The Left loses its mind – new House speaker talks about God, gov't
After a few weeks of musical chairs, the music finally stopped and Republicans in the House of Representatives elected a new Speaker last week — Rep. Mike Johnson from Louisiana.
Johnson is an outspoken evangelical Christian. He has recorded videos for the Conservative Baptist Network, spoken about America being founded as a Christian nation, believes in the biblical teaching of creation and a young earth, and unapologetically defends biblical sexual morality.
These are basic, historic Christian beliefs. So, of course, our progressive, anti-God, pro-woke journalist class can’t stand it.
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To make matters worse, upon taking his position on the Speaker dais in the House of Representatives, Speaker Johnson shared some basic biblical truths about the nature of authority in God’s Word.
He said,
“I want to tell all my colleagues here what I told the Republicans in that room last night. I don’t believe there are any coincidences in a matter like this.
I believe that Scripture, the Bible, is very clear: That God is the one that raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you. All of us.
And I believe that God has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment in this time. This is my belief. I believe that each one of us has the huge responsibility today to use the gifts that God has given us to serve the extraordinary people of this great country, and they deserve it.”
With these words, this charge to his fellow congressmen, Speaker Johnson was doing nothing more scandalous than paraphrasing Romans 13:1-6. In this passage, the Apostle Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, reminds all men and women everywhere for all time that:
“There is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended.
For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.”
If you have ever visited the House chamber, you may have noticed that there are 23 marble relief portraits over the gallery doors that depict the faces of famous “lawmakers” and “law-givers” throughout history.
Some of the notable figures include Hammurabi, Sir William Blackstone, and George Mason. All but one of these reliefs are a side profile.
According to the Architect of the Capitol, “The 11 profiles in the eastern half of the chamber face left and the 11 in the western half face right, so that all look towards the full-face relief of Moses in the center of the north wall.”
That’s right — the only full-face relief, which sits right across from the Speaker dais, is of Moses.
Moses, the man who brought the Ten Commandments, written by the finger of God on two stone tablets, down from Mount Sinai.
But apparently, the Bible — or even basic articulations of God’s truth and God’s law — is no longer welcome in American politics; at least, that is what one could reasonably deduce from the great weeping and gnashing of teeth that went up from liberal journalists in the wake of Speaker Johnson’s ascension to the third highest political office in our country. There was much, as the kids these days say, “coping and seething.”
Politico, a liberal news outlet based in Washington, D.C., went running to Kristin Kobes Du Mez, the progressive “gender historian” and author of the anti-Christian book Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation, to get her take on Speaker Johnson’s evangelical faith and how it impacts his understanding of politics.
Right out of the gate, Du Mez sought to tar and feather Speaker Johnson. Here is a relevant portion of her interview with Politico reporter Katelyn Fossett:
Katelyn Fossett: “I want to talk to you a little about Mike Johnson’s worldview and the belief system that has shaped him.”
Kristin Kobes Du Mez: “He is incredibly standard in terms of being a right-wing, white evangelical Christian nationalist.”
Later in the interview, she added, “I think that’s really important here: His commitment is not to democracy. He’s not committed to majority rule; he seems to be saying he’s committed to minority rule, if that’s what it takes to ensure that we stay on the Christian foundation that the founders have set up.”
Pay attention. This is neither real journalism nor history nor an honest assessment of evangelical Christian views on faith and politics. No, this is two anti-Christian progressives doing their level best to demonize Christians being outspoken about their faith and their beliefs — and how the Bible should be rightly understood and applied to politics.
Dr. Andrew Walker, professor of Christian ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, responded in an essay at World Magazine titled, “Pull the fire alarm: The new House speaker dares to be a Christian.” He wrote:
“The American project ended on Wednesday with the ascendency of Congressman Mike Johnson to speaker of the House. That’s what the political left is telling the American people.
The carnival barkers who warn of so-called ‘Christian Nationalism’ have fired up their presses to do what they always do — find yet additional justifications to ridicule and exclude conservative Christians (mind you, from the same crowd championing “inclusivity”). All this is done under the banner of ‘analysis,’ and the ‘analysts’ function as America’s self-appointed defenders of democracy.”
Regarding Du Mez, Walker aptly summarized her contribution like so:
“Kristen Kobes Du Mez, never hesitant to paint evangelicals in the worst ways possible, linked advocacy for religious liberty during Johnson’s era to ‘a kind of desperation, urgency, ruthlessness in pursuing this agenda. Religious freedom was at the center of that.’ Such framing is despicable as it is laughable.”
It is despicable. It’s a betrayal of everything that made America the great nation it is, and once was — belief in the sovereign rule of the Almighty God over the affairs of man, the truth of Christianity, and the importance of ensuring that all of man’s laws are reflections of the true, eternal, moral law of God.
And yes, it would be laughable if these regime apparatchiks didn’t control the vast majority of every nationwide news source.
To add one more touch of scandal, after he was finished taking the oath of office as the Speaker, Rep. Johnson also paused and knelt on the floor of the House to say a prayer.
Truly shocking, right? Wrong. This is actually our historical American political tradition, one steeped in Christianity, and one that used to rightly honor God even in the public square and the halls of political power.
Christians across the country should rightly rejoice that a bold man of faith is now holding so much power once again in American politics.
Never mind the liberal naysayers. Speaker Johnson’s Christian beliefs are as American as apple pie and as biblical as the books of Genesis and Romans. If pressed to defend Speaker Johnson, take a page out of his playbook and simply reply: “Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it — that’s my worldview. That’s what I believe and so I make no apologies for it.”
Originally published at the Standing for Freedom Center.
William Wolfe is a visiting fellow with the Center for Renewing America. He served as a senior official in the Trump administration, both as a deputy assistant secretary of defense at the Pentagon and a director of legislative affairs at the State Department. Prior to his service in the administration, Wolfe worked for Heritage Action for America, and as a congressional staffer for three different members of Congress, including the former Rep. Dave Brat. He has a B.A. in history from Covenant College, and is finishing his Masters of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Follow William on Twitter at @William_E_Wolfe
