Reaction to Newsweek's Story on the Bible

Newsweek ended the year with a cover story on the Bible that declares the Scripture to be "so misunderstood it's a sin."

The piece argues that many in America - evangelical Christians in particular - have a gross misunderstanding about what the Bible actually says.

Kurt Eichenwald writes:

They wave their Bibles at passersby, screaming their condemnations of homosexuals. They fall on their knees, worshipping at the base of granite monuments to the Ten Commandments while demanding prayer in school. They appeal to God to save America from their political opponents, mostly Democrats. They gather in football stadiums by the thousands to pray for the country’s salvation.

They are God’s frauds, cafeteria Christians who pick and choose which Bible verses they heed with less care than they exercise in selecting side orders for lunch. They are joined by religious rationalizers—fundamentalists who, unable to find Scripture supporting their biases and beliefs, twist phrases and modify translations to prove they are honoring the Bible’s word.

On his website, Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, slammed the article as a complete misrepresentation of the Bible's words.

Mohler said this report differed greatly from previous mainstream media forays into the Bible and questions about Christianity, calling the previous reports balanced and insightful.

But Newsweek‘s cover story is nothing of the sort. It is an irresponsible screed of post-Christian invective leveled against the Bible and, even more to the point, against evangelical Christianity. It is one of the most irresponsible articles ever to appear in a journalistic guise.

The author of the massive essay is Kurt Eichenwald, who boasts an impressive reputation as a writer and reporter for newspapers like The New York Times and magazines including Vanity Fair. A two-time winner of the George Polk Award, he was also a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize. Eichenwald, however, has been primarily known for reporting and writing in a very different area of expertise. Most of his writing has been on business and financial matters, including business scandals.

When it comes to Newsweek‘s cover story, “The Bible: So Misunderstood It’s a Sin,” Eichenwald appears to be far outside his area of expertise and knowledge. More to the point, he really does not address the subject of the Bible like a reporter at all. His article is a hit-piece that lacks any journalistic balance or credibility. His only sources cited within the article are from severe critics of evangelical Christianity, and he does not even represent some of them accurately.

Mohler was on "Fox and Friends" this morning to further discuss the Bible "hit piece," saying it's yet another example of "incredible hostility" toward evangelical Christians.

He said the report is an "open attack" from the beginning to the end, calling out Eichenwald for claiming that people don't understand what's really in the Bible because of numerous "translations of translations."

"That's not even close to being true. We have very accurate translations available to us now, based upon very credible texts. That's not really the problem. We have a very credible access to translations of the Scripture," he said.