Dr. Brown Interviews Newsweek Journalist Kurt Eichenwald

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Two days before Christmas, Newsweek published a highly controversial (and quite lengthy) article on the Bible, claiming it was being terribly misrepresented by many evangelicals, and the article produced a firestorm of controversy, with Newsweek posting Dr. Brown’s lengthy rebuttal article. Today, Dr. Brown will be joined by the man who wrote the Christmas article, veteran journalist Kurt Eichenwald. They will be taking your calls as well. Listen live here 2-4 pm EST, and call into the show at (866) 348 7884 with your questions and comments.

 

Hour 1:

Dr. Brown’s Bottom Line: The word of God tells us over and over, “Seek and you will find; seek earnestly. God rewards those who seek Him earnestly. Study the Word earnestly and you will be richly rewarded.

Hour 2:

Dr. Brown’s Bottom Line: Study the Scriptures diligently, earnestly, and ask God to open your eyes.

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Other Resources:

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Dr. Brown Interviews Dr. James White on the Reliability of the Text of the Scriptures

Dr. Brown Dialogues with a Pro-Gay Minister and then Talks about the Life-Changing Power of the Gospel

27 Comments
  1. Dr. Brown, you were a very gracious and courteous host!

    They one caller that mentioned about Mr.Eichenwald’s back-peddling (and the likely reason for his views/article) was spot on.

    It was quite revealing when the journalist (with an obvious axe to grind against the Bible and Christianity in general) met the theologian fluent in Greek and Hebrew and far more knowledgeable in Christian history. At times I had to resist not turning the broadcast off though, because of the incessant back-peddling and the disregard for the facts by Mr. Eichenwald.

    I am sure in an alternate reality, because that seems to be how it works, this interview is being viewed as a successful defense of Mr. Eichenwald’s of his claims….

  2. Kurt Eichenwald sounded like he was WAY out of his knowledge area when he wrote that article and that someone (Newsweek?) told him to get himself, and them out of this mess.

    If revealing hypocrisy was his intent (as he claims), he would have written a very different article.

    Sorry Kurt, not buying it.

  3. These Atheist Agnostic or whatever they are people always try putting Christians under the law Moses without realizing there were 613 of them not 10. The atheist/agnostics etc never realize that Jesus was talking to Jews who were still under the law of Moses and of course knew nothing of a crucified and resurrected Christ and it seems every time they (atheist/agnostics quote Matthew 5:18 they leave out ” “till all be fulfilled.”

    They then totally miss that Jesus Christ fulfilled the “all” he was referring to .

    This Kurt Eichenwald accuses Christians of not knowing The Bible when he doesn’t not even have that part right in Matthew 5:18

    It’s like there was no point in The Death and resurrection of Christ if Jews were going to remain under the law and if Gentiles would have to become Jews.

    The New “Testament” did not actually begin until the testator(Jesus Christ) died.

    All of the laws of Moses were fulfilled in Jesus Christ so faith in Christ credits his fulfillment of the law to us all.

    Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

    Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved

    That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

    For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation

    Jesus Christ = Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God

    propitiation

    PROPITIATION, n. propisia’shon.

    1. The act of appeasing wrath and conciliating the favor of an offended person; the act of making propitious.
    2. In theology, the atonement or atoning sacrifice offered to God to assuage his wrath and render him propitious to sinners. Christ is the propitiation for the sins of men. Rom.3. 1 John 2.

  4. First, This guy Kurt Eichenwald is horribly mistaken when he says “Jesus in the Gospels, trumps Paul”

    Doing that just removed the Gospel from The Gentiles other than the Gentiles Peter witnessed to.

    How can this guy write a national Article about The Bible and then claim wit an arrogance almost when saying The Authorized King James Bible was translated from Latin?

    The Authorized King James Bible Old Testament came from The Ben Chayyim Masoretic Hebre Text and Greek Textus receptus with some readings from the Old Latin as used by The Waldenses and Albigenses.

    Where is the world did this Kurt Eichenwald get the idea that The Authorized King James Bible was translated from Latin? This guy is not even qualified to teach a sunday school of 5 year old kids and yet he is writing a Newsweek article bashing The Bible?

