On Thursday, March 29, I received the following e-mail from a member of the faculty of the Perkins School of Theology, addressed, apparently, to all SMU faculty (I am a Spanish lecturer in the Department of Languages and Literatures). I would like to publish this public response, since the e-mail I received made provision only for those in agreement with the document to sign. I, on the other hand, disagree with the open letter, but was provided with no means in the letter itself to respond to the 75 signatories thereto:”Dear Professor Parks: If you have any reservations about the “Darwin vs. Design” conference, you will want to be aware of the following. For guidance on a wide array of policy issues, President Bush turns to the ultra-conservative Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD). Unfortunately, this institute has sought for several decades to bring divisiveness into the United Methodist denomination. It also attacks United Methodist-related schools and universities. Attached is a two-page document that describes the IRD’s work. [There follow several paragraphs of diatribe concerning the IRD….]” The e-mail concludes: “Ordinarily, I’m the ‘soft-sell’ type; but in this situation, given what’s going on, I must champion the importance of signing as a charter signatory. The very soul of our university is at stake [italics in original]. If you endorse the sentiments of the Open Letter, I encourage (urge!) you to sign.”I would like to publicly address two issues raised by this e-mail, one explicit, the other tacit. The e-mail explicitly states, “this institute [the IRD] has sought for several decades to bring divisiveness into the United Methodist denomination.” So, if I (or the IRD) introduce conservative Christian topics on “United Methodist-related” campuses, my intention must be to introduce divisiveness? It couldn’t be that I actually believe those things and believe that others might profit from hearing and discussing them? I must be a big, divisive meanie?! Pull-e-ea-se! (It’s rarely a good idea, in my opinion, to attack peoples motives for doing what they do. I think that’s one of the things that Jesus meant by “judge not”).Secondly, the tacit issue raised by the e-mail is that of introducing conservative Christian topics on United Methodist-related campuses. Oh, horror of horrors! Next they’ll be advocating dialectic materialism in communist re-education camps and introducing nutritional information at dietary conferences! The sky is falling! Save me!The open letter was endorsed, at the time that I received the e-mail, by approximately 75 SMU faculty members, lecturers, professors emeriti, etc., apparently in dire need of “saving.”
About the writer:Roger Parks is a Spanish lecturer in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. He can be reached at [email protected].
