House Speaker Mike Johnson reveals favorite Bible verse, slams media 'double standard' on faith

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, November 01, 2023

U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., (L) celebrates with Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., as the House of Representatives holds an election for a new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol on October 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C. After a contentious nominating period that has seen four candidates over a three-week period, the House GOP conference selected Johnson as their most recent nominee to succeed former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who was ousted on October 4 in a move led by a small group of conservative members of his own party. | Win McNamee/Getty Images

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., revealed in a recent interview that his favorite part of the Bible is a psalm.

"I love Psalm 37," Johnson told The Daily Signal on Tuesday. "I would call that my life's passage. The whole psalm. It's great, and it's so applicable to these times."

Johnson, a member of Cypress Baptist Church in Benton, Louisiana, said that earlier that morning, he went into the congressional chapel and opened the large Bible on the altar to his favorite passage.

"I opened it to Psalm 37 to be open and rested there because I've just found great solace in that," he said.

Famous biblical commentator Matthew Henry described Psalm 37 as "an exposition of some of the hardest chapters in the book of Providence, the advancement of the wicked and the disgrace of the righteous, a solution of the difficulties that arise thereupon, and an exhortation to conduct ourselves as becomes us under such dark dispensations."

The famous psalm spans 40 verses and reflects on the short-lived prosperity of the wicked while urging the afflicted righteous to "rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass."

Johnson, who has served Louisiana in the lower chamber since 2016, has taken flak in the media for his outspoken Christian beliefs. He acknowledged that the media often treats the faith of public figures differently based on their politics.

"There's an incredible double standard in the mainstream media," he told The Daily Signal, noting the difference in how the Catholic faith of President Joe Biden is portrayed compared to that of someone like Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett.

Johnson told Fox News co-host Kayleigh McEnany on Tuesday that the attacks against him, such as MSNBC host Jen Psaki calling him a "fundamentalist," HBO host Bill Maher comparing him to the Maine shooter or a Daily Beast op-ed likening him to the Taliban, are "disgusting" and "absurd."

"Of course, our religion is based on love and acceptance," Johnson said. "So, to compare that worldview with the Taliban, who seek to destroy their enemies, or with some deranged shooter who murders people is absolutely outrageous. And I think that everyone who follows and believes in a Judeo-Christian worldview should be just terribly offended by that."

Tony Perkins, president of the national Evangelical grassroots organization Family Research Council and a longtime friend of Johnson, recently told The Christian Post that the attacks against the new speaker are "almost humorous" and framed them as symptomatic of growing cultural opposition toward Christianity generally.

"We've seen it abroad, but it's now here, this growing hostility to biblical faith, and this is why I think we see this attack on Mike Johnson," Perkins told CP. "It's not a matter of preference, it's not his opinion, it's what the Scripture says."

House Republicans unanimously elected Johnson as speaker last Wednesday following three weeks of political gridlock following the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.