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‘You Don’t Want an Atheist’: Oregon Republican Calls Muslims and ‘Godless’ People Unfit for Office
In November, the National Association of Christian Lawmakers announced that Republican state Rep. E. Werner Reschke had been named the organization’s “state chair” in Oregon.
The National Association of Christian Lawmakers is a collection of right-wing state and federal legislators and religious-right activists dedicated to electing “godly leaders in our nation at every level” for the purpose of seeing its “biblical worldview spread across the nation.” Founded by longtime religious-right activist and ardent Christian nationalist Jason Rapert, the NACL seeks to “take authority” over every level of government, primarily by feeding far-right model legislation to its members to be introduced in their respective states.
Reschke appeared on Wednesday’s episode of Rapert’s “Save The Nation” program and made it quite clear that he shares Rapert’s radical vision.
When Rapert asked why it is important for Christians to be “involved in government and voting and be a part of the authority in our country,” Reschke pulled no punches.
“What drew me to it was primarily looking at our history, and the men and women who were part of that history and building this nation,” Reschke said. “Whether it’s George Washington, whether it was [James] Madison, whether it was Abraham Lincoln, whether it was Ronald Reagan—who was the first president I got to vote for—you go back through history and you look at the men and the struggles that they faced and the faith that they had.”
“Those are the type of people that you want in government making tough decisions during tough times,” Reschke continued. “You don’t want a materialist. You don’t want an atheist. You don’t want a Muslim. You want somebody who understands what truth is and understands the nature of man, the nature of government, and the nature of God.”
“If you don’t understand those things, you’re gonna get things wrong,” he concluded. “In Oregon … we have a lot of people who are godless, unfortunately, leading the way and it’s the blind leading the blind.”
Late last year, House Speaker Mike Johnson received an American Patriot Award for Christian Honor and Courage from the NACL when he delivered the keynote address at its gala, during which he declared that God has raised him up to be the “Moses” who will lead this nation through “a Red Sea moment.”
This article was originally published by Right Wing Watch and is republished here by permission.
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