Contact: Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, 212-371-3191, pr@catholicleague.org
NEW YORK, Dec. 30, 2014 /Standard Newswire/ -- Bill Donohue comments on Newsweek's cover story by Kurt Eichenwald, "The Bible: So Misunderstood It's a Sin":
In 2005, Newsweek wondered whether anyone would "pull the plug" on Pope John Paul II; he was accused of "stubbornly" imposing his will on the faithful. In 2007, it lied about obscene anti-Catholic comments made by staffers for presidential candidate John Edwards, passing them off as mere criticism. Also that year, it ran a cover story on a disturbed woman who dressed up as a priest, fantasizing that she really was one. In 2012, Andrew Sullivan told us that "the cross was not the point of Jesus' life."
Now Newsweek wants us to believe that their faith in doubting professors should be accepted by Christians. To show how wrong the Bible is, they roll out Bart Ehrman. He is a good choice: he doesn't believe in God, which is why he teaches religion at the University of North Carolina.
The point of this long screed is that no one can trust what the Bible says, except for what Newsweek and its trusty professors want us to believe. Writing as if he stumbled on some ground-breaking news, Eichenwald tells us about discrepancies in the Gospel accounts, and problems in translation. Casting doubt just about everywhere, he tells us, for example, that the story of the adulterous woman whom Jesus counseled is an "event that never happened." Apparently, he doesn't see the irony: If the traditional Biblical account cannot be trusted, how can he be so cock-sure that his interpretation is accurate? His arrogance is stunning.
Similarly, we are informed that a committee of professors found "discrepancies" between the Latin translations and the earlier Greek version, and then "decided" that the former was correct. I guess that settles the issue. Nice to know, also, that Eichenwald finds belief in the Trinity "deeply confusing." Naturally. From his perspective, everything about God is "deeply confusing." Which is why he works for Newsweek.
Contact Newsweek's Editor-in-Chief Jim Impoco: j.impoco@newsweek.com
