The next time Hollywood tries to convince you that those Bible-loving Christians are bad for the GOP, remind them that Oklahoma's "rednecks" are in good company.
"Why can't the GOP censor those dumb Bible-loving rednecks to win Paris over?" you'll hear Republicans in name only ask. "Isn't the Bible just for rednecks in the South and the Midwest?" I hear Hollywood Democrats ask. Well, they must be in good company.
Speaking of which, the "redneck" Sir Isaac Newtown stated, "There are more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than any profane history."
The English "redneck" Charles Dickens affirmed, "The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world."
Said the Republican Party's "redneck" President Teddy Bear Roosevelt, "A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education."
And the British "redneck" C.S. Lewis? Said he, "Odd, the way the less the Bible is read the more it is translated."
Of course, the Republican Party's "redneck" Herbert Hoover, who saved Europe from starvation, maintained that, "The study of the Bible is a post-graduate course in the richest library of human history."
"Within the covers of the Bible are all the answers for all the problems men face," affirmed Ronald Reagan, the pro-life, Cold War liberator. "Of the many influences that have shaped the United States into a distinctive nation and people, none may be more fundamental and enduring than the Bible."
"It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible," proclaimed George Washington, the "redneck." (For public students in failing schools, he was your first President, 1789-1797.)
In Godless, the unapologetic Christian, Ann Coulter, the author of six New York Times bestsellers, frankly states that the Book of "Genesis posits a simple version of the human story: Adam and Eve are awakened to good and evil by their sin of pride, become aware of their nakedness, and stumble blinking into the forest. However literal or metaphorical the story is, no one has improved on it in 4,000 years. No Freudian has a clearer image of man's consciousness. We are in God's image, and we're the only ones in God's image, which is why we eat escargot rather than worship them."
And, President Abe Lincoln, the doubting Thomas, said, "I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take this entire Book upon reason that you can, and the balance of faith, and you will die a better man."
Indisputably, even liberal atheists and struggling saints with an IQ above my fan acknowledge the Bible's link to civilization.
"Education is useless without the Bible," added Daniel Webster. "If there is anything in my thoughts or style to commend, the credit is due to my parents for instilling in me an early love of Scriptures."
"The Bible has been the Magna Carta of the poor and oppressed. The human race is not in a position to dispense with it," reasoned Thomas Huxley.
"It is impossible to enslave mentally or socially a Bible-reading people. The principles of the Bible are the groundwork of human freedom," Horace Greeley stated.
Ulysses S. Grant put it this way: "To the influence of this Book we are indebted for the progress of civilization and to this we must look as our guide to the future."
"You are not educated if you don't read the Bible," asserted Christopher Hitchens, the atheist. "You can't read Shakespeare or Milton without it . . . And with the schools now, they don't even teach it as a document. They stay out of the whole thing to avoid controversy. So kids can't quote the Bible. That's terrible."
And most shockingly, the Democratic President Harry S. Truman concluded that, "The fundamental basis of this nation's law was given to Moses on the Mount. The fundamental basis of our Bill of Rights comes from the teaching we get from Exodus and St. Matthew, from Isaiah and St. Paul. I don't think we emphasize that enough these days. If we don't have the proper fundamental background, we will finally end up with a totalitarian government which does not believe in the right for anybody except the state."
So, the next time Hollywood (or Kathleen Parker) tries to convince you that those Bible-loving Christians are bad for the GOP, remind them that Oklahoma's "rednecks" are in good company.
Questions? Comments? There are many, I'm sure, but even liberals can't dismiss the Bible, on intellectual grounds. Republicans need God more than ever. The world – even James Bond, my guess – needs God more than ever.
Robert J. Hutchinson reminds us: "According to research conducted by the political scientist Rudolph Rummel at the University of Hawaii, the officially atheist states of the Communist bloc committed more acts of genocide than any societies in history."
Acknowledgments: The quotes were compiled by Robert J. Hutchinson, the author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Bible, 2007.
Ben-Peter Terpstra, an Australian-European satirist, is a contributor to a number of websites, from On Line Opinion (Australia’s e-journal of social and political debate) to American Thinker. His pieces are also posted on his blog, Pizza Trays and Beer Bottles Ben-Peter can be reached at: Letters@canadafreepress.com
