Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado was speaking at the Truth & Liberty Conference in Woodland Park a few days ago. It’s a conference of Christian nationalists who want their version of Christianity to rule the United States. During her remarks, she decided to quote some scary New Testament passages (probably because all that “love thy neighbor” stuff doesn’t bring in the kind of fundraising dollars that “fire and brimstone” stuff does). She threw around some misapplied scripture full of combative language, like, “God is on our side. The blood has been applied. We are going straight into victory. You are all more than conquerors through God, through Christ who strengthens you every step of the way.”
A highlight of this frightening ludicrosity was when Boebert read from Romans 1:28-32, “Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating.”
But when Boebert hit the word “wanton,” she pronounced it as “wonton.” She abruptly says to her audience, “I don’t know what a wonton [sic] killing is. I’m gonna have to look that one up. But it sounds interesting. And I don’t think I want to be a part of it.”
This is me trying to blink moisture into my eyes. The fact that Boebert doesn’t know how to pronounce the word “wanton,” and the fact that she doesn’t know what the word means, is not the issue here. The issue here is that she pretends to be religious and to promote a true end-times evangelical philosophy of the world and the politics that come with it. She does this with almost (or completely) no intellectual curiosity and, worse, without examining (or even reading) what she is willing to say to achieve whatever her ends may be. She is excited to read a fiery excerpt from Paul’s letter to the Romans—but doesn’t even think to figure out what the words mean beforehand.
The responses to Boebert were wonderful.
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Before we get into the fun responses to Boebert’s blunder, here’s some fun Bible history for you! The translation Boebert seems to be using is The Message, by retired Presbyterian pastor and author Eugene Peterson. Peterson’s The Message began as small excerpts released in 1993, with a full translation going into publication in 2002. Peterson’s is considered to be on the far end of the “dynamic equivalence” translation range. To (potentially over-)simplify: Translations are approached using what scholars call the “dynamic and formal equivalence spectrum.” The formal end is a one-to-one literal translation of words, etc., while the dynamic end is the idea of readability being the most important function. Of course, the balance between these two poles is what translations are critiqued on.
Petersen’s version uses more “contemporary language” in order to get across the points of the Bible and has been very popularly received. It is one of the translations of the Bible that evangelicals like, and Peterson has shown himself to be a charismatic on-screen personality. Popular group U2’s frontman Bono is a big fan of The Message, and even did a series of short programs on the Bible with Peterson that you can watch. In 2017, possibly because he was hanging out too much with the more liberal Bono, Peterson gave a controversial interview with the Religious News Service where he said he wasn’t particularly opposed to same-sex marriage. He also said this during that interview:
I wouldn’t have said this 20 years ago, but now I know a lot of people who are gay and lesbian and they seem to have as good a spiritual life as I do. I think that kind of debate about lesbians and gays might be over. People who disapprove of it, they’ll probably just go to another church. So we’re in a transition and I think it’s a transition for the best, for the good. I don’t think it’s something that you can parade, but it’s not a right or wrong thing as far as I’m concerned.
What is somewhat ironic here is that, while Evangelicals have used the lines that directly precede the ones Boebert mangles in the video below as “proof” that God hates the LGBTQ+ community, The Message’s translation does not overtly attack the LGBTQ community the way previous versions do.
The following day, Petersen took back the statement that he wouldn’t have a problem marrying same-sex couples if he were still a pastor. That Evangelical money is green like everyone else’s, amiright? Anywho, that’s a little background on the passage Ms. Boebert mangled in her attempt at casting liberals as “mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers.” You have to admit, it is a fun translation!
It’s a lot to take in.
Here’s a celebrity!
Here’s a fun one.
Something more simple, but to the point.
Here’s what passes for a deep cut these days where time has become a flat circle.
A fact check?
Some fun.
And finally.
Rep. Lauren Boebert is a terrible person. There are innumerable ways in which this is true. The fact that she is lacking in intelligence is only one excuse for her terrible behavior toward others.
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