A 'faithful fanatic': Stephen Bennett shares his thoughts on the O'Reilly interview

WorldNetDaily.com ^ | Tuesday, September 10, 2002 | Stephen Bennett

[JohnHuang2]

Tuesday, September 10, 2002

Quote of the Day by First_Salute

[ImaGraftedBranch]

Our family used to watch Fox News and O'Reilly together after dinner (including kids) to encourage discussions about some of the current issues. O'Reilly was our favorite...for a while. Something has happened.

He is wrong on the homosexual point. All Catholics believe that the Bible in its entirety is 100% "the inspired Word of God."

If they do not believe that, they are not true Catholics. O'Reilly can not pick and choose the pieces he likes. Hating homosexuals is wrong, but the sin is to be hated as an abomination.

Suffice it to say, no more O'Reilly in this house (and I suspect a lot of others).

[Texas_Jarhead]

I'm glad to hear from him on that whole event

[MEGoody]

I still like to watch the O'Reilly show as compared to 'news' shows on the networks, but O'Reilly has never claimed to be a traditional Catholic or Christian. In fact, I've never considered him either except in name only. The sad thing is, he is like far too many in this country who slap that name tag on themselves. But we all know that those who claim to be someone they are not usually end up in mental institutions.

[egarvue]

I quit watching O'Reilly a while ago, after the Red Cross scandal shortly after 9-11. His already inflated ego got way out of proportion, and I felt that Bill was starting to do more damage than good; he just wouldn't let it go, even after the scandal had been brought to light and the Red Cross' policies had been changed. He's been going downhill ever since. I would be REAL interested to see a comparison of his ratings now as compared to his ratings a while ago.

[chachacha]

The number of replys to this post sure is an indication of how few people will be in heaven.

Spoken by him not me!

Thank You Stephen for standing up and looking up.

[chachacha]

The number of replys to this post sure is an indication of how few people will be in heaven.

Spoken by him not me!

Thank You Stephen for standing up and looking up.

[Greeklawyer]

I agree, I think Mr. O'Reilly is starting to believe his own publicity. I saw the interviewm, when he refered to his own list of bible quotes, it had the appearance of ambush and Mr. O'Reilly wanting to set the direction and the tone reguardless of what the guest had to say. Frankly, I wanted to hear more about the "stop being gay" issue. Could a person leave the lifestyle? Was this Bennett really no longer gay? Was leaving "gayness" like alchoholism? Specifically, always in recovery? This would have been more useful for an interview than the bible quote ambush duel that was broadcast. Does Mr. O'Reilly personally believe a person can alter their sexual orientation?

[Texbob]

It sounds like O'Reilly is a Queer.

[buffyt]

I saw that interview. O'Reilly used to be very much anti-gay. Now he isn't. I saw him in person in Houston at KPRC Expo several years ago. He was very negative about gays. I don't know what happened. Maybe a friend or relative of his turned out to be gay. I don't watch him very often anymore. We used to watch him every night. His ego is so huge now. He is a legend in his own mind. Maybe it is partly his NY attitude and accent, but other news people are from NY and they aren't so irritating. He is such a blowhard now. I usually just have the radio on conservative talk radio in LA now, rarely turn the TV on at all.

[Savage Beast]

"It all soon became too very clear. This was not going to be an interview, but the 'Stephen Bennett Roast.'"

At that point, why didn't you just leave? You didn't have to stay there.

You might have uttered something like, "I'm not going to be a part of this charade," before leaving.

[Greeklawyer]

He could not just leave, he would have been villified even more for leaving. He would have been accused of "running away because he could not defend his position."

[Balding_Eagle]

I saw part of the interview, turned it off after a few minuites because Stehpen was so bad. I am referring to his debating performance. It was the worst I've ever seen, and he didn't do our side and favors by going on air.

REALLY, REALLY, bad.

How he EVER expected to stand up to O'Rielly is beyond me. Someone, afriend or colleague of his should have talked him out of going.

[gg188]

Key:

"...the hatred this world has toward the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

That says it all.

[exmarine]

Let me get this straight (pardon the pun): A Yankees rootern or an Eminem acolyte is a "fan," but if you believe in the inerrant Word of God, you are a "fanatic"?

O'Reilly is way off on some of his views. He is always ranting about "right" and "wrong" and knows they exist, but doesn't know their source. As a result, he has a hit and miss morality. When it comes to gay adoption, he has a "pragmatic" view, which is totally ineffectual in assessing long-term consequences. He says he is a catholic, but that means nothing unless he has a relationship with the living God. He rejects the bible as an authority and replaces it with himself.

[exmarine]

How he EVER expected to stand up to O'Rielly is beyond me. Someone, afriend or colleague of his should have talked him out of going.

Come on now... O'Reilly is not a good debater at all. I would love to debate O'Reilly. He merely bullies his guests - that is not debate at all. The problem is that O'Reilly will not let anyone talk for more than 5 seconds without interruption. Get O'Reilly off his program and put him at a podium with a good Christian apologist -- he would be made to look like a fool.

[Aquinasfan]

O'Reilly's huge Achilles heel is homosexuality and religion. He doesn't understand the obvious natural law arguments against homosexuality and is equally confused regarding his own religion. Even worse, he revels in his ignorance. He seems to make no effort to understand his own religion, never mind anyone elses. And he seems quite content to slap obnoxious labels on those who have a greater understanding of their religion.

[steve-b]

I don't know what happened.

Simple: the Islamofascists have put fundie brimstoning beyond the pale in the same way the Nazis put genteel anti-Semitism beyond the pale.

[Savage Beast]

I think I would not accept an invitation to appear on this show.

[TigersEye]

O'Reilly's not a queer (at least I don't think he is) he's a nutcase. His knowledge of the Bible is somewhat limited. (So is mine but I'll readily admit it, he won't.) I heard him say "You know the passage, the one that says 'God helps those who help themselves.'" That's a Ben Franklin quote not a Biblical quote. The only passage that O'Reilly knows by heart is the one that leads to the bank.