  5. Dr. Brown was very kind to Kurt. Kurt should be thankful his piece got published in Newsweek. This is more about Kurt having a stage to present his philosophies then to sort out difficulties with textual criticism.

  6. Fixed

    How can this Kurt Eichenwald guy write a national Article about The Bible and then claim with an arrogance almost on the radio interview today when saying The Authorized King James Bible was translated from Latin?

    This guy was so far off and he doesn’t even realize it

    The Authorized King James Bible Old Testament came from The Ben Chayyim Masoretic Hebrew Text and the New Testament from the Greek Textus receptus with some readings from the Old Latin as used by The Waldenses and Albigenses. look them up in Foxes book of Martyrs

    Where is the world did this Kurt Eichenwald get the that The Authorized King James Bible was translated from Latin and not Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek with some Latin like “LUCIFER” which actually the only reason you guys know exactly who Lucifer is the name of (Isaiah) 14:12 in KJV This Kurt Eichenwald guy who wrote that Newsweek article is as ignorant to The Bible as most internet atheists are.

  7. It clear that Kurt just has no idea what he talking about, there no Jesus VS paul, he lack of understanding in this area, comes from him not understanding the differences between the Old and New Covenants.

  8. Great interview. So gracious, Dr. Brown. Kurt Eichenwald’s article and presentation: talk about “The pot calling the kettle black.” Truly, his motivation and purpose is to judge others: he knows that others who he doesn’t even know are terrible people. He knows their minds.
    I think he needs to read, J. Gresham Machen’s, Christianity and Liberalism. He would understand which side he stands on. To call others on the other side of the issue names or to judge them to be hypocrites is the height of condescension and contradiction.

  9. Mr Eichenwald’s biggest problem seemed to be with Christians that judge others and Christians that pick and choose only certain scriptures to emphasize and reject or downplay others. He then goes on to judge those Christians as hypocritical and say he rejects portions of the writings of Paul. It seemed completely lost on him that he was doing the same thing he so lamented.

    I don’t think he ever understood Dr Brown’s point on the seed of the woman. Listening to a journalist argue Hebrew with man that has a PhD in Semitic Languages was quite humorous.

  10. It’s almost as if some people think that the law along with every jot and tittle of it, will or should wash away all the work of Christ, all of his ways, and all that he did, but that’s not at all what Jesus was or is about, obviously.

    If they can not hear Jesus from the gospels, they will not be able to understand Jesus through Paul.

    I suppose they really would like all the work of Christ washed away, and they will try to do it by mishandling the law.

  11. It strikes me as funny that Mr.Eichenwald refers to “cafeteria Christians”; who pick and choose what to believe. In your radio interview he clearly espouses the words of Jesus over those of Paul.Sounds like “pick and choose” to me.
    Thankyou Dr.Brown for being so gracious a host, I am learning so much from you.you are the voice of Christianity/Messianic Judaism in the public forum I want to hear.

  12. Dr. Brown,
    You did an excellent job and I am always impressed with your patience with those you interact with.

    What really stuck me is that Mr. Eichenwald still did not understand what you were trying to get him to see regarding “Jesus wasn’t two, he was now three”. He still didn’t get it.

    “There, a new agreement was reached—Jesus wasn’t two, he was now three—Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”

    He meant “God wasn’t two, he was now three” (but even that is wrong – rather “God was understood to be three persons”) in the doctrine of the Trinity, but he didn’t seem to understand.

    God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, not Jesus; Jesus is the Son, 2nd person of the Trinity.

    He did not seem to understand that what he should have written was “God is three persons”. (Father, Son/Jesus, and Holy Spirit)

    Thanks for your ministry,
    Ken Temple

  13. The first issue with Kurt Eichewald is the use of Newsweek for the publication of his article. When did a secular magazine become the platform to air grievances on religious issues? The second issue is content of the article which is clearly biased, poorly researched and erroneous. The third and final issue is the attitude and stance on this broadcast which shows that he truly is misinformed and unlearned. He would do well to stay away from spiritual/religious issues and spend time studying his bible instead of disturbing those who actually do.

