In fact, Cedarville and Reno were in the news a few years back when they were written about in Christianity Today in Whatever Is Pure: Cedarville Requires Professors to Apply Philippians 4:8.
In its Biblically Consistent Curriculum policy, nicknamed for the Apostle Paul’s admonishment to Christians in Philippi, Cedarville has spelled out new guidelines officially barring any materials that “may be considered ‘adult’ in nature, that represent immorality, or that may be a stumbling block to students.”
… “As a general rule, ‘R’ rated movies will not be shown. PG-13, PG, and unrated movies should be evaluated based on language, sexual content, graphic violence, and nudity.” All scripts for plays put on by students cannot include swearing and must be approved by Reno.
…This means, for example, that now an R-rated movie like Schindler’s List cannot be shown in its entirety, nor can students put on plays that include swear words….Drafted by Cedarville’s vice president of academics Loren Reno and assistant vice president of academics Thomas Mach, the policy focuses on applying the “whatever is pure” line from Philippians 4:8 (as well as several other passages directing Christian living) to materials assigned in departments like English, art, and communications. The biggest targets: swear words, graphic violence, sexual nudity, and other erotic content.
Did Dr White teach in the Oxford University Study Program at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary?
‘White also served as Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Southwestern Seminary. In his faculty role, he taught in the Oxford University study program’
Sjon continued: “A quick fact check reveals that the Oxford Study Program at SWBS is simply an SWBS study trip around various historical Christian sites in the England and has nothing whatsoever to do with Oxford University.” Link
Sjon concluded: “I think we can conclude that truthfulness is not Thomas White’s strong point.”
Cedarville’s fractured ethics: nonconsensual voyeurism gets a pass; a consensual affair does not.
I wish I didn’t have to keep saying this. Moore has a paraphilia which is psychiatric disorder. Filming people without their consent is a crime as well as a sin. Let’s go through this one more time. It is a psychiatric disorder which, when acted on is a crime while also being a sin.
A consensual affair between two adults is a sin. It is not a crime and is usually not a psychiatric disorder.
With that in mind, read this thoughtful comment.Both Todd and I got this comment on our blogs, written by CU no more:
I posted this the other day on “Thou are the Man”. Seemed fitting to share a part of my story here:
In July 2017, I was terminated from Cedarville because of an inappropriate relationship with a woman who was not my wife. I was wrong, I was guilty, and I was immediately terminated when I willingly told the leadership what was going on.
There was no offer of restoration or working with me through a difficult time. I told them what was going on at 1pm, and by 4pm I was driving away from campus without a job.
After seeing this current scandal at CU, I can only think the reason Anthony Moore was treated differently than me is that he was friends with the right people at CU. Dr. Moore committed a crime but was given this posh job opportunity at the exact same time I was being ushered out the door for non criminal actively (not trying to diminish what I did).
I don’t fault CU for releasing me from my job, but I do fault them for blatant hypocrisy in how they treated me verse a friend they wanted to protect.
It is evident to me that Dr White did not fully understand (nor did he care to understand) the difference between these two scenarios. The naiveté on the part of leadership is deeply concerning. Trustees: I’m talking about you as well. Please get educated.
A silent student speaks out
In the following post A Former Cedarville University Professor Describes Dr Thomas White’s Disturbing Response to a Latina Author’s Description of Her Sexual Abuse As a Child I wrote:
Also, there are students today at Cedarville who were molested as children. Think about those who have been abused and are currently silent. Is the following response by Dr White apt to encourage them to seek help or discourage them from ever talking about their pain that Dr White might call *porn?*
The following comment on this blog addresses this issue.
I had the opportunity to have a discussion with a former pharmacy professor who shared some of his own observations from his time at Cedarville.
Women must not make more money than their husbands
Dr White made this statement to the students on various occasions. This affected one pharmacy student who would soon make more money than her husband who worked for a church. This caused her to consider dropping out of the program because she felt guilty.
It appears that Dr White has rules that come from a different book than the Bible.
Students should not take medicine for depression.
Dr White apparently told students not to take medication for depression. They should, instead, study the Bible which would take of their depression. It appears that White is ignorant when it comes to some psychiatric disorders. Students: if you are on medication prescribed by a physician, do NOT stop your medications unless you have discussed this with your physician. Dr White appears not to understand how dangerous this is. Here is an article from the Mayo Clinic discussing the problems with suddenly discontinuing antidepressants.
Do not refer to private body parts by their anatomical names.
Dr White asked that professors and students not refer to the actual names of body parts that he considered private. He suggested that they refer to such body parts as *those parts below the waist.” Can you imagine if the pharmacy class was discussing suppositories? “Students, place this medication below the waist in the hole closest to your back.”
Final Thoughts
I have heard from a number of professors both now and in the past. It is evident to me that Dr White has lost the support of a fair number of the faculty. Cedarville is supposedly known for its conservative Christian distinctives. Yet, this is a school that treated an admitted voyeur as a guy who merely had a *sin* issue. This supposedly higher level university sent a voyeur to meet regularly with a pastor in order to *restore* him. There was no discussion of his need for serious psychiatric intervention.
The leaders of the university put their students at risk. This is a school that will not let their students view an R rated movie but had no problem with exposing their students to a voyeur. Something is deeply wrong here. As far as I’m concerned, students are not safe at Cedarville University. They are protected from seeing The Gladiator but can expect to be exposed to a voyeur who is in the process of restoration but not in psychiatric care. What’s wrong with this picture?
“Women must not make more money than their husbands”
Yes, ladies, send all your redistributive ca$h to this address just cuz…
“Dr White apparently told students not to take medication for depression.”
Not even wine for their ailments cuz prooftext?
So there was a pharmacy professor, and yet someone running a university which taught about compounding chemicals to address physical deficiencies would allegedly give a blanket recommendation against administration of that very thing?
Several things.
The first priority a leader has in an organization is the safety and welfare of the people working and involved for the organization. Dr. White did not merely overlook this fundamental principle, he deliberately, consciously, chose to introduce an unsafe and hazardous – potentially criminal – situation in this school. I cannot fathom why Dr. White was so hellbent on jeopardizing not only students safety but his own job.
The doctrinal statement…. I know many fundamentalist churches would approve of this statement. Ok, fine… But, again back to first principles…. missing from this statement are the very specific commands of Jesus: love God and love your neighbor. The statement leaves out God’s primary attribute: God is love. “His commandments are not burdensome” have been replaced by burdensome doctrinal laws which are utterly useless without the love of God.
The current board of trustees and executive administration are leading what was once a very fine Christian school into a anti-Christian cult that will be the envy of all other cults.
As Moore reportedly was Mark Dever’s intern, the ‘9 Marks of a Healthy Church’ as well as Dever’s involvement in T4G comes to mind amidst yet another accountability issue in the professed Christian institutional world:
https://www.9marks.org/about/the-nine-marks/
http://t4g.org/about/affirmations-and-denials/
Before delving into some significance of those declarations, let’s return to a conversation between Dever and Paige Patterson regarding priorities of discipline:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=22IfJ3OzRbY
Dever to Patterson: ”We don’t need to spend this time talking about the abuses of church discipline. Boy, we understand they’re there, but they’re nowhere near that’s the main problem in most of our main churches (sic). It’s not personal vindictiveness, it’s so many things it’s not…”
Per the video, easy discipline targets appear to be recommended by Patterson over someone caught in some “heinous iniquity because you’re going to have sympathy problems there.” Rather, its recommended to target those who hasn’t been in church attendance in five years. Of them, Patterson says, “they’re not intending to come, and we owe them – – if we love them – – a confrontation.”
To me, that’s an illustration of the mentality where the hard conversations that need to happen don’t. Rather, those that do are in a largely consequence-free, low-risk context from the authoritarian side of things, even though the heinous iniquity issues undoubtedly are worth a confrontation, Biblically speaking. They don’t have to worry about “sympathy problems” if there are no hard conversations and rendering illegal and harmful activity unto Caesar. Instead, you can get people in authority dodging accountability and oversight and suggesting quiet forgiveness for the sake of unity or whatever other reason.
