I am feeling sorry for Cedarville U. these days. In response to a swell of pressure from concerned parents, alumni, and bloggers, Shane Claiborne’s February 11th lecture to the students of Cedarville was canceled. According to Dr. Carl Ruby, “There was a tension between my desire to use this even to challenge students to take a closer look at a very important social issue, and the need to protect Cedarville’s reputation as a conservative, Christ centered university. There can’t be any confusion about our commitment to God’s Word and our historically conservative doctrinal position.” You can read more about it on this link to Christianity Today.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2008/februaryweb-only/107-22.0.html
From the blogger’s viewpoint, bringing Shane Claiborne to speak before the student body is unthinkable because his theology and leftist politics embodies the emergent liberal. In their mind, Shane’s conversations will only lead Cedarville students away from orthodox Christianity because they assume that the majority of them are not grounded in sound doctrine. Here is a typical blogger who apposed Shane Claiborne’s visit to Cedarville.
http://www.sliceoflaodicea.com/?=cedarville
Reflecting on the Cedarville incident, Shane Claiborne blogged to the world that Christians should not fear disagreements, and invited the bloggers to have a public conversation, and share a meal or even communion together.
http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/2008/02/dont-fear-disagreement-by-shan.html
For the record, I do have some serious disagreements with some of Shane Claiborne’s theology, but I am going to side with him on this one. University students should be exposed to different faith perspectives than their own, especially since Cedarville concentrates a great deal of attention helping their students form a Christian world and life view, which in turn helps them discern truth from error. Then again, over the past few years, Cedarville has had a public relations nightmare such as the GARBC vote to disassociate itself from the university over its relationship with Ohio Southern Baptists as well as the controversy in its Philosophy and Bible department over the certainty of truth vs. assurance of truth.
Maybe the best way to handle a “controversial figure” like Shane Claiborne without appearing to compromise their historical doctrinal position would have been to invite Shane as part of a forum to discuss social issues that affect urban ministry. Include a few more urban ministry leaders that are more conservative in their theology, but who are as passionate about evangelism and social justice as Shane is. Let’s have a real “conversation” where we evangelicals, who hold to differing viewpoints, can actually talk to and with each other, rather than talking past each other.
At least Dr. Ruby didn’t get fired. In the early 1980’s, Grand Rapids Baptist College (now Cornerstone U) invited Tony Campolo for their Staley lecture series, but because of the public outcry from certain fundamentalist pastors, uninvited him and then fired the Dr. Veldt, who was responsible for the invitation.
