Posted on 02/18/2003 5:11:39 AM PST by SJackson
Since 9-11, hundreds of colleges and universities across America have bent over backward to show the world that they “embrace” Islam. The University of North Carolina, for example, now requires all incoming freshmen to read the Muslim devotional “Approaching the Koran.” And in the wake of Sept.11th, left-wing professors throughout the nation held “teach-ins” to inform college students that Islam is a peaceful religion, notwithstanding the fact that most of the Muslim world, including many American Muslims, view the United States as the “Great Satan.” Despite the left’s new love affair with radical Islam, the left has not changed its opinion of Christianity, which it views with trepidation and contempt.
Because the radical left has seized control of American campuses, Christian students across the U.S. are now viewed by their peers and by campus faculty as followers of an “intolerant” and “oppressive” religion. In the classroom, radical professors focus their lectures on atrocities committed in the name of the Christian faith, such as the Inquisition and the Crusades, whereas Christianity’s contributions to the world are downplayed or simply never mentioned. The prevailing belief among left-wing academics is that Christians are homophobes, bigots and closed-minded extremists. On today’s campuses, this vitriolic attitude towards Christians is beginning to culminate in an unconstitutional assault upon Christian student groups.
At UNC Chapel Hill, for example, seventeen different religious groups on campus received letters from the university administration threatening de-recognition. These letters warned that if the groups’ rules and policies were not modified, the university would officially revoke the organizations’ right to meet on campus and would strip the clubs of college funding. And what is wrong with the policies of these organizations? They are Christian organizations, and their policies reflect their Christian beliefs. At UNC, groups are prohibited from defining themselves as “a Christian community,” and they are not allowed to select group leaders according to Christian beliefs. Both The Brotherhood in Christ and Chi Alpha Omega, for example, are student groups that were reprimanded for requiring members to be Christian males. And the IVCF (Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship) was threatened with de-recognition for requiring its members to follow Christian doctrine.
Imagine the outcry that we would hear if the same university de-recognized the student organization of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queers (LGBTQ) for not allowing heterosexuals to assume leadership roles in the organization. No doubt, this would immediately turn into a “civil rights issue,” and all of the professional civil rights hustlers would descend upon the school to shake down the administration.
This of course would never happen because, on college campuses, homosexuals are a protected class. They are one of the sociological groups that leftists consider to be “oppressed” by white, heterosexual, Christian males. Or, as lefties often say, “The White Christian Patriarchy.” Marxism, which is at the root of this worldview, is an atheistic philosophy. It is a philosophy that since its inception has defined itself as the mortal enemy of Christianity. Marxism promises a heaven on earth. Christianity promises a paradise only in the afterlife. This is why every communist nation that has ever existed has outlawed religious expression. In a Marxist society, there can be no higher authority than the "enlightened" Marxists who rule the masses. We have seen this in various nations across the globe, and now we are seeing this on America’s college campuses.
Thankfully, some Christian student groups are beginning to fight back. In September 02, for example, the Director of student Involvement at Rutgers University officially de-recognized the IVMEF (InterVarsity Multi Ethnic Fellowship) because the group was accused of having discriminating polices. It seems that the group only selects leaders whose beliefs reflect the values of the organization. Because the group is a Christian organization, leaders must hold Christian beliefs. This does not gel with the ethos of the university administration, which holds that Christians should not be allowed to express their religious beliefs on campus. Rather than surrender to the administration’s fascistic demands, however, the IVMEF filed a lawsuit against Rutgers University in the U.S. Federal District Court of New Jersey.
Because Rutgers has so obviously violated the first amendment rights of this group's members, it is likely that the IVMEF will win its case against Rutgers. But, whatever the outcome of this case, one thing remains certain: until our colleges and universities are taken back from the radical left, academia’s war against Christians will persist without cease.
To respond to this article, email the author at larson@politicallyright.com .
The Left, which owns the American university, is implacably anti-America. It knows the character of America -- its strength, its benevolence, its work ethic, and its Judeo-Christian moral foundation -- and knowing that it is unqualified to be part of that character, it opposes it in all its manifestations. Christianity is only one such.
The Left doesn't give a fig about Islam. Islam is "the enemy of my enemy" to them: a useful tactical alliance against a common foe. Leftists will ally with anything that might help to bring down that foe, so that they can get over their persistent, well-deserved conviction of utter inferiority.
If your entire existence was based upon browbeating defenseless young minds into accepting and parroting insane ideas that you couldn't defend with logic and evidence... wouldn't you feel inferior to real, productive citizens?
Freedom, Wealth, and Peace,
Francis W. Porretto
Visit the Palace Of Reason:
http://palaceofreason.com
UNC assigns a book every year to incoming freshmen to read and discuss. They use a different book each year. Next year it'll be something else. I corresponded directly with the Student Council President at UNC on this matter.
I think that's a little harsh. We're Christian (and not just so-called) and we've spent money we didn't have to spend to send my daughter to a Christian school. She graduates this year and will go to a secular school next year. Her major cannot be found in a Christian school and we made the decision, because of what's going on in the world today, for her to remain close to home. It has to do with choices.
I went to a university 30 years ago that did not recognize Christian groups. They couldn't meet on campus, not even the chapel! The result? The lines were drawn so clearly that a thriving Christian community grew right on and next to the campus; it still exists to this day.
We are in those Times, and His Glory awaits only the faithful. Take heart, for His Truth endures, and His Day draws near.
As as long as Christian alumni continue to donate to their Alma Mater ( especially if the football and basketball teams win ) this will continue.
I agree. Please consider supporting Ave Maria University instead.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/839557/posts
I think we need put our own situation into perspective. Consider the testimony of those who settled this country. They gave up friends, family, homes, and jobs to come to America where they could worship in freedom and raise their children away from the worldly influences of England and Holland. They risked life and limb for the sake of their children. 1/2 of the Pilgrims never made it through to the second year here in America. You might know the rest of the story, but if your history is a little sketchy, then read William Bradford's, Of Plymouth Plantation.
In light of what we have read of saints who have gone before us, our petty sacrifices don't amount to a hill of beans...in fact, I don't think we really have a clue what it means to follow the Gospel in the measure that others have known. The understanding of what it means to raise our children in the "fear and admontion of the Lord" has been lost on successive generations of Christian Americans.
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