This kind of creepy Newsweek article offers further evidence that many evangelicals, like many Americans, have lost the map and are more interested in winning the argument than in seeking the truth.
"Ye shall learn debate tactics and rhetorical strategems, and the tactics and strategems shall set you free."
But I'm linking here mainly because of this hilarious correction from Newsweek:
In the original version of this report, Newsweek misquoted [the Rev. Jerry] Falwell as referring to "assault ministry." In fact, Falwell was referring to "a salt ministry" — a reference to Matthew 5:13, where Jesus says, "Ye are the salt of the earth." We regret the error.
It's understandable, given the subject of the article and Falwell's history, to think that the right-wing reverend might have said "assault ministry." But in his defense, Falwell did attempt to provide some context in his original quote: "We are training debaters who can perform a salt ministry, meaning becoming the conscience of the culture …"
The correction above is an example of two things I've written about here before: 1) Evangelicals aren't very good at communicating with people outside the confines of their subculture; and 2) the press tends not to understand religion, and therefore not do a very good job of reporting on it. These two things are mutually reinforcing.
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