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Posted At: 9:45pm by TripletTwo
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This is "Welcome Week" here at Indiana University, and one of the "highlights" that they really push is Culture Fest, which took place this evening. As they put it "Here at IU we are big on diversity."
I went for several reasons (mainly the free non-cafeteria food), and it was actually less painless than I had expected. It started with a short preformance of an ancient Aztec dance, followed by some announcements/general info and introductions and then we were entertained by guest speaker Kevin Wanzer (www.KevinWanzer.com). He was right on about some things, but mostly he was kinda wacky and way out there. And I mean WACKY! He is practically a stand-up comedian - very entertaining and with a very good sense of humor. I laughed almost the entire time! But at the same time he is also a "motivational speaker".
Mainly he was talking about loving our neighbors. Ok, no problem with that. "For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"(Gal. 5:14)
That is about where my agreements with him ended. From the "Choose to Love" (you just have to choose! You decide to love or hate! Choose to love!) which always makes the Lutheran Chick in me think WOAH!. You you you! Choose choose choose! If we all just tried hard enough to luuuuuuv each other . . . He focused quite a lot on the innocence of children and how they are loving and accepting of everyone naturally and 'pebbles in our lives' train us to discriminate against those who are different.
Also, he wasn't just talking about loving our neighbors. Mr. Wanzer was urging us to "embrace and accept" the different opinions and beliefs of those around us - including those of differing "religious backgrounds and sexual orientation."
Yes, homosexual atheists and liberal, feminist Buddhists are my neighbors. That does not, however, mean that I should embrace their beliefs. I am not loving and serving them by "accepting" their beliefs when what they believe is so clearly contrary to the Word of God! It isn't discrimination to tell someone that they are a sinner in need forgiveness.
I believe that we should love and serve our neighbors. I do believe that it is wrong to discriminate or hate others because they have a different background or different beliefs.
Notice the key word "should."
We are not born innocent. We are born sinful wretches who deserve nothing less than damnation. It is only by the grace of God that we are able to love and serve our neighbors in our vocations. Left to our own devices, sure, we can luuuuv our family, friends and neighbors with our own frail, human feelings, but we cannot offer them anything more than that.
"We have come to know and have believed he love which God has for us. God is love, and he one who abides in love abides in God, and God abbides in Him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgement; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because He first loved us." -1 John 4:15-19
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Posted On: August 27th, 2005 at 2:37pm by LaRena Stuckwisch |
I just love how the "can't we all just get along" folks try to parade out the "innocence" of children-saying that they are all loving and accepting and that we big people have learned/decided to hate and be bigoted. I wish I had a reference, for precision's sake, but I remember an experiment or study that was done on very small children-some of them too young to speak. Pictures of people were shown to the children-of various types -ages, races, etc of people, and the children's reactions were recorded. Children nearly ALWAYS reacted more favorable to pictures of people of their own race, and more than a few had negative (fearful, or "hateful") reactions to persons very different from themselves. Hmm, could it be that our sinful old Adam is racist and bigoted, and that we (some more than others) have to LEARN or decide to NOT be hateful, but loving toward our "neighbor"? I think "Diversity" is more complex than some of these folks like to pretend-otherwise wouldn't the "natural" state of things be that we all "get along"?
....Just had to put in my $.01 worth.....LaRena
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Posted On: August 28th, 2005 at 1:25am by Paul |
I've mentioned some of this over at HT previously, but I had to take a "Cultural Anthropology" course at CURF, taught by an LCMS pastor (and now a Sem prof! yikes!). I was told I had to participate in the worship rites of pagan cultures in order to be able to completely understand and identify with them, God's Word to the contrary not withstanding.
It was a waste of my time, as was the class, "Diversity in the American Society," which I subtitled, "Why the White Male Should Be Blamed for the Sins of the Whole World." He, in an effort to give value to the underpriviledged, the white middle-class was vilified. Reverse discrimination ran supreme.
The problem with such classes is they try to accentuate the *differences* between us, rather than what makes us the same race- the human race..that Christ has died for all our sins...that through baptism we are made one together with the whole body of Christians....but no, that is not the answer...
I remember how horrible it was sitting through that stuff at a Lutheran University. It'd have to be 50 times worse at a public school.
Good luck and God's blessings, cause this is just the beginning.
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