The Overview (Monday, September 7)
An update on the culture war, gun rights and the social compact, and courage in the digital era
This week, John Brown University's Center for Faith and Flourishing (where I serve as assistant director) will be hosting a debate between David French and Eric Metaxas, titled, "Should Christians Vote for Trump?" The CFF has been planning this event for months, and actually started to think about hosting such an event nearly a year ago. [update: you can stream the debate via the CFF's website, here]
Not everyone at JBU is happy about this. We've received dozens of emails in the past week expressing concern about Metaxas's presence on campus, given recent controversial statements on his social media pages and his apparent assault of a bicyclist following the final night of this year's Republican National Convention. Specifically, these emails suggest that certain student populations on campus (namely, students of color and LGBTQ students) will be harmed by his visit.
In response to these concerns, the CFF released a statement to the JBU community maintaining its commitment to civil dialogue and expression, while also expressing concern for and commitment to vulnerable students on campus. Here are excerpts of this statement:
Last year, JBU welcomed three speakers to campus to discuss the future of faith in public life in the United States — Jemar Tisby, Jenny Yang and David French.... While the three speakers differed politically and ideologically, they all had one thing in common: They strongly disagree with President Donald Trump and believed it important for Christians to repudiate the way he does politics. In later conversations, we decided that a future event should attempt to offer a voice to someone willing to make a Christian case for supporting Donald Trump, in keeping with the CFF’s commitment to civil dialogue and competing perspectives. We decided to call this event, “Should Christians Vote for Trump?” We quickly identified David French — an author and attorney — as a speaker to argue against Christians supporting Donald Trump. After considering a few possibilities, last spring we invited Eric Metaxas—an author and radio show host — to argue that Christians should support Donald Trump. French and Metaxas have roughly the same size of public platform, they have a record of thoughtful reflection on Christian citizenship, and they have even debated this particular question before. The speaker fees for both guests were paid for by the CFF, which is funded independently of JBU. One of the things we appreciate about JBU is its openness to allowing faculty to invite speakers of various kinds to campus, regardless of political positions. We believe it’s good for us to hear perspectives that make us uncomfortable or even upset us, so long as we — and especially allies for vulnerable populations — have the chance to challenge and push back against those views. We are convinced that engaging with ideas we believe are misplaced, and highlighting just how lacking in substance they are, is superior to ignoring or prohibiting them. We believe it is better to combat bad ideas, not stifle them. Ultimately, this is how truth wins. JBU knows how to respectfully and reasonably engage with those with whom we disagree. We also trust that no one in our community will use the past statements or behavior of an invited speaker as an excuse to harass or act offensively toward any other member of our community. Verbally aggressive or violent approaches are not in keeping with principles of civil dialogue or engagement, nor are they consistent with JBU’s core guiding principles to support and care for individual uniqueness.
I am hopeful that Tuesday's event (and a follow-up a talkback session Wednesday evening) provide a forum for authentic listening and learning, for all parties involved.
With that, here's the Monday, September 7 edition of The Overview:
1) Georgetown University's Paul Miller provides 10 observations about the state of the "culture war," with an eye toward evangelical crusading against evils of the moment. Taken together, Miller's observations serve as a warning to evangelicals tempted to approach conflicts with the culture as an all-out battle for the soul of America.
2) Writing for The Gospel Coalition, Betsy Childs Howard and Matthew Soerens ask whether America remains a viable option for Christian fleeing persecution. The authors criticize the Trump administration's interpretation of 1980's Refugee Act, suggesting that the administration has made it harder for otherwise qualified refugees to demonstrate their legitimacy under the law.
3) The Dispatch's David French comments on Christians' (especially white evangelicals') support for gun rights. French, a veteran and gun owner himself, writes, "We are watching gun-owners, sometimes cheered on by Christian conservatives, breaking the social compact. They aren’t exercising their rights responsibly, they’re pushing them to the (sometimes literally) bleeding edge, pouring gasoline on a civic fire, and creating real fear in their fellow citizens."
4) Jay Evansen, a columnist with Deseret News, looks at an ongoing court case involving a Seventh Day Adventist and its potential to reshape employment discrimination law. Mitche Dalberiste's offer for employment was withdrawn after he told his new employer he would need Saturdays off as a result of his commitment observe the sabbath. Evansen argues that the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to correct a 1977 decision that justified such actions from employers. "We will never know," he writes, "how many other workers, from lowly grocery baggers to executives, also have been kept from exercising their religion because of it."
5) Jenna Reinbold, a professor at Colgate University and fellow with the Public Religion Research Institute, examines the role that Justice Neil Gorsuch is playing in the future of religious freedom jurisprudence. According to Reinbold, Gorsuch's recent decisions are suggestive of a much broader interpretation of the Free Exercise Clause, one that would mark a significant shift in how the Court handles disputes over religious freedom.
6) Letter and Liturgy's Samuel James, writing for Desiring God, critiques the tendency to view one's actions over social media as evidence of courage on a given issue. "Thanks to always-there internet technologies that blur the line between life online and off," James writes, "we are perpetually tempted to use our online identities to get the feelings of respect, significance, and even faithfulness that are harder to come by in bodily life." He encourages Christians to adopt a "Spirit-filled courage," one that looks people in the eye, casts off anxiety, and knows when to offer on a gentle or strong rebuke. In an era when anyone with a smartphone can be a viral hero (or villain), James' words are both wise and timely.