A Rejoinder to the Rejoinder: ‘I was quoted out of context’

I don’t have to be very careful with what I say to the media. If there’s a critical rejoinder to my words, I can always give a rejoinder to the rejoinder saying, ‘I was quoted out of context’.

To pluck out a few sentences from a speech or a book without considering the context in which the sentences lie is a mistake many people commit. This error is not uncommon among Christians when reading the Bible. Some believers have the habit of closing their eyes and after a prayer, open a random page in the Bible and believe that God has given them that passage for that comment. In doing this, what comes before or after the passage, much less what the entire book says; in what historical, social, and cultural context it was written; are not considered. Some people who have a pre-conceived idea search for scripture passages to prove/validate what they already have in mind. They don’t read the Bible for guidance; they search for passages which say yes to their ideas. Nothing is more committed to truth than Christianity (even if the truth is uncomfortable), so when Christians misuse the Bible in this manner, truth suffers. This is not to say that the Bible is only for the intellectual or the expert. However, it is a call to all, including the simple and the expert, to study diligently, to be careful and humble; while supremely relying on the Holy Spirit for enlightenment. 

However, what I said in the beginning is also true that, when a person retracts from his/her statement and starts to get defensive, he/she says, ‘I was quoted out of context’. It is a very convenient alternative way of saying, ‘I was wrong’; ‘I said what I shouldn’t have said’; or, ‘oops! I got my facts wrong’. These types of rejoinders and rejoinders to rejoinders are becoming quite common as one reads the newspapers; especially in the paper wars and the blame games between opposing political groups, factions, village councils, hohos, or between any Toms, Dicks, and Harrys. 

This morning’s paper (23rd May, 2011) carries a good example of what I am saying. Ratan Tata commented on the 27-storey million dollar home of Mukesh Ambani. He was reported to have said to Times UK, “It makes me wonder why someone would do that… The person who lives in there should be more concerned about what he sees around him and can he make a difference… If he is not, then it is sad because India needs people to allocate some of their enormous wealth to finding ways to mitigate the hardship that people have… We are doing so little about the disparity. We are allowing it to be there and wishing it away”. Wow Tata!!! So true. Instead of giving a rejoinder saying that what you actually said was taken ‘out of context and factually incorrect’, I wish you’d say, ‘WHAT I SAID IS TRUE AND I STAND BY MY WORD’.