“The governor of Texas, who, when asked if the Bible should also be taught in Spanish, replied that ‘if English was good enough for Jesus, then it’s good enough for me’.”

— Christopher Hitchens

Last update June 3, 2021. History

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Christopher Hitchens 305

British American author and journalist 1949–2011

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http://thewackydeli.com/top10mbgaffes: “If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for every child in America to speak.”, likely based on an apocryphal quote attributed to Governor Miriam A. Ferguson, “If the King's English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for the children of Texas!”
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“If the King's English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for the children of Texas!”

Miriam A. Ferguson (1875–1961) American politician

Attributed, for example, by http://web.archive.org/20090806185021/www.international.ucla.edu/burkle/article.asp?parentid=2198, which contains a common version of the story, where Ferguson says this while holding a bible and defending her objection to the teaching of Spanish in Texas public schools
According to http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003084.html, a variation on this quote is reported in the New York Times on May 23, 1881, but no record of Ferguson having said this, or anything like it, could be found
This quote and variations on it are often frequently attributed to others; one story, usually heard outside the United States, has an unnamed "U.S. congressman" saying it in a television interview; for example, see http://ontrapranur.blogspot.com/2008/05/if-english-was-good-enough-for-jesus.html
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“The governor of Texas, who, when asked if the Bible should also be taught in Spanish, replied that ‘if English was good enough for Jesus, then it’s good enough for me’.”

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Christopher Hitchens 305

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