Going back to the ‘9 Marks of a Healthy Church’ and T4G’s ‘Affirmations and Denials’, focus on accountability and oversight and leadership appears as elusive as Dever’s focus on the abuses of church discipline per the video, especially compared to articulation of focus in the declarations on “members” for discipline top-down style. What we are seeing is the considerable damage that can be done when those in power go the autocrat route as either hirelings or grievous wolves. As both are described in the Bible and do not appear to be limited to extremely rare occurrences, there needs to be a lot more accountability and oversight of those in positions of authority.
“I spoke with one former professor who told me that the year he underwent questioning, only 5 out of 10 professors passed the inquisition.”
Their website has quite a few job postings. Many “adjunct” but nevertheless, quite a few.
Once you expel academic freedom, quality leaves hand in hand with it.
I’m no saying that present CU professors aren’t any good, but – in the long run – thhe good ones they have will want to leave before their professional life at CU irreparably tarnishes their résumés, and any good ones will not want to apply for the same reason.
As soon as ideological purity becomes the most important criterion, and the only decisive one, for hiring, it will be the only quality new candidates will bring to the table. In a market economy, the market delivers according to the perceived demand. The market will deliver what the buyer evidently so desperately wants: people who know how to regurgitate the set of ever stricter rules.
Just another thought: didn’t Paige Patterson bring Thomas White to CU? This ma really has the reverse Midas touch: anything he touches does not turn to gold, but anything good he touches turns to sh* …
Incompetence as a consequence of, and in service of, ideology.
CU found function as a parable of our time.
Samuel Conner,
should be
“could function as a parable of our time”
—
never click “Post Comment” before the morning caffeine has kicked in
Dee,
Excellent post. I wish we all could say this situation is a “one off”…. Unfortunately, I experienced, was a student in a somewhat similar situation at a fundamentalist Christian school over 45 years ago. but in that case, the perp spent time CA prisons for his molesting little boys… As the writer of Ecclesiastes says, “There is nothing new under the sun”
John Smith,
Excellent comment
JDV,
Excellent post! Yup, Christ took the easy path, didn’t he?
How in the world did they teach gross anatomy (which they have at CU)? Perhaps parts below the waist were covered up and students were not allowed to study “those” parts. Something is off in a person’s mind that he/she cannot refer to body parts by the anatomical name.
Nuttshell,
I could on and on about examples of “something was alittle off” from my fundamentalist 7-12 grade years…. The real irony is that there was few “outs” for us to express our observations of things being “ alittle off”… you get shamed if you raise to many questions, even outside of the fundamentalist bubble….. you quickly get label as “ bitter”….
Thank you once again for an excellent post that continues to connect all the dots of hypocrisy and ignorance in White’s leadership at Cedarville University. We especially thank you for your work this past week revealing the hostile environment White has created—CU has a culture of fear and intimidation intentionally created by White and enforced by his VPs, especially the VPAs Reno and then Mach. Academic freedom is not an end unto itself and must be used with discernment; however, CU doesn’t allow for academic freedom in any sense of the word. Professors and their curricula—as well as their writing and their students’ writing!—are all tightly controlled. Not even disparate political views are permitted.
Some other things to note:
Although the Trustees put White on leave, they are allowing White to participate in today’s virtual commencement ceremony. We find this disturbing.
We hope and pray the Trustees will be hiring G.R.A.C.E. for the independent investigation they plan to run regarding possible abuses during Moore’s time at CU, but we’re deeply concerned about the way the trustees worded the purpose of that investigation—“to ensure nothing inappropriate” happened. That seems to suggest they won’t ask the investigators to look too hard! That language also doesn’t seem to invite any possible victims to come forward. Why not use language instead like this: “We’re hiring an independent firm to investigate whether any possible sexual abuse occurred between Dr. Moore and students. We’re also asking the firm to investigate whether any behaviors connected to sexual abuse—e.g., grooming, stalking, voyeurism, private communications and meetings, etc.—occurred. If you have any knowledge of such abuse or deviant behavior, we urge you to come forward. We will provide the appropriate contact information soon.” Or something like that. But no, they just want to “ensure nothing happened.” Plus, like White and Reno, the trustees don’t seem to want to use specific terminology. It’ll be interesting to see who they hire for the investigation. (We’re glad Julie Roys has already repeated on one such grooming attempt by Moore; maybe the investigators can start with that situation!)
In addition, the Trustees will rightly ask another firm to investigate the situation of Moore’s hiring. Good. We applaud that! But they seem unconcerned with any deception and cover-ups that happened AFTER Moore was hired. For instance, the many deceptive statements in White’s blog. We hope that investigation will include a 3-year time frame, therefore. We also hope it will focus on people like Jason Lee, Tom Mach, Scott VanLoo, and Loren Reno himself—not to mention basketball coaches who knew—since White says in his blog all of those men were involved in Anthony Moore’s “restoration plan.”
And on that note, let’s say it again: Reno was involved in the execution of Moore’s restoration plan! (He regularly met with Moore to mentor him on “leadership”). How could the trustees put White on leave, thereby not firing him until they run their investigations, but in the same fell swoop appoint Reno as acting president without first running the investigations on his part in all this?! Does Reno get a free pass, then? Such a decision does not inspire trust from parents and prospective students, who are rightfully thinking twice now about sending their high school seniors to this “unsafe” place.
As you also note, Reno has no doctoral degree. In addition, he never taught in higher education until he was given the job as Dean of the School of Business just a few years ago (after his military career had ended, a career, we, too, thank him for). The decision to first hire Reno caused one beloved, veteran business professor, who’d previously won “Faculty Member of the Year,” to resign in protest because Reno lacked the appropriate qualifications for the job. Reno then quickly ascended to the role of VPA under White not because he was qualified but because he was more than willing to become the “hatchet man,” a role he relished. As your source told you, yes, he’d run inquisitions and make decisions contrary to department evaluations and the tenure committee’s recommendations. At the height of such inquisitional behavior, which was always hostile in nature, yes, Reno denied 5 out of 10 professors tenure for no good reason. And yes, he also made other faculty so miserable, they simply left.
For this reason, there is, indeed, a talent drain at CU. Many professors have left for jobs elsewhere (or been forced out—and yes, CU loves requiring NDAs for severance pay). More would leave if they could, but as we all know, full-time, tenure-track jobs in academia are few and far between, especially in the liberal arts. (The liberal arts departments—all of them—have especially suffered.) But the Trustees don’t seem to care.
As you also note, Gen. Reno is the architect of the CU censorship policy. He is also the one who began to enforce it immediately, even retroactively! In our report, we noted how authoritarian he was in enacting and enforcing it. Faculty had no say—and still have no say. We also note how petty he was about enforcing it, going way beyond the scope of the policy. He, too, doesn’t like body parts named. He even censored student creative writing. Thank you for publishing our document about this on Monday.
Therefore, if the Trustees wanted to reassure parents and students, faculty and staff, they would have appointed a gracious and loving person as acting president. Instead, however, they appointed the “hatchet man.” CU employees are beside themselves. The trustees have sent a clear message to them: Shut up. Do what you’re told. Or else.
Justicecollective,
Wow… The CU environment being described sure does not sound like the “fruits of the spirit” that Christians are called to exhibit!
