Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki railed against Johnson as "basically a Christian fundamentalist" with "political ideology that should scare us" on her MSNBC program recently. Washington Post columnist and MSNBC contributor Jen Rubin called Johnson "a religious nut – and by that I mean he subscribes to all of the extreme Christian nationalist views."
Psaki was fired up over Johnson's reliance on the Word of God to help shape his beliefs – and how he intends to lead as House Speaker. When that question was posed to Johnson last week by a reporter, he answered with: "Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That's my worldview."
Psaki's somewhat sarcastic response? "The Bible doesn't just inform his worldview. It is his worldview."
They simply hate truth
House Republicans and Christian leaders have rallied to Johnson's defense. One is a fellow GOP colleague in the House.
"This is just the normal playbook [from] not just the radical left, but the Left generally – Democrats generally, even some frankly mainline Republicans – who don't want to address truth in the world," Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said on American Family Radio Tuesday. "They don't want to address the reality of an earth given to us by our Creator, the reality that our Founders full well understood and made very clear in the Declaration [of Independence] with respect to rights that are unalienable, but that are granted to us by our Creator."
Roy told show host Jenna Ellis that the biblical worldview that Johnson lives by is "a foundation of our Western civilization that made it the safest, most secure and most prosperous in the history of mankind."
And as one seminary leader points out, Johnson's views are less shocking to people of faith who align themselves with the authority of the Bible and who have read its statements on men, women and proper sexual expression.
"The hatred toward the Speaker of the House, Speaker Johnson, is a hatred towards disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ," Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said on Washington Watch Monday.
Distinctly different worldviews
Christian apologist Dr. Alex McFarland argues that Democrats are wired differently.
"The Left is so easily triggered because they're more emotive than cognitive. They don't know how to reason through the playing field of ideas, so all they can do is be horrified," McFarland tells American Family News.
Mohler said those differences come from distinctly different worldviews. He cited social theorist Thomas Sowell who said there are two worldviews: one that is "constrained" and one that is "unconstrained."
The constrained view, said Mohler, represents the Right and the unconstrained view the Left. "I don't think he [Sowell] understood that eventually one would attempt to be unconstrained from biology," Mohler said.
Msg to the Left: There are millions like Johnson
Attacks on Johnson's faith seem to represent a double standard when compared to times when left-leaning media outlets deem it appropriate to discuss Joe Biden's Catholic faith and how that has shaped his life and his politics.
Throughout his presidency Biden's social policies – specifically abortion – have put him at odds with the Catholic Church. Even then it's been Biden's political positions relative to his faith – not only his faith – that have been questioned.
Mohler told show host Tony Perkins that Johnson's rise has been a shock to the system of Democrats who believed Christians had been marginalized.
"Evidently people like Jen Psaki and Jennifer Rubin thought we were rare. They thought we had been sidelined – and now, all of a sudden, showing up with the gavel of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is Mike Johnson. They don't want to acknowledge that there are millions upon millions of Americans who think Mike Johnson is speaking absolute truth and making absolute sense," Mohler said.
Wife's website
Even Johnson's spouse, apparently, is fair game for the "unconstrained." The Huffington Post painted his wife, Kelly Johnson, as out of touch for removing the website for Onward Christian Counseling Services, a business she owns and operates.
The website included documents describing the company's beliefs which said, "We believe, and the Bible teaches that any form of sexual immorality such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one's sex or disagreement with one's biological sex is sinful and offensive to God," The Post reported.
While Johnson's stance would be encouraging to most Christians, he may be asked one day to explain his wife's decision to take down her business website after The Huffington Post story. Rep. Roy thinks that could have been handled better.
"The only criticism I'd give, and I say this humbly, is about Mike's family. I would not have pulled down a website. I wouldn't have backed away in any stretch of the imagination," Roy offered.
"At the end of the day, it's important for us to stand up for our values, our beliefs and why they make this world a better place. I believe that fundamentally, and I will not apologize for it. I know Mike has never apologized for it, and I think that is commendable," Roy added.
If attacks from the Left are frustrating, Mohler contends the discussion is healthy. "It's good that we know what we're up against, and it's also good that we thank God we've got this Speaker of the House," the seminary president said. "Now it's our responsibility to stand with him."
