Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson recently shared that he’s reading through the Bible, and it’s opened his eyes about God’s sovereignty, man’s sinfulness, and humanity’s role in the world. The former Fox News commentator made the remarks at the 2023 Family Leadership Summit, a gathering of conservative leaders in Des Moines, Iowa.
Carlson said he started reading the Bible in February for Lent, acknowledging that he hasn’t been a “particularly faithful” Episcopalian. He’s read through the New Testament and is now reading through Deuteronomy in the Old Testament.
Carlson said two things stick out to him. He said, “First, with the exception of Jesus, every figure is like really flawed, like flawed in a way where you’d be like, ‘I don’t know if I can be friends with that person.’” He said he was shocked to read the story about Abraham giving Sarah to Abimelech, falsely telling him she was his sister in Genesis 20. Carlson was confused by the story, and his wife suggested, “Maybe the point is that God takes people who are not perfect people and uses them for these grander purposes.”
Carlson said the second thing that stuck out to him is that God controls humankind’s history. He said, “While they have free will, of course, they can make decisions, and they live with the consequences of those decisions – they’re not really in charge of the arc of history at all. They are being acted upon a lot. And I never really appreciated that because I’m American. And so I grew up with this feeling that we’re the sum total of our choices. Well, that’s not what I’m reading at all. Yes, people’s choices matter. You need to do certain things and not do other things.”
He continued, “But on the other hand, you’re not in charge. You are being acted upon by a world you can’t see. And that, by the way, is consistent with my life experience. Like, I’ve seen that, I’ve lived that. I’m 54. And so I feel like it’s really important to approach politics with that in mind – like, a lot of these issues are symbols of this much larger battle.”
Finally, Carlson said reading the Bible taught him a lesson about humility, saying, “I do think we should approach these questions with humility. I’ve got very strong feelings about all kinds of issues. Still, it’s so important to be open to the possibility that I’m completely wrong and that what I’m espousing is actually destructive, not constructive.”
Carlson said reading the Bible has been the most interesting thing he’s ever done.