Loren Reno does not sound like good news. A lack of a doctoral degree can be made up by the equivalent (e.g., distinguished service in research). He is a Cedarville graduate (bachelor, comprehensive science and education) which means he probably does want what he considers best for the school. Also has a masters in systems management from the University of Southern California. He probably knows how to run things on a financially sound basis if that is at all possible (his military experience is in logistics). At times this might be what you want; my own university once had a president with no PhD or equivalent. He was chosen because he had a deep love for the university, knew how to run things financially, and they couldn’t find anyone with the qualifications they wanted [it was the middle of WW2], he was short-term and almost certainly knew it [shorter term than planned since he died after less than 5 years]. He was a good president and remembered fondly (the student union building is named after him). However Reno seems to be a person who does not appreciate the free exchange of ideas and that is a necessity for a university president or acting president.
His Cedarville bio has “Graduate studies at Harvard University, Syracuse University, and University of North Carolina” which from his military page https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/104951/lieutenant-general-loren-m-reno/ means
1997 National Security Studies, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, N.Y.
2003 LogTech Executive Education Program, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2007 Program for Senior Managers in Government, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
All of these are short programs (3 weeks for the Harvard Program, 5 days for the LogTech program, 2 weeks for the Syracuse one though length might have been somewhat different depending on the year)
I wouldn’t call them graduate studies but rather continuing studies.
gus,
🙂
Samuel Conner,
“CU found function as a parable of our time.”
++++++++++
it’s amazing, how one person (thomas white) and one place (CU) can be the crystallized-and-perfect-caricature of everything that’s wrong with the church institution:
totalitarian dictatorship that is stupid, controlling, self-serving, full of double standards, uneven scales, and the totalitarian society he/they rule.
to be clear, thomas white and CU are the caricatures of totalitarianism representing the likes of Matt Chandler, TVC, Mark Dever, 9marx, CJ Majaney, SGM, T4G, TGC, CBMW, SBC Executive Committee and other SBC entities, their publishing houses,…
but that’s old news, of course.
Reno stepped down from his position of VP for Academics in 2017, reportedly to ‘serve his family’. He then took the position of professor of management and special advisor to the president.
Sounds weird to me.
https://www.cedarville.edu/News/2017/Reno-Steps-Down-to-Serve-Family.aspx
Justicecollective,
Sounds like Reno ought to fall within the scope of the investigation. Let’s hope he doesn’t obstruct the investigation for his own ideological reasons.
Jeffrey Chalmers,
I was chastised for posting links to all the blogs/articles on my Facebook and the articles were never even read by the chastiser commenting that he/she listens to those she needs to. Say what?????
Anna,
“reportedly to ‘serve his family’.”
+++++++++++++
‘serve’, ‘serving’, ‘servant’…. quite the loaded word of double meaning in the evangelical tool box of useful words.
————–
context of “serve” = altruistic service to others
the doing of “serve” = service to self
—————
question for english proffs: is there a figure of speech for word choice that hides the double-meaning through context?
(if not, let’s invent it now. “deceiveapoeia” has a nice ring to it, i think)
Cedarville University is expensive–tuition (just tuition) is $32,000 a year. By comparison, in-state tuition at my undergrad alma mater is $11,000 and at my law school alma mater it’s $29,000. Yeah, you might get some grants and loans to cover maybe half of that tuition, but you’re still on the hook for A LOT OF MONEY for a university that is currently accredited, but with these current shenanigans may be looking at having their regional accreditation called into question. I’d note that putting this general in as president right now is also going to make it difficult for Cedarville to retain its accreditation.
Seriously, at this point, students should vote with their feet. Voyeurism is a crime, and shouldn’t be covered up by offering “restoration,” a job and a chance to continue the practice. I know people want to continue to protect their “Christian institutions” against the secular world but again THE EVIL WORLD says voyeurism is a CRIME.
Cedarville needs a thorough housecleaning. I don’t think it will happen. I think they’ll stumble along and not really apologize, not really reform. Therefore, it is up to students and parents to say NOPE, Evil State U is better than this place where the president of the university was having a voyeur practice his restoration on the staff and student body.
It doesn’t matter how pure their doctrine is, folks, if you’re putting yourself or your child at risk by being at this university where morals are very flexible. You don’t know what other things are being covered up there!
Ladies sending in their Social Security checks were what made Kenneth Copeland the richest televangelist in the world.
“The naiveté on the part of leadership is deeply concerning. Trustees: I’m talking about you as well.”
Justicecollective,
“The trustees have sent a clear message to them: Shut up. Do what you’re told. Or else.”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
what’s with the trustees, here?
do they not know how to think critically?
are they stupid or has religion put their brains to sleep?
are they all impotent yes-men? (they’re all men, right?)
has religion scared their brains spitless so they can’t function anymore?
do they, too, have something to hide?
————-
there are so many aspects to this greater situation that don’t make sense.
Just like in the Soviet Union and its Third World fanboy imitations.
Or (with a particular type of Ideological Purity) Saudi and Talibanistan.
I have heard of exactly that happening, not at CU but in Christianese Homeschooling materials.
I would be concerned about dealing with a pharmacist, doctor, or nurse who graduated from CU. They might learn science, and might think patients do not deserve certain medications or treatments. How would they feel about the pill, the “little blue pill,” Narcan, or methadone? Maybe they would thwart or bully patients seeking tubal ligation, “the snip,” or post-mastectomy reconstruction. Are these alums going to impose their doctrine on patients and pharmacy customers, or are they going to respect patients and applicable laws?
(The defender of Moore, who posted as Storm Veilleux, is identified online as a CU senior, nursing student, and power lifter.)
The web of Neo-calvinists now involved in this fiasco, appears to get more incestuous: one of the members of the board of trustees at CU is none other than Daniel Akin, president of SEBTS, and very good friend of Al Mohler.
And, of course, there are no women among the 28 trustees!
I wouldn’t call them continuing studies but rather resume inflation.
Sorry… correction: only one woman on the board of trustees, Dr Deforia Lane. Still not great ratio of women to men : 1:27.
On a humorous note, the daily devotional for the Calvinist Ligonier site has this intro statement:
“There is a crisis of worship in our land. People are staying away from church in droves.”
Duh. I wonder how many months ago they programmed this.
https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/surveying-crisis-worship/
Gary Boswell,
deforia lane is an interesting person.
i am hoping she is independent enough to be able to maintain her objectivity, and stand-up-and-interrupt the misogynist atmosphere to speak loud and clear on what is right, what is wise, truthful, what is integrity,…
no one like a woman to be able to multi-task on intellectual awareness. on any level, really.
elastigirl,
stand-up-and-interrupt….
atmosphere…loud and clear
++++++++++++
hey, lyrics… (you heard ’em first here)
and it isn’t just the churches. I think that the churches are more influenced by the wider culture than vice versa and it’s not hard to find pervasive examples of failures in leadership of all kinds of institutions. going back decades. To take a single example of “the world salts the churches”, I think one can argue that the trend toward consolidation of churches into larger and larger meetings mirrors the “bigger is better” mentality that has driven similar phenomena in the business world. Another: the weakening of the influence of faculty in Christian colleges and universities mirrors a similar phenomenon in secular institutions. Perhaps there’s Gresham’s Law for institutions: “bad practices drive out good”. The preference for loyalty/unquestioning obedience over skill in high subordinates … that’s not hard to see in other fields, where it has similar bad consequences.
One might argue that in many ways the church isn’t lighting the world any more; it’s groping in the world’s darkness, that it prefers.
Samuel Conner,
Amen!!!! I see it all the time!
There’s a work around for any verse.
All ya’ gotta’ do is be ‘anointed’ and an alpha male strongman with a good gift-o’-gab, and you’re home free.
Master this as a skill set, and you can sell em’ somethin’ other than shinola for their shoes any time, any place.
This is the best comment of the month! I shall tweet it and use it, fondly recalling Muff each time.
dee,
I agree!
“… this is a school that treated an admitted voyeur as a guy who merely had a *sin* issue …” (Dee)
Some of the New Calvinists hold to “sin-leveling” … a strange world of elevating minor offenses while minimizing actual crimes. Taken to the extreme, voyeurism is no more sinful than referring to private body parts by their anatomical names. Sin is sin, you know. Yep, these new reformers are a strange lot indeed.
