Just quote somebody else who lied. It’s as easy as that.

The other night, the newly minted Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, gave us a great example. He tried to fool his audience into believing that the US was founded on a religion. Here’s the quote from a transcript of his speech.

G.K. Chesterton was the famous British philosopher and statesman. He said one time, “America is the only nation in the world that is founded upon a creed.” He said, “It is listed with almost theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence.” 

Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, in speech to Congress on October 25, 2023

Johnson wants you to believe that the US was founded on a religion. But he’s not gutsy enough to lie to you directly; rather he quotes someone else. This isn’t an accident. Whenever someone uses a quote to make a controversial point, that should raise a red flag for you.

It’s very likely true that some dude named Chesterton made that statement. So Johnson wasn’t telling an outright lie. But Chesterton’s statement was a lie. To learn why, we need to take a look at the Declaration of Independence as well as the US Constitution, so keep reading my next article, “Was the US founded on Christianity?”