Hypocrisy – The Pencil Driven Life

The Christian nationalism is coming from inside the House

Avatar photo by ADAM LEE NOV 02, 2023

Overview:

Mike Johnson, the new Speaker of the House, is a radical Christian nationalist who opposes democracy—and he still might not be extreme enough for his own caucus.

Reading Time: 5 MINUTES

In 2023, Kevin McCarthy made ignominious history by becoming the first Speaker of the House in US history to be ejected by his own party.

It took multiple rounds of voting, with McCarthy groveling before his party’s most extreme members, before he got the job in the first place. But he lasted only a few months before enraging them by passing a bill to prevent a shutdown. For the grave sin of governing, he was kicked out of the speaker’s chair.

Several weeks of chaos and dysfunction ensued as various House Republicans stepped forward to run for speaker and others shot them down. Finally, the infighting exhausted them enough to coalesce around a new speaker, Louisiana Congressman Mike Johnson. (I wonder if Johnson won because his generic name made him seem unobjectionable.)

But despite his bland, forgettable demeanor, Johnson is no moderate. As the modern Republican Party keeps finding new depths of political nihilism to sink to, he may be the worst yet to hold the post.

A young-earth creationist

Johnson got his start working for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a right-wing legal group. He spent years arguing that abortion should be outlawed and that states should have the right to criminalize consensual same-sex relationships.

He’s also a young-earth creationist who’s represented Answers in Genesis in court to argue for tax exemptions for their Noah’s Ark theme park.

He believes that teaching evolution causes school shootings:

During a 2016 sermon at the Christian Center in Shreveport, Louisiana, Johnson said that a “series of cultural shifts” in the United States — led by “elites” and “academics” in the 1930s who were engaging with the theories of Charles Darwin — erased the influence of Christian thinking and creationism from society.

“People say, ‘How can a young person go into their schoolhouse and open fire on their classmates?’” Johnson asked the audience. “Because we’ve taught a whole generation — a couple generations now — of Americans, that there’s no right or wrong, that it’s about survival of the fittest, and [that] you evolve from the primordial slime. Why is that life of any sacred value? Because there’s nobody sacred to whom it’s owed. None of this should surprise us.”“New House Speaker Blamed School Shootings on Teaching Evolution and Abortion.” Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 26 October 2023.

This feels almost quaint. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a young-earth creationist in the wild. I had assumed most of them had long since moved on to QAnon.

Needless to say, the idea that belief in God prevents violence is a blackly comical absurdity. Not only is that not true, it’s the flat opposite of the truth. Human history is a bloodstained chronicle of devout believers slaughtering each other for believing in the wrong god—or believing in the right god, but worshipping it in the wrong way. Just imagine trying to tell people from the era of the Inquisition or the Crusades that religion is a force for peace that teaches us to treat all life as sacred.

The Bible records a campaign of genocide enthusiastically carried out by the Hebrew tribes against their pagan enemies. Medieval Europe is an endless battle of Catholic-versus-Protestant warfare, Christian-versus-Muslim warfare, and everyone killing and persecuting Jews. Sunni and Shi’a Muslims have clashed again and again. Western nations have subjugated, colonized, enslaved and killed indigenous “heathens” from all over the world in the name of spreading the gospel. The ongoing Israel-Hamas war is a battle between two religious sects that both believe they have a God-given right to possess the same land.

In addition to his anti-evolution views, Johnson ticks every other box on the list of Christian “antis”. Like all fundamentalists, his worldview is defined by what he’s against: He is anti-abortion, anti-gay-rights, anti-feminism, anti-climate-science. He’s even anti-divorce—believing, as many religious conservatives are starting to, that it gives women too much power. In a bid to shore up the crumbling walls of patriarchy, he wants to abolish no-fault divorce so they’ll be forced to stay in unhappy or abusive marriages.

