OPINION:
Last week in this column, I criticized Tucker Carlson for his recent comments about the biblical Book of Esther.
More specifically, I challenged his shocking ignorance of and seeming knee-jerk disregard for the Old Testament. In conclusion, I suggested that Mr. Carlson’s constant twisting and manipulation of Scripture is evidence of either terrible confusion or intentional deceit and that people would be wise to stop listening to his antisemitic/pro-Islamic tropes.
In response to all this, one of my woke-right critics took me to task and claimed that my defense of the Old Testament was evidence of an affinity for the “raw hatred” embodied in the book of Deuteronomy as opposed to the teachings of Jesus.
Perhaps you will find my rejoinder interesting and, hopefully, instructional. Here are my challenger’s exact words along with my subsequent response.
Critic: “You know, and I know that the raw hatred embodied in Deuteronomy is diametrically opposed to the message of Christ, yet you prefer the former. Why is that?”
My response: By “raw hatred,” what do you mean?
Perhaps you mean the “raw hatred” that Jesus quoted no less than three times in his battle against Satan’s temptations in the wilderness? You know, when he responded to the Devil’s schemes by saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8:3), and “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test (Deuteronomy 6:16), and “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve (Deuteronomy 6:13).
Or maybe you mean the “raw hatred” of Christ, when he quoted Deuteronomy 6:5 and said, “The greatest commandment is this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength,” and then concluded by adding Leviticus 19:18, “and love your neighbor as yourself.”
Or maybe you mean the “raw hatred” of the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus preached against adultery (Deuteronomy 5:18), murder (Deuteronomy 11:17), as well as lying and breaking your word (Deuteronomy 23:21).
Is this the “raw hatred” you’re talking about?
Or maybe you mean the “raw hatred” of our Founding Fathers — you know, such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and Alexander Hamilton, who quoted the book of Deuteronomy more than they referenced Hobbes, Locke, Hume, Plato, Cicero and Montesquieu combined.
Is this what you mean by “raw hatred?”
Or maybe it was the “raw hatred” of Ezra Stiles, president of Yale, who in 1760 urged all Americans to find inspiration and courage in the story of Deuteronomy 26:6-9, where “The Lord freed us from Egypt by a might hand, by an outstretched arm and by awesome power and by signs and portents, he brought us to this place and gave us this land.”
Perhaps it’s the “raw hatred” of Samuel Langdon, president of Harvard, who in 1775 said America should adopt the form of government that God handed down to Moses on Sinai and recorded in Deuteronomy because “the Jewish government was a perfect republic.”
Or maybe it was the “raw hatred” of Thomas Paine, who many argue was the most nonreligious of all the Founding Fathers yet used the Old Testament examples of David, Samuel and Gideon repeatedly in his book “Common Sense” to condemn the “hardened and sullen temper” of “Pharaoh,” (i.e., King George) and the usurpation of human freedom.
Maybe it was the “raw hatred” of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who implicitly referenced Deuteronomy as he famously shouted, “Let freedom ring!”
Are all these examples of “the raw hatred embodied in Deuteronomy” that you contend is so “diametrically opposed to the message of Christ?”
If you still think so, may I suggest you do a little more reading? I’d recommend you start with the Gospel of Matthew, 5:18.
“I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” ~ Jesus (also known as the Second Person of the Triune God, and therefore just as much the author and inspiration of Deuteronomy and all the Old Testament as he is the New).
• Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host. He is the author of “Not a Day Care: The Devastating Consequences of Abandoning Truth” (Regnery). He can be reached at epiper@dreverettpiper.com.
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