This far-right evangelical pastor actually debunks the so-called 'religious argument' against COVID vaccines

The Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, is a far-right White evangelical and Donald Trump apologist who, in 2012, claimed that then-President Barack Obama was "paving the way for the future reign of the Antichrist." But Jeffress, for all his extremism, isn't promoting the current anti-vaxxer movement that is popular among Christian nationalists — and he has been urging churchgoers to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

Jeffress told the Associated Press, "There is no credible religious argument against the vaccines. Christians who are troubled by the use of a fetal cell line for the testing of the vaccines would also have to abstain from the use of Tylenol, Pepto Bismol, Ibuprofen, and other products that used the same cell line if they are sincere in their objection."

Dallas Morning News reporter Tom Steele notes that Jeffress' pro-vaccine outlook sets him apart from all the evangelicals who have been speaking out against vaccines.

"Though he has aligned himself with former President Donald Trump — whose supporters are among the least-vaccinated Americans — Jeffress has steadfastly supported the coronavirus vaccines," Steele explains. "First Baptist hosted vaccine clinics in the spring, with Jeffress encouraging his congregants to get inoculated so they could safely worship in person. Jeffress, who is vaccinated, also has compared his positions on vaccination and abortion."

Jeffress recently told Fox News, "We talk about life inside the womb being a gift from God. Well, life outside the womb is a gift from God, too."

Twitter has been full of reactions to Jeffress' endorsement of COVID-19 vaccines. Here are some of them: