The reporter who passed this one along to us wrote, simply:
they just make it real easy for you guys, don't they?
Another reporter on Twitter put it:
That NYT correction has to be throwing @GetReligion HQ into all-hands-on-deck mode. "I need EVERYONE ON THIS NOW!"
Sadly, we've had such reason to be down on general religion coverage in recent weeks, that I'm not even sure anyone is surprised by this.
But still. But still.
The New York Times published a fairly straightforward story about Pope Francis' first Urbi et Orbi message. With this paragraph:
Easter is the celebration of the resurrection into heaven of Jesus, three days after he was crucified, the premise for the Christian belief in an everlasting life. In urging peace, Francis called on Jesus to ''change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace.''
Yes, the professionals at the New York Times are confused about what Easter marks. If you were satirizing the poor state of the Grey Lady's understanding of religion, this would seem over-the-top. And yet it's real. My favorite part is the correction to the piece -- yes, it was corrected to drop the "into heaven" and replace it with "from the dead." The correction is:
An earlier version of this article mischaracterized the Christian holiday of Easter. It is the celebration of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead, not his resurrection into heaven.
To be clear, not only is Easter not about Jesus' "resurrection into heaven," Christians don't believe Jesus "resurrected into heaven" period. There are some ancient creeds that could be quickly accessed (for those who have never heard them) that explain all this. Those creeds confess Christ's ascension into heaven, not "resurrection."
Since it's Opening Day, I will share this fake correction I saw elsewhere:
In last Thursday’s story, “Americans excited to visit ‘ball parks,’” the sport of baseball was repeatedly spelled bayspall. The number of ‘bases’ was given as five; the correct number is three. “Home plate” is a marker embedded in the ground, not a trophy awarded to the winner of the World Series. “Babe” Ruth was the popular nickname of George Herman Ruth Jr. (1895–1948), generally regarded the greatest baseballer of the early twentieth century, and not the African-American mistress of Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter F. O’Malley as stated in the article. The Times regrets the errors.
Wait, that is a fake correction, right?
Anyway, happy Easter Monday and Opening Day, to those who celebrate. And for our readers from the New York Times, here's a link to the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. These confessional creeds explain the basics of Christianity and can be a useful resource for people covering Christians.