This is far from a guarantee, but I think that a “hatchet man” like Reno might be the right call for Cedarville as a relatively short-term president. He obviously loves Cedarville and maybe he will have the guts to wield that hatchet in an appropriate manner. At least I hope so. I’m sure folks in their cushy jobs at Cedarville will definitely have a Significant Emotional Experience under the General’s command.
My hope is that he cleans house. Scandals such as this make Christ and His followers look foolish, something we should all hate with a passion.
When Loren Reno was VPA, his only real job was to crack the whip and get all of us faculty to submit and fall into line. That wasn’t supposed to be his only job, but he was grossly unqualified for the position and from my observations, one of the deans was doing the majority of the day to day duties of a VPA. General Reno’s military service (and I thank him for it) prepared him very well for creating an atmosphere of shut up and do what I tell you. And his bullying worked. When he showed up at your door, your rate would sky rocket in fear. I am very, very concerned for my former colleagues.
What Passing over the current VPA and pulling Loren Reno off the shelf to be Acting Present tells me is that the BOT are afraid of losing the tight control they have over faculty. We are talking about seriously toxic men here.
Sounds like a continuation of Dr. White’s reign of terror … controlling the faculty by manipulation, intimidation and domination. What is it about CU that has created such an ungodly atmosphere? Why does the institution feel that it needs cruel authoritarian leaders over Christian faculty and students? “Shut up and do what I tell you” is not Christlike … “bullying” is not a fruit of the Spirit. What love is this?
Sounds like CU needs to be purged of all administrators and trustees. Good Lord! Give the faculty and students a break … a time of refreshing is needed, not more overlords who rule with fear.
Did you read this part?
“PG-13, PG, and unrated movies should be evaluated based on language, sexual content, graphic violence, and nudity.” All scripts for plays put on by students cannot include swearing and must be approved by Reno.
…Schindler’s List cannot be shown in its entirety, nor can students put on plays that include swear words….Drafted by Cedarville’s vice president of academics Loren Reno and assistant vice president of academics Thomas Mach, the policy focuses on applying the “whatever is pure” line from Philippians 4:8 (as well as several other passages directing Christian living) to materials assigned in departments like English, art, and communications. The biggest targets: swear words, graphic violence, sexual nudity, and other erotic content.
This man was in the Air Force for 38 years, and he doesn’t think college students should be allowed to watch a PG movie. His mentality sounds rather Stalinist to me.
Reno wrote a book called 10 Leadership Maneuvers: A General’s Guide to Serving and Leading. Look who wrote a blurb!
“I give Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Reno my complete endorsement—to his book and to him. He is a true man of God and the leadership experience he has brought to Cedarville University has made the institution and its leaders stronger. Seeing ‘serving’ as a thread running through this book is no surprise if you know the author. You’ll want to read this cover-to-cover, and then come study with a giant example of great leadership in southwest Ohio. You won’t regret it.”
-Dr. Thomas White, president and professor of theology, Cedarville University
https://www.amazon.com/10-Leadership-Maneuvers-Generals-Serving/dp/1940269547
Max,
Yup, as I read the NT, it is quite clear that Christ was all about being an authoritarian, bully, and telling everyone to “shut up, get in line”! (Sarcasm)…
But, as has been highlighted on TWW, there are far to many churches that are run this way as well
SBC organ Baptist Press finally got around to covering this today, characterizes Cedarville as an “independent Baptist school”:
http://bpnews.net/54739/cedarville-places-president-on-leave-announces-investigations-into-hiring-conduct-of-former-faculty-member
Particularly, modus operandi within New Calvinism … 9Marks is all about ruling with an iron fist … Acts 29 expects macho-man bully leaders … “Discipline, discipline!” is the rally cry … it’s a mean-spirited way to lead God’s people.
Well, they are not independent from 9Marks, T4G, TGC … there has been a steady stream of speakers from these groups and their influence is apparent. They are certainly not independent from New Calvinism! SBC New Calvinist leaders also serve on the Board of Trustees.
I wouldn’t call it Stalinist. The death penalty for attending an R movie would be. It’s just silly, and it’s done in many evangelical colleges, even today.
It’s clear that CU administration views college students as a bunch of flesh babies who need the strong arm of the law to control their impulses. My experience working with Christian youth is that they just need to be loved and nurtured in the way, the truth, and the life by mature servants of God.
Just treat them as if they already were what they could be in Christ. Love them, for God’s sake … leave your hammer at home!
… and that’s what they will become.
Max,
You hit the nail on the head…. as I have lived my life, I have grown to appreciate all the Bible education I got in my 7-12 grade… while I complain about the “fundies” allot, I have not “thrown the baby out with the bathwater”… I appreciate the “big picture” world view that the Bible presents and what I learned in those years. But I also appreciate the “world view” that sound human scholarship provides. Do I agree with all, of course not! Do I agree/understand/appreciate all the concepts/troubling passages in the Bible, of course not! Any anyone that just mimics/spews the doctrine/dogma of any flavor of Christianity has not deeply wrestled with the various approaches/issues…
I just wish our churches and Christian schools could be run by leaders that exhibit Christ’s love as we read about in the Gospels…. and the schools would teach students how to negotiate IN the world, as opposed to trying to make a “bubble” of their own (not G$d’s) creation
Well, humor me in my moment of hyperbole. I see your point, but Stalinism wasn’t just about the death penalty. It was also about managing every detail of everyone’s life, while co-opting everyone into proclaiming that all was well.
Speaking of that, here’s an item from Loren Reno’s resume on the Air Force website:
“1970 Bachelor’s degree in comprehensive science and education, Cedarville University, Ohio”
Friend,
I know, what does “comprehensive mean??? As I have stated before, the more I learn, the less I really understand… I have worked on application of magnetism for over 25 years, and I still do not really, deeply, understand it.. But, I am encouraged by Richard Feynman (For contributions to the development of quantum electrodynamics, Feynman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965 jointly with Julian Schwinger and Shin’ichirō Tomonaga):
“I really can’t do a good job, any job, of explaining magnetic force in terms of something else you’re more familiar with, because I don’t understand it in terms of anything else you’re more familiar with.
I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics. – Richard Feyman
Friend,
A 1970 Cedarville College yearbook says Loren Reno of Wheaton, IL, received an undergraduate degree in “Social Studies Comp.” Is that the same thing as “comprehensive science and education?”
Jeffrey Chalmers,
The CU website says, “Cedarville’s distinctly Christian, accredited science education major will train you to teach science in grades 7–12 in Christian or public schools. You can choose from five specializations: chemistry, life science, physical science, physics, and comprehensive science.” Am I right to assume that comprehensive science is more general (less deep, less specialized) than the other four areas? https://www.cedarville.edu/Academic-Programs/Science-Education.aspx
It looks like Loren Reno planned to be a science teacher on graduating in 1970. In 1974 he had his first Air Force assignment.
jojo,
Maybe he changed majors. Social studies at CU looks like a completely different department today (as it should be), and I can’t imagine that it was part of the science department in 1970.
Friend,
While you are probably correct, I do not know how “comprehensive science”, at a, by DOCTRINAL decree (see CU DOCTRINAL STATEMENT) Young Earth Creationist school would prepare you to teach High School Physics and life sciences at a public school.
Friend,
Narcan. Just used it on someone for first time this week. And very upset to find out our local police aren’t allowed to carry it.
Sarah,
Good for you. I hope the patient gets the needed help. Our local police have carried it for several years.
Historically, Cedarville has been loosely affiliated with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC), a group of anti-intellectual, independent, fundamentalist Baptist churches.
Ironically, when the SBC started loosely recommending Cedarville, the GARBC pulled away because it viewed the SBC as too liberal. For example, by 2005, the GARBC refused to allow Cedarville to even have a booth at the GARBC annual meeting.