  14. Great posts!

    ‘Amen’ to the comments of Laura Caldwell, Guest, and Christine Tranchell. The callers were good, too.

    Kurt Eichenwald was out of his league talking with Dr. Brown but I don’t think he was aware of it.

    And, as usual, the host was respectful and gracious.

  15. Mr. Eichewald’s “red herring” was his statement that he was “speaking of certain Christians who say they have read the Bible and then go on to judge others with little knowledge of what they’re saying.” The problem is that he did not write the article from that perspective. Rather, he wrote it from the point of view that the Bible is not a reliable, historically accurate Book. That does not speak to those who misuse it, but rather to the reliability of the Book itself.

    I really don’t see how anyone can write the things he wrote and yet claim he can be a believer. If you don’t believe the Bible is a reliable, historical book, then on what does your belief stand? If you can be a believer under those conditions, then being a believer has no meaning.

    I heard James White’s response to this article on the Dividing Line and it was obvious then, as it is now, that Mr. Eichewald is grossly misinformed and guilty of the same things he accuses his pet “believer” of being: not understanding what the Bible is and what it means.

    Is there hypocrisy and Biblical illiteracy in the church? Sure. That has always been the case and that will never change. Few people are like the folks who listen to these types of programs, who are hungry to learn more and more. But that has nothing to do with his thesis that the Bible is full of contradictions, it has been changed, blah, blah, blah.

    All that being said, however, I think the man accomplished what he set out to do. There are many out there who know little to nothing of what the Bible is and what it’s transmission history is. Those are the people who will be influenced by this type of article and, sad to say, will drift further and further away from the truth.

    In the final analysis, the obvious purpose here was to try and fit the Bible to all kinds of beliefs, whether biblical or not. To those who so think, he was simply preaching to the choir. To those of us who know better, we will not be taken in by this nonsense.

    God bless Dr. Brown and may He continue to bless his work and that of those who, like him, stand for the truth regardless of how unpopular it may be.

  16. After listening to this interview with Kurt Eichenwald, his understanding of the Bible is not accurate and the article was written on an attack of the reliability of the text.

    I do get the sense the REAL reason for his attack on the Bible and Christianity is his view on homosexuality as it affects his relationship with those who he may have a personal relationship with.

  17. The guest’s comment about Sarah’s seed was really the most astonishingly stupid objection I have ever heard in my life.

  18. Also, the reference to the woman’s offspring as “seed” may be a poetic allusion to the supernatural conception of Isaac, a miracle, which prefigures the virginal conception of Christ. Just as Isaac was conceived supernaturally, and may be called the “seed” of his mother, Christ is, in a more perfect way, the “seed” of the Virgin Mary, who fulfills the prophecy of “the Woman” of Genesis.

  19. Nicholas,

    It is only fair to credit Eichenwald in that Hebrews 11:11 is notoriously difficult to translate. Consider the differences between these two versions of the NIV:

    By faith Abraham, even though he was past age–and Sarah herself was barren–was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise (1984).

    And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise (2011).

    So who is the subject here? Is it Abraham or is it Sarah? Apparently, there is a long standing debate on what to do with this passage. As you yourself noted, perhaps the “seed” is to be understood as a poetic allusion connecting the birth of Isaac with the birth of Christ. A simple “literal” reading of the text is not necessarily sufficient to grasp God’s intended meaning of this verse.

    Eichenwald fails to see the complexities of the passage which keeps him from seeing the nuances involved, but it is far from stupid to raise this issue. Contrary to what Eichenwald contends, the issue with this verse is not concerning inerrancy of the text but rather the interpretation of the text.

  20. Hello Dr. Brown, it’s Caren from Ghana. I just listened to your interview with Kurt Eichenwald about his Newsweek article. I also read your response, thank you for an articulate and academic, yet inspired article.

