One of the foundational principles upon which our nation was created is well expressed in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. That amendment says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances." The rights expressed with this amendment articulate those beliefs that have really made our nation different from all other nations. Included in that First Amendment is the "freedom speech." This necessarily means the opportunity for the free exchange of ideas.
Dialogues and debates have been part of the American landscape almost since the very beginning. Debates were a crucial occurrence during those days in Philadelphia when, first the decision was made to declare an independence from Great Britain, and then the Constitution was drafted that would guide that newly independent nation. From reports I have read, the debate and exchange of ideas was often a heated one. But it was through those debates that the strength of the Constitution was created.
And throughout the history of our nation, one of the bastions for the exchange of ideas - an arena for debate - have been the campuses of our colleges and universities. How can there be any type of intellectual growth in the absence of dialogue? How can beliefs be tested without entering into the crucible of debate? Yet today there are voices on many college and university campuses that would not just stifle debate and dialogue but would eliminate both all together. There would be only one voice that would be heard. There would be only one idea that would be accepted.
I want to share with you two articles that came to my attention this past week. The first is a news-blog from the President of Oklahoma Wesleyan University. You can find this blog at: www.okwu.edu/blog/2015/11/this-is-not-a-day-care-its-a-university. The blog was written by Dr. Everett Piper. "This past week, I actually had a student come forward after a university chapel service and complain because he felt 'victimized' by a sermon on the topic of 1 Corinthians 13. It appears that this young scholar felt offended because a homily on love made him feel bad for not showing love. In his mind, the speaker was wrong for making him, and his peers, feel uncomfortable.
"I'm not making this up. Our culture has actually taught our kids to be this self-absorbed and narcissistic. Any time their feelings are hurt, they are the victims. Anyone who dares challenge them and, thus, makes them 'feel bad' about themselves, is a 'hater,' a 'bigot,' an 'oppressor,' and a 'victimizer.'
"I have a message for this young man and all other who care to listen. That feeling of discomfort you have after listening to a sermon is called a conscience. An altar call is supposed to make you feel bad. It is supposed to make you feel guilty. The goal of many a good sermon is to get you to confess your sins - not coddle you in your selfishness. The primary objective of the Church and the Christian faith is your confession, not your self-actualization. So here's my advice:
"If you want the chaplain to tell you you're a victim rather than tell you that you need virtue, this may not be the university you're looking for. If you want to complain about a sermon that makes you feel less than loving for not showing love, this might be the wrong place. If you're more interested in playing the 'hater' card than you are in confessing your own hate; if you want to arrogantly lecture, rather than humbly learn; if you don't want to feel guilt in your soul when you are guilty of sin; if you want to be enabled rather than confronted, there are many universities across the land (in Missouri and elsewhere) that will give you exactly what you want, but Oklahoma Wesleyan isn't one of them.
"At OKWU, we teach you to be selfless rather than self-centered. We are more interested in you practicing personal forgiveness than political revenge. We want you to model interpersonal reconciliation rather than foment personal conflict. We believe the content of your character is more important than the color of your skin. We don't believe that you have been victimized every time you feel guilty and we don't issue 'trigger warnings' before altar calls.
"Oklahoma Wesleyan is not a 'safe place,' but rather, a place to learn: to learn that life isn't about you, but about others; that the bad feeling you have while listening to a sermon is called guilt; that the way to address it is to repent of everything that's wrong with you rather than blame others for everything that's wrong with them. This is a place where you will quickly learn that you need to grow up. This is not a day care. This is a university!"
Wow! May those like Dr. Piper increase in number!
A second, longer, article was posted on the website of The Patriot Post. It was written by Arnold Ahlert. You can find this article at: www.patriotpost.us/articles/39167. The article is too long to quote in its entirety here, but I want to just share a couple of opening paragraphs. "If one likes ideologically inspired faux indignation, Washington Post writer Karen Attiah is hard to top. 'A fascinating, uncomfortable and purifying wave is sweeping through America's college campuses,' she writes, characterizing the protests at various universities as 'agitating for racial justice.' And what does such purification entail? At Princeton, students are demanding the removal of President Woodrow Wilson's name from campus due to his racist legacy. All well and good, but genuine purification demands the casting of a far wider net. If these students are to be true to their grievance-mongering school, the Democrat Party itself must be eliminated from the national ethos.
"No doubt our Millennial Marauders, who voted overwhelmingly for Democrats in the last two elections, would find such a prospect inconceivable. Yet as University of Richmond associate history professor Eric S. Yellin reminds us, the lessons we learn from these outbursts 'must not be about the actions of singular bad men only.' Instead, he continues, 'They must force us to consider the broad and often quotidian effects of the inequality that pervades many of our national institutions."
The article then carefully documents how the Democratic party has historically been the party of racists. The article is well foot-noted.
Friends, as I shared last week, Jesus was not adverse to debate or to the exchange of ideas. Did He persuade everyone who heard Him to become His follower? Absolutely not! But some did and their lives were changed forever. As one studies the history of the Early Church, many of those names that we most cherish - Clement, Ignatius, Athanasius, and Augustine, just to name a few - were skilled in the arena of dialogue. They understood the value and power of the spoken word to speak to hearts.
If the trend that is now gaining strength on our college and university campuses continues, then I can only conclude that we are close to the coming of the Antichrist, who, the Bible tells us, will be the master of "thought control." Yes, he will tell everyone exactly how they are to think. There will be no free exchange of ideas, no debate, no dialogue.
Are you ready for the trumpet to sound?
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