More Food for Thought

In the vein of the prior post regarding EMU, more food for thought provided by Peter Leithart on same-sex relationships, gay-marriage, etc., and trending in American culture.

EMU, CCCU, and Listening

From the January/February 2014 issue of Christianity Today, a heading reads "CCCU school mulls shift on same-sex relationships." The short article states:

A Christian college is permitting professors to have same-sex relationships--at least for the next six months. Trustees at Eastern Mennonite University, a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), unanimously voted to let president Loren Swartzendruber lead the school through a "listening period" to review its current ban. During that time, tenure-track faculty will not be penalized for violating current policies which restricts sexual relationships to marriage between one man and one woman.

Personally this is upsetting on two counts: First, I was employed at the largest school in the CCCU from 2002 to 2009, and it is also where I completed my undergraduate degree. This will probably become a watershed event for a watershed issue within CCCU schools. Second, my spiritual heritage (fraternal side of the family) is Mennonite.

I'm not sure where CT gleaned their information regarding tenure-track faculty not being penalized during this six month "listening period" . . . it may be implicit, but nothing is explicitly mentioned in the article from November/2013 at EMU's website. I'm somewhat shocked EMU's original post had open comments. The comments, however, were closed by the "Moderator" after only two days . . . they said they wanted to listen, but not just quite yet.  ;)

1. Moderator says:

   November 20, 2013 at 12:04 pm

   Comments on this blog are now closed. Watch for invitations to speak into the EMU discussion beginning early January 2014.

Controversy

"In the twenty-first century, few things are more controversial than the Bible's plain teaching on sexuality and gender roles" (Carolyn McCulley, Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World, 188).