A Christian nationalist

But, above all else, Johnson is a Christian nationalist. Like all Christian nationalists, he believes (falsely, based on right-wing pseudo-history) that America was founded as a Christian nation, and therefore a Christian view of law and morality should rule.

It hardly needs emphasizing that, when Johnson and his ilk speak of a “Christian” view, they don’t mean a generically Christian, ecumenical, big-tent view. They mean their own interpretation—a hardcore right-wing, patriarchal, anti-science, literalist reading of the Bible. They believe that this fundamentalist theology should reign supreme over every other interpretation of Christianity, not to mention all the other religions, philosophies, and worldviews in our multicultural melting pot.

The most disturbing aspect of Johnson’s view is that, because he believes America is a Christian nation, he holds that evangelical Christians like himself are entitled to rule regardless of elections. That’s why he’s against democracy.

That’s not a polemical attack. He says so himself!

“We don’t live in a democracy, because democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what’s for dinner.”“He Seems to Be Saying His Commitment Is to Minority Rule.” Katelyn Fossett, Politico, 27 October 2023.

Yes, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, second in line to the presidency, is an avowed opponent of democracy.

These aren’t empty words. Johnson has acted in line with them. He was one of the Republicans who voted unsuccessfully to overturn the 2020 election. He wrote a brief in support of Texas’ toweringly arrogant lawsuit to throw out the results of elections in other states that voted differently. He spread bizarre conspiracy theories about Hugo Chavez writing voting machine software.

All of this isn’t an aberration. It flows from Johnson’s Christian nationalist theology. In this monarchical worldview, Christians like him get to be in charge, no matter what. If the voters say something different, too bad for them. He believes in throwing out the “wrong” votes and handpicking the person who “should” have won.

READ: Christian nationalists: Drop Mike, hold on to your Johnson

Johnson’s anti-democratic, election-denying views mirror the general trend toward authoritarianism among conservative Christians. They were only ever in favor of democracy as long as they thought they’d win every time. When that stopped being the case, they started wanting to change the rules to suit them. From Kristin Du Mez:

I think what has escalated things in the last decade or so is a growing alarm among conservative white Christians that they no longer have numbers on their side. So looking at the demographic change in this country, the quote-unquote “end of white Christian America” and there’s where you can see a growing willingness to blatantly abandon any commitment to democracy.

It’s really during the Obama presidency that you see the escalation of not just rhetoric, but a kind of desperation, urgency, ruthlessness in pursuing this agenda. Religious freedom was at the center of that. And it was, again, not a religious freedom for all Americans; it was religious freedom to ensure that conservative Christians could live according to their values. Because they could see this kind of sea change on LGBTQ rights, they could see the demographic changes, and inside their spaces, they have really played up this language of fear that liberals are out to get you, and you cannot raise your children anymore.“He Seems to Be Saying His Commitment Is to Minority Rule.” Katelyn Fossett, Politico, 27 October 2023.

For all the danger Johnson presents, the one thing he’s not is unusual. This election-denying, freedom-refuting ideology, once the fringe of the fringe, has swallowed the entire Republican party. Anyone the party might be expected to support would hold these same beliefs.

Johnson’s elevation isn’t an aberration, but a punctuation mark. It’s a sign that, for the foreseeable future, this is the course the Republican party has committed itself to. Elections in America are no longer a choice between two points on the same political spectrum. They’re a struggle for the continued existence of democracy over those who favor fascism and authoritarian rule.

Not extreme enough

As bad as that is, there are hints that even Johnson isn’t extreme enough for some members of his caucus.

For all his repugnant politics, he has an adopted Black son. Johnson has spoken frankly about the racism his son faces and said there’s a need for “systematic change”. He’s also said George Floyd was murdered by the police: “I don’t think anyone can view the video and objectively come to any other conclusion.”

For these remarks, perpetually-furious conservative pundits have already labeled Johnson a disgrace, a fraud and a secret Democrat. The right wing has done so much to nurture their own sense of grievance, there’s a chance that they’re truly ungovernable. No human being who could run for office and win could ever satisfy them.

