Christian Goodreaders discussion

While it's not an exclusively Christian, or even necessarily a "religious," concept at all, the view that freedom of speech, as guaranteed in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (and in the constitutions of many other democratic nations), is a fundamental human right rests on a Biblical foundation of individual worth, dignity and natural rights. Many of us would regard it as among those "inalienable rights" with which all people are 'endowed by their Creator," in the language of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

However, the overwhelming public consensus in support of this concept, both among the political-cultural elites and the public at large, which characterized the U.S. and other Western nations through much of the 20th century, no longer exists. Both the idea and the practice of free speech is under sustained attack, with mounting censorship of dissent by those in power, whether in the government, academia, legacy and social media, and the workplace. (And defense of Christian belief and moral practice is very often one of the most targeted forms of dissent.)

Last month, a group of academics and pundits (including Christian leaders, but made up of persons of various faiths, or no faith) drafted the Philadelphia Statement, a defense of free speech, whether from the right or the left, and a call for healthy public discourse, tolerant social comity, and civility. To date, it has been signed by thousands of people, including Dr. Russell Moore, Dr. Robert P. George, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. The statement itself can be read at this link: https://thephillystatement.org/read/ .

As I try to follow along from Australia, it seems that if a university or college operating in the US would like to retain any autonomy to create and adhere to standards of profession, belief and conduct amongst faculty and students, then they had better not be taking Federal or State funding of any sort. This is particularly critical for those Christian institutions that would seek to uphold a Biblical view of human identity and sexual expression, which is that we were made male and female and sexual expression is only permitted between one man and one woman within their marriage. I'm hearing about the conflict at Seattle Pacific University, where the faculty is at odds with the board who employed them.

Nathan wrote: "As I try to follow along from Australia, it seems that if a university or college operating in the US would like to retain any autonomy to create and adhere to standards of profession, belief and c..."

That is very true and unfortunately, not many colleges and universities here in the US function that way. Most take the government funding and than have to compromise their standards to meet government demands. I know of one college that does a great job of resisting this though. They refuse to take government money and rely on donations to help them stay open without having to charge too high of tuition. As a result they have strong moral standards and do not compromise on their beliefs or on teaching truth to their students. They even offer a variety of free courses online to anyone who wants to take them on subjects like the US founding fathers, the US constitution, C. S. Lewis, and more. They want to educate as many adults across the country as well as the students on campus. More colleges and universities should be like Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan! https://www.hillsdale.edu/

This discussion awakened me to the fact that Christian perspectives on higher education definitely deserve their own discussion thread, so I've started one here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... . I'd like to invite everyone interested in this topic to continue this discussion there, and for those who've commented here to cross-post their comments there, if you want to. (You can use "copy-and-paste.")