I have always likes Bill and will continue to do so. I’d like to have him over for dinner. Although he is confused and hurt by his catholic experience, I bet he is a great guy, eventhough depraved with a deceitful heart like all of the rest of us, including me. The point of Chistianity is to recognize our depravity.

Bill, and all others reading this, embrace the miracle that is your God! Bill’s heart will be changed because he has thousands of christians like me praying for it. I’m loving it. Funny how God takes lemons and makes lemonade everytime.

Love to all

Frederick the Cross Bearer

Thanks for the resources above.

I preached a message just the other Sunday night on Forsaking Sin to Live a Righteous Life Before God. Eph. 1:1-9. Not that we are righteous but because we that are saved (Us that have excepted the Lord as their Savior) and our sins are covered by the blood of Christ. We can live a Righteous life before Him by Forsaking the Sin That So Easily Beset Us.

You said “As the circumstances of God’s children change, so does Christianity because it seeks to be an inclusive faith.” This could be at the heart of why their is division in the Christian community when it comes to many issues.

God NEVER changes and His Word never changes. Therefore true Christianity should never change. Christianity does not seek to be an inclusive religion if that means changing to accept principles which are against God’s Word.

Homosexuality is an abomination to God. Christianity can never be tolerant to an abomination. Abortion is the taking of an innocent life created by God. Christianity can never be tolerant of this.

You also say that Liberty should be accountable to the government because students receive federal grants. This type of policy would handcuff all colleges and universities and force them to teach only what is approved by the government. Colleges, especially private ones, should be free to offer the programs they believe best promotes the mission of their school.

One last thing, you stated Virginia Tech has over 100,000 students. According to College Profile they have approximately 21,000 undergraduate students, slightly more than 10% larger than Liberty. Yet, their College Democrat party is 300% larger.

The true interpretation of the covenant is an age-old debate that goes back to the 95 Theses of Martin Luther. We must agree that Christianity is a vibrant and organic community that is always attempting to seek out new ways in which to address the needs and concerns of the ever-changing world. As the circumstances of God’s children change, so does Christianity because it seeks to be an inclusive faith.

Evangelical Fundamentalism has only been around for a little over a 100 years and was a movement that sought to address the changing needs of those pioneers in the western expansion of the US. Evangelicals were initially marginalized by the “mainstream” Calvinists of the north and the established Protestants of the south. In this sense, the Evangelical Fundamental movement has truly benefited from the 1st amendment of separation of church and state because the power base in politics was grounded in those that identified with other Christian paradigms but understood that outright oppression (denial of all rights) towards the Evangelicals would be unconstitutional.

Historically, the Evangelical movement was one of the most progressive entities in terms of social activism. Many Americans would have perished during the Great Depression if it weren’t for the good work of the Evangelical Christians in the midwestern states. However, at some point in the mid 20th C, the Republican Party recognized there was an untapped resource in their power base. Even though economically, the party represented the interest of the wealthy, people in rural areas tend to be good, trusting, salt of the earth kind of folk and they were an easy target if the Republicans could formulate an agenda that resounded with just one or two of the Evangelical’s beliefs. So the Republican Party took up the banner of being opposed to abortion and gay rights (something they had never given a fig about prior to this) and it stuck. But let me ask you something…….the Republican party has had enough power to overturn Roe v. Wade at least 5 times in the past 15 years, and they have never quite been able to pull it off. It actually would be a disadvantage to the Republicans to remove the issues of women’s and gay rights because if they were out of the way, much of the Evangelical movement would move to the Democratic Party because in every other way, it reflects the basic beliefs of Evangelicals. Why do you think these are called “wedge issues?” Under the Clinton administration, non-marital birth and especially teen birth numbers dropped dramatically. Under the Bush administration, they have crept back up to 40%. Abortion dropped during the 90’s and climbed again after 2000. But I digress….

Liberty University does have the right, as a private institution, to promote a campus culture that fits with its own purpose. However, as a place of higher learning, it has an obligation to host debate and critical thinking, provide an opportunity for students to grow and realize their own potential, and take on leadership roles. I believe it is the mantra of the conservative movement that “obligations always trump rights.” In this sense, Liberty can’t have it both ways and shouldn’t be hypocritical. Furthermore, students that go to Liberty receive federally funded grants and Virginia education stipends. If SACS did not make these available due to their accreditation, then Liberty would lose much of their student body. Liberty is accountable to the government in this sense.

Regarding the “1 in 600” membership of the club, let me point out that Virginia Tech, who turned its rural county blue this past November, has over 100,000 students and an official roster of about 120 Young Democrats. Garnering 30 students in the short span of a few months on a small campus like Liberty’s is pretty impressive and it’s condescending of you to purport that they were not successful in their efforts. Let me also point out that everyone within the Virginia Young Democrats on all campuses were welcoming of the Liberty students. They were even awarded the “Up and Coming Club of the Year” award by the organization.

My daughter, an active Young Democrat on her campus at a public university in Virginia and devout Episcopalian, met the Liberty Dems at the convention this past spring in Charlottesville. She was curious about their decision to form the group and met with them to find out how they had come to the decision. She was impressed with their response and agreed to create the first ever Virginia Young Dems Faith Caucus with them. These students are very committed to their Christian mission and believe that participation in the Young Dems was an expression of that.

Liberty has made the mistake of conflating politics and religion. They communicate that their students cannot be a Christian and a Democrat at the same time, yet there are millions of Christians who are Democrats. That notion is a fallacy and they know it. What they are saying is that their students cannot be a certain kind of Christian and a Democrat at the same time. In this sense, they are not seeking to define their student’s politics, but they are attempting to define their student’s religion through politics. In addition, they are doing with it public funds. It was a big mistake on Liberty’s part, and I think they will suffer deep consequences as a result.