Ryan Bomberger
His shirt says: Life has purpose.
Posted on 12/05/2018 2:19:44 PM PST by SeekAndFind
For Christ and His Kingdom. That’s the motto featured prominently throughout Wheaton College.
But what happens when it’s not about Christ or His Kingdom?
I found that out recently after being invited by Wheaton College Republicans to speak on something I’m deeply familiar with—abortion and race. As someone conceived in rape yet adopted and loved into a multiracial family of 15, I have a rather unique take on this. I love actual diversity. As a biracial individual, it's literally in my blood.
I presented a multimedia talk entitled: “Black Lives Matter In and Out of the Womb” (see video) which provided a perspective that is rarely heard. I wanted to compel students to critically think.
Instead, some wanted to silence the message and smear the messenger.
The Student Government Association (SGA), reportedly with the help of two staff members (Peter Hansen and Crystal Cartwright) of the Office of Student Activities, sent out a dishonest, campus-wide email denouncing me and the hope-filled, fact-based, Biblically-sound presentation. Signed by student leaders Lauren Rowley (Student Body President), Tyler Waaler (Student Body Vice President) and Sammie Shields (EVP of Community Diversity), the letter claimed that my comments “made many students, staff and faculty of color feel unheard, underrepresented and unsafe on our campus.”
Of course, they didn't identify me as a “person of color”. In my emailed response to SGA and administration leaders, I reminded them that my presentation was about those who are always unheard, always underrepresented and actually unsafe—the unborn.
But let this sink in. Sharing a different perspective (aka speaking truth) made “many” feel “unsafe”. Wheaton, are you teaching students to fear or to think?
Only one of those five people involved in this letter of denouncement even attended the event (Sammie Shields). The presentation was 50 minutes, followed by nearly an hour of Q&A and discussion. How was anyone “unheard” or “underrepresented”?
I asked Philip Ziesemer, the Founder of the Wheaton College Republicans, about his reaction to SGA’s attack. “I’m disappointed by the school’s response because I do not believe Wheaton College wants to restrict students from taking part in open dialogue…I believe free speech is threatened when someone with a different point of view is accused—in print—of making students feel ‘unsafe’ and ‘underrepresented.’ I wish the school would have responded by encouraging students to think critically, discuss the message from both sides, and challenge themselves on the content presented.” div class='nlbox nlbox-columns' id='lightbox-inline-form-70a3431f-5840-49bb-98f3-5f8712d03e97'>
Sadly, it’s clear that even on an evangelical Christian campus, truth is anathema to those who deify “diversity”. In a presentation on what Jesse Jackson once called “black genocide”, those who prefer activism over factivism chose to demonize and distort. The talk focused on the hypocrisy of the #BlackLivesMatter movement’s leadership and its announced solidarity with the leading killer in the black community—Planned Parenthood—where 247 black lives are killed by the abortion giant every single day. I pointed out several disturbing policy platform positions (see www.M4BL.net) that are, inarguably, hostile to Christianity such as the negation of fathers, the promotion of radical LGBTQ ideology, and lack of any call for racial reconciliation.
I refuse to bow to groupthink. And that never goes over well with those who think “diversity” means ideological conformity.
When you can’t prove the content wrong, the tactic is to make things up. I can’t rebut every lie I’ve heard and seen posted on social media since my November 14th presentation. Some have claimed that I said, “no one cares what the KKK believes”, “racism doesn’t exist anymore”, and “women should think twice about reporting sexual assault.” Of course, I never said any of those things. One of the student leaders (Sammie Shields) made the bizarre claim, in order to bolster his false narrative about what I said about the KKK, that “there was a lynching in Mississippi last week”. Really? Wouldn’t there be at least one news article on that? But it doesn’t matter. “Diversity”!
Victimhood is potent.
The story has now become the “hurt” and “grieving” students. It’s not about the slaughter of 2,500 innocent human lives every day in this country through the violence of abortion. This is the dangerous consequence of placing the emotional above the Eternal.
All along, the Wheaton administration has chosen to be publicly silent which enables more of the #fakenews to emerge.
The Wheaton Record tried to justify SGA’s irresponsible letter of condemnation. The school paper simply casts me as “controversial”. Being prolife is controversial. Being a Christian is controversial. They referenced my speech at Harvard as an example similar to Wheaton—an event where pro-abortion activists melted down throughout the event because they hate a pro-life worldview. That was nothing like Wheaton. Then they cited my speech at Vicksburg High School where the administration published defamatory statements on Facebook and in a school-wide email to students and parents saying I didn’t deliver the presentation that was approved. The Wheaton Record doesn’t tell you that less than two weeks later the school issued a formal apology for lying about all of it. They praised me for being a “dynamic motivating speaker who touched the hearts of many in the audience.”
Do you see a pattern here at Wheaton? Some want “diversity” and faux “unity” so much they’re willing to sacrifice the truth, no matter who it actually hurts.
