If this doesn’t prove to certain people that NPR lives in its own little world, probably nothing will.
“Israel is the biggest applause line at an evangelical Christian university?” …asks the “Lead Editor for Politics and Digital Audience” for National Public Radio. I actually don’t want to whale too badly on Domenico Montanaro: for all I know he’s kind to his mother, helps old ladies across the street, and mentors orphans. But this is a remarkably pure example of what the Left used to call ‘epistemic closure,’ before they realized that we could throw that comment right back at them, and with considerably greater impact.
You see, in the real world it’s been known for decades that Evangelical Christians in America have been rock-solid boosters of Israel. It’s partially due to theology*, partially due to an appreciation of Israel as a functional democracy and economic powerhouse in a region not really known for either, and not a little because all of Israel’s wars end with them surrounded by a circle of dead enemies**. Whatever the reason, it’s one of those things that is. That this is not known at NPR is startling. And again, probably more an indictment of the system than the people who work for it.
Some of the people who listen to it, on the other hand… hoo, boy. That link above will provide you with some real winners, when it comes to casual anti-Christian bigotry. And the worse part? They think that they’re as tolerant as they are educated… which, hey! – That might even be true.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
*This is the one that certain elements of the Left think that they understand, but actually do not. Said elements have worked out (read: “been told”) that this is all due to all those Christians who literally interpret the Book of Revelation; but if you even say the word ‘Dispensationalism’ to the aforementioned elements their eyes glaze over. Try it! It’s fun. Very amusing to do at parties.
**Never underestimate the American tendency to root for the underdog. Particularly when the underdog is heavily outnumbered, gets hit with a sneak attack, and wins anyway [See also: “Yom Kippur War.” Or “1 Samuel 17“].
Let’s face it; hatred of Christians (Especially Mormons and Evangelical types) and Jews (Especially Israelis) is considered to be the kind of bigotry that is perfectly acceptable within the Left. After all, they don’t view any of those groups as people.
Quibble. A subset of the lefties are, for all intents and purposes, “religious” themselves .. they’re tolerated because they believe the same thing as the “good” lefties, of course.
.
Mew
Ted Cruz trolls the media. It’s really quite impressive.
.
I’ve seen at least one other piece – I think over at Ace’s – that cited half a dozen of the most trollish lines in the speech – delivered without a teleprompter or podium, by the way – and the bat-guano-crazy replies.
.
I don’t support Cruz in this .. I think he lacks the necessary executive experience for the job .. but it’s gonna be *fun* to watch.
.
Mew
Turns out I was wrong – no surprise – the piece was over at Legal Insurrection.
.
http://legalinsurrection.com/2015/03/ted-cruzs-liberty-university-speech-leaves-media-frazzled/
.
Mew
“epistemic closure” is what the educated beyond their intelligence call being closed-minded.
If it wouldn’t hurt them too much, they should think about that.
“They think that they’re as tolerant as they are educated… which, hey! – That might even be true.”
.
Oh, wow, Moe. That was VICIOUS.
Which is to say, warranted…but still VICIOUS.
indeed. that sentence was a work of art, Moe.
Heh. Now I’m worried that I stole it from somebody. 🙂
Lefty faux-intellectuals are all about understanding other cultures within their own contexts, so let me put this in Dumb Hick-ese, which is what they _think_ is the cultural context of an evangelical Christian:
“Them Jewish folks? They’re Jesus’ _kin_.”
Thanks so much, Moe, for this post. (Would love to thank you for it over at Red State, too, but 9 months ago moderator Bill S banned me, for my take on the Ferguson riots–a take that was later proved to be inarguably true by both the Justice Department and the Grand Jury. But the ban remains. Hope that won’t prejudice you against me.)
I’m so grateful for this post and plan to share it on my Facebook wall today, hoping my daughter will see it. An extremely successful woman and upper-level administrator in a multi-cultural evangelical church in California–she listens to NO media or news outlet except NPR! (How counter-intuitive is that?) To my dismay, she cannot be dissuaded and ranks NPR next to Gospel. Perhaps she will see my post and together we’ll make a small crack in the armor. Thank you again. Blessings…
I was so pleased to see the NPR putdown, I failed to convey what matters most: Thank you for bringing to Domenico’s attention that evangelicals are intrinsically pro-Israel, a fact as obvious to any NPR editor worth his salt (i.e., did some research) as that they are pro-life. If Scripture were not replete with God’s intentions (present and future) for Israel, he might be forgiven.
He could not miss that Christians who take the Bible seriously support the relocation of God’s people in the land He clearly gave them and seek Israel’s well-being and protection. Scripture is so clear on this, one has to be willfully ignorant to miss it.
I had the honor of compiling and editing a booklet on this subject from the writings of Dr. Adrian Rogers, which may be found here. http://www.lwf.org/iabp
If people’s eyes glaze over at “dispensationalism,” they do the same whenever one quotes Scripture. Yet you could create an entire post with passages where the Creator made it clear who the land over there belongs to—because He willed it to them—and have to stop halfway through for lack of space. “For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel for His special treasure,” Psalm 135:4.
Bless you for this entry. And give my regards to Bill S. 😉