IMO, a lack of academic rigor and freedom is hard-wired into this school’s history.
Marilyn Johnson,
I went to a GARBC 7-12 grade school…. your characterization of GARBC, is unfortunately, in general, correct..
Jeffrey Chalmers,
I was raised in the GARBC, too … I have very few positive memories.
“Do not refer to private body parts by their anatomical names.”
May we still say “. . . any that pisseth against the wall” as the KJV says in 1 Samuel 25 and elsewhere? Asking for a friend.
Friend,
I completely understand your concerns. I was.a Cedarville pharmacy student from 2011 – 2018. After this “BCC” policy went into effect, I was very concerned how this would impact what I was taught in the classroom. Despite Dr. White’s and his administration’s legalistic efforts to control students/fac/staff, I think I received a great pharmacy education from CU that was founded in science. Yes, we learned about plan B (pharmacy professors were openly supportive of its use… it is not an abortifacient like fundamentalists might have you believe). We learned how to use Narcan. We referred to body parts as their anatomical name and viewed pictures of diseased genitalia. My peers were fierce advocates for using medications to treat clinical depression. Above all, we were taught to do what is best for the patient.
I am forever grateful to the wonderful pharmacy faculty that were a shining light at my time at CU. Several of them openly discussed the challenges with us that they were facing while under Dr. White’s leadership. Looking back, I do think some of them risked their jobs to provide us with an education that was founded in science. I am so sad to see that some pharmacy faculty have left – either forced out or resigned. I am deeply concerned that if Dr White and his administration continues to lead the university, that it absolutely could have lasting devastating effects on the pharmacy program in the future.
I grew up believing both Bible stories and science. The Bible describes the relationship between God and humankind. Science describes the world God made. There really should not be furious insistence that Jesus rode a dinosaur. And yet we have entire theme parks devoted to the question.
Regular Baptists are as ‘irregular’ as you can get in Christendom … a scary legalistic bunch … also known as hardshell Baptists (and that they are!) … strict and mean-spirited … Calvinistic in belief (at least the ones in my area) … complementarian in belief, female believers are subordinated.
I remember the first time I was chastised for believing in an old earth. The argument is always along the lines of somehow denying the Atonement and therefore making me an apostate and/or heretic and/or blasphemer. They always find a way to tie the age of the earth to a non-negotiable doctrine.
It reminds me of the story of a man who walked into an outhouse and found another man dumping the contents of his wallet and pockets into the hole. The first man asked him why he was doing that. The reply was, “I dropped a quarter into the hole, and I’m certainly not going to go in there for just a quarter.”
This idea is so alien to me, since my college fellowship was chock full of innocent young things; we steered ourselves away from dirty movies (although PG… I mean really). I assumed that Generalissimo Reno was trying to protect the naive.
But I think you are right. Reno and White seem obsessed with SINNNNNN, as if they were the only thing standing between the students and a night at Bars Where People Disrobe. Probably there are a few racy students, but not too many?
Before I came to my spiritual senses, I dumped a lot of dollars into religious holes. I had to ask the Lord to forgive me for helping to finance some of those pits. I figured he had mercy on me since I did it with good intentions, with a right heart … but too spiritually immature to know that you can’t trust some ministers and ministries.
As a Christian, that’s the Holy Spirit’s responsibility … not Reno and White! Christian university leaders don’t give young believers enough benefit of the doubt about controlling their thoughts and actions.
On the other hand, at a nearby SBC college, I’ve heard about parents sending problem un-Christian children there to “reform” them … they are the problem students there … but many have come to faith through their Christian roommates, friends, and faculty.
Where a person or entity promotes legalism centered on a particular topic, look for secret perversion in that exact same area. It’s always there.
Max,
Thanks, Max. I appreciate you taking the time to affirm my negative reaction to my childhood faith and to expand on my concerns about the GARBC.
It’s a sad commentary on the SBC that they are now perceived as doctrinally “pure” enough for the GARBC to again associate with Cedarville.
Jennifer,
There is a group of us who agrees with you and have seen this lived out time and time again. You might want to read about the downfall of George Rekers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Rekers I also wrote about him here.
It would be interesting to know what problems the children have. Let’s say parents give an ultimatum: “You’re going to 9Marx College, or you’re not going to college.” A kid with the slightest gumption will call their bluff: “Then I just won’t go to college.” Any kid can say this, whether Christian or not, and whether troubled or not.
I’m guessing that any kid who cooperates enough to go to an SBC college either 1) wants the spiritual support, 2) doesn’t have problems more serious than holding hands on the tenth date, or 3) believes that he/she can get around the rules.
Re: parents who think college will reform truly wild kids… is there a pill for that much self-delusion?
Former CU PharmD Student,
Thank you for your your awesome comment. I have no doubt you received a great education. Pharmacy, nursing and related health professional fields have rigid requirements in place from the accrediting boards which protects students from much silliness. I had a great talk with the former pharmacy professor and am sure that he was an awesome teacher. I’m sure he’s reading this.
Yes, that is the argument. Death in the animal kingdom prior to the Genesis 3 Fall would invalidate Jesus’ Cross as the solution to the problem of human death.
All of this dissolves on an historical reading of the Gospels. Jesus died to save Israel from the disaster it faced in the looming war with Rome, which his death delayed for a generation (while this is an unconventional reading, it seems to be the view of the author of the 4th Gospel — Jn 11:47-53, and it gives a concrete interpretation to Jesus’ famous
“Son of Man came to offer his life a ransom for many” saying)
I suspect that in YE eyes, my heresy is even worse than yours.
A CONCERNED PARENT,
Thank you for making me laugh this morning.
…and on folks who walk into the only pharmacy for miles. Thank you so much for your account. It sounds like CU was producing excellent pharmacists, at least until recently. I hope the place can right itself.
dee,
Thank you, Dee! Excellent point about the accrediting board standards that health profession programs are required to meet.
If individual students are highly indoctrinated, though, they might put their doctrine ahead of their education when they go out into the working world. Did the former faculty member express any such concern?
Small ironic additional note to Reno’s lack of qualifications. He regularly emailed and hosted mandatory lunch meetings with ABD faculty (who were in the stressful process of completing dissertations) to put more pressure on them to finish in a ”timely” manner.
Justicecollective,
Samuel Conner,
“One might argue that in many ways the church isn’t lighting the world any more; it’s groping in the world’s darkness, that it prefers.”
+++++++++++++++
i think among the more base elements of human nature, lust for power (in the form of $) and control over others is at the top of the list.
i don’t see christian leaders doing anything, really, to guard against that.
in fact, power and control is the end game of christian leadership, is it not? a totalitarian society is the logical end, is it not?
power and wealth in the hands of a few.
christians wouldn’t be lobbing “That’s unbiblical! You’re unbiblical!” as offensive weapon back and forth if this were not the case. (impressionable minds simply emulating what their leaders do)
leaders wouldn’t be putting out Statements blackmailing others to sign (and then the signers check the list to see who’s in and who’s out) if this were not the case.
consolidating power, wealth, and control.
FEATURE, NOT BUG.
The most enduring and constant of today’s Litmus Tests for Salvation.
Longest in the Top Five, Outscoring and outlasting Rapture Eschatology and Christian(TM) Homeschooling.
(Recent runners-up are climate change denial and COVID-19 denial. Wondering Eagle has been doing some rants against the latter. I’m also surprised Anti-Vaxx hasn’t made a greater showing. And what Wartburger can forget “Pestilence Sent as God’s Wrath” from Mr.J’s comment-sermons?)
Why can’t any of these guys understand that a prophecy may have multiple fulfillments? One in the near future, one in the far, both echoing each other? Or that some can be “archetypal”, referring to recurring patterns in human history and human behavior?
