Fish Out of Water by Abby Nye

Author:Abby Nye
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: RELIGION / Christian Education / General, EDUCATION / Students & Student Life
ISBN: 9781614580478
Publisher: New Leaf Press
Published: 2011-06-09T16:00:00+00:00

FACULTY IS SINGLED OUT, TOO

Students aren’t the only ones who need some grace and mercy. Christian faculty members feel the brunt of the anti-Christian hostility — and there are faculty members who are people of faith who manage to slip in under the door from time to time.

Consider University of Nebraska assistant football coach Ron Brown, widely known for being a man of faith. Brown interviewed for a coaching job at Stanford University in January 2002. Brown said he was turned down in part because of his faith in Christ and for having made statements opposing homosexuality.

The Daily Nebraskan, the student newspaper at the University of Nebraska, contacted Stanford and a Stanford official confirmed Brown’s assertion. Several years earlier, Brown had drawn criticism from homosexual activists after stating on his Christian radio talk show, "Husker Sports Report," that "homosexuality is clearly wrong according to God’s word." He also admitted to having beaten up "sissies" in grade school and feeling "hatred toward homosexuals in college — until he accepted Christ. Then, he said, he realized that "Jesus went to the Cross for the homosexual, just as He did for everyone else. It’s going to take up-close intimate love of Jesus through you and me to win the homosexual to Christ.

"If I’d been discriminated against for being black, they would’ve never told me that," said Brown. "They had no problem telling me it was because of my Christian belief. That’s amazing to me."2

Equally amazing is what happened to a professor at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Janis Price, a well-respected and popular elementary education instructor, put copies of Teachers in Focus, a publication produced by Focus on the Family, on a table in her classroom. Price did not teach from the magazines or require students read them, she simply made them available as a resource.

One of the magazines contained an article on gay activism in schools. The story, "Love Won Out," was accompanied with the text, "Feeling helpless against the onslaught of gay activists in your school? Focus on the Family has the answer for you." A student filed a complaint, and seven weeks later the professor was called to the office of Neal Abraham, the vice president of academic affairs, and told her salary was being reduced 25 percent and her job responsibilities were changing. Price’s attorney, John R. Price (no relation), says Abraham told the teacher that her actions were "intolerable." The school claimed that by making the publication available, Janis Price had created a "hostile environment" for her students.

"I was absolutely amazed at that because people who know me know that I would never create a hostile environment for anyone," Janis explained.3

Interestingly, DePauw was founded by the United Methodist Church and still continues that relationship. The denomination’s Book of Discipline states, "Homosexual persons no less than heterosexual persons are individuals of sacred worth…. Although we do not condone the practice of homosexuality and consider this practice incompatible with Christian teaching, we affirm that God’s grace is available to all."

Price had simply offered the magazines as a resource.

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