If that’s true, then Johnson, for all his radicalism, might not end up enjoying a longer or easier tenure than his predecessor.

Christian nationalists: Drop Mike, hold on to your Johnson

Here’s the link to this article.

Avatar photo by JONATHAN MS PEARCE OCT 31, 2023

Overview:

Move over Mike Pence, Mike Johnson is in the big chair—and in a position to try to enact all of his Christian nationalist dreams.

Reading Time: 5 MINUTES

The challenge of Christian nationalism has resurfaced over the last week with a tale of two Mikes. The first concerns conservative Christian Mike Pence dropping out of the race for president. The charisma black hole that is the former vice president under Donald Trump never really stood a chance, even against the aging Joe Biden. Sometimes reality is unassailable.

But while Pence was debating with himself whether to continue his campaign, another Mike was throwing his hat into the political ring. It got to a point where congressional Republicans were keenly aware of the embarrassing situation of not having a majority leader in the House of Representatives. After a number of potential candidates failed to get enough support, including the controversial Jim Jordan, it appears that the GOP lawmakers ran out of patience. The first person to come along who appeared to be a safe pair of hands would command quite an advantage.

Appearances can be deceptive. Dangerously so.

It is amazing how much a calm voice, a pair of spectacles, and a nicely tailored suit can do for a politician. (I am reminded of the book Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work including the chapter, “The Case of Dave: Would a Snake Wear Such a Nice Suit?” Not to cast aspersions…) He seems such a sensible person, and his voice is so moderate!

That’s his physical voice, not his political voice. The tone of his speaking belies a now rather typical MAGA-style conservative Christian agenda. So much so that controversial MAGA frontman Matt Gaetz said of Mike Johnson in an interview given to Steve Bannon, “If you don’t think that moving from Kevin McCarthy to MAGA Mike Johnson shows the ascendance of this movement and where the power in the Republican Party truly lies, then you’re not paying attention.”

Don’t be entranced by the slippery gyrations of “MAGA Mike.” This cobra has a very poisonous bite.

Former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki dropped her own mic on her MSNBC show: “Another deeply religious conservative Republican just ascended to the speakership… The problem with Johnson isn’t at all his faith. He is entitled to his personal beliefs as everyone is…even if they come from the 18th century.”

Ouch.

The problem, as she points out, is when those beliefs encroach on the rights of others. Christian nationalism in a pluralist society is something of a headache in a secular country. This might be Roe v. Wade, which Johnson believes “gave constitutional cover to the elective killing of unborn children in America. Period.” He believes that if women were able to bring more “able-bodied workers” into the world to foot the bill, then politicians wouldn’t need to slash Social Security and Medicare:

He even blames school shootings on abortion, as Irin Carmon sets out in the New York Magazine:

At the time, Johnson was a lawyer defending Louisiana’s abortion restrictions — purported safety regulations designed to shut down clinics — in court and had just been elected, unopposed, to the State House of Representatives. I remember thinking how anodyne the office was, like a small-town personal-injury firm, as he cheerfully told me that soon the pro-lifers would outnumber the pro-choicers who aborted all their babies. I no longer have a recording, just a 27-page transcript, but my memory is that he kept his voice smooth and pleasant as he said, “Many women use abortion as a form of birth control, you know, in certain segments of society, and it’s just shocking and sad, but this is where we are. When you break up the nuclear family, when you tell a generation of people that life has no value, no meaning, that it’s expendable, then you do wind up with school shooters.”

He has also supported legislation to limit the teaching of race-related topics in schools, and Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. His blend of Christian nationalism looks very much like a white one: He has also often repeated promotion of the “Great Replacement Theory.” Usefully, Politico have released a piece detailing where he stands on many political issues.

