Liberals Should Not Speak if They Do Not Know What They Are Talking About

I have been listening to Wisconsin Public Radio lately—a program called To The Best Of Our Knowledge. It is produced by WPR in conjunction with Public Radio International. On 11/14/09, WPR aired a program titled Money, Debt, & Unbridled Capitalism. A speaker on that program was Margaret Atwood; she was discussing her recent book Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth.
Ms. Atwood discussed the idea of redemption and mentioned that it is, by definition, the pay back for debt. She agreed that redemption is a basic idea in the Christian faith, i.e., that Christ redeemed guilty sinners on the cross of Calvary, paying the debt they owe for violating the nature of God. Speaking of theologians down through the ages since Christ’s crucifixion, she made the remark: redemption,…“the idea they developed in the course of time, but it certainly was not there in the Scriptures.” It seems that Ms. Atwood believes that redemption was not mentioned in the Scriptures and very probably had nothing to do with the Christian saga.
It is a shame that someone with a speaking opportunity like hers is so pitifully bereft of a basic knowledge of the Bible. She should just not comment on it if she knows so little about it. The fact is that the Bible is the great story of God’s redemption of His people. After the creation account in the first two chapters of Genesis and the account of the fall of man in the third chapter, the whole Bible is about God’s redemptive work. This aspect of the Bible is most clear in the New Testament where there are numerous references to Christ’s redemption of fallen man.
1 Peter 1:18,19 says, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.” I counted 15 other direct references to Christ’s redemption in the New Testament, e.g., Matt 20:28, Luke 2:38, Acts 20:28, Romans 3:24, 1 Cor 1:30, and 6:20, etc., etc.
Should we, Christians, listen to false voices like Wisconsin Public Radio? I think we should. Learning to refute this kind of false accusation, if it is answered properly, will only sharpen and strengthen our faith.