Posted on 07/07/2009 11:18:53 AM PDT by tgdunbar
Many commentator’s on Sarah Palin’s remark that “politically speaking — if I die, I die. So be it” would not recognize the allusion or context of “And if not” – neither its use at Dunkirk nor its Biblical reference.
Would you clue me in, please?
Is that it? Or is there more? I clicked on your blog link and didn’t find any more than this excerpt. Was there a point?
Like a deep thought from SNL.
I didn’t get it either. I thought I was just stupid or something . . .
Is your thread in reference to the following?
Palin: Politically speaking, ‘If I die, I die’
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2287426/posts
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=594336
The whole blog pimping thing is getting a bit out of hand.
Hey, there’s no problem with folks coming and posting on FR.
But to use FR to stimulate traffic on somebodies blog is a bit lame.
Well, obviously Palin’s comment is a paraphrase of Esther’s statement “If I perish, I perish” when she prepared to intercede with King Xerxes for her people. But I thought maybe the author intended to discuss his take on its relevance. Apparently not.
Bible, Ignorance Of: And if Not . . .
BreakPoint Commentary, August 24, 1998
And if Not ... A Common Christian Culture by Charles W. Colson One of the most dramatic moments of the Second World War occurred when the British army was helplessly stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk. It turned out to be one of England's finest hours-and, oddly enough, a telling illustration of the urgent need for Christian apologetics in our day The time was June 1940 and the place was Dunkirk. The British Expeditionary Force, sent to stem the Nazi advance into Belgium and France, had been pushed steadily back to the sea. A pall fell over England. Hitler's armies were poised to destroy the cornered Allied army. As the British people waited anxiously, a three-word message was transmitted from the besieged army at Dunkirk: "And if not." The British recognized instantly what the message meant: "Even if we are not rescued from Hitler's army, we will stand strong and unbowed." "And if not" was found in the Book of Daniel, where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego defied Nebuchadnezzar, putting their trust in God The message galvanized the British people. Thousands of boats set out across the Channel in a gallant bid to rescue their army. And they succeeded. Nearly 350,000 British and Allied soldiers were saved from the advancing Germans. The British people were so steeped in Christian culture and understanding that they immediately grasped the meaning of a cryptic biblical allusion. But can you imagine the response in 1990s America to such a message? According to pollster George Barna, most wouldn't have a clue to what it meant. Recent surveys indicate only a small percentage of Americans can name the Ten Commandments-and only 42 percent can identify who preached the Sermon on the Mount. Most people think it was someone on horseback. Equally alarming is another trend: Americans are abandoning the belief that absolute truth-like that revealed in the Bible-exists. In 1991 Barna found that 67 percent of those questioned answered no when asked: "Is there any such thing as absolute truth?" Two years later the percentage of people saying no had risen to 72 percent. How then can we evangelize a society that no longer thinks in Christian terms? That is where apologetics comes in. The Greek word apologia literally means "to give a reason for believing something." Professor Alister McGrath of Oxford University explains why apologetics is pre-evangelistic. "In an increasingly secular culture," McGrath writes, "fewer and fewer people outside the Christian community have any real understanding of what Christians believe. Half-truths, misconceptions, and caricatures abound." Our job is to help remove what McGrath calls "barriers on the road to faith"-such as the rejection of absolute truth or some distortion of the Gospel message. Whatever the obstacle, Christians need to be-in the words of the apostle Peter-"prepared to give an answer ... for the hope that you have." This is the first of a series of commentaries designed to help you engage your neighbors with hard-hitting evidence as to why society cannot survive without Christian truth, and why it is indeed true. It is vital that believers be equipped in the battle to defend Christian truth. (c) 1998 Prison Fellowship Ministries Copyright notice: We encourage liberal distribution of these transcripts through email and print. Please do not post on the world wide web or use this content for profit.
Sarah is bible literate
< Esther 4:16 >>
Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
A lot of people don’t realize Jack Handey is a real person. So is Robert Fartley.
Sorry. I thought FR folks would know the “And if not” Dunkirk allusion:
As the British people waited anxiously, a three-word message was transmitted from the besieged army at Dunkirk: “And if not.” The British recognized instantly what the message meant: “Even if we are not rescued from Hitler’s army, we will stand strong and unbowed.” “And if not” was found in the Book of Daniel, where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego defied Nebuchadnezzar, putting their trust in God The message galvanized the British people. Thousands of boats set out across the Channel in a gallant bid to rescue their army. And they succeeded. Nearly 350,000 British and Allied soldiers were saved from the advancing Germans.
I got in to a knock down drag out a few weeks ago with somebody else blimping.
Problem was, he had practically no writing skills at all - it was physically painful to read the stuff.
So I commented on it and he went ballistic. Oh well. Just because everybody may write, sure doesn’t mean everybody can!
if I had been pimping, my blog would have said more. I purposely didn’t do extract. Nor did I explain as a google search will quickly help those interested.
I apologize if my brevity was rude.
When I was blogging, I posted a couple of times here. But I posted the entire blog post.
That should be a requirement of posting in Bloggers/Personal. No excerpts.
It means Palin is willing to risk her political life for her convictions including her recent resignation from office. She's a politician that doesn't let her political career define her as a person...as it should be for all of them. Refreshing.
Yes, that’s it. I only cited my blog after I couldn’t find media article that mentioned that allusion which, I think, would be natural to Palin.
Both Palin’s statement and the media’s reaction are interesting.
While some recognized it and some didn't, I'm still scratching my head trying to figure out your point. Sarah was obviously referring to Esther's "If I perish, I perish" quote - not the Dunkirk/Daniel quote. If your point was that most Americans wouldn't recognize the source of either quote, that is rather obvious. In fact, most current students of literature have no idea about the sources of the Biblical allusions present in much of classic American literature from Hawthorne to Crane to Frost since teachers are either unwilling or afraid to even mention them.
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