Vice President of Student Development, Paul Chelsen, and Provost Margaret Diddams only responded to our communications fifteen days after the presentation. That was only because our third email indicated we’d publish an article about it all. They, then, agreed to discuss this whole matter. When we requested that one of our Board members be able to join the off-the-record conversation, they refused to talk at all.
The school administration chose not to pursue a Matthew 18 model of conflict resolution and allowed a fellow evangelical Christian to be slandered and treated like the enemy. They could’ve made this a powerful learning opportunity for the entire school.
They chose to bow to the Deity of “Diversity” instead.
I like this guy!! God bless Ryan for standing up and speaking out, about this hypocritical ‘Christian’ college.
Here is more info, about Ryan, from his Townhall bio....
Ryan Bomberger has a rather unique perspective on the nature of Purpose. Adopted into a large multi-racial family of 15, he grew up in a Christian home that exuded compassion. Today he’s an adoptee and adoptive father. As an Emmy® Award-winning creative professional he is passionate about igniting, in people’s hearts and minds, an awareness and a love of the intrinsic value we all possess.
Ryan and his wife, Bethany, created The Radiance Foundation in 2009 as a life-affirming educational organization. Through creative ad campaigns, powerful live multimedia presentations and compassionate community outreach, Radiance illuminates the God-given Purpose within each of us. Praised by leaders across the country, Radiance’s original and thought-provoking work has generated massive media coverage from the NY Times, USA Today, ABC WorldNews, NPR, AP, MSNBC, LA Times, CNN, JET, Charisma, and from many in the blogosphere.
His www.TooManyAborted.com pro-life/pro-adoption campaigns have caused The Radiance Foundation, unsurprisingly, to be denounced by the ACLU, the NAACP and Planned Parenthood.
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Thank you for posting this article.
May God keep and bless Ryan, his Foundation and the good work they are doing.
Here’s a link to his (and his wife’s) Foundation....
http://www.theradiancefoundation.org
Sadly he would probably be treated equally badly at “Catholic” colleges such as Notre Dame, Gonzaga and Georgetown. However it is a good lesson to decent people. When someone uses a euphemism like “pro choice” to describe themselves, they are essentially defining their horrible character. They have molded their conscience to acquiesce to the wholesale killing of pre born human life. Such people are capable of any dastardly act and should never be trusted in any matter of importance. The best policy is to have only the most superficial relationship with such people and exercise that relationship only when it is absolutely necessary. Sorry but the reasonable social consensus based on commonly held values that once existed in America is gone.
Wasn’t it Georgetown that bowed to 0bama and covered up Christian symbols in the room he was going to give a speech?
Wheaton College is a surprise for this sort of action.
Yes it was.
I'll say it. No one cares what KKK believes. I think the Dems invent them periodically when they need a bogeyman for their political theater.
His shirt says: Life has purpose.
I graduated from there. Met my wife there. Cherished the moments and now the memories. But they’re being corrupted. They no longer know who they are.
Sad.
I’ll go back for a reunion in May, Lord willing. I will pray all over campus that another awakening hits in due time. May God have mercy on us all.
Yes. The cretin demanded them covered up, and the worthless cowards complied.
Give ‘em a migrain, Migrain.
Sad, indeed.
I will offer up my prayers, for Wheaton College, as well.
Don’t be surprised at anything from the liberals/leftists/Marxists/snowflakes, be they students, teachers or administrators.
It is most serious in the Catholic/Jesuit-run schools who are more in favor of Castro/Che than in God/Christ.
And I say this as an old Jewish guy who has been fighting this crap since the 70’s. Even my university, Temple Un., started out to defend Prof. Mark Lamont Hill, a Marxist and anti-Semite. Guess who isn’t going to get any alumni donation this year?
I believe in free speech for all and the proper decorum that goes with it on campus and elsewhere. Too many of our religion-created/based schools have long forgotten how to uphold it.
Perhaps there should be a mandatory Freshman Class in “The Bill of Rights” and the Constitution, Its’ Meaning and Purpose”.
Notre Dame did the same.
I believe Political Correctness and popular culture are having an impact on evangelical churches and and by extension Wheaton College...
It is sad...I have been to that campus numerous times and truly enjoyed it...(
PC is destroying this country.
I looked at his website and some of the video referenced in the article...
He is spot-on. No idea why Wheaton feels need to bow to Political Correctness ;(
Well, all this just sorta goes against mygrain.
Thanks.
You are right. Wheaton’s problems started with Litfin and continue with Ryken. There’s been too much of trying to be acceptable in academic secular circles. It’s no fun being looked down on by the intelligentsia of the world.
So one president signs on with the green movement, another hires and coddles a professorette who says Christians and muslims call upon the same God.
They don’t know who they are any more. They sure aren’t the home of Jim Elliot, Billy Graham, Johnny Piper or Josh McDowell any more.
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