Rapper Chuck D once claimed "They got me like Jesus." And John Lennon infamously compared the Beatles to the holy man from Nazareth. Now the pundit America loves to hate is getting in on the Jesus sound bites.In an interview with NPR this week, O'Reilly discussed how his detractors consider him "evil." To which he retorts, "Some people thought Jesus was evil; they nailed him to a cross."
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Least and Most Favorite Talking Heads
Least Favorite #10: George Stephanopoulos
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Least Favorite #9: Charles Gibson
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Least Favorite #8: NBC
AP
Least Favorite #7:Chris Matthews
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Least Favorite #6: Sean Hannity
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Least Favorite #5:Keith Olbermann
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Least Favorite #4: Rush Limbaugh
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Least Favorite #3: Fox News
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Least Favorite #2: Katie Couric
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Least Favorite #1: Bill O'Reilly
Nancy Kaszerman, ZUMA Press
After O'Reilly threw out the J-word, NPR's Renee Montagne got to wondering if Fox's favorite talking head really thinks he's on the same level as a figure worshipped by over 2 billion people on the planet. "No, but I'm giving you an analogy that's vivid," he finished.
Maybe. Or is this just yet another example of Mr. O'Reilly's up-to-now perfectly successful strategy for gaining attention, drawing high ratings and clocking mad dollars? The interview, after all, was a vehicle to promote his new memoir, "A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity."
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Thursday 11 December
By Carlos R. Lopez, Miami, FL
Bill O’Ralley is the most distrustful political news commentator, never got his fact straight, jump to conclusion, in most of his accusation, he is bias, twist the facts, makes his enemies(democrats), guilty by association.
I compare and listened to Fox Bill O’Ralley vs. MSNBC Christ Mathews, in one hand you have Bill the bully and in the other the trustful, honest, straight talk facts from both sides, to let the viewer make his own opinion. In the other hand Bill the bully make such of horrendous, unfunded comments, creating anarchy in the minds of a good segment of the audience (the base), eventually getting thick minds do thick thinks. Mr. Bill O’Ralley lets be proactive, for the good of the country.
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Thursday 11 December
By Truthsayer
Let's get something straight about this story from the beginning. Jesus was
not from Nazereth. If you would take the time to go look it up, there was not such a town or area at him time in history. The translations were wrong when you assume that he was of Nazereth...he was referred to as a
Nasserene, which is an Essene sect not a place
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Thursday 11 December
By Dianne
Was that word necessary?
Thursday 11 December
By do
NAZARETH
(Naz′a‧reth) [probably, Sprout-Town].
A city in Lower Galilee where Jesus lived most of his earthly life, along with his half brothers and half sisters. (Lu 2:51, 52; Mt 13:54-56) Both Joseph and Mary were residents of Nazareth when Gabriel announced the approaching birth of Jesus. (Lu 1:26, 27; 2:4, 39) Later, after their return from Egypt, they took up residence in Nazareth again.—Mt 2:19-23; Lu 2:39.
Location. Most scholars identify Nazareth with En Nasira (Nazerat) in Galilee. If this view is correct, Nazareth was situated in the low mountains just N of the Valley of Jezreel and approximately halfway between the S tip of the Sea of Galilee and the Mediterranean Coast. It was in a mountain basin with hills rising 120 to 150 m (400 to 500 ft) above it. The area was well populated, with a number of cities and towns near Nazareth. Also, it is estimated that one could walk from Nazareth to Ptolemais on the Mediterranean Coast in seven hours, to Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee in five hours, and to Jerusalem in three days.
On one occasion people of Nazareth sought to throw Jesus from “the brow of the mountain upon which their city had been built.” (Lu 4:29) That is not to say that Nazareth was on the very brow or edge, but that it was on a mountain having a brow from which they wanted to hurl Jesus. Some have identified it with a rocky cliff some 12 m (40 ft) high located SW of the city.
Prominence of Nazareth. It is difficult to say with certainty just how prominent Nazareth was in the first century. The most common view of commentators is that Nazareth was then a rather secluded, insignificant village. The principal Biblical statement used to support this view is what Nathanael said when he heard that Jesus was from there: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (Joh 1:46) This has been taken by many to mean that Nazareth was looked down upon, even by people of Galilee. (Joh 21:2) Nazareth was near trade routes of the area but not directly on them. It was not mentioned by Josephus, though he referred to nearby Japhia as the largest fortified village of all Galilee, leading to the idea that Nazareth was eclipsed by its neighbor.
