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House Speaker Mike Johnson drew support from the SBC president and ignited discussion on social media Wednesday when he said at a news conference it must have been God’s will for Joe Biden to be president.

Johnson, an outspoken Christian and a former attorney for the faith-based legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, made the comments when a reporter asked him if he believes if Joe Biden presidency is God’s will?Johnson, smiling, said he assumed the reporter was referencing the speech he gave the day he was sworn in as speaker.

Mike Johnson says Joe Biden becoming president was “God’s will”:

“God allows people to be raised into authority, it must’ve been God’s will then.” pic.twitter.com/tyNH8gbgER Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) January 17, 2024

I said in my speech before I took the gavel that, look, I’m a Bible-believing Christian, right? Bible-believing Christians believe what the Bible says, Johnson responded. The Bible says that God is the one who raises up people in authority. I believe God is sovereign. By the way, so did the Founders. I quoted the Declaration of Independence. They acknowledged that our rights don’t come from government, they will come from God, and we’re made in His image — everybody’s made the same. We all are given equal rights and value, and that’s something that we defend. So if you believe all those things, then you believe that God is the one that allows people to be raised in authority. 

It must have been God’s will, then, Johnson said of Biden. That’s my belief.

Steven Bannon, a strategist in the first year of the Trump White House, criticized Johnson, calling Biden an illegitimate president and adding, I dont need a theologian. I need a Speaker of the House.

Bart Barber, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, said on X (formerly Twitter) that he supports Johnsons comments.

It is important to learn to accept from God’s hand both the outcome you wanted and the outcome you did not want. The political aspect of this is unimportantthis is Christian discipleship.@SpeakerJohnson is 100% right. Bannon is 100% wrong. https://t.co/eRs7hN75o4 Bart Barber (@bartbarber) January 17, 2024

It is important to learn to accept from God’s hand both the outcome you wanted and the outcome you did not want, Barber wrote. The political aspect of this is unimportant — this is Christian discipleship. @SpeakerJohnson is 100% right. Bannon is 100% wrong.

Johnson, in his comments Wednesday, also looked forward to the November election.

I think that a nation makes a decision collectively because we’re given free will to do that, he said. And I think we’re going to make a much better choice as a country coming up in this election cycle. We’re very much looking forward to that regime change.

Theologians often cite Romans 13:1 when discussing the issue. It reads, Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God..

Image credit: Getty Images/Joe Raedle/Staff

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

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Elon Musk hints 80-hour-a-week DOGE job for ‘high-IQ revolutionaries’ will be unpaid

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Elon Musk hints 80-hour-a-week DOGE job for 'high-IQ revolutionaries' will be unpaid

“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.

The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.

The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.

“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.

“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.

“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”

Read more:
Who is in Trump’s top team?
Trump’s cabinet signals tough stance on China

Elon Musk speaks after President-elect Donald Trump spoke during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Image:
Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.

“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.

“What a great deal!”

When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.

Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”

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At least 10 dead after fire rips through retirement home in Spain

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At least 10 dead after fire rips through retirement home in Spain

At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.

A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.

Jardines de Villafranca nursing home following the fire.
Pic: AP
Image:
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP

They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.

Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.

Residents are moved out of the nursing home following the fire.
Pic: AP
Image:
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP

Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.

The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.

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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.

All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.

Relatives waiting for news outside the nursing home where least 10 people have died in a fire in Zaragoza, Spain.
Pic: AP
Image:
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP

Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.

It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.

The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.

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Elon Musk hints 80-hour-a-week DOGE job for ‘high-IQ revolutionaries’ will be unpaid

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Elon Musk hints 80-hour-a-week DOGE job for 'high-IQ revolutionaries' will be unpaid

“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.

The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.

The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.

“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.

“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.

“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”

Read more:
Who is in Trump’s top team?
Trump’s cabinet signals tough stance on China

Elon Musk speaks after President-elect Donald Trump spoke during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Image:
Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.

“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.

“What a great deal!”

When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.

Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”

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