When Joe Biden addressed a group of supporters at a fundraiser on Sunday night, his comments were notable for at least three reasons. One, Biden rattled his handlers with, “Mark my words. It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy . . . we’re going to have . . . an international . . . generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy . . . I promise you it will occur.”
Two, Biden made these comments and others like it before he realized that print journalists were in the room, after which he promptly concluded his address, stating, “I probably shouldn’t have said all this because it dawned on me that the press is here.”
Three, in his remarks that evening, Biden used Biblical language in explaining that the “generated crisis” would engender a response by Barack Obama that would be hugely unpopular and would cause his standing to plummet in the polls. Americans would, according to Biden, have to “gird their loins.”
I’m not exactly thrilled with the idea that Obama, the man who is supposed to get us out of Iraq, is according to Biden, going to turn into a hawk in the first six months of 2009 in order to prove his mettle. Besides, Biden didn’t get the term right.
Although I have read several internet interpretations of the Biblical expression that “girding their loins” means simply securing one’s belt a little tighter, that’s not what it indicates.
The expression appears in several places and forms in Scripture. Its original intent in some of the earliest writings of the Bible, as in 1 Kings, refers to getting ready for battle. In this context, it signifies that a fighter “draws up and ties his lower garments between his legs as to increase mobility and agility.” Although the practice varied as the centuries progressed, there is nothing peaceful about it.
Later in time, in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul speaks about “taking on the whole armor of God . . . and, having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist." Paul continues, “Take the shield of faith.” These are intended as words of internal fortitude and of peaceful resistance, not of warfare. To which of the two meanings was Joe Biden referring?
No comments:
Post a Comment