I watched the twelve-minute segment of 60 Minutes about Bill O’Reilly and his new book (see my earlier September 27 posting, The Gospel According to Bill O’Reilly). I was amazed at the man’s arrogance. Here is how CBS bills the interview conducted by Norah O’Donnell:
The Gospel according to Bill O’Reilly?
September 29, 2013 4:00 PMBill O’Reilly, the king of cable TV news, says the Holy Spirit tapped him to write "Killing Jesus" – a book that refutes parts of the Bible
Watch it by clicking on the image above.
Here are some choice bits posted by Anugrah Kumar in the Christian Post right after the show aired:
"And I believe – because I’m a Catholic – that comes from the Holy Spirit. My inspiration comes from that. And so I wrote Killing Jesus because I think I was directed to write that," added O’Reilly in the interview with Norah O’Donnell that will air on Sunday evening.
O’Donnell asked O’Reilly if he thinks he’s a chosen one. "I’m just one of many who have been given gifts," replied the anchor of "The O’Reilly Factor." "I can write. I can bloviate on TV. So I’m trying to use the gifts in a positive way. And I believe that’s all directed and that’s why I’m here on the planet."
In Killing Jesus, O’Reilly "details the events leading up to the murder of the most influential man in history: Jesus of Nazareth," according to publisher Henry Holt and Company, which paid the two authors $10 million as advance
Some parts of the book contradict the New Testament’s accounts of the crucifixion. For example, O’Reilly believes Jesus couldn’t have spoken the words, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do," because the crucifixion wouldn’t have allowed enough air in His lungs.
I watched the video and read the various comments on the CBS site. I’d echo one of the comments from a non-USA person, that the rest of us just cannot understand how so many in the USA can get suckered in by this type of so-called celebrity, of which there seem to be far too many. He has a huge following, some pay $500 merely to have their photo taken with this person. None of the comments on the CBS site however were favourable. In NZ we tend to have a healthy habit of cutting “tall poppies” down to size. The interview with O’Reilly helped to me to understand why this is such a healthy practice.
Norah O’Donnell asked all the right questions, but with responses of only self-satisfied smugness from O’Reilly. The pretence of the man is transparent to the rest of us. Why isn’t it in the USA? Are their live so shallow that they can be taken in by this person?
Dave, as we say here in the USA, if the King James Bible was good enough for Jesus then it is good enough for us.
Give that old fashioned Douay-Rheims religion. It was good enough for Pius XII and it’s good enough for me.:-)
Just like his father the devil, Bill O’Reilly said in his heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
Bill O’Reilly is so full of himself that he deceives himself into believing . . . [edited to remove the rest of the comment.]