Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) turned the House Judiciary Committee hearing on religious freedom Tuesday, into an expose’ of religious intolerance. Rev. Barry Lynn, serves as the executive director for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. In other words, the American ideals that Lynn represents, are those clearly set down by the Founding Fathers.
Gohmert felt compelled to inform Lynn that the founders of the country, and Franklin Roosevelt too – had often ‘mentioned religion in their writings.’ Of course they did, when they wrote about the separation of church and state. Gohmert – I presume, thinks they ‘wrote’ the ‘in God we trust’ part on the folding cash.
Gohmert began to heckle Pastor Lynn, who then mentioned that he had received the Medal of Freedom from the Roosevelt Institute for his work supporting the freedom to worship. One would think this honor would put him decidedly in the same corner with Gohmert and Jesus, but it didn’t work.. Those are mighty impressive credentials to anyone but Louie who set out to pull the mask off of the ‘Christian’ imposter. Warming to the inquisition, Gohmert queried; “Do you believe in sharing the good news that will keep people from going to Hell, consistent with Christian beliefs?” (Did you practice sorcery, the casting of spells or witchcraft?)
Lynn, now clearly a heretic, disagreed with Gohmert’s “construction of what Hell is like or why one gets there.”
“So, you do not believe somebody would go to Hell if they do not believe Jesus is the way, the truth, the life?” Gohmert pounced. Everyone knows you have to say the magic words in the exact order, or they don’t ‘count’ and whammo – you are on the highway to Hell! I believe it was Mark Twain who famously remarked that in the afterlife, Heaven was preferable for climate, but Hell was the only choice for companionship. Pastor Lynn shot down Gohmert’s pedantic remark, saying that people would not got to Hell for believing a “set of ideas.”
Gohmert hotly set Lynn straight. (I mean would life be worth living if you couldn’t envision your heathen enemies writhing in eternal flames?) “No, not a set of ideas. Either you believe as a Christian that Jesus is the way, the truth, or life or you don’t,” And there’s nothing wrong in our country with that — there’s no crime, there’s no shame.”
There you have it. There is one way to avoid Hell, and one way only, and it is of prime importance to our American government – apparently.
“Congressman, what I believe is not necessarily what I think ought to justify the creation of public policy for everybody,” Lynn reasonably explained to Gohmert who does strongly feel that his beliefs are law.
Pastor Lynn continued: “For the 2,000 different religions that exist in this country, the 25 million non-believers. I’ve never been offended, I’ve never been ashamed to share my belief. When I spoke recently at an American Atheists conference, it was clear from the very beginning, the first sentence that I was a Christian minister.”
Lynn the pseudo Christian continued: “I was there to talk about the preservation of the Constitution.”
Gohmert summed up:
“So, the Christian belief as you see it is whatever you choose to think about Christ, whether or not you believe those words he said that nobody basically ‘goes to heaven except through me,’”
To paraphrase:
So, the American Constitution as you see it, is whatever Louie chooses to think it’s about. Whether or not he believes the words the Founding Fathers said about the absolute necessity of ‘the separation of church and state.’