'Den of lions': Evangelists take over the Texas State Capitol to cast out 'Jezebel' spirit

The line separating church and state was mercilessly blurred in Texas this week, as Christian worshippers inundated the state capitol to pray for spiritual protection for lawmakers.

Robert Downen, who covers politics and extremism for The Texas Tribune, posted to X, "At the Texas Capitol, Christian worshippers are blessing the walls of a hearing room to protect lawmakers from spiritual forces and the 'Jezebel' spirit. 'Pray for the fear of the Lord to come into this place,' says MercyCulture pastor Landon Schott."

In the video, participants can be seen laying hands on the walls of the capitol, while others raised their hands in worship.

Schott can be heard over music playing in the background, "We pray that we would not bow to fear! We pray like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, be willing to be thrown into a fiery furnace. We say that our God is able. And even if he doesn't, he's God. We say, like a Queen Esther that says, 'If I perish, I perish.' We say like a Daniel, 'I will sleep in a den of lions.'"

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Downen also posted a link to Wednesday's Tribune article, writing, "The chair of the Texas GOP said Tuesday that church-state separation doesn't exist as Republican lawmakers vowed to give the Legislature 'back to the Holy Spirit' and pastors promised to weed out 'cowardly' clergy who won't politick from the pulpit."

Downen wrote that the chair's comments "are the latest sign of the Texas GOP’s embrace of fundamentalist ideologies that seek to center public life around their faith by claiming church-state separation is a myth or that America’s founding was God-ordained, and its laws should thus favor conservative Christianity."

Evangelicals have long rallied around Republicans, and were instrumental in helping Donald Trump win the presidency in 2016 and 2024. Time magazine reported, "Trump has white evangelicals in his pocket. Whatever cognitive dissonance some devout Christians may feel for supporting a twice-impeached serial philandering liar who tried to stage a coup and threatens violence against political opponents is easily dismissed with the conviction that no Republican nominee, no matter how problematic, could be worse than losing to a Democrat."

Watch the video below or click the link.