Beware the quiet man. When he addressed his colleagues on the first day of being the new Speaker in the US House of Representatives, Johnson shared the following: “I don’t believe there are any coincidences. 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 us to be brought here to this specific moment and time.”

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has been following him. In 2016, he said, “You know, we don’t live in a democracy . . . It’s a constitutional republic. And the founders set that up because they followed the biblical admonition on what a civil society is supposed to look like.” And very worrying to those of us who find the separation of church and state crucial to the political operation of the United States, he added: “Over the last 60 or 70 years our generation has been convinced that there is a separation of church and state . . . most people think that is part of the Constitution, but it’s not.”

He has also expressed his belief that the founders wanted to protect the church from the state, not the other way around, and that the US is indeed a nation with Judeo-Christian roots under threat from secular forces.

In case anyone was in any doubt, Johnson confirmed his moral-political worldview in an interview with Fox News: “I am a Bible-believing Christian. Someone asked me today in the media, they said, ‘It’s curious, people are curious, what does Mike Johnson think about any issue under the sun?’ I said, well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That’s my worldview.”

Same-sex marriage is also another talking-point issue where Johnson appears to be on the wrong side of history but the right side of the Republican Party. As Time reports in their piece “The Christian Nationalism of Speaker Mike Johnson“:

As an attorney working for the Alliance Defense Fund, now known as Alliance Defending Freedom (founded by leaders with similar Christian nationalist commitments, like James Dobson, D. James Kennedy, and Bill Bright), Speaker Johnson opposed the decriminalization of homosexual activity through Lawrence v. Texas in 2003 and in 2004 proposed banning same-sex marriage.

He argued how both will “de-emphasize the importance of traditional marriage to society, weaken it, and place our entire democratic system in jeopardy by eroding its foundation,” and that “experts project that homosexual marriage is the dark harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy that could doom even the strongest republic

As the same article points out, “Americans who embrace Christian nationalism are more likely to support anti-democratic tactics and approve of political violence if an election does not return favorable results.” It is wholly unsurprising, then, that Johnson was a pivotal figure in the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential elections. He wasn’t shy of repeating debunked Dominion voting machine claims and even wrote an amicus brief for a case concerning Texas having results thrown out.

There is enough to worry about when surveying the world’s democratic backsliding—seeing institutions and mechanisms, checks and balances, being repealed and pulled down— without having to worry about the corridors of power in the US Capitol.

In a time of growing pluralism, the only sensible map to navigate this increasing diversity is secularism of the sort envisaged and enshrined by the founders. But pluralism and diversity, difference and understanding, are not the purview of Christian nationalists. And it appears very obvious indeed that Mike Johnson is a staunch Christian nationalist. This should be of grave concern. Time finishes their article as follows:

It is critical to recognize the influence of Christian nationalism on Mike Johnson’s vision for the US. “Christian nationalism” isn’t a political slur. It’s a term that accurately describes an ideology that is antithetical to a stable, multiracial, and liberal democracy—an ideology clearly guiding the now-ranking Republican in the US House of Representatives.

Political polarization and division are more pronounced than they ever have been. It appears that the Republicans have not changed tack after the 2020 elections or the fallout to Dobbs v. Jackson but instead have doubled down, piling into culture war issues and divisive policies.

It appears that now more than ever, the nonreligious and secular need to be on their guard. Now more than ever, constitutional foundations must be secured and supported. Now more than ever, the quiet man must be listened to. Every single word.

Don’t lean too close, though. That snake can bite.

He Was Always A Fraud

Here’s the link to this article.

DAN RATHER AND ELLIOT KIRSCHNER

SEP 27, 2023

Donald Trump is and has always been a fraud, a con man, and a flimflam artist in it for the quick buck and to satisfy the basest of his selfish needs.

There is never any joy in having to remind ourselves of this truth. Instead, there is a sadness in having to face the fact that such a man became president of the United States — and may become president again.

But face it we must.

