Comments on: Bob Jones U. apologizes for past racial discrimination http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/bob-jones-u-apologizes-for-past-racial-discrimination Religion editor Frank Lockwood's spirituality blog Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:22:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Caleb Powers http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/bob-jones-u-apologizes-for-past-racial-discrimination/comment-page-1#comment-16012 Caleb Powers Mon, 24 Nov 2008 19:19:10 +0000 http://biblebeltblogger.com/?p=597#comment-16012 AG, I'd say it'll be about the same. It'll take the more conservative churches another fifty years to catch up, and then they'll all be apologizing to the gays like they are to the blacks now. My prference would be for them to keep their apologies and change their attitudes, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon: Homophobia is as rampant among the conservative churches today as racism was in the '50s. AG, I’d say it’ll be about the same. It’ll take the more conservative churches another fifty years to catch up, and then they’ll all be apologizing to the gays like they are to the blacks now. My prference would be for them to keep their apologies and change their attitudes, but that isn’t going to happen anytime soon: Homophobia is as rampant among the conservative churches today as racism was in the ’50s.

]]> By: Asinus Gravis http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/bob-jones-u-apologizes-for-past-racial-discrimination/comment-page-1#comment-16009 Asinus Gravis Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:56:21 +0000 http://biblebeltblogger.com/?p=597#comment-16009 Whatever the reasons for BJU offering the apology, I welcome it. It is appropriate and very, very long past due. Perhaps BJU and South Carolina are beginning to catch up with the rest of the country on what is viewed as acceptable public stances on racial issues. That could be a prelude to changing the cultural inheritance of decades upon decades of racist policies, attitudes, and practices. Now, given that the same Biblical warrant (and cultural basis) for racist attitudes and practices have also been given for sexist ones and homophobic one--including the same basic "Bible-based" arguments--perhaps one can be a bit more hopeful for the future sensible modification on those issues too. I hope it doesn't take as long--after key laws have been changed--on those as it has taken on racism. Whatever the reasons for BJU offering the apology, I welcome it. It is appropriate and very, very long past due. Perhaps BJU and South Carolina are beginning to catch up with the rest of the country on what is viewed as acceptable public stances on racial issues. That could be a prelude to changing the cultural inheritance of decades upon decades of racist policies, attitudes, and practices.

Now, given that the same Biblical warrant (and cultural basis) for racist attitudes and practices have also been given for sexist ones and homophobic one–including the same basic “Bible-based” arguments–perhaps one can be a bit more hopeful for the future sensible modification on those issues too. I hope it doesn’t take as long–after key laws have been changed–on those as it has taken on racism.

]]> By: Caleb Powers http://biblebeltblogger.com/index.php/religion/bob-jones-u-apologizes-for-past-racial-discrimination/comment-page-1#comment-16008 Caleb Powers Sat, 22 Nov 2008 16:35:02 +0000 http://biblebeltblogger.com/?p=597#comment-16008 Here's always my question about these churches of the latter day apology: If there were no anti-discrimination laws, and if there weren't people out there championing civil rights, and if it hadn't become an embarrassment to be seen as a racist in today's society, would these people have voluntarily changed their policies because they were wrong, unchristian and immoral? I doubt it. The dirty little secret about that ole time religion is that it was segregated, and that the people whom we hold up as such paragons of virtue fully supported the system of segregation, right down to segregated church services and segregated christian schools. Nothing would please me more than to be able to think that Bob Jones University has become enlightened all on its own, but I doubt it. I suspect this is a public relations ploy, and one can't help but notice that it didn't come until after the election of our nation's first black president. But then, I'm ever the pessimist. Here’s always my question about these churches of the latter day apology: If there were no anti-discrimination laws, and if there weren’t people out there championing civil rights, and if it hadn’t become an embarrassment to be seen as a racist in today’s society, would these people have voluntarily changed their policies because they were wrong, unchristian and immoral? I doubt it. The dirty little secret about that ole time religion is that it was segregated, and that the people whom we hold up as such paragons of virtue fully supported the system of segregation, right down to segregated church services and segregated christian schools. Nothing would please me more than to be able to think that Bob Jones University has become enlightened all on its own, but I doubt it. I suspect this is a public relations ploy, and one can’t help but notice that it didn’t come until after the election of our nation’s first black president. But then, I’m ever the pessimist.

]]>