GMU controversial speech

[Miles Lewis]

I was looking through some Xanga blogs and noticed one from George Mason University. It contained the article from the GMU paper. Apparantly it was also one of the top ten stories of the year at GMU.

www.broadsideonline.com/article.php?date=04-24-2006§ion=news&article=evangelists.txt




Visiting Evangelists Create Heated Disputes on Campus

By Joe Osborne
Broadside Staff Writer




The North Plaza became the site of fuming debates April 18 and 19 as three Evangelists vehemently expressed their view of some students’ lifestyle choices and religious beliefs.

The Evangelists of Open Air Ministries, an organization unaffiliated with George Mason University, took turns speaking from around 11:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. both days. Students and passers-by looked on in disbelief as one preacher proclaimed “Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, homosexuals and fornicators” would not “inherit the kingdom of God.”

The group is constantly traveling to campuses, preaching with the hopes of gaining an audience.

Listeners retaliated with biblical questioning, comments and profanity.

On-duty police officers could do little to stop the speakers as they were exercising their First Amendment rights. Still, police kept a heavy presence during the arguments.

Richard Wood, Head of Security, George Mason University Police made sure the crowds remained orderly.

“It’s hard to say whether something like this can escalate, but we have to make sure no one is breaking the law,” said Wood.

Evangelist Jesse Morrell of Open Air Outreach said he was not surprised by the reactions.

“It started out great. It escalated, and we’ve gotten a bit of hostility towards the preaching. But it’s been good,” said Morrell.

Junior administration of justice major, Silvio Guerrero, listened to the debates.

“The way he’s going about this is clearly a sign that he’s just trying to get attention and a reaction,” said Guerrero.

Some student groups watched and responded with action.

Pride Alliance came prepared last Wednesday with a rainbow flag and placards that read, “God loves us all.”

“As distressing and hateful as the evangelists were, it was also a really great chance for students to learn how better to respond to hate speech,” said Ric Chollar, faculty advisor for Pride Alliance.

Dave Thomas, director of Campus Crusade for Christ, said he was embarrassed by the incident.

“I don’t feel like he’s portraying the love of Christ in a way that would draw people to Christ,” he said.

Pride Alliance co-chair Allison O’Dea said the occurrence unified Mason students.

“I agree with freedom of speech. He has a right to say what he’s saying, but we also have the right to argue back,” said the freshman graphic design student.

The incident was for the most part non-violent, with the exception of minor shoving of one speaker by two students.

[Miles Lewis]

I have noticed that there are typically opinion articles as well in the papers... this one had a couple:

www.broadsideonline.com/article.php?date=04-24-2006§ion=opinion&article=discourse.txt


Civil Discourse Lacking When Students and Preachers Meet

By Patrick Sciacchitano
A government and international politics major

What was most striking about what transpired on campus April 18 and 19 was how little dialogue there was between the angry mob and the angry preachers. For a university touting “open-minded diversity,” little was seen in the reactions of students. I am not justifying the methods, that is how the preachers preached. Yet equally as abrasive and degenerate were the retaliatory insults hurled back by many of the vocal students. If a demagogue or a fool is loudly berating everyone in sight, his natural talents will bring about his downfall without assistance. But when you sink to his level by retaliating in a like manner, you have allowed yourself to be dragged down with him.

It ought to have been clear if these men were interested in open dialogue. Clearly, they were not at first, and still students chose to engage them. Choosing to engage them while knowing they had no interest in a reciprocal forum, you have brought your own opinions, premises and beliefs into play. This renders invalid the common objection against the preachers as “biased,” or somehow “intolerant” for holding beliefs they felt to be superior to others. Why? Because the objectors consider their beliefs, whatever they may be, to be superior to others; otherwise, they would not hold them.

Again, I do not think how the preachers preached was done well. If you visited a doctor, and all he gave you was a bad diagnosis without the cure, you would rightly feel rather upset. Likewise, as Christianity states, we have sinned. But the more important part, that this price was paid for by Christ, and His utter mercy and love is offered to all souls was significantly underplayed. The “bad news” was overemphasized at the expense of proclaiming the the Gospels, the Good News.

