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Virginia Republican lieutenant governor candidate E. W. Jackson meets and greets guests during the 14th annual Hob Nob in the Valley political event at Lord Fairfax Community College on Sept, 13 in Middletown, Va. (Richard A. Lipski/The Washington Post)
E.W. Jackson, the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, on Sunday lashed out against gay marriage, criticized the pope, and told his audience that those who do not follow Jesus Christ "engage in some sort of a false religion."
Speaking at Restoration Fellowship Church in Strasburg in Shenandoah County, days after accusing his Democratic rival of running a socially divisive campaign, Jackson said there is no other means of salvation than through Jesus Christ.
"If you don't know him, if you don't follow him, if you don't come to him, you engage in some sort of false religion," Jackson said. "That's controversial, but it's the truth. There is only one God, there is the God named Jesus Christ."
The Chesapeake pastor and lawyer, who has called gays "sick" and "perverted," also underscored his stance against same-sex marriage.
"The family was ordained by God. He ordained it one man and one woman in the bonds of holy matrimony," Jackson said. "(In the Bible) I don't hear anything about two people of the same sex being married."
Jackson said he disagreed with Pope Francis, who sent shockwaves through the Roman Catholic Church last week when he said that the church had grown "obsessed" with gay marriage, abortion and contraception, and that he had chosen not to talk about those issues.
The pope said in an interview with Rome's leading Jesuit publication: "When God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person? We must always consider the person."
Jackson said Sunday: "I know even the pope has said when we talk about these things, we imply a kind of intolerance. That is not the point at all. The point is to be true to the word of God. The point is to stand up and tell the truth. There is no better way found, ever, to raise children than with a mother and a father in the home. Even sociologically, you can make the argument."
But Jackson said that "this is not about hating people based on their sexual orientation or based on same-sex relationships or having bigotry against them." He said the point is whether "this culture is going to remain a culture based on Judeo-Christian values and principles, or whether we're going to become something else."
Jackson's remarks about a "false religion" -- totaling about 2 minutes -- were missing from an audio recording of the speech posted on the church's website. They were provided to the media by a Democratic tracker Monday.
Jay Ahlemann, the church's pastor, said he had no knowledge of the audio being edited.
"We don't make a practice of deleting a portion of our messages. If that's done, than it's done without my approval," Ahlemann said, adding that he stands by everything Jackson said in his church.
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Markus Schmidt
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