Bishop Jim Lowe: Charleston shooting an attack on all houses of worship

As the news continued to unfold out of Charleston this morning, Glenn asked Bishop James Lowe to join the show and talk about the news through the lens of the larger movement of love they have championed together in recent weeks. Bishop Lowe described the shooting as not only an attack on the black community and the Christian community in Charleston, but on all houses of worship all over the world.

"We have to take it beyond black and white. We start to see this thing as human beings that God created," Bishop Lowe said.

Listen to the whole interview below:

Below is a rush transcript of this segment, it may contain errors:

GLENN: So we should know more as the hours continue, and I'll be in South Carolina tomorrow. And I just feel like something good is going to happen there. Bishop Lowe, who is the bishop from the Guiding Light Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that so graciously invited us to be there on 8/28. And something really big is going to happen in Birmingham, Alabama. I'd invite you to join us. But if you're anywhere in the Charleston, South Carolina, region tomorrow, I hope my family is going to be joining me there. And we're going to do the show from there tomorrow. And then we'll get together and try to hold the arms up of the community and just have a prayer vigil. We'll give you details as we go along. But Bishop Lowe is with us now. Hello, bishop, how are you?

JIM: Hello, Glenn, how are you?

GLENN: Here is the oldest African-American church in America. Started in the 1760s. Martin Luther King preached there. And last night, this guy comes in and sits for an hour in Bible study and then shoots nine people. A 5-year-old escaped because she laid on the floor pretending she was dead.

How do you make sense of this, Bishop?

JIM: It's -- it's what's going on in the climate that we've created, that we've created around us. And we talk about what we're coming together about, all lives matter. It's so very important that we begin to proclaim that. We have to stop distinguishing between black lives, white lives, Christian lives, Muslims lives. We have to start recognizing that all lives matter, Glenn. We have to stop distinguishing between black lives, white lives, Christian lives, Muslims lives. We got to start recognizing that all lives matter.

And this was an attack -- what we need to look at, it's not just an attack on black people here. This was a house of worship. And being in a house of worship, this is an attack on all houses of worship. And if we sit silently by and we don't join together, then we create another climate that allows more of this. The greater thing that's before us is that this is an attack against worshiping people who believe in an Almighty God. That's what needs to be seen here. And if we don't -- if we don't start getting people to recognize we need to unify, then we're going down that way that I'm afraid it might be able to turn back.

GLENN: Yeah. I'm afraid that too many of us sit on the sidelines and we say, where are the good people? Well, the good people need to stand up. And really, quite honestly, I don't know if you remember this, bishop, but when the Amish had a guy come in and shoot the children -- Pat, stop. Thank you.

As people were shooting their children, the Amish children, this guy walked in, they had this beautiful moment of forgiving him and forgiving the family and standing together and teaching us what Christianity and what God's people really do and how they behave.

JIM: Uh-huh.

GLENN: And we have to learn that again. We have to teach that again. When this guy walks --

JIM: I'm sorry. We've had too many preachers that are encouraging these kinds of things. Encouraging the vision. Encouraging people to be mad with other folk. We going to get it right. We're going to take somebody down. We're going to do this. It's time for that rhetoric to stop. The words of Christ must be spoken more. That's what must be heard. What he said, love ye one another as I have loved you. And that's not being preached. That's not being said, and that's what has to be said for our nation and for our world.

GLENN: How do you -- how do you --

JIM: Sorry. I'm passionate about it.

GLENN: That's all right.

How do you speak up against people like Al Sharpton? Al Sharpton is already there. He's already holding a rally. How do you speak up about people like Al Sharpton, without speaking words of anger or divisiveness or hatred? How do you do that, Bishop?

JIM: I don't have anything to say about Al Sharpton. He can do whatever he thinks he wants to do. But I know one thing that must be done is that the people of God must speak up. The people who speak the love message that Christ said. That's what must be said. Love conquers. Love overcomes. No matter what others say. No matter how they are. I'm not concerned about their words. But what I'm talking about is what we must do. And if we preach the gospel, if we preach the Word of God, it will triumph all of the time. We don't have to worry about naysayers or people preaching politics. It's not about politics. This is about a warfare between light and darkness.

GLENN: When somebody goes into the church, like this guy did --

JIM: Yes.

GLENN: And he sat there for an hour and he was listening to the words of God. We have a pretty good idea he was a radical racist. But for him to choose church and then be able to go in there and sit there for an hour and then turn around and get his guns and come back, doesn't that say something about evil really truly working in him? Because if you're listening to the words of God for an hour, it should do the opposite to you. But he -- he was wound up after an hour. I think he went in there wanting to kill people, but not -- not necessarily ready to kill people. But he sat there for an hour. How does that work, bishop, where a guy will sit there and listen -- how is evil working in him?

