House Speaker Mike Johnson has played to the faith community, but one group deems him a false prophet, the kind Jesus warned about in Sermon on the Mount

Republicans bow in prayer with Mike Johnson

 

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson has tried his best to ingratiate himself with Christian voters. But it isn't working in at least one instance. In fact, a group called Faithful America has started an online petition to declare Johnson a false prophet, according to a post at Salon. Writes Kelly McClure:

Newly elected Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has been extremely vocal about his strict Christian beliefs, going so far as to say that reading the Bible will teach you everything there is to know about his world view. But an online Christian group called Faithful America isn't buying it, launching a petition to condemn him as a false prophet.

According to Newsweek, the group is in the midst of their second-annual "False Prophets Don't Speak for Me" campaign, which aims to show that false prophets "will never speak for Jesus" for the Christian community. Alongside Johnson — for whom they've collected more than 12,000 signatures in favor of condemnation — they've listed other Christian-nationalist leaders such as Donald Trump, Fox News host Laura Ingraham, Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, and co-founder of Moms for Liberty, Bridget Ziegler.

"It's hard to overstate the threat that anti-democracy, anti-freedom Christian nationalism poses to both democracy and the church today, especially now that Rep. Mike Johnson has become the most Christian-nationalist speaker in U.S. history," Faithful America's petition states. "Christian nationalism is also a leader-driven movement. The threat is not from voters or people in the pews, but from the greedy liars and con men who spread disinformation, deploy the us-vs-them politics of fascism, and attach themselves to the fervor of faith in an attempt to build their own power and egos. These are the False Prophets that Jesus warned us about."

Faithful America considers Mike Johnson a con man? Wow, these folks take their religion seriously. Jesus did, in fact, warn of false prophets, and Mike Johnson certainly seems to fit the profile. It's good to see that some people of faith recognize that. 

Our research indicates Faithful America is right on target about Mike Johnson being a con man. And he continues a long American tradition of charlatans who mix religion with con artistry. It's a dangerous mixture, and would-be voters would be wise to keep that in mind.