“I’ll tell you a secret, since media is not here. Thank you for not allowing the media in. Look, I’m a Southern Baptist, I don’t wanna get too spooky on you, But, you know, the Lord speaks to your heart.

“The Lord began to wake me up, through this three-week process, in the middle of night to speak to me. The Lord impressed upon my heart a few weeks before this happened that something was going to occur.

“And the Lord very specifically told me in my prayers to prepare, but to wait. At the time, I assumed the Lord was going to choose a new Moses and thank you, Lord, you’re going to allow me to be Aaron to Moses.

“I had this sense that we were going to come to a Red Sea moment in our Republican conference and in the county at large. God had been speaking to me about this, and the Lord told me very clearly to prepare and be ready.

“Ultimately 13 people ran for the post. And the Lord kept telling me to, ‘Wait, wait, wait.’ So I waited, I waited. And then at the end the Lord said, ‘Now step forward.’

“Me? I’m supposed to be Aaron. ‘No,’ the Lord said, ‘Step forward.’” – Mike Johnson, speaking last night to the far-right National Association of Christian Lawmakers.

This man is a true believer. True believers do not compromise anything that goes against what they believe their religion tells them. This man is far more dangerous than Donald Trump, who is simply a grifter and was in it for himself. This guy thinks the gods have ordained him. Anybody who stands against him is going against God, in his own mind.

  • gregorum
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    5 months ago

    In a more rational time, he’d be diagnosed with delusional psychosis and locked in a mental asylum. Today, he speaker of the House of Representatives.

    • @qwertyqwertyqwerty
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      615 months ago

      He’s definitely a delusional psycho, but it turns out that isn’t a dealbreaker for today’s Republican party.

  • Chetzemoka
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    1325 months ago

    LITERAL blasphemy. Like actual, textbook blasphemy. And his sycophants lap it up.

      • Chainweasel
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        155 months ago

        If Jesus happens to be real, the Christians are the least likely group to make it into Heaven.
        If they actually read the Bible they would be shocked to find that Jesus was a tree hugging hippie socialist.

        • @PsychedSy@sh.itjust.works
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          65 months ago

          Jesus was a schizophrenic amalgamation of myths and unknown authors’ own personal opinion, and it’s not much better now.

        • prole
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          25 months ago

          Yeah but god was a nasty, jealous, violent, abusive, hateful asshole (all very petty human emotions) in the Old Testament.

          Can’t pick and choose. And no, Jesus didn’t nullify the laws of the Old Testament. He literally said that himself.

          • AutistoMephisto
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            25 months ago

            Some would say fulfillment is nullification. Jesus didn’t say he was there to change the law, but to fulfill it. Some claim his death and subsequent resurrection fulfilled the laws of the Old Testament for every man, woman, and child.

            • prole
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              5 months ago

              Yeah, no. You should be embarrassed that an atheist (perhaps anti-theist) knows more about your religion than you.

              Maybe take a look at the very next verse after that one for some context?

              17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, **until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. **

              Seems pretty fucking clear to me.

  • @Son_of_dad@lemmy.world
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    1075 months ago

    These people literally listen to the voice in their brain, the one we all have, and tell themselves it’s god.

    I grew up as a southern Baptist. I suffered physical, sexual and emotional abuse the entire time I was there as a child. Getting out was like escaping a cult. Southern Baptists are abusive, extremist psychos.

    • @Uniquitous
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      335 months ago

      I question your use of the word “like” there. It absolutely was escaping a cult, and I’m glad you made it out.

      • @agent_flounder@lemmy.world
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        235 months ago

        I promise you his son is not ok. Nobody in an extremist religion comes out ok. Assuming he ever wakes up and escapes, that is.

        He’s been made responsible for his father’s porn use. That is just one example we know of. Fundamentalist Christianity is damaging in a lot of ways without having to keep your own dad from watching porn.

          • @Lophostemon@aussie.zone
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            155 months ago

            Do you think they both sit together ‘preventing porn’?

            Punishing their sinful genitals. Squeezing. Choking them. Until the Sin erupts out in a hideous milky ooze which they clean off each other in the warm glow of knowing that God has spoken and is grateful of their efforts.

            • kamenLady.
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              Tbh what else can one imagine? I’m no father, but i know that i would never ever want to be involved in any way in my son’s sexual life, development and experiences. Let alone try to shape and control it.

              You’ve been a bad boy… and then what, they talk about it? Do they handle this behind closed doors or at the dinner table?

              Either way, WTF Johnson?

          • kamenLady.
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            65 months ago

            That’s what i had in mind. I’m sure this is not the only utterly out of place behavior he subjects the people around him to.

      • Flying Squid
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        85 months ago

        He’s not. He got crucified.

        Oh wait, you mean Mike Johnson’s son.

  • @rebelsimile@sh.itjust.works
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    925 months ago

    “Sometimes when I want to do something, I get really quiet, and in the stillness, I hear that voice inside of me that always says ‘Do whatever you want. It’s always justified.’”

    • cheesepotatoes
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      105 months ago

      That’s fucking crazy. I don’t mean that in a funny way, I mean that it sounds like he has schizophrenia.

      • @rebelsimile@sh.itjust.works
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        185 months ago

        In the 5th year of his reign, Pharaoh Amenhotep IV had an epiphany— the sun god, Aten, had chosen him as his personal vessel on earth, and he, of course, changed the state religion to Atenism, and devoted his life (and drove everybody crazy) talking about the goddamned Aten all the time. (The Aten, I hope is really clear, obviously doesn’t exist, since this is like 2500 years ago and it’s not like the sun god is exacting his revenge on our planet by cooking it.)