Evidence for these harsh conclusions about the man is overwhelming and longstanding and comes in many forms, the latest installment making waves yesterday courtesy of a civil trial in New York. There, the Trump business conglomerate and those who run it — including Trump, members of his family, and longtime associates — have been in the investigative crosshairs of the state’s attorney general, Letitia James.

After reviewing the bank and insurance paperwork that Trump and his associates used to obtain favorable terms, a New York judge ruled that the documents “clearly contain fraudulent valuations which the defendants employed in their business.” And that’s how the words “Trump” and “fraud” found themselves in close proximity in blockbuster headlines across the country this week.

The ruling could lead to a major financial hit. It is also a direct threat to the Trump brand and business. He could lose control of multiple New York properties, including his garish namesake tower on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. And further ripple effects could spiral from there, creating centrifugal forces that will further pull at a wobbly enterprise.

Of course, this isn’t the only legal threat the country’s most famous multiply-indicted defendant finds himself confronting. Reading yesterday’s news reports, it was amusing how reporters tried to explain to readers that this case was different from all the others they are trying to follow.

What all these cases have in common, however, is a return to where we started: Trump is a fraud and a liar. Whether it’s absconding with classified documents, paying hush payments to a mistress, strong-arming election officials in Georgia, or inciting a violent attempted coup, the common denominator is that Trump is only out for himself, and he will do whatever is necessary, as dangerous as that course may be, to keep his lifelong con going.

In trying to contextualize yesterday’s news, one can’t help but think back to the NBC reality show “The Apprentice.” The portrayal of Donald Trump as a decisive leader, successful businessman, and respected member of New York society was always a fiction created through scripting, marketing, and editing. At the time, the charade was treated as harmless enough, just another offering in a form of lowbrow entertainment featuring those who sought fame and fortune at any cost. Hindsight sadly provides a much clearer — and more troubling — picture.

Trump is a showman without shame, which just so happens to be the perfect attribute for thriving in reality television. He already had decades of experience lying about the reality of his business empire, which often teetered on the brink of collapse. But now he was aided and abetted by a team of producers, editors, and writers (plus no doubt a ton of hair and makeup help). If Trump looked good — no matter the truth — everyone stood to make a lot of money. What no one could have predicted at the time was that these years of Trump’s primetime propaganda would lay the groundwork for the most unlikely and arguably the most damaging president in American history.

Another truth that emerges from these court cases, as with the television show, is that Trump could not have done any of this by himself. At every turn, he has had help. The idea that people would do business with him or serve in his administration after all that we have seen is a sad testimony to what greed and a thirst for power and personal advancement will drive people to do.

Time and again, those who should know better could have tried to stop him. Far too few in his orbit stepped up to the challenge. That dynamic now includes most of the Republican Party.

For years, those who saw the truth about Trump have desperately waited for the one revelation that would finally cause his rabid supporters to understand the full scale of the grift. It has become clear now that if the events leading up to and cresting on January 6 couldn’t do that, then nothing will. But perhaps the fraud ruling in New York and other challenges Trump faces can chip away at the edifice.

Ultimately, “The Apprentice” became a shadow of its one-time popularity. As its ratings dropped, Trump and the producers became more and more desperate for shticks that would lure viewers. Acts can get tired, especially when they lose the luster of success.

Trump has always been fiercely afraid of accountability, because he knows it shines an ugly light on his false reality. It’s why he lies about crowd sizes, vote totals, and his own body weight when he is booked in jail. It’s all related. Pull back the curtain of his threats, projections, and cheap bravado, and you’re left with a frightened man desperately trying to outrun reality, and now the law. There’s nothing quite like seeing a con man get backed into a corner by the truth.

The questions are, will any of this resonate with Republicans? Influence independents? Or drive Democrats to the polls?

Former Southern Baptist leader: My sexual misconduct is “nobody else’s business”

Here’s the link to this article.

