WASHINGTON, DC - On Wednesday, October 25, Mike Johnson became the new Speaker of the US House of Representatives. Within minutes of the vote moving him into the position, Business Insider published an article attacking Johnson for his faith, while also going after the institution of marriage itself.
They didn't write about how he might unify the Republican party or how he would address immigration, inflation or Ukraine and Israel.
They simply introduced him as a whack-a-doodle evangelical Christian who will have a tougher time getting divorced than most Americans.
The opening sentence of their article provided the foundation for the rest of the article.
"If the newly-elected speaker of the House wants to get a divorce, he'll have a harder time doing so than most Americans," Bryan Metzger wrote.
Johnson and his wife, Kelly, were married in 1999. They entered into what Louisiana law refers to as a "covenant marriage."
What is a covenant marriage?
In essence, couples sign a leglly binding document that requires certain things to be done before divorce is an option. A covenant marriage also identifies the only things that justify divorce. The covenant stipulates that the only way divorce can be pursued is if one of the spouses commits adultery, committs a felony or faces imprisonment, or committs acts of physical or sexual abuse. And even then, they are required to seek marital counseling first.
Covenant marriages are also specific to traditional marriages between a man and a woman, and it focuses on the vows made to be committed to one another until "death parts them."
Metzger summarized the law by saying:
"In other words, it's not a no-fault divorce, in which couples can easily dissolve their marriage for any reason."
The law also states that the agreement cannot be rescinded, dissolved or otherwise terminated, even with the consent of both spouses.
"My wife and I both come from traditional Christian households," Johnson told ABC in 2005. "My own parents are divorced. As anyone who goes through that knows, that was a traumatic thing for our whole family. I'm a big proponent of marriage and fidelity and all the things that go with it, and I've seen firsthand the devastation [divorce] can cause."
Kelly said in that same interview that the covenant shows her that her husband is in it for the long haul.
"I think that it would be a pretty big red flag if you asked your mate or your fiancé, 'Let's do a covenant marriage,' and they said they don't really want to do that," she said.
Louisiana was the first state to pass covenant marriage laws in 1997. Arizona and Arkansas also enacted similar laws.
In the comments section of the Newsbreak repost of this story, Ryan Jay summed up how little understanding people have on both the principles on which this nation was founded as well as the role faith plays in how Christians approach everyday life.
"Further proof that religion has zero business in US politics. A lot of people seem to think that religion should be the basis of law in the US. The US was founded upon the separation of church and state. You can be religious all you want, I don't care, but trying to force your beliefs onto everyone else, and creating laws and policy from your religious beliefs, isn't how the US operates. Freedom of religion is also freedom from religion. The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic, not a theocracy."
The reality is, faith in a living God has as much business in politics as any belief system, and in fact was very much part of the establishment of this nation, as it was also part of the everday life of so many of our founding fathers.
But sadly, people will makes statements like Ryan Jay's, and it goes unchecked. People just assume it to be accurate. It is time for us to start taking a stand and defending faith in this country, in the workplace and, yes, even in politics.
They didn't write about how he might unify the Republican party or how he would address immigration, inflation or Ukraine and Israel.
They simply introduced him as a whack-a-doodle evangelical Christian who will have a tougher time getting divorced than most Americans.
The opening sentence of their article provided the foundation for the rest of the article.
"If the newly-elected speaker of the House wants to get a divorce, he'll have a harder time doing so than most Americans," Bryan Metzger wrote.
Johnson and his wife, Kelly, were married in 1999. They entered into what Louisiana law refers to as a "covenant marriage."
What is a covenant marriage?
In essence, couples sign a leglly binding document that requires certain things to be done before divorce is an option. A covenant marriage also identifies the only things that justify divorce. The covenant stipulates that the only way divorce can be pursued is if one of the spouses commits adultery, committs a felony or faces imprisonment, or committs acts of physical or sexual abuse. And even then, they are required to seek marital counseling first.
Covenant marriages are also specific to traditional marriages between a man and a woman, and it focuses on the vows made to be committed to one another until "death parts them."
Metzger summarized the law by saying:
"In other words, it's not a no-fault divorce, in which couples can easily dissolve their marriage for any reason."
The law also states that the agreement cannot be rescinded, dissolved or otherwise terminated, even with the consent of both spouses.
"My wife and I both come from traditional Christian households," Johnson told ABC in 2005. "My own parents are divorced. As anyone who goes through that knows, that was a traumatic thing for our whole family. I'm a big proponent of marriage and fidelity and all the things that go with it, and I've seen firsthand the devastation [divorce] can cause."
Kelly said in that same interview that the covenant shows her that her husband is in it for the long haul.
"I think that it would be a pretty big red flag if you asked your mate or your fiancé, 'Let's do a covenant marriage,' and they said they don't really want to do that," she said.
Louisiana was the first state to pass covenant marriage laws in 1997. Arizona and Arkansas also enacted similar laws.
In the comments section of the Newsbreak repost of this story, Ryan Jay summed up how little understanding people have on both the principles on which this nation was founded as well as the role faith plays in how Christians approach everyday life.
"Further proof that religion has zero business in US politics. A lot of people seem to think that religion should be the basis of law in the US. The US was founded upon the separation of church and state. You can be religious all you want, I don't care, but trying to force your beliefs onto everyone else, and creating laws and policy from your religious beliefs, isn't how the US operates. Freedom of religion is also freedom from religion. The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic, not a theocracy."
The reality is, faith in a living God has as much business in politics as any belief system, and in fact was very much part of the establishment of this nation, as it was also part of the everday life of so many of our founding fathers.
But sadly, people will makes statements like Ryan Jay's, and it goes unchecked. People just assume it to be accurate. It is time for us to start taking a stand and defending faith in this country, in the workplace and, yes, even in politics.
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Comments
2023-11-01T06:35-0400 | Comment by: Francis
I know all these heathens are going to burn in hell. Who will be laughing then?