Judaism acknolwedges a single passage or chapter (or any section of the narrative) can have many interpretations — “Rabbi Aleph says this about it, Rabbi Beth says this, Rabbi Gimel says…” each looking at it from a slightly different angle and bringing in slightly-different insights. And the argumentation between these Rabbis’ views is part of the territory, different facets of the whole.
CHRISTIANS(TM) have this “Only One True Way Only One Correct Meaning Party Line” syndrome.
“You can tell when a preacher’s in trouble when he stops preaching what he’s for and only preaches what he’s against.” Like not only George Rekers but Ted Haggard. Or (more secular), Rush Limbaugh — number-one fanboy of the War on Drugs while struggling with a secret Oxycontin addiction. Never mind all the jokes about the Dryer-Than-Thou Baptist taking “the secret sip”.
There’s a tragic dynamic at work in all of these. Here they are, in a public position where Greater Holiness is expected of them and they Must Set The Example — and with something within them that breaks one of the strongest taboos of their culture. A taboo so strong they don’t dare admit to it. So they self-medicate and self-treat by preaching against it, doubling down over and over, becoming more and more rigid and rabid over time. If they just denounce it harder and louder, they’ll cure themselves with nobody ever finding out.
Then you add Projection to the mix: “I Have Problem X, so Everyone Else MUST Have the Same Problem X.” And indirect ways to get that fix while remaining Respectable, like “counseling” or “Accountability Partnering” those with Problem X and pressuring them for the Juicy details.
And we all know how that sledgehammer approach works out.
P.S. Max, you are the only one I know of who uses the term “flesh babies”. Was this part of the Baptist jargon you were immersed in for so long?
Speaking of Piper (ok, not really, but related):
https://www.christianpost.com/news/army-chaplain-under-fire-for-sharing-john-pipers-book-coronavirus-and-christ.html
It is if you view EVERYTHING as Dominance or Submission, and God/Christ is just the Ultimate Dominator who holds the biggest Whip.
“You Win or You Die; there is NO middle ground.”
— Queen Cersei Lannister, Game of Thrones
So they ring in their meanest Enforcer?
More like “elevating YOUR minor offenses while minimizing MY actual crimes”.
The YOUR and MY are the important parts.
Tell your friend that phrase must surely be OK since it is Biblical and appears multiple times in the KJV (unless they are using the ESV at CU). I would suspect it would also be alright to use “he shall perish for ever like his own dung” (Job 20:7), “I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces” (Malachi 2:3), and a host of other Bible passages which refer to things below the waste. However, I will have to think more about David dancing naked before the Lord, whether this should be discussed at CU or not.
Why does this remind me of a famous Austrian with a funny little mustache who sold one of Europe’s major countries “somethin’ other than shinola for their shoes” — or should I say “boots”?
Max,
🙂
Apparently, something like that has been done before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyD3iB2F_U4
(Mind you, this is just a dramatization, so who knows how accurate it is.)
Max,
I thought David was in his undies-his ephod? 2 Sam 6:14-although CU might have difficulty mentioning that,too.
Actually, I may have coined that phrase decades ago … referring to a bunch of young church kids my daughter hung out with at the time.
During “Bible Days”, that would be like dancing naked! They couldn’t get away with anything then!
Now ya’ got me seein’ Cloris Leachman as Frau Blucher.
Headless Unicorn Guy,
Good comment.
After my own ‘Exodus’ out of fundagelicalism, I’ve seen that in some ways Judaism is a more practical and down to earth relgion than is Christianity.
As you’ve pointed out in their Rabbinic tradition, they welcome debate and reasoned dissent, they don’t recoil in horror from it.
Muff Potter,
For some reason, for a significant of Christianity, doctrine purity, as defined by the specific leader(s), is absolute, and any questioning is severely punished… given, as pointed out, Judism is famous for its debate…. how did this happen to Christianity??
Cedarville University had a longtime relationship with Bill Gothard’s “ministry” … they sent students to Gothard conferences annually. Perhaps CU administrators and trustees were products of Gothard’s legalistic teachings on dating, dress style, rock music, and Cabbage Patch dolls (he warned they were idolatrous). Gothard’s ministry ended following allegations that he had sexually harassed female employees and volunteers. He found out the hard way that you can’t control the flesh by rules and regulations … another example of a “minister” who preached hard against particular sins while living them.
It didn’t happen everywhere. We’re allowed to say “what a beautiful church, so different from mine” and “I never thought of it that way.”
High-stakes literalism is a problem, but how many people really truly believe that only their tiny group is going to heaven? My family tree has Puritans, Sabbatarians, Baptists, Universalists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Anglicans, and more—only since the early 1600s. Husband’s family actually has some Dowieites! I hope and expect to see them all in the sweet by and by… my further hope is that St. Peter is not hung up on theological fine points.
An indication that such group is a cult. There is only one way, but multiple expressions of it. The diversity with Christendom is healthy – it stimulates thought and discussion. When a group professes to be the sole possessor of truth, you can expect all manner of error to come forth from it. (New Calvinism comes to mind)
[LOUD HORSE WHINNY…}
vorm meelk…parehaps….?
I suppose it would depend on our respective choices of beverages if you and I could sit down and discuss this over a drink.
The strangest thing about YE is how insistent they are to interpret the Bible literally, but at the same time they are very sloppy with interpreting it literally. For example, the Bible says nothing about when animals (and plants) started dying, it does not say God killed anything to make skins for Adam an Eve, etc. It also makes a distinction between conditions inside and outside of Eden, but the YEs talk like the whole world was Eden before the fall. They base entire doctrines on reading into these ommissions. I am no longer surprised by their inconsistencies.
For clarity, not argument, Dr. Deforia Lane is a woman.
I remember as a child reading the Bible one Christmas season and discovering that there were not ‘3’ wise men, but a group of wise men bearing three types of gifts and that they didn’t find Jesus in the manger but living in a house when he was 2 years old! I was already upset having found out that Noah didn’t take one pair of every species of animal – he took 7 pairs of ‘clean’ animals and 1 pair of ‘unclean’ species. As a youngster, that was a light bulb that went off big time!! I thought to myself “If they’ve lied to me about this, what else have the lied to me about?!” That simple revelation led me to study the Word myself and to filter everything I heard through Scripture not the teachings and traditions of mere men, which I have done for the better part of a century.
This is IMO an important point that it took me a long time to appreciate. The idea that the earliest parts of Genesis might share a limited geographical perspective and interest (which later parts of the OT plainly do) either does not occur to them or is resisted as incompatible with the prior determination of what the story means. Any more, I’m confident that we don’t understand these ancient texts nearly as well as we think we do, and I find that both hopeful and exciting — it may be possible to grow in understanding of them.
Natural scientists (at least those who don’t get too personally involved in the defense of their preferred ideas) generally welcome anomalies that indicate that their ideas can be improved on (at least I think they do; I’m pretty confident that physicists do — new physics is exciting compared to the existing provisional understandings. Particle physicists hope for new developments beyond the “Standard Model”, for example). It would be nice if theologians could develop similar detachment. Unfortunately, the belief that there is a lot at stake tends to motivate people to dig in. I suspect that in this way, they are actually defying the OT command to “pursue understanding.”
You might enjoy this video because it aligns with what you wrote:
https://youtu.be/kvS__yJ0-cQ
I stumbled across it yesterday. It will freak out someone who holds to inerrency.
The path.
And we have permission, the right to do this each ourselves. Such a gift. Doesn’t mean we then stand on a soapbox, or become snake oil salesmen. The Bible corrects itself & explains itself beautifully.
Ken F (aka Tweed),
Thanks! Brad Jersak always has a welcome in my schedule.
It’s beautiful, but I don’t see how it corrects itself or explains itself. Some parts are baffling and inconsistent, because they were produced in ancient times by mystical folks from very different societies. I find that intriguing but not clear.
This is more where I find myself. It’s fascinating to compare, say, the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ death, and ponder the reasons behind the differences.
