Why Did Mike Johnson Scrub 69 Podcasts From His Website?

An MSNBC columnist last week wrote, “Mike Johnson’s Christian nationalist track record isn’t a mystery — it’s a tragedy,” and added, “The new speaker cut his teeth trying to erode the separation of church and state and abortion and LGBTQ rights as a lawyer for the Alliance Defense Fund.”

On Thursday, in a Daily Beast opinion piece, David Rothkopf wrote, “Here’s Why Mike Johnson Is More Dangerous Than Donald Trump.”

“In interviews he has spoken of the fact that ‘We don’t live in a democracy’ we live in a ‘Biblical republic,'” Rothkop said. “He asserts this was because the founders sought to follow a ‘biblical admonition’—which must be a reference to a different group of people than those I cited at the outset. In the same set of remarks he described democracy derisively as ‘two wolves and a lamb deciding what is for dinner.'”

A Louisiana-based weekly, reporting on Johnson’s podcasts says the episodes are “focused primarily on politely and genially supporting the anti-civil rights and anti-human rights agenda at the heart of evangelical-infused Republican politics.”

Speaker Johnson and his wife published the 69 podcasts, “Truth Be Told with Mike and Kelly Johnson,” with individual titles including, “Who We Are and How We Should Lead (in Washington and Around the World).” Or, “How to Stand for Religious Freedom & Address the ‘Separation of Church and State,'” which he calls, “one of the most important–and most misunderstood–principles in American society today.”

Another, “Responding Biblically to ‘Pride Month’ and the Culture Wars,” reads: “As truth is now openly challenged and a deluge of huge cultural issues are hitting close to home for every American, it’s becoming more important than ever for all people of good conscience, and certainly Christians, to be able to think through the issues and respond appropriately. In this episode, Mike and Kelly discuss the impact of the explosive documentary, ‘What is a Woman?,’ how conservatives and traditionalists are finally awakening from their slumber and fighting back, and what the Bible says about our specific approach to the culture wars. They also discuss the new initiative to recognize June as ‘Fidelity Month,’ to help restore Americans’ belief in the importance of values like patriotism, religion, family, and community.”

Huffpost’s report on Kelly Johnson’s business points to an operating agreement and adds, “Onward Christian Counseling Services is grounded in the belief that sex is offensive to God if it is not between a man and a woman married to each other. It puts being gay, bisexual or transgender in the same category as someone who has sex with animals or family members, calling all of these examples of ‘sexual immorality.'”

Meanwhile, notes for the couple’s podcast last year titled, “Biblical Responses to a Divided Nation (A Conversation with Ken Ham, CEO of Answers in Genesis),” read: “In this episode, Mike and Kelly have an important discussion with Ken Ham, the CEO and founder of the Answers in Genesis ministry, the highly-acclaimed Creation Museum, and the world-renowned Ark Encounter theme park in Kentucky. His books have sold more than 3 million copies, and his latest publication, Divided Nation: Cultures in Chaos & A Conflicted Church, explains what is happening in our society, why persecution is increasing and more and more people are rejecting the truth of Scripture, and what Christians ought to DO about it. As he reminds us, ‘it only takes one generation to lose a culture’–and we must act now before it’s too late.”

Johnson may have scrubbed his personal website, but the podcasts have not been removed from other sources including Apple Podcasts.