JIM: Well, this is the hardness of what his heart was. You see, he's had perhaps a lifetime of this type of words that have been spoken into him. He has heard that. And if there's not another word that's preached, and we don't say to people that are sitting out there that are incubating these type of activities -- we must speak more about unity. We must speak more about togetherness and oneness than we do about divisiveness. I spoke to my congregation last night. I said, you have to stop seeing yourself by the surface. You have to see what God sees. The more you're like God, the more you see a person for what's inside than what's on his outside. And that's a problem with us blacks, whites, and everybody. We have to become more like God told us to be, to imitate the image of Christ who didn't see on the outside.

That man saw on the outside, but not realizing he's part of a greater scheme that's out to destroy worshiping individuals, people of God. He doesn't recognize that. He sees it as black and white. And, Glenn, we have to take it beyond black and white. We start to see this thing as human beings that God created. Please understand what I'm trying to say.

GLENN: Bishop, I love you, and I admire your stance and your bravery. And I pray for your strength and your humility. Because I think you have a lot of work ahead of you.

JIM: Glenn, when we get ready for 8/28, people that may be listening, I'm trying to get the mayor right now to get me a stadium. I want people to call him to ask to talk in Birmingham. We need to join together. Invite them to come. 8/28 and 8/29. Let's bring an explosion of love out of Birmingham. Let's get an explosion of people joining together. All types of people. All ages. All backgrounds. And let's show from Birmingham, Alabama. Let's start showing people love. Not division. Not divisiveness. Not political parties. Let's show the kingdom of God.

GLENN: You got it, bishop. I love you, and I'll see you tomorrow in Charleston.

JIM: Well, you make it happen, Glenn. I'll be there.

GLENN: You got it. Thank you very much, Bishop.

I'm going to be in Charleston, South Carolina, tomorrow. I'll be broadcasting from WSC. We may be on location. I don't know. I don't have all the details. But I would like you to join me. If you can join me and you and your family can join me, get in the car and come to Charleston tomorrow. And we will -- at some time in the afternoon, I don't know when, but we will gather together and be who we're supposed to be. And the bishop will be there. I will be there. Rabbi Kula from New York, he just called and he said he wants to be there. So I invite you to join me tomorrow in South Carolina. Then like the good bishop said in -- in Birmingham, we're going to be there on 8/28. And as he said, I mean, he's trying to get the stadium there. And he's trying to get some streets cordoned off. And I think there's going to be an explosion of light and love there as well. And I would invite you and your family and your church. I want you to gather your church and get into a bus. And come to Birmingham, Alabama. And join us on August 28th. Because all lives matter. And now is the time that we're going to stand together.

5 Democrats who have endorsed Kamala (and two who haven't)

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With Biden removed from the 2024 election and only a month to find a replacement before the DNC, Democrats continue to fall in line and back Vice President Kamala Harris to headline the party's ticket. Her proximity and familiarity with the Biden campaign along with an endorsement from Biden sets Harris up to step into Biden's shoes and preserve the momentum from his campaign.

Glenn doesn't think Kamala Harris is likely to survive as the assumed Democratic nominee, and once the DNC starts, anything could happen. Plenty of powerful and important Democrats have rallied around Harris over the last few days, but there have been some crucial exemptions. Here are five democrats that have thrown their name behind Harris, and two SHOCKING names that didn't...

Sen. Dick Durbin: ENDORSED

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High-ranking Senate Democrat Dick Durbin officially put in his support for Harris in a statement that came out the day after Biden stepped down: “I’m proud to endorse my former Senate colleague and good friend, Vice President Kamala Harris . . . our nation needs to continue moving forward with unity and not MAGA chaos. Vice President Harris was a critical partner in building the Biden record over the past four years . . . Count me in with Kamala Harris for President.”

Michigan Gov. Whitmer: ENDORSED

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The Monday after Biden stepped down from the presidential VP hopeful, Gretchen Whitmer released the following statement on X: “Today, I am fired up to endorse Kamala Harris for president of the United States [...] In Vice President Harris, Michigan voters have a presidential candidate they can count on to focus on lowering their costs, restoring their freedoms, bringing jobs and supply chains back home from overseas, and building an economy that works for working people.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: ENDORSED

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Mere hours after Joe Biden made his announcement, AOC hopped on X and made the following post showing her support: "Kamala Harris will be the next President of the United States. I pledge my full support to ensure her victory in November. Now more than ever, it is crucial that our party and country swiftly unite to defeat Donald Trump and the threat to American democracy. Let’s get to work."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi: ENDORSED

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Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is arguably one of the most influential democrats, backed Harris's campaign with the following statement given the day after Biden's decision: “I have full confidence she will lead us to victory in November . . . My enthusiastic support for Kamala Harris for President is official, personal, and political.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren: ENDORSED

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Massasschesets Senator Elizabeth Warren was quick to endorse Kamala, releasing the following statement shortly after Harris placed her presidential bid: "I endorse Kamala Harris for President. She is a proven fighter who has been a national leader in safeguarding consumers and protecting access to abortion. As a former prosecutor, she can press a forceful case against allowing Donald Trump to regain the White House. We have many talented people in our party, but Vice President Harris is the person who was chosen by the voters to succeed Joe Biden if needed. She can unite our party, take on Donald Trump, and win in November."

