It's a Long Book, But Still...
Many observers have noted that lack of knowledge of military affairs is an Achilles heel for the liberal media. It occurs to me that lack of scripture knowledge may be in the same category, after seeing two rather humorous stories today. First, Senator Sam Brownback quotes Jesus, and gets accused of an anti-gay slur:
Republican Sen. Sam Brownback, a potential presidential candidate, said Monday he meant no offense to homosexuals when he used the word "fruits" in a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine.In a lengthy profile titled "God's Senator," the magazine quotes the Kansas Republican as criticizing countries like Sweden that allow civil unions between same-sex couples.
"You'll know them by their fruits," Brownback said, quoting a biblical passage from Matthew 7:19.
Rolling Stone writer Jeff Sharlet said in the story, appearing in the magazine's current issue, that Brownback appeared to be calling gay Swedes "fruits," a derogatory term for homosexuals.
Next, via Best of the Web, is Newsweek's misunderstanding of Jerry Falwell. Newsweek's article is about evengelical colleges' enthusiastic embrace of college debate, in which Falwell's Liberty University is currently ranked number one in the country. Newsweek says--rather ominously, I thought--that evangelical leaders are hoping to train a generation of conservative lawyers and judges. Not a bad idea, actually. Here is how Newsweek originally quoted Falwell:
We are training debaters who can perform assault ministry, meaning becoming the conscience of the culture.
And here is Newsweek's correction:
Correction: In the original version of this report, NEWSWEEK misquoted Falwell as referring to "assault ministry." In fact, Falwell was referring to "a salt ministry"—a reference to Matthew 5:13, where Jesus says "Ye are the salt of the earth." We regret the error.
The days when Lincoln could lace his speeches with obscure Biblical references and still be understood by everyone are, of course, gone; but these kinds of mistakes wouldn't be made by reporters who are more conversant with even the basics of Christian culture. Or, perhaps, who didn't start out with a bias against the Christians they're writing about.
On a personal note, it was fun to get a glimpse into the current world of college debate. That's how Deacon and I met many years ago; from Newsweek's account, it doesn't sound as though things have changed too much. I was pleased to see that an old opponent of ours, Dallas Perkins, is now Harvard's debate coach:
"They're tough. [But] we're not afraid to debate Liberty," says Harvard coach Dallas Perkins Jr., whose varsity team was beaten by Falwell's last month.
When we were on the circuit, Harvard's team was coached by Larry Tribe, now the country's foremost liberal constitutional scholar. If Dallas's team loses to Liberty again, they might have to bring Tribe out of retirement.