    In regards to the radio show. Wow, I was so impressed with Kurt’s willingness to come on your show and his openness to express his opinions and his disagreements without combativeness. What a heard in his voice was a wrestling to resolve how the Bible tells us to live and how he sees the everyday examples of Christendom deviate so far from that. Isn’t that our daily and personal challenge, those that profess to believe? Do I live a life where people see Christ? It is right for him to ask. I was challenged.

    If I could have listened ‘live’ (not possible with our deficient Internet) and called in from Ghana (without getting the line cut), I would have said, “Kurt, keeping digging! Dig deeper! Remember, Jesus said the gate is narrow and the chosen are few, but there really are believers living out the gospel for no other reason that their desperate love for Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. They are the unsung, the meek, the redeemed, so dig deeper!

    It is SO obvious that the Author of Life has stirred your soul! He is clearly calling you to seek Him, not His word alone. Why else would you labor for so long in His word? BUT, He wants your heart, not your head. And when He gets it, look out! You will be on fire for all that brings life, and peace, and joy, and love! You will be a love-sick puppy for Jesus who understands the hard sayings, prays for the wayward and loves the hypocrite. You will be a living epistle changing the world around you through your desperate love for the One who loved you first. The Bible is just the invitation to the party. It is the beginning of a His word. It is truly only the beginning.

    Kurt, I heard in your voice that you’re hungry and thirsty! Jesus is the bread of life. The Holy Spirit is the water that satisfies! I am praying for you. I know that those who heard you are praying for you. Don’t look to the multitude, because the Kingdom of God is that hidden treasure, the lost coin, the tiny seed…..it wasn’t meant for everyone, it was meant for those who dig! Dig on! Dig deep!

    Blessings! His mercy endures forever!

    Caren

  21. This sort of presumptive “journalism” ignores all tenets of true journalism. And, such an examination of disbelief as studied of one man’s expressive heart–the Newsweek author’s–embarrasses him indeed. Go to any Bible school or Seminary library and discover inquiry of all hearts turning over the ageless questions of faith, hope, and love which One solitary life unveiled. Hundreds of thousands of books in English alone following the true tenets of journalism have turned over every stone in the field that can trip up any such exploration ignoring their presence covering that field of dreams. Here the reporter stumbled over each one, unseen, yet stubbing his journey of fools without compass or map.

  22. Clarke,

    To say the least, it was hasty of him, especially if he presents himself as a scholar, to dismiss the passage, which, as you point out, is nuanced, in the way that he did, claiming that is exposes some sort of scientific inaccuracy in the Bible, which would indicate a human origin, as opposed to a divine one. I would say that it was stupid of him not to consider other explanations. Stupid, not to mention biased.

  23. Dear Dr Brown,
    I thought you handled the situation perfectly. One of the things I was interested in was to see if Kurt was going to offer any sources for his assertions printed by Newsweek. Not surprisingly, none came forth and therefore his rant rang even more hollow than as originally presented. What I really appreciated on your part was how you gave Kurt the opportunity and time to and explain his motivation for his opinion piece. You demonstrated that we Christians are charitable to others opinions and that we are not afraid to respond to the spurious claims that the liberal elite tend to fling around with no sense of responsibility.
    Brothers and sisters in Christ, we should all be prepared to answer these thin arguments put forth in Newsweek because it shapes what our neighbors think of Christians, the Bible and the Lord Jesus himself. And we should take a chapter from Dr. Browns playbook and be courteous and charitable while at the same time being steadfast in the truth that the Bible presents.
    I’m afraid that the attacks on Christians will only increase as our society continues to deviate from the law of God and slips further into it’s relativistic darkness. It is my prayer that we Christians stand together as a regenerate people and bring the light of Christ to all.

  24. Thank you Dr. Brown for exhibiting great patience. You truly were a great representative of Christ. Mr. Eichenwald showed a very poor Biblical understanding to put it lightly. Mr Eichenwald was so upset and showed great disdain for hypocrits. He consistently stated how it was wrong for anyone in the Church to judge others…Yet, he spent the majority of his time judging others for behavior he thought was wrong. Is he completely oblivious to this? Thank you Mr Eichenwald for providing us with a perfect example of hypocrisy.

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