If anything, Republicans are discouraging people from placing their total faith in the Jesus of the New Testament.

For plenty of believers in Messiah Jesus, their faith in Jesus prompts them to stay out of the GOP.

So, when Republicans put on a religious show – which they frequently do – they do so in vain.

If real life were like a Rob Reiner film, then Inigo Montoya would appear at GOP meetings and say, “You keep mentioning the Bible. I don’t think it teaches what you think it teaches.”

The newest poster child for the GOP religion is GOP congressman Mike Johnson, who (at the time of this post) is the current Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Just before he was elected to his current leadership position, several of his ilk made a religious show in the House chamber:

In doing so, they disregarded something that Jesus said to his followers:

It didn’t take Johnson long to use his new position to promote his religion:

More than a few Christian scholars had a negative response to what Johnson said.

From Rev. Benjamin Perry, Middle Collegiate Church in NYC:

From Rev. Ben Cremer, Cathedral of the Rockies in Boise, Idaho:

From Rev. Jacqui Lewis, PhD, Middle Collegiate Church in NYC:

From Jason “Jay” Mallow, MA in Exegetical Theology:

Sociology professor Samuel, Perry, PhD:

When asked to explain his way of thinking, Mike Johnson responded with “gem”:

Jason “Jay” Mallow paraphrases what Johnson is saying to the world:

In his commentary Analogy and the Bible, Mallow gives one reason why Johnson is wrong about the Bible:

“One of the biggest temptations when it comes to the Bible is think that the Bible directly speaks to our present circumstances. The assumption is that we encounter a problem, conflict or other issue in life and assume the Bible as God’s ‘handbook for life’ must somehow directly address it. It normally goes, ‘This X issue is happening- let me look in the Bible for something that is similar- therefore the Bible says Y about X.’

This ignores the fact that, among other things, the Bible is a historical book. Meaning much of what was written was not written to a modern audience or even attempts to address modern problems (at least not in the way I’ve just suggested). My Bible professors would say constantly, ‘The Bible is written for us but not TO us’. To assume otherwise is to assume that there could be 1-to-1 correlations between particular historical events and what we experience presently. This, quite frankly isn’t how time works. To quote C. S. Lewis, ‘Things never happen the same way twice.’ To look at the past and assume there is a correlation with the present is to disrespect both then and now.”

Speaking personally, the GOP religion greatly stresses me because it dominates in the part of the USA that I live in, and it is practiced by plenty of people who are members of the same church that I am a member of. Do I doubt that they have saving faith in Messiah Jesus? No. Do I have cause to disagree with their interpretations of the Bible? Yes. Yet, if I were to openly express my disagreement to them, then I would be scolded at best.

Sure, I could switch my church membership to another church, and I have considered doing so. Yet, my current church helped me out in a financial way when I desperately needed the help. So, at present time, I cannot in good conscious just leave. As long as I don’t hear the GOP religion being promoted from the pulpit, I can bite my tongue whenever I hear something from the pulpit that I disagree with.

It would be wrong of me to expect perfection from my lead pastor. I still have the right to disagree with him if I can’t reconcile what he says to the context of whatever Bible verses that he is quoting.

Besides, people who disagree with the GOP religion aren’t perfect, either. Whenever I express a religious disagreement, I keep in mind something that the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:9,12 (NIV):

“For we know in part . . . Now I know in part . . .”

Like Paul, I know only in part. Thus, I strive to be open to the possibility that I could be wrong.

Yet, I am certain of this: My faith in Messiah Jesus does not call me to be a Republican. It doesn’t call me to be a member of any political party. To insist that “GOP = Jesus” is to promote a false gospel.