When U.S. Congressman Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the House, few people, including myself, realized he was a creationist. However, once he was elected, word began to spread and left-wing news outlets like the Huffington Post ran smear campaigns with all sorts of bizarre accusations.

The HuffPo, for example, accused him of “Pointing people to the truth.” Well, what’s wrong with that? Sounds rather positive. However, in context, the author was mocking the Christian belief that the Bible contains historical events, including God’s creation of the heavens and earth and sending a global flood. The Post was trying to make the case that science contradicts the Bible, and, therefore, since Speaker Johnson agrees with the Bible being historically accurate, he’s being accused of being anti-science, suggesting he shouldn’t be allowed in politics, let alone Speaker of the House!

Of course I’d suggest his assessment of Genesis being historically accurate is spot on, and there is no contradiction between science and the Bible.

The Post goes on to accuse Johnson of supporting the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum in Kentucky, which is true, but the authors spin this to mean that Johnson “was a legal crusader associated with a fringe evangelical movement called ‘young Earth creationism,’ based on a literal reading of the Bible’s Book of Genesis that posits the Earth is only several thousand years old.”

Goodness. They’re making it sound like there’s something wrong with believing the Bible is true. I don’t see anything “fringe” about believing the earth is young. In fact, I think that’s fairly common and normal among Christians and other religions. It’s only a problem for those opposed to the Bible’s historicity, particularly the first eleven chapters of Genesis.

But the Post can’t help themselves. They further accuse Johnson of having “close personal and professional ties to [Ken] Ham,” the founder of Answers in Genesis and the Ark Encounter, and take aim at Johnson for helping those tourist attractions succeed when he was still an attorney, and for promoting free speech.

Okay, fine. I’ve shaken hands with Ken Ham and have had numerous photos taken with him over the years. I’ve also donated money to build the Creation Museum and donated a plank to the Ark Encounter. So I’m quite thankful for Johnson’s efforts to support biblical creation and free speech.

Of course the authors were being derisive, not understanding that their own views are considered “fringe” by many. Consider, they claim, “The scientific community regards creationism as pseudoscience and is generally in agreement the Earth is an estimated 4.5 billion years old.”

Well, that’s not completely true. Sure, some members of the scientific community may “generally” believe that, but, then again, members of the scientific community get things wrong all the time, often referring to the opposition’s ideas as “pseudoscience” until it becomes accepted. That’s the nature of science. The consensus ought to be questioned. For instance, many in the scientific community thought Albert Einstein’s ideas were crazy. But he turned out to be right, and they were wrong. Science is never about consensus. According to Michael Crichton, “Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels.” And that’s still the case today.

Anyway, there are many in the scientific community who agree the earth is young, and they’ve provided much evidence over the years.

The spin is heavy, but inaccurate. Many opponents of creation science refer to it as a “movement” that has only recently began interpreting Genesis as literal history, when, in fact, it has predominantly been considered historical, dating back to the time of Moses nearly 3,500 years ago, if not well before Moses. Jesus taught a young earth. The founding fathers of science, like Francis Bacon, Robert Boyle, Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, and Louis Pasteur were creationists, touting the Bible’s importance in their work, understanding nature as part of their faith as they tried to think God’s thoughts after him.

So I’m thankful for Speaker Johnson’s efforts and hope he does a fine job leading the House. God bless him.