Why is Mike Johnson Such a Breath of Fresh Air for Congress?
It is despicable how those on the Left have attacked the new House Speaker, Mike Johnson, because of his faith in God and respect for the Bible. In his first speech as speaker, Johnson talked comfortably about the power of prayer and his faith in God.
He also referred to himself as a “Bible-believing Christian.”
The Left had a meltdown. MSNBC host Jen Psaki called Johnson a “religious fundamentalist” and mocked his faith. The Daily Beast compared Johnson to the “Taliban and the mullahs in Iran.” Hakeem Jeffries, the Minority leader in the House, ripped into Johnson, calling him an “extreme, right-wing ideologue.”
However, their attacks on Johnson and his faith are attacks on America. Johnson’s biblical faith and worldview are eerily similar to those of Washington, Madison, and the entire founding generation. Consider the following.
The Bible in the Lives of the Founders
The Bible was, in fact, the most popular book in America at the time of its founding. America’s founding generation found in the pages of the Bible its moral compass, its guide for ethics and its Christian worldview.
This was confirmed by a 10-year study to determine where America’s Founders got their ideas for her founding documents. After examining thousands of speeches, letters and other documents, the leaders of this study concluded that the Founders quoted the Bible far more than any other source (Hyatt, 5 Pillars of the American Republic, 13).
It is, therefore, not surprising that when the First Continental Congress opened on Sept. 5, 1774, it opened with an extended time of Bible reading and prayer. Rev. Jacob Duche read the entire 35th Psalm and it had a powerful impact on everyone present, John Adams, who became America’s second president, wrote to his wife, Abigail, back in Boston,
I never saw a greater effect upon an audience. It seems as if heaven had ordained that Psalm to be read that day. I saw tears gush into the eyes of the old, grave pacific Quakers of Philadelphia. I must beg you to read that Psalm (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 108).
Every succeeding session of the Congress was then opened with Bible reading and prayer.
The Founders’ respect for the Bible was also highlighted by their endorsement of the first English Bible printed in America in 1782. The producer of the Bible, Robert Aitken, called this Bible, “a neat Edition of the Scriptures for the use in schools.” Congress enthusiastically recommended the Bible, saying:
“Resolved: That the United States in Congress assembled, highly approve the pious and laudable undertaking of Mr. Aitken . . . and being satisfied from the above report, of his care and accuracy in the execution of the work they recommend this edition of the Bible to the inhabitants of the United States and hereby authorize him to publish this recommendation in the manner he shall think proper” (Hyatt, 5 Pillars of the American Republic, 15).
Because of the high regard for the Bible in Colonial America, no one was surprised, or offended, when George Washington insisted on taking the first presidential oath of office with his hand on a Bible. A person swears by that which is greater than himself, and for Washington, the Bible was the greatest tangible authority by which he could swear to uphold and defend the Constitution.
James Madison, America’s fourth president and chief architect of the U.S Constitution, respected the Bible as a revelation from God. He studied at the College of New Jersey under the president, Rev. Jonathan Witherspoon, who once said, “Cursed is all education that is contrary to Christ.” After graduation Madison remained at the college where he worked on a project translating the Old Testament from Hebrew into English and the New Testament from Greek into English. The late Dr. D. James Kennedy said, “Madison’s political worldview was one shaped by the Bible more than any other source” (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 143).
Andrew Jackson, America’s seventh president, once gestured toward a Bible and said to the person with whom he was conversing, “That book, sir, is the rock on which our Republic rests.”
In a Dec. 1982 article in Newsweek entitled “How the Bible Made America,” the authors declared:
“For centuries [the Bible] has exerted an unrivaled influence on American culture, politics and social life. Now historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document” (Hyatt, 1726:The Year that Defined America, 7).
The simple and sincere faith of Speaker Mike Johnson is a breath of fresh air for America and offers hope for the future. It is the modern left-wing secularists, not Speaker Johnson, who have departed from the faith and vision of America’s founding generation. {eoa}
For the original article, visit our content partner at biblicalawakening.blogspot.com.
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This article was derived from Dr. Eddie Hyatt’s groundbreaking book, 1726: The Year that Defined America, which documents the direct bearing of the First Great Awakening on both the founding of America and the ending of slavery on the American continent.