On the other hand, Nathanael may simply have been expressing surprise that Philip would claim a man from the neighborhood city of Nazareth in Galilee to be the promised Messiah, for the Scriptures had foretold that that one would come from Bethlehem in Judah. (Mic 5:2) Josephus did not mention many of the settlements in Galilee, so his not mentioning Nazareth might not be particularly significant. It is noteworthy that the Bible does not call Nazareth a village, but always a “city.” (Lu 1:26; 2:4, 39) Furthermore, close-by Sepphoris was an important, fortified city having a district court of the Sanhedrin. Nonetheless, whatever its size and prominence, Nazareth was convenient to important trade routes and main cities, and so its inhabitants would have had ready information about the social, religious, and political activities of the time.—Compare Lu 4:23.
Attitude of the People. As Jesus grew up, he progressed “in favor with God and men.” (Lu 2:52) He and his half brothers and half sisters were known by the people of Nazareth, and it was his “custom” to attend the local synagogue each week. (Mt 13:55, 56; Lu 4:16) When he was about 30 years of age, Jesus left Nazareth and was baptized by John. (Mr 1:9; Lu 3:23) Some months later, near the start of his Galilean ministry, Jesus returned to Nazareth and in the synagogue read aloud Isaiah 61:1, 2, applying it to himself. The people manifested a lack of faith and attempted to kill him, “but he went through the midst of them and continued on his way,” taking up residence in Capernaum.—Lu 4:16-30; Mt 4:13.
Over a year later, Christ again visited Nazareth. (Mt 13:54-58; Mr 6:1-6) Though some have thought this to be the same occasion as in Luke 4:16-30, the order of events in Matthew, Mark, and Luke indicates otherwise, as does the fact that Jesus’ activities and the results were somewhat different. His fame may have grown by this time so that a somewhat more hospitable reception was granted him. Though many stumbled over the fact that he was a local man, there is no mention of the people’s trying to kill him this time. He performed some powerful works, but not many, because of the people’s lack of faith. (Mt 13:57, 58) Jesus then left and began his third circuit of Galilee.—Mr 6:6.
Thursday 11 December
By do
(Naz‧a‧rene′) [probably from Heb. ne′tser, “sprout”].
A descriptive epithet applied to Jesus and later to his followers. The names Nazarene and Nazirite are not to be confused, for, though spelled similarly in English, they stem from altogether different Hebrew words with different meanings.
It was natural and not particularly unusual to speak of Jesus as the Nazarene, since from infancy (less than three years of age) he was raised as the local carpenter’s son in the city of Nazareth, a place about 100 km (60 mi) N of Jerusalem. The practice of associating persons with the places from which they came was common in those days. —2Sa 3:2, 3; 17:27; 23:25-37; Na 1:1; Ac 13:1; 21:29.
Frequently Jesus was referred to, in widely scattered places and by all kinds of persons, as the Nazarene. (Mr 1:23, 24; 10:46, 47; 14:66-69; 16:5, 6; Lu 24:13-19; Joh 18:1-7) Jesus himself accepted and used the name. (Joh 18:5-8; Ac 22:6-8) On the sign that Pilate had placed on the torture stake he wrote in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek: “Jesus the Nazarene the King of the Jews.” (Joh 19:19, 20) From Pentecost 33 C.E. forward, the apostles as well as others often spoke of Jesus Christ as the Nazarene or as being from Nazareth.—Ac 2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 6:14; 10:38; 26:9.
Prophetic. Matthew pointed out that the name Nazarene was prophetically foretold as another sign identifying Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah. He called this to the attention of his readers when he told how Joseph brought Mary and her child back from Egypt following Herod’s death. “Moreover,” Matthew wrote, “being given divine warning in a dream, he [Joseph] withdrew into the territory of Galilee, and came and dwelt in a city named Nazareth, that there might be fulfilled what was spoken through the prophets: ‘He will be called a Nazarene.’”—Mt 2:19-23.
Nazareth is not mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures. Some suppose Matthew had reference to some lost prophetic book or some unwritten tradition, but his expression, “spoken through the prophets,” is used by writers of the Christian Greek Scriptures only in reference to the same canonical collection of the Hebrew Scriptures we have today. The key to understanding, apparently, lies in equating Nazarene with ne′tser, mentioned above as meaning sprout.