Former President Barack Obama: DID NOT ENDORSE

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Former President Barack Obama wasted no time releasing the following statement which glaringly omits any support for Harris or any other candidate. Instead, he suggests someone will be chosen at the DNC in August: "We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges. I believe that Joe Biden's vision of a generous, prosperous, and united America that provides opportunity for everyone will be on full display at the Democratic Convention in August. And I expect that every single one of us are prepared to carry that message of hope and progress forward into November and beyond."

Prominent Democratic Donor John Morgan: DID NOT ENDORSE

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Prominent and wealthy Florida lawyer and democrat donor John Morgan was clearly very pessimistic about Kamala's odds aginst Trump when he gave the following statement: “You have to be enthusiastic or hoping for a political appointment to be asking friends for money. I am neither. It’s others turn now . . . The donors holding the 90 million can release those funds in the morning. It’s all yours. You can keep my million. And good luck . . . [Harris] would not be my first choice, but it’s a done deal.”

How did Trump's would-be assassin get past Secret Service?

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Editor's Note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday was targeted in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. It occurred just after 6:10 p.m. while Trump was delivering his speech.

Here are the details of the “official” story. The shooter was Thomas Matthew Crooks. He was 20 years old from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He used an AR-15 rifle and managed to reach the rooftop of a nearby building unnoticed. The Secret Service's counter-response team responded swiftly, according to "the facts," killing Crooks and preventing further harm.

Did it though? That’s what the official story says, so far, but calling this a mere lapse in security by Secret Service doesn't add up. There are some glaring questions that need to be answered.

If Trump had been killed on Saturday, we would be in a civil war today. We would have seen for the first time the president's brains splattered on live television, and because of the details of this, I have a hard time thinking it wouldn't have been viewed as JFK 2.0.

How does someone sneak a rifle onto the rally grounds? How does someone even know that that building is there? How is it that Thomas Matthew Crooks was acting so weird and pacing in front of the metal detectors, and no one seemed to notice? People tried to follow him, but, oops, he got away.

How could the kid possibly even think that the highest ground at the venue wouldn't be watched? If I were Crooks, my first guess would be, "That’s the one place I shouldn't crawl up to with a rifle because there's most definitely going to be Secret Service there." Why wasn't anyone there? Why wasn't anyone watching it? Nobody except the shooter decided that the highest ground with the best view of the rally would be the greatest vulnerability to Trump’s safety.

Moreover, a handy ladder just happened to be there. Are we supposed to believe that nobody in the Secret Service, none of the drones, none of the things we pay millions of dollars for caught him? How did he get a ladder there? If the ladder was there, was it always there? Why was the ladder there? Secret Service welds manhole covers closed when a president drives down a road. How was there a ladder sitting around, ready to climb up to the highest ground at the venue, and the Secret Service failed to take it away?

There is plenty of video of eyewitnesses yelling that there was a guy with a rifle climbing up on a ladder to the roof for at least 120 seconds before the first shot was fired. Why were the police looking for him while Secret Service wasn't? Why did the sniper have him in his sights for over a minute before he took a shot? Why did a cop climb up the ladder to look around? When Thomas Matthew Cooks pointed a gun at him, he then ducked and came down off the ladder. Did he call anyone to warn that this young man had a rifle within range of the president?

How is it the Secret Service has a female bodyguard who doesn't even reach Trump's nipples? How was she going to guard the president's body with hers? How is it another female Secret Service agent pulled her gun out a good four minutes too late, then looked around, apparently not knowing what to do? She then couldn't even get the pistol back into the holster because she's a Melissa McCarthy body double. I don't think it's a good idea to have Melissa McCarthy guarding the president.

Here’s the critical question now: Who trusts the FBI with the shooter’s computer? Will his hard drive get filed with the Nashville manifesto? How is it that the Secret Service almost didn't have snipers at all but decided to supply them only one day before the rally because all the local resources were going to be put on Jill Biden? I want Jill Biden safe, of course. I want Jill Biden to have what the first lady should have for security, but you can’t hire a few extra guys to make sure our candidates are safe?

