Sheep's Clothing

Mike Johnson, the dapper, recently elected Speaker of the House, responded to a question about his views, "go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it—that’s my worldview."

I'm guessing that how he reads his Bible is different from how Bible translator David Bentley Hart does. In a recent interview, Hart said:

National conservatives—the people who think Jesus would have loved the Second Amendment and hated Mexicans—are simply not Christians. There’s nothing about their vision of reality and their relations to their fellow human beings that bears the slightest resemblance to who and what Christ was and what he taught. There’s not even a meaningful debate to be held on this: the Christian right is a movement whose ultimate ends are to extinguish real Christian convictions in society.

One can argue whether Hart or Johnson is more extreme. Both claim their political views are informed by the Bible. Hart is a Christian socialist. Johnson condemns socialism in all its forms and condemns anyone who disagrees with this.

Johnson's Bible apparently favors the rich. Hart's would favor the poor.

Hart is a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Johnson, having condemned all socialism, despises this organization and its members. But are we sure it's because it includes "socialists" in its name? Maybe its the "democratic" that he worries about.

Johnson has given up on democracy. He knows perfectly well who won the last presidential election, but he's willing and eager to lie about it. He would forfeit rule of the people, by the people, and for the people to protect his personal religious and political views.