You’ve no doubt heard about it. At Florida Atlantic University (the Davie
campus, near Fort Lauderdale) a student was suspended from class after he refused
a professor’s directive to stomp on a piece of paper with the name of “Jesus” written
on it. “I’m not going to be sitting in a
class having my religious rights desecrated,” student Ryan Rotela told
television station WPEC. “I truly see
this as I’m being punished.”
Rotela, (a devout Mormon) said the
instructor in his Intercultural Communications class told the students to write
the name “Jesus” on a sheet of paper. Then,
they were told to put the paper on the floor.
After which, the professor told them to “Stomp on it.” Rotela said. “I picked up the paper from the
floor and put it right back on the table.
The young college student told the instructor, Deandre Poole, that the
assignment was insulting, offensive, inappropriate, and unprofessional.
Rotela said the idea of stomping on
the name of Jesus was beyond his comprehension.
“Any time you stomp on something it shows you believe that it has no
value,” he told the television station. “If you were to stomp on the word Jesus
– it says the word has no value.”
Rotela took his concerns to Poole’s
supervisor – where he [Ryan] was promptly suspended from the class. [Ryan has since been reinstated in the class,
thanks to the help of the Texas-based Liberty Institute.] The university is defending the instructor’s assignment
to stomp on the name of Jesus. “As with
any academic lesson, the exercise was meant to encourage students to view
issues from many perspectives, in direct relation with the course objectives,”
said Noemi Marin, the university’s director of the school of communication and
multimedia studies. The university did
not explain why students were only instructed to write the name of Jesus … and
not any other religious figure.
The lesson on bashing the name of
Christ is included in a textbook titled, Intercultural
Communication: A Contextual Approach (5th Edition). The synopsis of the lesson reads – “Have the
students write the name JESUS in big letters on a piece of paper. Ask the students to stand up and put the
paper on the floor in front of them with the name facing up. Ask the students to think about it for a
moment. After a brief period of silence
instruct them to step on the paper. Most
will hesitate. Ask why they can’t step
on the paper. Discuss the importance of
symbols in culture.”
Paul Kengor, the Executive Director of
the Center for Vision and Values at Grove City College, PA said he’s not
surprised by the classroom lesson. “These
are the new secular disciples of ‘diversity’ and ‘tolerance’ – empty buzzwords
that make liberals and progressives feel good while they often refuse to tolerate
and sometimes even assault traditional Christian and conservative beliefs,”
Kengor said. Kengor said classes like
the one at Florida Atlantic University often demonstrate the contempt many
public institutions hold for people of faith.
“It also reflects the rising confidence and aggression of the new
secularists and atheists, especially at our sick and surreal modern universities,”
he said. “Gee, I wonder if the
instructor would dare do this with the name of Mohammed,” Kengor wondered.
What’s wrong with these academics? Do they really think they can hide behind
their diplomas and degree? There’s an
incredible irony in this professor’s actions.
Just as there is sarcasm in all the Christian bashing we seem to find in
this culture. Here’s the irony: Each
breathe of life and beat of the heart is by the grace of Christ Jesus. When the Son of God says, “Enough,” life is
over! And to Him we must all give an
account. Contrary to all the St. Peter
at the Pearly Gates jokes, Jesus is the one to whom we must answer for every
thought, word, and deed.
The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature,
from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit,
from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-9)
Paul began his statement of this
eternal principle with some very disturbing words, “Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked.” Why did Paul say that? Is it possible for us to be deceived? Maybe we think we have pulled the wool over
God’s eyes; that God doesn’t see what we are doing, or know what is going on
inside our hearts and minds. But Paul
says, “You must not deceive yourselves. You
are not deceiving God. God knows what
kind of seed you are sowing, and whatever kind of seed you sow, that is the
kind of seed you will reap when the day of harvest comes.”
Now here’s the good news. If you’re
not very proud of the seed you have sown, then the best news is that Jesus
Christ came to die for your sins and for mine, and to cleanse us with His own
precious blood.
Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
No comments:
Post a Comment