Congressman-elect Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) has tried to convert Jews and Muslims to Christianity.
In an interview with Jewish Insider on Saturday that was published on Monday, the incoming Republican member of Congress and devout Christian, who won in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District to succeed White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, said that after reading the Koran, there “is a very easy switch to make to lead a Muslim to Christ.”
“They believe Jesus is a real person,” said the 25-year-old, referring to Muslims. “They believe he was a prophet, though. And so when you’re trying to lead an atheist to Christ, or, say, kind of a traditional Jewish person, you kind of have to make people really—you have to sell Jesus a lot, because, one, they don’t really believe that, you know—some very devout Jews just think he’s kind of a good guy. That’s great. But, you know, the Muslims, they already believe that he was somewhat divine, and so all you have to do is just be like, he wasn’t just a good man, he was a god, and now if you can submit to that then you believe in Christ.”
When asked if he has tried to convert Jews to Christianity, Cawthorn, replied, “I have, unsuccessfully. I have switched a lot of, uh, you know, I guess, culturally Jewish people. But being a practicing Jew, like, people who are religious about it, they are very difficult. I’ve had a hard time connecting with them in that way.”
Cawthorn made his name a bit more familiar to Americans at the online Republican National Convention in August.
During a July 2019 sermon at a church in Highlands, N.C., Cawthorn said, “If you have Jewish blood running through your veins today, this might not mean as much to you, but for someone like me, who’s a gentile, this means a lot.”