Without humility, one will never truly hear God.
Julie Roys, on her website, featured Dr. Langberg in a podcast where she warned against the dangers of external controls without a change of heart. While it appears Bill Gothard’s ministries have diminished in recent years, the legalism lives on. Paige Patterson endorsed Gothard’s teaching on authority. There are archives on the Recovering Grace website, one of which links to Patterson agreeing with some of Gothard’s views. It seems Dr. White is very much like his mentor, Paige Patterson.
Good question. How did it (Christianity) get so militarized?
And especially the numerous Protestant sects?
Good night (as dee would say)!
He must’ve done a full-tilt-boogie-freak-out over the Harry Potter books.
Mine too…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOHLQg4VfqE
Which is why I no longer believe that God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son as a test of fealty.
I now believe that Abraham was only hearing his own yabba-dabba (and the surrounding cultures who were really into human sacrifice) when he set about gathering wood and accoutrements to do the deed…
— James 1:13 —
“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:”
Max,
When White was first hired,it was a regular occurrence to receive an email informing us that someone was “retiring” or “God had called them elsewhere” – and we all knew what that meant – they were being pushed out. One of the female profs who “retired” in the middle of the year, apparently had posted on her personal Face Book page a link to a site that supported survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of Gothard. She was called in to the president’s office and told, “We don’t publicly criticize our friends.”
I remember the Christian TV (700 Club?) stories about Demon-Possessed Cabbage Patch Dolls.
And the one about Demon-Possessed D&D miniatures screaming as Christians melted them down. Come to think of it, Got Hard is old enough to have been active when D&D was first hitting its stride…
Friend
Good Reads has a link to buy the book for $3. Out of curiosity, I bought the book.
Here is the summary of his leadership model from the book.
“Thus my leadership model puts leadership with regard to the mission first, leadership with regard to others second, and leadership with regard to myself third.”
This is the same type of leadership our family experienced from a SBC church we left. In reality, it is their own selfish mission as they twist the bible in their favor driven by the senior pastor’s claim that God told him to start a movement.
Under this type of “biblical” leadership model, people are collateral damage to the “mission” or “organization”. My ex-church uses the same OT Moses-Joshua to back up their leadership philosophy.
As the years goes by with this type of leadership inbreeding, you only have people in leadership that devoted to leaders above them. Leaders (pastoral and volunteers) show less and less empathy to people put under their care. They slowly become blind – do not, can not, will not listen to people’s real life pain and suffering.
In light of my reading, I bet the energy will be directed to save CU’s face and finance and not for caring for any of the victims, staff, or students. CU’s mission first above all else. I feel nauseated just typing this out loud.
Btw, Benjamine Ady has a series of tweets analysing the CU letter that is worth reading.
https://mobile.twitter.com/tripleoxymoron/status/1255092553801703424
Former CU Prof,
Given this account is correct, this statement completely validated the “dude bro’s” concept routinely suggested on TWW
Yup, sacrifice of few virgins for the cause….
As Paige Patterson would say “Break her down.” White was mentored by Patterson – what do we expect?!
The professor was informing and warning the Body of Christ about Gothard … posting a link to where this information can be found is not gossiping or criticizing. However, we need more folks willing to “publicly criticize” wayward ministers and ministries to prevent further harm to the Church. There are many working under the banner of Christ that are not what they seem to be.
Thank God for watchblogs like TWW.
I hope the professor is doing OK now.
Jeffrey Chalmers,
Sacrifice of “a few virgins”, not “few virgins”
The dudebros stick together like glue … it has little to do with covering those who misbehave in love … they are partners in “crimes” being committed by the Christian Industrial Complex … they need each other. They hang together until the bitter end. They know in their heart of hearts that they are bad-boys, too, and may need the tribe to rally around them if/when they are exposed for their failings. When the potato becomes too hot to handle, they distance themselves from the offender to protect their own skin and proclaim “Patterson who?” … “Gothard who?” … “White who?” … etc.
” … my leadership model puts leadership with regard to the mission first …” – Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Reno
This leadership principle is OK in the Body of Christ ‘if’ the mission is the Great Commission. But, if the mission is to advance teachings and traditions of men, a religious movement, or a charismatic personality, such leadership can do more harm than good. The New Calvinists who have received a platform at Cedarville University through chapel services and conferences are certainly passionate about their cause, but it is a misplaced passion.
Not every leadership principle in the military is directly transferable to the Body of Christ. We are in a different war against a different enemy. We must be led by the Holy Spirit, not by manipulation, intimidation and domination of men placed in charge over us.
Good clarification. It does not appear that they limit themselves to just a few.
Friend,
I have personally known many of the nursing faculty and nursing students. This was NOT how they operated. It was an appropriate, scientific, evidenced-based approach. Obviously, there were discussions of ethical issues and how the students might approach them in the field, but these crazy shenanigans were not going on at the time. Those men and women were well educated and became solid nurses. They were taught by caring, intelligent, and proficient nursing professors. Don’t throw the baby out with this newly contaminated bath water.
Religion News, Dec. 13, 2013:
“A private religious university in Ohio is undergoing a faculty shakeup, including an exodus of women faculty, after having been taken over by Southern Baptists … The campus of 3,400 students has also seen the departure of many faculty and staff, including half the teachers in its Bible department … The new president downplayed the changes. Addressing the departing faculty, White said that anytime you have a new leader, like a football coach, you get a new team.”
His “team” obviously had to be the right gender and the right theology! (reminiscent of Al Mohler purging Southern Seminary of female and non-Calvinist faculty)
“Cedarville became affiliated with General Association of Regular Baptist Churches. The latter group kicked Cedarville out because of its association with Southern Baptists … Cedarville’s board hired Southern Baptists to enforce its conservative identity … Staff from Southwestern and Southern seminaries have replaced many of the Cedarville staff that left.”
So much for CU not being “affiliated” with SBC! CU was obviously a target by the New Calvinists who have been swallowing up Christian colleges, seminaries and churches across the country … stealth and deception is their modus operandi.
In either setting, the troops are not the enemy. Generalissimo Reno spent some time in combat, but most of his assignments were in the lower 48. US military leadership, especially in the Air Force, tends toward collaboration, self-sufficiency, and thinking. Air Force leadership is not about “manipulation, intimidation, and domination”; you were referring to Reno’s style at Cedarville, but those qualities are not taught at Officer Training School! However, the Air Force has a sad recent history of religious bullying, and fundagelicals do promote one another’s careers. Reno would have had thousands of men and women under his command. It would be interesting to hear from them.
Great point Muslin.
With all the bad press about CU (like flies on poo-poo), and especially how over-priced they are, I don’t think that even the most docile of good Christian folk will be as willing to shell out for their kids like they did before.
All colleges are scrambling to figure out how to resume education this fall. Cedarville might be more vulnerable than most.
I don’t think that the trustee’s had this in mind when they recruited Dr. White to clean house at CU. He wasn’t supposed to lose money, just female and non-Calvinist faculty. I doubt that the General will be able to rally the troops and hold the line at this point, particularly with his reported management style.
The New Calvinists evidently don’t understand this. They have done a remarkable job at pushing out any expression of faith that is not the ‘right’ theological flavor and believers who aren’t in their tribe.
Muff and Jeffrey, you only have to read I and II Corinthians, or even here in III John:
“I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.”
If the Apostle John had to put up with it, and people were kicked around in the days of the early Church, we should not be surprised to deal with such in every generation. Sad, but true.
Which book J Vernon Magee called “Three-Eyed John”.
As in “One-eyed John, Two-eyed John, and Three-eyed John”.
One question:
What is the level of “acceptable casualties” to accomplish the mission?
The style fits like a glove with narcissistic personality, and egoistic people.
The more I read about how victims are treated by christian org, the more I felt the weight of Jesus words – “Tear down this temple…”. The whole system was not salvageable.