Too often, we Christians, through our own sinfulness, make it seem as if the Gospel is the bad news. I must agree. But ironically, this vindicates what we preach. If every Christian truly walked like Jesus, the world would be converted. Gandhi would not have said, “I love your Christ but not your Christians.” Our own failure to practice what we preach is a testimony to our own weakness, not who we believe in. It reveals the immense magnitude of who we follow. As G.K. Chesterton stated so clearly, “Christianity is not an ideal that was tried and found wanting; it was found hard and left untried.”

Bad proclamation does not mean no proclamation, my Christian brethren. The Gospels are not merely a private affair. It means closing the gap between what we preach and our practice - a lifetime’s journey. Simply, in the words of St. Francis, “Preach the Gospel, and when necessary, use words.”

[Miles Lewis]

www.broadsideonline.com/article.php?date=04-24-2006§ion=opinion&article=letterto1.txt

Lack of Respect Shown Toward Those Expressing Their Religious Beliefs

By Sarah Boyle
An English major

Walking across campus on Tuesday, I noticed a large crowd gathered around the clock tower. At the center was a man with a Bible.

I must say that I was appalled at the behavior of the students in the crowd. Not because they did not support this man or his beliefs, but because their reaction was so base. Rather than argue with him and raise intelligent points for him to rebut, the students gathered around to hurl insults and derisive comments.

We are taught to respect the beliefs of all people and to support their constitutional right to express them in the public forum. What I witnessed today was a shocking and ignorant mob. Had even one student gotten up to debate the man, I would have been satisfied. But the members of that crowd were not listening to his points—they assumed they already knew what he was saying. How could they know if he was making a valid argument if they could not even be bothered to listen?

The man with the Bible may not be right. But when you refuse to engage in an intellectual discourse with someone, you prove yourself wrong, and by rejecting someone’s beliefs because of what you think you know is foolish. Would it have hurt the members of that heckling mob to listen to his points and think about them? Maybe it would. Maybe open-mindedness is painful. But it is certainly the educated thing to do.

[Jeffrey Olver]

One thing that astounds me about the reaction of the students was when we would get to the meat of the issue, instead of just "one-liners" to keep people's attention, was that they preferred inflamatory statements and one-liners instead of intelligent debate.

More then once when I brought up questions of epistimologies, different world-views like moral-relativism, pragmatism, etc. the typical response to me was profanity and ad hominem attacks on me as a person or my own education.

One young woman named Nicole was very civil and I was more than happy to engage her in debate when she brought up the antiquated history of the Bible and topics similar - yet I was continually cut off by some muslim students who would cuss loudly or call into question my education.

"G.K. Chesterton stated so clearly, “Christianity is not an ideal that was tried and found wanting; it was found hard and left untried"

G.K. Chesterton also said "Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions."

[evanschaible]

Dave Thomas, director of Campus Crusade for Christ, said he was embarrassed by the incident.

Too bad, you would think he of all people would agree with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[Jesse Morrell]

Dave Thomas, director of Campus Crusade for Christ, said he was embarrassed by the incident.

Too bad, you would think he of all people would agree with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I wonder if John the Baptist had caused the incident on the campus if he would have been embarrassed of him as well. Or if Jesus was preaching His, "unless you repent you will all likewise perish" message if he would have been embarrassed of Him as well.

I think what we did on that campus very well might have been the best thing the campus has seen in a long time.

It's amazing how quick the biased papers are to pull the "hate speech" card on anything that they don't like. You cannot speak against homosexuality in any shape or form without being called "hateful". It seems that it doesn't matter how you do it and why you do it, they are always so quick to pull the "hate speech" card.

But the Days of Grace will soon come to an end and we'll find ourselves in the courts of God where He will truly reveal how much hate He does have for all acts of wickedness.

[ejuliot]

“Preach the Gospel, and when necessary, use words.”

I hate this quote.

[Josh Parsley]

I forgot who's quote that is but I heard that who ever it was he was a catholic that would baptize cats and dogs... haha I would like to know for sure...

[Jeffrey Olver]

St. Francis of Assissi said that.
It's good in theory...and for embroidery on pillows and potpourri containers.

Yes indeed our actions are ever so important when it comes to our witness as a follower of Jesus Christ. However, at some point it is unavoidable to use words. "Faith cometh by hearing..."