        Anyway, that asshole was erased from history because he was a legendary pain in the ass, but at least he’d grown up in a world where everyone, from the day he was born, told him he was a special prince destined to rule the world.

        Where Mike fucking Johnson gets off with that level of delusion, I cannot say.

        • @Archer@lemmy.world
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          75 months ago

          it’s not like the sun god is exacting his revenge on our planet by cooking it

          Hate to be that guy, but that is going to happen in a few billion years

        • prole
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          45 months ago

          There is nothing new under the sun

  • @bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
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    635 months ago

    Hate to break it You ya bud, but god didn’t choose you. A bunch of corrupt cronies picked you to be their leader and scapegoat in an attempt to turn America into a theocratic dictatorship.

    • @givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      115 months ago

      And now they’re all retiring lol…

      It’s very possible Republicans lose their majority they attrition, I think they’re already down to 1 maybe 2?

      There’s no way in (completely imaginary) hell that this dude will be able to get literally every Republican in the House to agree to anything.

      • @bobs_monkey@lemm.ee
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        It certainly seems the tide is beginning to shift away from their insanity, but it’s still an uphill battle. There do seem to be at least a couple sensible conservatives that balk at the extreme rhetoric, but it’s hard to pin sometimes. Hopefully dems maintain the white house in 24, and then maybe we’ll see things start to move in a more sane direction on the conservative end. I’m not a huge fan of Biden by any means, but whatever it takes to keep Trump out of there.

        • @givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          Hopefully dems maintain the white house in 24

          I honestly don’t know if Biden can do it…

          Especially since he’s now running around saying he’s only running because trump is, but that he thinks “at least 50” other Dems could beat trump.

          Dude is too fucking old and unpopular, there’s no reason for him to be the candidate again. Especially when he’s flat out telling people the only reason he’s running is to beat trump, but others could beat him as well.

          Just get out of the way and let someone who isn’t 20 years past retirement age get a shot.

          They just refuse to admit their time is over.

  • @MirthfulAlembic@lemmy.world
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    595 months ago

    It’s interesting that these people God talks to like this are only ever told they’ve been chosen. I never hear someone saying, “Well, God spoke to me last night. It turns out I should just chill the fuck out and mind my own business.”

      • prole
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        OT Yahweh was petty and vindictive as fuck.

        And I can tell you first hand, he makes for a terrible ex

  • @Furbag@lemmy.world
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    555 months ago

    Take the religious pretext away from this statement and you have textbook mental illness. Dude is on stage in front of all of our elected representatives saying he’s listening to the voices inside his head and they are guiding his actions.

  • peopleproblems
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    435 months ago

    Yes Mr. Johnson, it’s called the inner monolog, and we all have it. Yours doesn’t make you special because it says so.

    Or it might if you don’t recognize it as yours and it starts telling you delusional things, such as being a prophet.

    • @orbitz@lemmy.ca
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      75 months ago

      Reminds me of the South Park episode The Douche.

      Paraphrased but basically, yes we all hear voices in our head but its just our inner monologue you douche.

      What if I really believe I hear voices?

      Then you’re a stupid douche.

    • @agent_flounder@lemmy.world
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      65 months ago

      I’m pretty sure that the latter possibility would be a symptom of a mental disorder of some kind.

      By the way, apparently not everyone has an inner monologue.

      This is a sort of dumb article based on a reddit thread on the topic where people discuss their experiences

      https://www.iflscience.com/people-with-no-internal-monologue-explain-what-its-like-in-their-head-57739

      This is an article from an actually respectable source

      https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/intersections/202304/inner-monologues-what-are-they-and-whos-having-them

      • @khannie@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        When I was younger I had no inner monologue. I thought in concepts is about the best way I can describe it. It was way, way more efficient as a thought process.

        I miss that sometimes.

    • Not to diminish your point as I totally agree with what you’re saying, but interestingly enough, not everybody does have that inner monologue. It is estimated that anywhere between 30% - 50% of the population has the ability to have conversations with themselves inside their head, the other 50% - 70% of the population can not. As someone with an inner monologue, I can’t even begin to comprehend how that works.

      • @Buddahriffic@lemmy.world
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        55 months ago

        I’ve never been able to keep up the habit, but I’ve tried silencing my inner monologue. It’s not necessary, I already know what the full thought is going to be before I even start “vocalizing it” inside my head. Thought would be faster without taking the time to encode it in a spoken language. But I suspect it’s also sloppier. That conversion to spoken language gives your brain more time to consider the thought.

        Think of the times you’ve said something or started saying something and then realized right after or part way through that it is a candidate for the dumbest thing you’ve ever said. I don’t know about everyone else, but I catch myself thinking thoughts like that, too. I wonder if those who don’t have an inner monologue are more likely to just move on without noticing.

        I wonder if that’s a fundamental difference that plays a role in how differently some people see and interact with the world.

      • peopleproblems
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        45 months ago

        You know, I wonder what my deaf uncle’s equivalent to an inner monologue is. I would imagine it’s different having never heard speech before (he was born deaf).

        • I actually saw this question asked on reddit way back, and the top answer was they think in a combination of sign language (words) and images since speaking is foreign to them… I’ll give this statement an 87% chance of being an accurate recall.

  • @SwingingTheLamp@midwest.social
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    395 months ago

    Random question: How come God always agrees with these loons in whatever kooky-ass shit they pray to Him about? Why does he never respond, “Lol, no, that’s dumb.”?

  • @mhague@lemmy.world
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    385 months ago

    Why can’t others do this without being ostracized?

    Why don’t we all just… “I think we should invade Afghanistan because that’s what Link would do – I mean Saddam is basically Ganondorf!”

    We should all be able to have the childlike privilege of using cartoon characters as rhetorical devices in adult conversations.