On Tuesday evening, Laura Ingraham was seen slouching back in her chair in an exhausted pose in response to Bill O’Reilly’s defense of the term ‘bible thumper.’ Ingraham, a regular substitute host anchor for O’Reilly, couldn’t get a word in edgewise; and when she did, it was only to state once again that the term may have offended or berated people who trust the bible.
Mr. O’Reilly is not helping the ratings, and he is not the first to knock some of the audiences off the grid. A recent announcement by Fox News’ president Roger Ailes to move Fox away from the right and back to center was the first hit to the ratings, and some sources have noted a 22 percent decline in audiences.
The second dark cloud forming in the wings is the Tea Party’s call to boycott Fox because they refuse to discuss serious matters like the Benghazi scandal and the findings of Sheriff Arpaio’s cold case posse on the fraudulent documents of President Obama. Lots of evidence and questions have been raised by the Sheriff, but not a peep has been heard by Fox and friends.
When Bill decided to call Christians who read their bibles and stand by them ‘thumpers,’ he crossed a line that even Ailes may not fully understand.
Get a proper definition, O’Reilly.
A Harvard education and a Catholic background may have insulated Mr. O’Reilly from hearing the term; but in protestant circles, it is a familiar term and not very appreciated. But we have only to check a few sources to see what the term means.
“Originating from typically southern US fundamentalist Christian sects given to evangelizing in a very outgoing, rambunctious way, often characterized by a religious bigot standing on a street corner, with or without foam around his mouth, shouting about how we should all turn to Christ, whilst vigorously thumping his soft covered bible for emphasis.” Urban Dictionary
“(U.S.) someone perceived as aggressively imposing their Christian beliefs upon others. The term derives from preachers thumping their hands down on the Bible to emphasize a point during a sermon. The term’s target domain is broad and can often extend to anyone engaged in a public show of religion, fundamentalist or not. The term is most commonly used in English-speaking countries” Wikipedia
“an overzealous advocate of Christian fundamentalism” Merriam-Webster
“Bible thumper is a slur used against particularly vocal Christians who constantly quote the Bible when discussing non-Biblical topics (often about science, but also about homophobia, porn, etc.). The term comes from old-timey circuit preachers who would emphatically thump a bible held aloft while making their points.” Rational Wiki
In today’s world, we don’t need a plane trip back to the ivy-covered halls of Harvard for a visit to her splendid libraries, but just a few clicks on Google to see if we are misusing a word or a common phrase. The word of the day, Mr. O’Reilly, is ‘Bible Thumper’; go look it up.
At least be true to your own religion, Bill!
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