A week ago, Warren “took on” the Reformation, and concluded history would prove that progress (which, in the intervening centuries, might include things like universal suffrage, the abolition of slavery, women’s rights, industrialization, medical and scientific advance) was not just “buncombe”, but “hecatombs” (by which we assume he meant “a large-scale slaughter”, rather than “100 oxen”). This week, he follows it up with more men in tights. Mostly green (although Warren’s “dyed in woad” would make Robin Hood’s costume blue.
Comparing the “gangster” in the ‘hood’ to Obama, Warren cites as an example of “criminal impulse” Obama's supposed “mis-quotation” of a Bible passage:
“Example, U.S. President Barack Obama is reported to be attending church again, and shows a ‘fresh start,’ by persistently misquoting from the Book of Genesis, chapter four. ‘I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper,’ he suggests it says. Check out the original. It is a scene in which no sisters appear, and the brothers in question are Cain and Abel”.
Perhaps Warren didn’t bother to “check out the original” presidential speeches. If he had, he would have noticed that Obama didn’t claim a Biblical reference. The references to Genesis 4:9 were made by commentators who Warren (once again) fails to cite. Perhaps it’s Warren in green tights doing some “redistributing” - of comments from Rush Limbaugh and other bloggers.
So it seems Warren “mis-quotes”. The President neither claimed, nor suggested, that Genesis 4 “says” "I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper." Examples of Obama’s actual speeches show no mention of Genesis. Instead, he refers to Lincoln.
One example, from Delaware, October 15, 2010 (7 others appear below):
Obama: “But in the words of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican President, we also believe government should do for the people what they cannot do better for themselves. (Applause.) We believe in a country that rewards hard work and responsibility; a country where we look after one another; a country where we say I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper.”
But if Obama, who makes no mention of Genesis, is “persistently mis-quoting” the passage by adding the word “sister”, then many Christian leaders who specifically cite Genesis 4:9 with the word “sister” added are much more guilty of the “mis-quotation”. A few examples:
Rev. Richard Benson: “For the Catholic there can only be one response to Cain's question in the book of Genesis: ‘Am I my brother's (and sister's) keeper?’ Yes, absolutely, we are our sisters' and brothers' keeper”.
Fr. Luke Veronis: “’Am I my brother's keeper?’ Cain asked God… To which the Gospel wholeheartedly answers… ‘YES, we are our brother and our sister's keeper!’"
Bishop Eamonn Walsh: “for the Christian it is being free to be my brother’s and sister’s keeper”.
Deacon Keith Fournier: “we are our brother’s (and sister’s) keeper”.
Archbishop John Sentamu: “You are your brother's keeper. You are your sister's keeper”.
And Pope John-Paul II: “‘Am I my brother's keeper?’…When so many of our brothers and sisters are suffering, we cannot remain indifferent…the duty of governments and the international community remains essential... the building of peace through the establishment of solid structures... The United Nations Organization, for example…”
If Warren has a problem with these Christian teachings, he should take it up with the church he claims to represent, rather than mis-represent what the President said. In the 14th century world Warren seems to prefer, someone who contradicted church leaders would be burned as a heretic.
Sadly, Warren writes for the Ottawa Citizen, where his “sins” include repeated factual errors, the “failure to meet generally accepted journalistic standards”, and as the Ontario Press Council also recently concluded, “misusing the words or assertions of an unidentified author or spokesperson by failing to quote them fully and/or accurately”.
Relevant portion of Obama’s speeches
Las Vegas, October 23, 2010:
“We believe in a country that rewards hard work and responsibility. We believe in an America that invests in its future and its people, in the education of our children, in the skills of our workers. We believe in an America where we look after one another, where I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. That’s the America we believe in. “
September 20, 2010, Philadelphia:
“But they also believed in a country that rewards hard work and rewards responsibility, and a country where we look after one another, where we say I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper. They believed in that America”.
Madison, Wisconsin, September 28, 2010:
“I believe government should be lean and efficient. And that's why I've proposed a three-year spending freeze. That's why I set up a bipartisan fiscal commission to deal with our deficit, but in the words of the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, I also believe that government should do for the people what they can't do better for themselves. (Applause.) I believe in a country that rewards hard work and responsibility; a country where we look after one another; a country where I say I'm my brother's keeper, I'm my sister's keeper”.
Washington, October 1, 2010:
“But the first Republican President, my favorite Republican, Abraham Lincoln -- (applause) -- here’s what he said about, government -- here’s what he said about government. He said, I believe that government should do for the people what they cannot do better for themselves. (Applause.) I believe in a country that rewards hard work and responsibility; a country where we look after one another; a country that says, I am my brother’s keeper. I am my sister’s keeper.”
Columbus, Ohio, October 17, 2010:
“But in the words of the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln—who, by the way, I’m not sure could win a nomination in the Republican Party right now—(laughter)—we also believe that government should be there to help people do what they cannot do better for themselves. That means we believe in a country that rewards hard work and responsibility, but also a country where we give each other a hand up, where we look after one another, where we say I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper. That’s the America I know.”
Portland, Oregon, October 20, 2010:
“But in the words of the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln -- who, by the way, would have trouble getting a nomination in the Republican Party right now -- (applause) -- Honest Abe said that government should do for people what they cannot do better for themselves. (Applause.) So we believe in a country that rewards hard work and responsibility. We believe in a country that prizes innovation and entrepreneurship. But we also believe in a country where we look after one another; where we say, I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper. That's the America I know”.
Minneapolis, October 23, 2010:
“But in the words of the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln -- who, by the way, could not win the nomination of the Republican Party these days -- (laughter) -- we also believe that a government should do for the people what they cannot do better for themselves. (Applause.) We believe in an America that rewards hard work and responsibility and individual initiative, but also an America that invests in its people and its future. An America that invests in the education of our children, in the skills of our workers. We believe in an America in which we look after one another; where I say I am my brother’s keeper; I am my sister’s keeper. (Applause.) That’s our vision. That's the America that I believe in and that Mark believes in, and that you believe in”.
September, 2010 Albuquerque speech cited by Rush Limbaugh:
“…the kind of life that I would want to lead -- being my brothers’ and sisters’ keeper, treating others as they would treat me.”
http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=209593
No comments:
Post a Comment