Friend,
Friend, as an Air Force veteran and wife of a retired AF Vet, I’ve never seen religious bullying, nor fundies promoting each other’s careers. In my experience as a beautiful young Christian woman I was vastly different than most of my fellow airmen. There was a good deal of bullying and abuse of authority to be sure, rampant adultery, and plenty of sexual harassment that I experienced, but I never experienced religious bullying. There was little room for any kind of faith in the machismo good ole boy kegger society that existed when I served.
Love this, thanks!
Jeffrey Chalmers,
I can think of at least two factors
1. There is an emphasis in the New Testament that connects salvation to believing the right things, so doctrinal purity is baked into Christianity from the start. Every Christian group seems to feel compelled to come up with a creed of some sort.
2. Jews have often been persecuted. Maybe having to stick together in order to survive promotes tolerance of divergent viewpoints?
Leah Jacobs,
I’m sorry for what you did experience, and glad you and your spouse did not encounter religious bullying in the Air Force. I have both witnessed and experienced it, more than once. The Air Force Academy has faced lawsuits over religious intolerance and anti-Semitism, for example in 2005. As chief of staff, Gen. Norton Schwartz addressed coercive proselytizing in regulations in 2012, and these were revisited in 2014.
Pre-2012, it was quite common for certain commanding officers to include religious messages in their official emails to everyone under their command. This was not a harmless personal expression of faith. It marginalized non-Christians as well as all the “wrong” Christians. And of course the junior folks had a special “in” with the commander who sent these messages: “Sir, did you read that great new book by John Piper?”
I love our big blue Air Force, but it has some problems in this area.
I think that was a factor in why you never saw it.
Sowre-sweet Dayes,
“The more I read about how victims are treated by christian org, the more I felt the weight of Jesus words – “Tear down this temple…”
++++++++++++
ok, now i’m hearing Ronald Reagan, “Mr. Gorbachov, Tear Down This Wall.”
change the name, and i’d love to hear the same conviction-filled words addressed to them.
“________, Tear Down This Leadership Model.”
“________, Tear Down This Doctrine.”
“________, Tear Down This Statement.”
“________, Tear Down This Committee.”
“________, Tear Down This ‘Gospel’-Conglomerate.”
…well, we could go on for hours, couldn’t we.
It’s a cold, cruel bunch who look at folks who are not of their theological persuasion as “collateral damage” when they take over a church, college, or seminary by stealth and deception.
Let’s let Elton John do it for now?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdEQkRq_xrw
In other news, just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, 9 Marks launches a new website:
covid19.9marks.org
https://twitter.com/9marks/status/1257358106016862215?s=12
The phrase ‘fiddling while Rome burns’ springs to mind…
The site indicates “It will host conversations”
I find that highly unlikely since 9Marx closed down comments on their articles a few years ago, and they have not answered any letters from their mailbag since last Sep. 9Marx does not take or respond to feedback. Conversations? Yeah, right.
Ken F (aka Tweed),
Lowly pew sitters and lesser pastors can watch the conversations held between the authoritarian 9 Marx elite but are not allowed to join in lest error be disseminated or power be inadvertently shared.
Yes, they redefine words to suit themselves. Conversation = lecture. Error = truth. Etc.
Things are not going to get any better until a great multitude of lowly pew sitters declare enough is enough and take their money and behinds out of New Calvinism. The reformed movement – and its elite celebrities – would stop moving if the pew would start moving.
Sjon,
“We talk. You listen. You obey. No ask questions.”
You couldn’t pay me to listen them.
perhaps in retrospect it will be said of them that “they made a desert and called it orthodoxy”
Trying to imagine what the present situation must look like from within the 9Marks mind-set, the pandemic and especially the public health measures that are being taken to mitigate community spread really do pose unprecedented challenges to the 9Marks way of “being church”. How do you decide which people need corrective discipline when you can’t watch them closely enough to know whether they are breaking their church covenants? How do you shun people when “avoiding each other” is the norm out of public health necessity?
This is going to be interesting, I think.
You make them read recent stupid articles about church covenenants?
https://www.9marks.org/article/how-our-church-covenant-helps-us-care-for-one-another-during-the-pandemic/
Samuel Conner,
🙂
Ken F (aka Tweed),
That was a breezy, vapid article. No actual concrete suggestions offered to flesh out “love one another”. Perhaps they don’t want the present-day churches to stray in the direction of resembling the character of the New Testament churches, that had a distinct element of “mutual aid society” to them. That’s a way that NT Christianity would be practically relevant in present circumstances. But I guess we don’t want to go there.
Samuel Conner,
Not only that, I do not need to be “ instructed” by my “dear leader” that the Covenant Instructs me that I need to care about my fellow members:
“ The Church Covenant Defines My Commitments to Others”…. really?? I thought Christ told us how we should care about not just fellow church members, but all of mankind?? Do they not even read the Gospels in their gospelly(TM) 9Marks churches?
I am genuinely concerned that hunger has the potential to be a BIG problem in the US, not just in other parts of the world… do I need a Church Covenant to tell me whether I should have this concern??
I don’t think there is any covenant uniting Ireland and Native Americans. However many in Ireland are donating money to the Navajo Nation (which is being badly hit by Covid-19). They are remembering that in 1847 the Choctaw Nation despite still reeling from the Trail of Tears heard about the Irish famine, collected what money they could (not much because they didn’t have much), and sent it to Ireland. It is these acts of kindness and understanding that fully unite us, not signed contracts.
If a Christian needs to sign a contract to commit to others, he’s not much! It’s Christ in us that motivates us to love and care for one another … if we don’t have that, we don’t know Christ … the new covenant written in the blood of Jesus is the only “contract” a Christian needs to enter into.
Max,
Amen
Muff Potter,
Explains a lot.
If they don’t change their direction, they will end up where they are headed.
That will also happen if they do change direction. 😉
Friend,
Wow, I never would have known about the religious bullying had you not just shared. Maybe my head was stuck in the clouds, lol. I recall the time my husband was asked to give the invocation at leadership school. They asked for a copy of the prayer and red-lined out “in “Jesus’ name Amen”. He objected and they gave him a direct order to leave it out. He declined to give the invocation. It happened after that in another instance as well. Both prior to 1996.
Max,
Thanks for pointing out this article. The comments after it are very revealing, and a harbinger of the problems we’re hearing about now.
https://religionnews.com/2013/12/13/reports-conservative-shakeup-ohio-christian-university-hits-women/
This bit of info (from the article itself) is particularly telling:
So, just how popular is the practice of silencing dissenters through legal means, in Christian circles?
Your husband did well to heed his conscience, and it sounds like he didn’t lose his chances for promotion, despite his discomfort.
I can imagine that conversation going both ways—one leader insists on lining it out, and another leader notices it’s not there and insists on writing it in. Until a few years ago, I didn’t know that some Christians feel required to end prayers with “in Jesus’ name.” The phrase is optional in the churches I have attended. Many Jewish troops would feel excluded by those words. The chaplains know the policies, which vary by branch and type of event. (And most chaplains are great, despite my two bad experiences.)
Underlying principle: troops should not be coerced into religious participation. Coercion ranges from subtle things to assault. Fortunately there are ways to report it, if people can’t just settle matters on the spot.
Non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with church staff in America’s Christian Industrial Complex may be more common than we would want to believe. TWW has covered their use in various ministries. They are legally binding contracts requiring those who sign them to keep their mouths shut (see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil).
Well, you can just eliminate entire departments and majors, according to the article:
“A philosophy faculty member caused a stir last fall when writing an op-ed for the campus newspaper on “Why I am Not Voting for Romney.” The philosophy department staff has since been cut back. The philosophy and physics majors have been eliminated.”
…the article was written in 2013…
Semantics, My Dear Wormwood.
A year after Romney became The Great White Hope and Mormons were proclaimed Real True Christians.
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