Tulane Hullabaloo 12 Oct 07
Tulane Hullabaloo 19 Oct 07
Letter to Hullabaloo Editor 19 Oct 07 #1
Letter to Hullabaloo Editor 19 Oct 07 #2
Tulane New Wave 24 Oct 07
I was present at the event with some of Tulane's Student Affairs faculty and staff to attempt some level of crowd control. I tried to keep my area somewhat subdued, but the whole event really turned into a circus as Coulter's loaded arguments continually received jeers, rude gestures, and more from a mostly antagonistic audience.
I left the event heavy-hearted as so many students I have been called to share the love and message of Jesus with left with angry, bitter hearts, hardened in their preconceptions about Christians, God, etc... as Coulter regularly identifies herself as a Christian, and the majority of America's evangelicals are heavily associated with political conservatism.
However, I believe God has set us up for a great opportunity of response, and our Tulane students agree. Before we knew of this visit by Ann Coulter, and it's association with what is called Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week we had invited missionary Mark Orfila to come visit our students to share about his experiences ministering among Islamic Albanians in the Balkans on the 29th of October. Mark has an amazing heart of love for Muslims to the point of literally turning the other cheek when he was beaten for his work sharing the message of
Jesus!Mark has agreed to change our planned prayer time into an outreach for dialogue at Tulane. Please pray for us!
As part of the publicity for this event (not much time to get the word out), I have submitted the following letter to the editor of the Tulane Hullabaloo (student newspaper) this afternoon:
One of the most difficult statements Jesus of Nazareth ever made was, “Love your enemies.” Many people throughout history, and around the globe today have made a practice of self-identifying with Jesus as a Christian while routinely neglecting his more difficult teachings. Ms. Ann Coulter is one of those millions. While I cannot speak for the reality of her religious persuasion and faith, I am confident in the assertion that her recent visit and talk at Tulane completely failed to reflect the ethic of Jesus: “Blessed are the peacemakers…Blessed are the meek…Turn the other cheek…Walk an extra mile…” Even as all people fall short of the ultimate expression of Jesus’ teachings, I think it very unfortunate if anyone at Tulane were to take Coulter’s attitudes and beliefs as generally representative of Tulane’s Christian population. Ms. Coulter refuses to give a legitimate hearing to those she disagrees with, and makes her money by belittling opposing people and views. Despite the rather juvenile response of the crowd this past Monday at McAlister Auditorium, I believe we can all be bigger than that. As a leader of one of the Christian communities here are Tulane, I would like to invite the Tulane community to an honest dialogue regarding such difficult issues as cultural and economic imperialism, terrorism and religiously motivated violence in general, tolerance and hatred, and Christian evangelistic work. These are not easy topics, but if we are to be the best people we can be, we must address difficult issues with more than a jeer, a prejudgment, or an apathetic wave of the hand. I also hope Tulane Christians can have the opportunity to graciously present their beliefs, and the ethic they embrace as followers of Jesus of Nazareth. As one step in that direction, I invite the Tulane community to join us this coming Monday, the 29th, in the 1834 Room/Faculty-Staff Dining room in the LBC (#215) at 8pm for a talk and dialogue with a Christian worker who has lived with the Islamic Albanian people in the Balkans for the past decade: When Cultures Clash: Hatred vs. Tolerance… or is there another Way – a counterpoint to Ann Coulter. For the sake of space and real dialogue, only the first 60 guests will be admitted.
3 comments:
I'd so go...
Hey Matt,
Remember Matt from Lakeview Christian Center? Thanks for your effort to recover the damages sadly not infrequently left in the wake of Coulter. To me, no matter what noble cause or moral high ground Coulter argues for, her manner and speech are totally counterproductive to the Christian ethic, such that the whole array of dialogues between Christians and non would go much better if she dismissed herself, or was dismissed by a hopefully growing number of ex-supporters (perhaps primarily hyper-fundies), from the table. I'll be praying for you and for your meeting.
Wow! I had no idea she was so divisive. I pray that all goes well in the aftermath, and that this will pave the way to genuine Christian groups on campus being seen as something far less radical and far more safe than Coulter.
Scott
Minneapolis, MN
Post a Comment