Andrew, I am deeply offended by your Hillsdale College hat. It’s not just their political stances that offend me, but also their religion courses. As a Prof Emeritus from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I taught undergrad and grad courses in biblical studies, sampling just one of their courses (on Genesis) inspired in me deep …
Andrew, I am deeply offended by your Hillsdale College hat. It’s not just their political stances that offend me, but also their religion courses. As a Prof Emeritus from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I taught undergrad and grad courses in biblical studies, sampling just one of their courses (on Genesis) inspired in me deep spite for their curriculum. They are an Evangelical institution, with all that implies. Their lies about US history are of a piece with their ideological approach to the Bible, which is simple distortion of the text based on a defunct and harmful religion.
I'm a Hillsdale grad and the education I got there made me who I am today. I'm also a conservative Lutheran--not an evangelical in my telling but probably in yours. If that's a stumbling block to you getting anything out of my political analysis, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna throw what I know.
Thank you for your response, Andrew. I am an alumnus of Bethel University (St. Paul). I wouldn’t be who I am today without that start. And in fact, two years ago I was honored to be alumnus of the year for Bethel Theological Seminary. I have many life-long friends from Bethel and chaired the committee for my class’s fiftieth reunion. Despite that, I do not wear Bethel gear because it associates me with stances I repudiate. My feelings for Bethel run deep, but I would not want a cap or hoodie with Bethel’s insignia to keep people from hearing my support for LGBTQ+ folk, advocacy for Gaza’s refugees, or concerns about anthropogenic climate change. In particular, I would not want to be associated in any degree with Christian Nationalism. The issue is a consistent message.
I know very well that not Evangelicals are bad (my parents were, and they were great people). In this moment, however, one of the main anti-constitutional forces is Christian Nationalism, which inhabits much of conservative Evangelicalism. Hillsdale is a major voice for this.
Lose your religious bigotry. A professor at a left wing cesspool like UW Madison hardly reflects the Christianity of most Americans. It’s that elitist, condescending attitude that got Trump elected. The MAGA people would burn their own house down as long as yours went with it.
My objections are not religious but historical. Studying ancient texts and culture - of any kind - requires leaving behind religious beliefs to attempt to recover the meanings in their socio- cultural setting. Calling that “religious bias” is like accusing a medical researcher of bias because they don’t accept RFK’s unscientific programs. The danger here is the use of traditions that have an ancient historical framework to address issues from within our socio-political context. I cannot accept White Christian Nationalism just to get along any more than I could favor tariffs as if economic theory and evidence didn’t matter.
You called Christianity, or at least the Evangelical kind, “a defunct and harmful religion”. You and I both know you would sooner cut out your own tongue than have the courage to say that about Islam in the faculty lounge. You would lose your job before you could make it out the building
Of course I wouldn’t, nor would I state my condemnation of Evangelicals in an academic setting. I will say, however, that you have no idea of the nature of faculty discussions, including the frankness of scholars in conversation. My speech here is politically oriented, having to do with the deleterious effects of conservative Evangelicalism on society (they aren’t favorable to individual liberties, for example). And that’s something validated by abundant sociological research.
lol. As an intellectual historian name me a predominantly Islamic nation with a strong history of individual liberties? Does your Islamic studies program at UWM perform an exegetical study of the Koran breaking down its origins and historical accuracy like scholars have felt free to do with the Bible for the last 200 years? The students would riot!
My classes were filled with students from Christian, Jewish and other backgrounds. Classes always filled to their cap, with students petitioning me at the first class session to let them in over the cap. But it’s nice to hear from an anti-intellectual.
Andrew, I am deeply offended by your Hillsdale College hat. It’s not just their political stances that offend me, but also their religion courses. As a Prof Emeritus from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I taught undergrad and grad courses in biblical studies, sampling just one of their courses (on Genesis) inspired in me deep spite for their curriculum. They are an Evangelical institution, with all that implies. Their lies about US history are of a piece with their ideological approach to the Bible, which is simple distortion of the text based on a defunct and harmful religion.
PLEASE - lose the cap NOW!
I'm a Hillsdale grad and the education I got there made me who I am today. I'm also a conservative Lutheran--not an evangelical in my telling but probably in yours. If that's a stumbling block to you getting anything out of my political analysis, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna throw what I know.
Thank you for your response, Andrew. I am an alumnus of Bethel University (St. Paul). I wouldn’t be who I am today without that start. And in fact, two years ago I was honored to be alumnus of the year for Bethel Theological Seminary. I have many life-long friends from Bethel and chaired the committee for my class’s fiftieth reunion. Despite that, I do not wear Bethel gear because it associates me with stances I repudiate. My feelings for Bethel run deep, but I would not want a cap or hoodie with Bethel’s insignia to keep people from hearing my support for LGBTQ+ folk, advocacy for Gaza’s refugees, or concerns about anthropogenic climate change. In particular, I would not want to be associated in any degree with Christian Nationalism. The issue is a consistent message.
I know very well that not Evangelicals are bad (my parents were, and they were great people). In this moment, however, one of the main anti-constitutional forces is Christian Nationalism, which inhabits much of conservative Evangelicalism. Hillsdale is a major voice for this.
PS: Plus all evangelicals are not bad people
You don't get to tell people what they can wear or project what you think they think or are...Andrew is a good guy and didn't deserve this.
Lose your religious bigotry. A professor at a left wing cesspool like UW Madison hardly reflects the Christianity of most Americans. It’s that elitist, condescending attitude that got Trump elected. The MAGA people would burn their own house down as long as yours went with it.
My objections are not religious but historical. Studying ancient texts and culture - of any kind - requires leaving behind religious beliefs to attempt to recover the meanings in their socio- cultural setting. Calling that “religious bias” is like accusing a medical researcher of bias because they don’t accept RFK’s unscientific programs. The danger here is the use of traditions that have an ancient historical framework to address issues from within our socio-political context. I cannot accept White Christian Nationalism just to get along any more than I could favor tariffs as if economic theory and evidence didn’t matter.
You called Christianity, or at least the Evangelical kind, “a defunct and harmful religion”. You and I both know you would sooner cut out your own tongue than have the courage to say that about Islam in the faculty lounge. You would lose your job before you could make it out the building
Of course I wouldn’t, nor would I state my condemnation of Evangelicals in an academic setting. I will say, however, that you have no idea of the nature of faculty discussions, including the frankness of scholars in conversation. My speech here is politically oriented, having to do with the deleterious effects of conservative Evangelicalism on society (they aren’t favorable to individual liberties, for example). And that’s something validated by abundant sociological research.
Would you say that Islam is favorable to individual liberties?
Islam is no more a monolith than Christianity.
lol. As an intellectual historian name me a predominantly Islamic nation with a strong history of individual liberties? Does your Islamic studies program at UWM perform an exegetical study of the Koran breaking down its origins and historical accuracy like scholars have felt free to do with the Bible for the last 200 years? The students would riot!
Can you imagine being a conservative student taking a class taught by this guy? It’s why parents send their kids to Hillsdale
My classes were filled with students from Christian, Jewish and other backgrounds. Classes always filled to their cap, with students petitioning me at the first class session to let them in over the cap. But it’s nice to hear from an anti-intellectual.