feuerstein said that he had been contacted by the FBI and was under investigation. [27]

2024 Texas House of Representatives Run

On December 5, 2023, Feuerstein announced that he would be running for the Texas House of Representatives in the 4th House of Representatives district against incumbent Keith Bell in the 2024 election. [28] [29]

Related Research Articles

Focus on the Family is a fundamentalist Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s. As of the 2017 tax filing year, Focus on the Family declared itself to be a church, "primarily to protect the confidentiality of our donors." Traditionally, entities considered churches have been ones that have regular worship services and congregants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Graham</span> American Christian evangelist and missionary (born 1952)

William Franklin Graham III is an American evangelist and missionary in the evangelical movement. He frequently engages in Christian revival tours and political commentary. The son of Billy Graham, he is president and CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) and of Samaritan's Purse, an international Christian relief organization. Graham became a "committed Christian" in 1974 and was ordained in 1982, and has since become a public speaker and author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rick Warren</span> Christian religious leader

Richard Duane Warren is an American Baptist evangelical Christian pastor and author. He is the founder of Saddleback Church, an evangelical Baptist megachurch in Lake Forest, California. Since 2022, he is director of the Finishing the Task mission coalition.

Ted Arthur Haggard is an American Methodist pastor. Haggard is the founder and former pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is a founder of the Association of Life-Giving Churches. He served as president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) from 2003 until November 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Traditional Values Coalition</span> American conservative Christian organization

The Traditional Values Coalition (TVC) was an American conservative Christian organization. It was founded in 1980 at Anaheim California by Rev. Louis P. Sheldon to oppose LGBT rights. Sheldon's daughter, Andrea Sheldon Lafferty, was initially the executive director and presently serves as president. TVC was influential in the 1980s and 1990s in lobbying for government policy based in Christian fundamentalism.

Eddie Lee Long was an American pastor who served as the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a megachurch in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, from 1987 until his death in 2017.

Charles H. McVety is a Canadian evangelical Christian leader and conservative political activist. He has been the president of Canada Christian College in Whitby, Ontario since 1993, taking over for his father, and was president of Canada Family Action until 2008. He is perhaps best known for campaigning to repeal the law legalizing same-sex marriage in Canada. McVety played a significant role in helping to elect Doug Ford as the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario. According to the CBC, McVety is "one of the most powerful leaders of the Christian Right in [Canada]".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TB Joshua</span> Nigerian Christian leader (1963–2021)

Temitope Balogun Joshua was a Nigerian charismatic pastor and televangelist. He was the leader and founder of Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), a Christian megachurch that runs the Emmanuel TV television station from Lagos, Nigeria.

James David Manning is an American pastor at the ATLAH World Missionary Church. Manning grew up in Red Springs, North Carolina, and has been with ATLAH since 1981. ATLAH stands for All The Land Anointed Holy, which is Manning's name for Harlem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Lively</span> American activist, author, and attorney (born 1957)

Scott Douglas Lively is an American activist, author, and attorney, who is the president of Abiding Truth Ministries, an anti-LGBT group based in Temecula, California. He was also a cofounder of Latvia-based group Watchmen on the Walls, state director of the California branch of the American Family Association, and a spokesman for the Oregon Citizens Alliance. He unsuccessfully attempted to be elected as the governor of Massachusetts in both 2014 and 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Sims</span> American politician

Brian Kendall Sims is an American politician, activist and attorney. A Democrat, he was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 182nd district from 2013 until 2022. Sims is also a lawyer and advocate for LGBT civil rights. Sims became the first openly gay elected state legislator in Pennsylvania history. He won re-election on November 6, 2018. He was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania in 2022, finishing in second place behind Austin Davis with 25% of the vote. Since leaving public office in 2022, Sims has served as the Managing Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy at Out Leadership. In 2023, he joined the Board of Trustees of the Tyler Clementi Foundation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Mugisha</span> Ugandan LGBT rights activist

Frank Mugisha is a Ugandan LGBT advocate and Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), who has won the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award and Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize 2011 for his activism. Mugisha is one of the most prominent advocates for LGBT rights in Uganda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ATLAH World Missionary Church</span> Church in New York City, United States

ATLAH World Missionary Church is a Christian church and ministry located in Harlem, New York. James David Manning is the chief pastor. The church campus is the site of the unaccredited ATLAH Theological Seminary, where classes are offered on preaching and prophecy. The church also has a studio that Manning uses for his Internet radio program The Manning Report. The church's YouTube channel had over 72,000 subscribers as of March 2018 but was shut down by YouTube later that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steven Anderson (pastor)</span> Independent Baptist pastor

Steven Lee Anderson is an American preacher and founder of the New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist movement. He is pastor of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona. He has advocated for the death penalty for homosexuals, and prayed for the deaths of former U.S. president Barack Obama and Caitlyn Jenner. He produced a documentary titled Marching to Zion in which he "championed a wide range of antisemitic stereotypes", according to Matthew H. Brittingham of Emory University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Bernard Scharfenberger</span> Roman Catholic Bishop of Albany

Edward Bernard Scharfenberger is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Albany since 2014.

Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 584 U.S. 617 (2018), was a case in the Supreme Court of the United States that dealt with whether owners of public accommodations can refuse certain services based on the First Amendment claims of free speech and free exercise of religion, and therefore be granted an exemption from laws ensuring non-discrimination in public accommodations—in particular, by refusing to provide creative services, such as making a custom wedding cake for the marriage of a gay couple, on the basis of the owner's religious beliefs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criticism of Starbucks</span> Criticisms of Starbucks corporation

Starbucks, an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain, is the subject of multiple controversies. Public and employee criticism against the company has come from around the world, including a wide range issues from tax avoidance in Europe, anti-competitive practices in the United States, human rights issues in multiple countries and labor issues involving union busting, questions about pay equity and ethics in partnerships in Africa.