Johnny Hunt, who condemned same-sex marriage, says his own infidelity is a private matter

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SEP 25, 2023

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The religious hypocrisy of a former Southern Baptist Convention leader is center stage in an ongoing lawsuit, arguing that one man’s private sins shouldn’t be fodder for public allegations.

It all stems back to revelations from 2022 about the SBC, in which we learned that, over the previous decade, more than 250 SBC staffers or volunteers had been “charged with sex crimes” against more than 700 victims. We also learned in the SBC’s own investigation that a private list of alleged predators (that wasn’t shared with member churches) included “703 abusers, with 409 believed to be SBC-affiliated.” The situation was so bad that the Department of Justice announced it was investigating “multiple SBC entities,” though not specific individuals, about their mishandling of sexual abuse cases. That investigation is ongoing.

But the relevant part of that document for today’s story was the allegation about former SBC president Johnny Hunt.

Johnny Hunt delivers a sermon on August 6, 2023 (screenshot via YouTube)

According to page 149, another pastor and his wife reported that Hunt, who ran the SBC from 2008-2010, “had sexually assaulted the wife on July 25, 2010.” (That would have been shortly after Hunt completed his second one-year term.)

Hunt, the report said, “groomed the couple with flattery and promises of help in ministry.” At the SBC’s annual meeting that year, Hunt invited the couple to spend time with his family at a beach where he was spending his planned sabbatical. They grew closer and, at a later date, the woman stayed alone at a condo that Hunt recommended. Unbeknownst to her, he was right next door.

One night, when both of them were alone, he invited her back to his place. It took a dark turn from there:

Dr. Hunt then moved towards Survivor and proceeded to pull her shorts down, turn her over and stare at her bare backside. He made sexual remarks about her body and things he had imagined about her. During this time, Survivor felt frozen. Survivor said these were some of the longest moments of her life. She mustered the courage to ask him could she turn back over, and Dr. Hunt said yes. When she turned back over, she began to pull up her shorts. Dr. Hunt then pinned her to the couch, got on top of her, and pulled up her shirt. He sexually assaulted her with his hands and mouth. Suddenly, Dr. Hunt stopped and then stood up. Survivor pulled down her shirt. Survivor said she did not want him to ruin his ministry, at which he responded he did not want to ruin hers. But he then forced himself on her again by groping her, trying to pull her shirt down, and violently kissing her. Survivor did not reciprocate, but rather stood eyes open and very stiff, hoping he would just stop and leave. He finally stopped and left.

The victim said that Hunt spoke to her shortly after that and told her “he would like to have sex with her three times a day.”

It was only the next morning that he apologized, begged for forgiveness, and asked for her to keep this a secret.

Hunt was scheduled to return to preach at his home church in Georgia following his sabbatical, but he soon announced he would be extending his break “citing physical and emotional exhaustion”

Bob Smietana of Religion News Service explains what happened after that:

Without telling his congregation — or the millions of Southern Baptists he had represented as their president — Hunt went through a secret restoration process that included counseling sessions with the woman he had fondled and her husband. He then returned to the pulpit.

For a dozen years, no one was the wiser. Hunt retired from First Baptist in 2019 and took on a new role as a senior vice president for the SBC’s North American Mission Board and continued his busy and often lucrative career as a preacher and public speaker.

Life is good when you’re an alleged sexual abuser who belongs to a religious denomination with a history of ignoring sexual abuse.

Again, all that occurred in 2010. The details of the alleged assault weren’t publicized until that report came out in 2022. Until that report was made public, it was all but impossible to connect the dots to understand the real reason for Hunt’s extended leave.

Hunt initially denied those allegations. He then claimed everything was consensual. But by the end of 2022, after going through another “restoration” program, Hunt was declared “eligible to return to professional ministry.” He returned to the pulpit earlier this year.

There were never any criminal charges filed against him. His professional career didn’t suffer any real hits. It was like the SBC didn’t really care. (Surprise.)

