Mainstream media have badly distorted the central issues in the controversy surrounding Phil Robertson, bearded patriarch of TV’s Duck Dynasty. The Washington Post, for instance, wrote that Robertson had been suspended “for telling GQ magazine, among other things, that gays are headed to hell…”

Actually, Robertson never even mentioned hell in his much-discussed interview. He did, however, paraphrase 1 Corinthians, providing a long list of sinners—including homosexuals—who “will not inherit the kingdom of God.” But neither the Washington Post, nor the original interviewer, ever cited the New Testament  lines that follow immediately: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ…”

In other words, Robertson emphasized forgiveness and salvation, not damnation, with his Biblical citation and throughout his interview.