The social policy of the Donald Trump administration was generally socially conservative. As of 2016, Donald Trump described himself as pro-life with exceptions for rape, incest, and circumstances endangering the life of the mother. He said he was committed to appointing justices who may overturn the ruling in Roe v. Wade. Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices during his presidency. All of them later went on to vote in the majority opinion of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the Supreme Court case overturning Roe v. Wade and ending federal abortion rights nationwide.

Faithful Word Baptist Church is a New Independent Fundamentalist Baptist church in Tempe, Arizona, that was founded by Steven Anderson. The church describes itself as "an old-fashioned, independent, fundamental, King James Bible-only, soul-winning Baptist church." Members of the church meet in an office space that is located inside a strip mall. Anderson established the church in December 2005 and remains its pastor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starbucks Red Cup</span> Promotional marketing campaign and holiday tradition

The Starbucks Red Cup, also called the Starbucks holiday cup, is a modern Christmas and holiday season tradition and promotional campaign operated by coffee chain Starbucks; each winter, some hot drinks served at Starbucks cafés will be served in cups with a red background and various festive designs instead of the regular white cups. New designs are used each year. Starbucks have used the campaign to support HIV/AIDS research. In 2015 the cups were plain red without the festive designs, and were accused of being anti-Christian.

References

  1. ↑ California marriage certificate of April 4, 1980
  2. ↑ Facebook
  3. 1 2 "About Josh". Joshuafeuerstein.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Who is #MerryChristmasStarbucks ranter and Fountain Hills evangelist Joshua Feuerstein?". azcentral. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  5. 1 2 Itkowitz, Colby (2015-11-10). "Who is Josh Feuerstein, the man behind the Starbucks red cup frenzy?". The Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  6. ↑ Ember, Sydney (2015-11-09). "Starbucks's Red Holiday Cups Inspire Outcry Online". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  7. ↑ Fearnow, Benjamin April 27, 2021). "Pastor Joshua Feuerstein, Who Spoke Before Jan. 6 Riots, Says GOP Dead, 'MAGA vs. Everybody'", Newsweek . Retrieved May 12, 2021.
  8. ↑ “Today we honor my late husband, David Reynolds.”
  9. ↑ Lengel, Kerry. "Who is #MerryChristmasStarbucks ranter and Fountain Hills evangelist Joshua Feuerstein?". azcentral. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  10. ↑ "Simply Red: The Con-Man Behind the Rightwing's Starbucks Cup Freak-Out". Daily Kos. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
  11. 1 2 Sullivan, Erin (3 April 2015). "Former televangelist sics angry followers on local bakery to make a point about religious freedom". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  12. ↑ "Evangelist Could Face Felony Charges After Asking Baker to Make Anti-Gay Marriage Cake". Christian Post. 17 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  13. ↑ Muniz, Sheli (6 April 2015). "Central Fla. Baker receives death threats after refusing anti-gay request". Click Orlando. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  14. ↑ "Longwood bakery raises $13,000 after anti-gay-cake dispute". OrlandoSentinel.com. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  15. ↑ Kutner, Jenny (20 July 2015). "Former evangelical pastor proposes fighting LGBT rights with assault weapons". Salon. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  16. ↑ "Pastor Pulls Out Gun In Video Rant, Urges Listeners To Fight Against Gay Marriage". LOGO News. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  17. 1 2 "Former Pastor Suggests Christians Should Fight Gay Rights With Guns". The Huffington Post. 19 July 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  18. 1 2 "Pastor Encourages Christians to Fight Same-Sex Marriage Ruling With Guns". The Advocate. 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  19. ↑ "Candidates Deny Their 'Baby Parts' Attacks on Planned Parenthood Helped Fuel Colorado Shooting". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  20. ↑ Moyer, Justin (9 November 2015). "Evangelical Christian Joshua Feuerstein explains his war on Starbucks red cups". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  21. ↑ Kirell, Andrew (9 November 2015). "'Starbucks Hates Jesus' Viral Video Star Gets Owned on CNN". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  22. ↑ "Watch a comedian's perfect response to a US evangelist's 'movement' against Starbucks". The Independent. 11 November 2015. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  23. ↑ Grainger, Lia (10 November 2015). "'Starbucks hates Jesus' viral video star gets slammed on CNN". Yahoo Canada. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  24. ↑ Vestal, Sean. "Pastor who organized anti-abortion rallies in Spokane helped rally Trump supporters in D.C." Spokesman Review. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  25. ↑ Wolf, Colin. "'It sure feels like 1776': Tampa Bay native spoke at D.C. 'Stop the Steal' rally night before deadly Capitol insurrection". Creative Loafing. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  26. ↑ ""It is time for war! Stop the steal!" preacher Joshua Feuerstein told rally on Jan. 5, a day before the Capitol insurrection. "We as the church of the living God are standing up saying, 'We're not just mad at hell, but we're mad as hell."". Twitter. RightWingWatch. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  27. ↑ "Pastor gets FBI visit after speaking at Trump event". YouTube. Newsmax TV. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
  28. ↑ Mordowanec, Nick (5 December 2023). "Pastor Who Said Christians Don't Need COVID Vaccine Challenges Republican". Newsweek. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  29. ↑ "Joshua For Texas". Joshua For Texas. Joshua Feurstein. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.