With this in mind, it is evident that Matthew was referring to what Isaiah (11:1) had said concerning Messiah: “There must go forth a twig out of the stump of Jesse; and out of his roots a sprout [we‧ne′tser] will be fruitful.” Another Hebrew word, tse′mach, also means sprout and was used by other prophets when referring to the Messiah. Matthew used the plural, saying that “prophets” had mentioned this coming “Sprout.” For example, Jeremiah wrote about the “righteous sprout” as an offshoot of David. (Jer 23:5; 33:15) Zechariah describes a king-priest “whose name is Sprout,” a prophecy that could apply only to Jesus the Nazarene, the great spiritual Temple-builder.—Zec 3:8; 6:12, 13.
Thursday 11 December
By liz
Arrogance and ego thy name is Bill O'Reilly
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Thursday 11 December
By Deuce
Are you frickin' kidding me. I've watched Bill almost eveyday for the past 2 years and he always defends or speaks out against to those worthy. He dosn't care what side of the fence your on. He tells it the way it is. These Liberals really need to get a life.
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Thursday 11 December
By lmc10dpc
I get enough crap from the Boston Globe and regular tv without having AOL contributing to the pile. NPR while entitled to their idiotic opinion, it's really irritating they're using tax dollars to foster their social agenda.
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Thursday 11 December
By Allee Katz
AOL should reevaluate their news media propaganda--Bil O'Reily uncovers the motives of a lot of corruption--the religious bash you are giving him--come off it--there is a war--an economic downturn, and many other problems--and you are going to waste your time on this comment--poor journalism--you just do not like it when he exposes some of the corruption taking place with our government officials--and they are corrupt--stop covering for them
Thursday 11 December
By Ken
This is an "Asylum" interpetation of the story, not an aol interpetation. What ever your belief of the story of Jesus the Nazareene, he definetly had strong beliefs and the courage to express them. Just like Bill O'Reilly.
Thursday 11 December
By james pruett
he is a pompus ass. has to get in the last word, a bully and a know it all. but i still watch nhis show, maybe because its on 4 times a day on satilite tv. go figure, but he also has good looking female stars and host.
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Thursday 11 December
By Gail
If I recall, others were killed by being nailed to a cross. And I mean thousands upon thousands, it was a very popular torture then. So Jesus wasn't the only one and the fact that the church seems to dismiss all those other poor souls who suffered is a lame excuse.
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Thursday 11 December
By Nakaina
Good point. But then the Vatican DID help hide all of those pedophile priests didn't they? The church has a very selective memory.
Thursday 11 December
By ghdrake
I don't think O'Reilly was comparing himself to Jesus, just their respective situations. Jesus drew tremendous criticism through some of his public comments, and was eventually crucified for it. O'Reilly also draws his share of criticism, and takes plenty of heat. Like Jesus, he says things that are sometimes hard to hear, but need to be said. If people cannot relate their daily lives to the everyday struggles of Jesus, then where does the commonality of the lowly man-God relationship lie?
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Thursday 11 December
By alextc17
Yeah, but you're missing one big point. The things that Jesus said to draw "criticism" were words of love, compassion, and taking care of others less fortunate than you (by the way, last time I checked, that was called Socialism -ahhh!!) Bill O'Reilly only has words of hate, confrontation, division, and persecution of anyone that does not think like he. He is trying to pit American against American, person vs person, based on differing opinions or values. Last I checked, we were founded as a country based on freedom of religion, speech, and liberty. Which the founding fathers never said it was a freedom of religion only if you are a Christian. As a matter of fact, over the summer, a man in Tennessee opened fire in a church, killing several largely because as a Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity fan, he was convinced that they were a liberal church and were the cause of the downfall of humanity and America. Seems like he mixed that one up.
Thursday 11 December
By Rgrav
gh, I was going to make some smart comment but your should shut everbody up. Me included.
Thursday 11 December
By Annette
O'Reilly is my favorite..he tells the truth!!
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Thursday 11 December
By Bob
OReilley is the last hope for getting the straight information about getting the news - night after night.. and that is what the liberals hate about him.
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Thursday 11 December
By ron j
Although I am one of those who dilikes Bill O. and would love to personally hang him to a cross, this comment was not out of line. It's typical Bill.
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Thursday 11 December
By Darrell
This is a bit of a stretch even for AOHell and NPR.