David Barton is in the spotlight. This blog figured it would add to it by creating a quick resource and link a few articles about David Barton from multiple sources. Plus Barton has proclaimed that the Bible teaches that there will not be a vaccine or effective treatment for HIV. It begs the question is HIV a punishment for gays? What about straight people who have contracted HIV in the United States like Ryan White or straight people over in Africa where HIV is more prevalent among straight people? David Barton is a dangerous demagogue.
“Propaganda does not deceive people; it merely helps them to deceive themselves.”
Eric Hoffer
After the election of the new House Speaker Mike Johnson, an interesting bit of information emerged. Johnson, the hardcore Christian nationalist stated that the greatest theological influence on him is propagandist David Barton. And with that there has been a stream of unflattering information coming forward about David Barton from different press outlets. So for your education and reading I thought to take a number of them and compile them in this post for people to read. David Barton is both a fraud and a threat, and people need to know what they are dealing with.
Warren Throckmorton on the Problems of David Barton
Warren Throckmorton has published a substack article which you can read that looks at all the issues with David Barton. It is far from flattering. You can read that in, “Who is David Barton?”
NBC News Profiled David Barton
Over at NBC News, Mike Hixenbaugh did a profile on David Barton and his influence over the new House Speaker Mike Johnson. This is a good read as well and can be found in, “Meet the evangelical activist who’s had a ‘profound influence’ on Speaker Mike Johnson.”
NPR Did a Biography of David Barton in 2012
NPR wrote about David Barton and published a solid article about him in 2012. Though this article is a decade old it still points to many of the issues with David Barton. You can read that article in, “The Most Influential Evangelist You’ve Never Heard Of.”
Kristin Kobes Du Mez Discusses David Barton With Politico
Kristin Kobes Du Mez who is known for her book on Jesus and John Wayne gave an interview with Politico the other day. She broke down and explained the Christian nationalism of Mike Johnson. In the process she also taught and explained the issues with David Barton. You can read that article in, ” ‘He Seems to Be Saying His Commitment Is to Minority Rule’”
The Gospel Coalition Has Nailed David Barton and Explained How He is Wrong
Justin Taylor over at The Gospel Coalition explained the issues with David Barton and why he is wrong. You can read that article in, “Christian History: How David Barton Is Doing It Wrong.”
David Barton is a Celebrity Amongst Home-schooled Evangelicals
In the evangelical or even fundamentalist homeschooling world David Barton is hugely popular. His teachings, books and ministry Wallbuilders is used extensively. Homeschoolers Anonymous has a number of posts about David Barton. This is one of them which you can read, “David Barton Ruined Conservative Christianity For Me: A Call for Stories.”
David Barton Has Taught That the Bible Has Stated There Will Not Be a Vaccine for HIV
According to Warren Throckmorton David Barton has gone on the record several times stating that a vaccine or effective treatment for HIV will not be discovered. You can read that post in, “David Barton Again Says Bible Teaches HIV Vaccine Won’t Be Discovered; Distorts Vaccine Research.” Allegedly Barton has proclaimed that the Bible boldly declares this fact. For me it begs the question, do gays deserve HIV? Is HIV a punishment for sin? What would David Barton say about Indiana teenager Ryan White?
Ryan White was a teenager from Kokomo, Indiana who contracted HIV in a blood transfusion. He was a hemophiliac who contracted HIV in the process of being treated. He was originally projected to live six months, and instead lived for an additional six years. He became an advocate for HIV and AIDS treatment and fought prejudice against AIDS. Ryan White died one month before his high school graduation in 1990. When I was growing up Ryan White was a national figure always on the television advocating for AIDS education and research.
If David Barton believes and uses the Bible to state that a vaccine of effective treatment won’t be found for HIV, it begs the question. Why? If he believes that HIV is a disease of the gay community what about people like Ryan White? There are a lot of people who contracted HIV over the years who are not gay. Likewise there are a lot of people who died of AIDS who are not gay. What about places like Africa where the population that most has HIV or AIDS is straight? For me this shows how David Barton is a bastardization of where evangelicalism can go. Evangelicalism is ripe with demagogues like David Barton who pass out disinformation abruptly. David Barton is a dangerous individual. In the course of time I will probably have to do a few more posts about David Barton. You can find his material easily in the Southern Baptists and other denominations who push his fraudulent claims.
Wondering Eagle 
David Barton and his CHRISTIAN American History?
America’s REAL History that Mike Huckabee (Daddy Duggar’s Friend in High Places and GOD’s Choice for President more times than you can count) said every American MUST learn “at gunpoint if necessary”?
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That was The Christianese Party Line when AIDS first showed up, and apparently it’s still going round.
Aside: My college roommate Jim figured early on that “it’s some sort of virus we haven’t seen before”. This from a guy who had a tendency to flake out with Prophecy and Charismatics — not all that often, but when he did all you could do was go along for the ride and wait for it to burn out.
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A vaccine for HIV is a challenge but not because God wills it.
That being said, HIV is not the death sentence it once was. My wife worked at our hospital lab and there are people who were infected where they can no longer find the virus in their system.
So these folks have moved from active treatment to monitoring. Will the virus return? It’s likely moved into some sort latent phase so they will never be able to donate blood or guarantee that they cannot pass the infection on as an STD.
They have not been declared cured but at the very least they can look forward to a nearly normal life.
If god wills the disease then there’s a lot of good people in healthcare who battle his will every day.
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Solid thoughts on your part! I have noticed, however, that people who loudly proclaim “God’s will” when health problems strike have absolutely no issue with demanding the best possible healthcare for it if they are experiencing it personally. After all, they are Godly people and surely God wants them healed? For those who do recover, all glory to God for doing that – and never mention the doctors, nurses, and others who worked so hard for them. It absolutely nauseates me when I see that.
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The same David Barton, faux historian with a fake diploma mill PhD mind you.
When conservative historians with real Ph.D’s and scholarship take apart Barton’s work with evidence and call him a fraud, that should tell you something.
And you wonder why I think most of homeschooling and their curriculum is now a crock of shit. Garbage In, Garbage Out.
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The 1980s called…they want their anti-gay bigotry back. Seriously, though, I think this illustrates how out of step evangelicalism is with the modern world. Princess Diana had it right when she embraced those stricken with HIV/AIDS–*that’s* the Christian way of dealing with disease and suffering.
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