But Hunt seems determined to get the last word here, so this past spring, he filed a defamation lawsuit against the SBC saying they ruined his life by including him in the report. The encounter, his lawyers explained, “involved only kissing and some awkward fondling.” Infidelity, sure, but not assault. Plus, Hunt was no longer the SBC president at the time, just a civilian. Including him in the report was nothing more than a “strategic decision to deflect attention from the SBC’s historical failure to take aggressive steps to respond to reports of child sex abuse and other sex crimes in its past.”

“Pastor Johnny was not the president of the SBC or a member of the Executive Committee at the time of the incident,” they wrote in a memorandum, opposing the denomination’s attempts to have the case dismissed. “He was merely a private citizen whose marital fidelity was nobody else’s business.”

That’s the sort of sentence that will give your eyes a workout as they roll back.

First of all, citing the SBC’s “historical failure” to deal with sex abuse as an excuse for them coming after him is wild considering that Hunt was the leader of the SBC at a time when many of those failures were occurring. He’s blaming the SBC, which he led, for not doing enough to stop guys like himself.

The defamation argument is also absurd. He was a public figure. He was the immediate past president of the SBC. He was a hypocrite. He was a part of the abuse that the SBC swept under the rug. There’s no evidence that the allegations were made by people who secretly knew they were untrue (which is the whole idea of defamation).

But setting that aside, it’s ludicrous that a preacher who made everyone else’s sex life his business now demands privacy regarding his alleged assault.

As Smietana points out, Hunt was one of the signers of the 2017 Nashville Statement, which declared marriage could only be between a man and a woman, that all married couples needed to be monogamous, and that transgender people didn’t exist.

He also signed the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission’s “Statement on Marriage” written in response to the Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling, which said the decision was the result of “marriage’s decline through divorce, cohabitation, and a worldview of almost limitless sexual freedom.”

Finally, it’s deeply ironic that in 2008, at the same convention when Hunt was elected SBC president, the SBC Executive Committee condemned sexual abuse in all forms:

“The Southern Baptist Convention is on record for having stood strongly against sexual abuse. We have long condemned those who would use our churches as a hunting ground for their own sick and selfish pleasure,” Chapman said. “At the same time, sexual abuse is a growing crisis in this nation and we must continue to do everything within our power to stop this horrendous crime. Even though the number of Southern Baptist ministers who are sexual predators may seem to be relatively small, we must be on watch and take immediate action against those who prey on the most innocent among us. One sexual predator in our midst is one too many!“

We gotta stop the sex predators! Now everyone please clap for the new guy in charge, Johnny Hunt!

Notice how they acted like Southern Baptist predators were few and far between even though sexual abuse was rampant in the culture. Meanwhile they elected a man was was two years away from being credibly accused of that same behavior. They were also in the midst of covering up their own behavior, as the 2022 report would later reveal.

If Hunt wasn’t an anti-LGBTQ preacher who made sexual ethics a focal point in his personal ministry, maybe this wouldn’t have to be a public story… though I would argue it still deserved to be taken seriously because (1) if the allegations were true, it would be a serious crime and (2) he used his religious authority to gain unearned trust from another woman.

It important to remember that Hunt has always pushed the false idea that a Christian ethic means taking the moral high road. Yet he’s a living example of how Christianity can sometimes just be an excuse to cover up bad behavior. He implied that those who reject his belief system are more likely to be sinners worthy of condemnation while never taking those beliefs seriously himself. He acted like his marriage was worthy of praise while treating monogamous same-sex couples as if they were being led by the devil.

He’s not the only Christian leader who turned out to be a complete hypocrite. Ted Haggard and Jerry Falwell, Jr. had their reputations destroyed for similar reasons. (At least they were never accused of assault.) But Hunt seems intent on making sure this story stays in the public eye by making the idiotic argument that it never should have been told.

To be fair, that may be the most Southern Baptist thing about him.