How is it that we have a Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheatle, whose experience is literally guarding two liters of Squirt and spicy Doritos? Did you know that's her background? She's in charge of the United States Secret Service, and her last job was as the head of security for Pepsi.

This is a game, and that's what makes this sick. This is a joke. There are people in our country who thought it was OK to post themselves screaming about the shooter’s incompetence: “How do you miss that shot?” Do you realize how close we came to another JFK? If the president hadn't turned his head at the exact moment he did, it would have gone into the center of his head, and we would be a different country today.

Now, Joe Biden is also saying that we shouldn't make assumptions about the motive of the shooter. Well, I think we can assume one thing: He wanted to kill the Republican presidential candidate. Can we agree on that at least? Can we assume that much?

How can the media even think of blaming Trump for the rhetoric when the Democrats and the media constantly call him literally worse than Hitler who must be stopped at all costs?

These questions need to be answered if we want to know the truth behind what could have been one of the most consequential days in U.S. history. Yet, the FBI has its hands clasped on all the sources that could point to the truth. There must be an independent investigation to get to the bottom of these glaring “mistakes.”

POLL: Do you think Trump is going to win the election?

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It feels like all of the tension that has been building over the last four years has finally burst to the surface over the past month. Many predicted 2024 was going to be one of the most important and tumultuous elections in our lifetimes, but the last two weeks will go down in the history books. And it's not over yet.

The Democratic National Convention is in August, and while Kamala seems to be the likely candidate to replace Biden, anything could happen in Chicago. And if Biden is too old to campaign, isn't he too old to be president? Glenn doesn't think he'll make it as President through January, but who knows?

There is a lot of uncertainty that surrounds the current political landscape. Trump came out of the attempted assassination, and the RNC is looking stronger than ever, but who knows what tricks the Democrats have up their sleeves? Let us know your predictions in the poll below:

Is Trump going to win the election?

Did the assassination attempt increase Trump's chances at winning in November?

Did Trump's pick of J.D. Vance help his odds?

Did the Trump-Biden debate in June help Trump's chances?

Did Biden's resignation from the election hand Trump a victory in November? 

Do the Democrats have any chance of winning this election?

What is the Secret Service trying to hide about Trump's assassination attempt?

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This past weekend we were mere inches away from a radically different America than the one we have today. This was the first time a president had been wounded by a would-be assassin since 1981, and the horrific event has many people questioning the competency and motives of the supposedly elite agents trusted with the president's life.

The director of the Secret Service apparently knew about the assassin's rooftop before the shooting—and did nothing.

Kimberly Cheatle has come under intense scrutiny these last couple of weeks, as Secret Service director she is responsible for the president's well-being, along with all security operations onsite. In a recent interview with ABC, Cheatle admitted that she was aware of the building where the assassin made his mark on American history. She even said that she was mindful of the potential risk but decided against securing the site due to "safety concerns" with the slope of the roof. This statement has called her competence into question. Clearly, the rooftop wasn't that unsafe if the 20-year-old shooter managed to access it.

Glenn pointed out recently that Cheatle seems to be unqualified for the job. Her previous position was senior director in global security at America's second-favorite soda tycoon, PepsiCo. While guarding soda pop and potato chips sounds like an important job to some, it doesn't seem like a position that would qualify you to protect the life of America's most important and controversial people. Even considering her lack of appropriate experience, this seems like a major oversight that even a layperson would have seen. Can we really chalk this up to incompetence?

Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / Contributor | Getty Images

The Secret Service and DHS said they'd be transparent with the investigation...

Shortly after the attempted assassination, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees the Secret Service, launched an investigation into the shooting and the security protocols in place at the rally. The DHS promised full transparency during the investigation, but House Republicans don't feel that they've been living up to that promise. Republican members of the House Oversight Committee are frustrated with Director Cheatle after she seemingly dodged a meeting scheduled for Tuesday. This has resulted in calls for Cheatle to step down from her position.

Two FBI agents investigate the assassin's rooftop Jeff Swensen / Stringer | Getty Images

Why is the Secret Service being so elusive? Are they just trying to cover their blunder? We seem to be left with two unsettling options: either the government is even more incompetent than we'd ever believed, or there is more going on here than they want us to know.

Cheatle steps down

Following a horrendous testimony to the House Oversight Committee Director Cheatle finally stepped down from her position ten days after the assassination attempt. Cheatle failed to give any meaningful answer to the barrage of questions she faced from the committee. These questions, coming from both Republicans and Democrats, were often regarding basic information that Cheatle should have had hours after the shooting, yet Cheatle struggled with each and every one. Glenn pointed out that Director Cheatle's resignation should not signal the end of the investigation, the American people deserve to know what happened.