Ben Shapiro
I want to first talk a little about Ben Shapiro. Shapiro is a sort of "rising star" in conservative circles due to the fact he is articulate, can hold his own very effectively in a debate, and he also takes seriously the whole "know thy enemy" strategy as he prepares for his appearances in debates and such by reading up on the opposition (something more of us should do, just sayin'). He is the host of a radio program that is easily accessed online at his organization, The Daily Wire, and he is definitely worth checking out if you haven't done so already. Also, as a devout Orthodox Jew, Shapiro is strongly pro-life, he advocates unapologetically for traditional marriage (one man and one woman), and also holds views that I as a traditionalist Catholic would share. In other words, he is pretty sound in his convictions, and no conservative/traditionalist Christian should have any problems with where he stands, as on moral/social issues he is in complete agreement with us. I first heard of Shapiro a couple of years ago, and honestly, I enjoy his broadcasts and try to listen to them at least once a week. Also, like myself, he is not a 100% Trumper necessarily, but like myself, he rightly gives credit to where credit is due. He is, in essence, a brilliant thinker who objectively observes the situation, and then responds accordingly. I have nothing but the highest respect for Ben, and honestly, I would love to meet the guy in person. If you want more biographical information on Ben, there is some good material at his website, www.dailywire.com.
Now, let's talk a little about Grand Canyon University. GCU, as it is popularly called, dates back to 1949 when the Arizona (Southern)Baptist Convention established it as Grand Canyon College. However, in 2000 GCU ended its affiliation with the Southern Baptists and was for a time under management from a corporate entity called Significant Education LLC and was a for-profit enterprise (the first Christian for-profit educational institution). The university re-instated its non-profit status in 2018 (due to a tax debt - go figure!). It is now touted as the "largest Christian university in the world," within excess of twenty thousand enrolled students. However, in all honestly, it is basically a Christianized University of Phoenix setup, and its academics I am not quite sure about. My wife had originally attempted to enroll there for an elementary education program a few years back, but for some reason she just didn't feel comfortable doing so and backed out. It was probably a wise decision on her part to do so. That gives a bit of background on GCU, and to be honest I am just not all that impressed with it, and haven't been for a long time, but until they blackballed Ben Shapiro I never really took anything to do with them seriously. However, given they are a highly visible presence in the American Evangelical spectrum, perhaps more attention should be given to them regarding what they are truly about.
Turning now to the current focus of our discussion, the events surrounding it happened just this week, when Shapiro was scheduled to appear at an event at GCU but was abruptly cancelled due to some jibberjabber about "the school's commitment to promoting inclusion and unity on campus at a time when political divisions run deep." Many felt that this excuse was lame due to the fact that GCU is supposed to be a "conservative Evangelical Christian institution," and that its own faith statement is not in conflict with anything Shapiro has said or convictions he holds. Even a GCU spokesman admitted this, but then said "a high volume of rhetoric" in Shapiro's speeches is what led to the cancellation. They then tried to justify this by saying that such "rhetoric" does not lead to "community-building" or "problem-solving," and that their stated position was to "bring unity to a community that sits amidst a country that is extremely divided and can't seem to find a path forward toward unity." What they are really saying is this - "We don't want to offend anyone with the truth because it might cost us our tax-exempt status." Of course, tax perks are only part of it, as there are even bigger issues I have seen at some other institutions, and I want to talk about that now ( Information on this incident from Jessica Chasmar, "Grand Canyon University cancels Ben Shapiro, Citing Schools Mission of 'Unity," published 2/4/2019 at https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/feb/4/grand-canyon-university-cancels-ben-shapiro-citing/ - accessed 2/5/2019).
Anyone following my blog posts over the past few years knows of the rather negative experience I have had at my alma mater, Southeastern University, back in 2012-2013 when originally I had contemplated earning my Master's from there. Southeastern, which like GCU identifies as an Evangelical Protestant university (although affiliated with the Assemblies of God instead of the Baptists), was but one example. Also, you have read about the recent decision of a high-profile Pentecostal academic, Dr. Paul Alexander, who "came out" as transgender and decided to change his name to "April" after years of pushing the "gay agenda" amongst Pentecostal academic elites. Other self-identified Evangelical institutions (Wheaton College comes to mind) have waffled on issues ranging from the "gay agenda" to embracing Islam, and the rise of such personalities as Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Doug Padgett, and other "Emergent Church" people among Evangelicals have spawned an anomaly called the "Evangelical Left," something honestly that would have been unconscionable only 20 years ago. While there have been those occasional radicals and oddballs in Evangelical circles (two that come to mind are Tony Campolo and Ron Sider) for decades, in general, they didn't reflect their faith tradition and were even sort of shunned for their views. However, in recent years this has changed drastically - I am not going to get into all the statistics, but Josh McDowell, James Emery White, Christian Smith, and others have documented these trends among younger Evangelicals in particular and it is disturbing. Lest you think Catholics are unaffected, look at the recent actions of some among the Catholic hierarchy too - Cardinals Wuerl and Cupich, and Archbishops Dolan, Stowe, and others - and you see it there too. Christians are acting ashamed to be Christian, and to stand up for traditional values, and not only that but we are becoming cowards when we think a MAGA hat is dangerous or that allowing someone like Ben Shapiro to speak at a Christian campus is somehow "divisive." It is an obvious sign of the times, and let's examine that briefly.
In the Bible - which both Catholics and Evangelicals view as authoritative in all matters of faith and morality - Jesus Himself gives us a dire warning concerning this cowardice in Matthew 10:33 when he says this - "But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." Let me just say to preface that Church teaching is unchanging - while praxis can be adaptable, belief and doctrine are eternal. For those who try to make Church teaching and Biblical commands fit their agenda, Jesus also has a warning for them in Revelation 22:18-19 - "18I testify to everyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book. 19And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book." This warning didn't come in a vacuum either, for in Deuteronomy 4:2 God Himself warns that we do not add nor subtract from His commands, and in Deuteronomy 12:32 we are instructed to just obey those commands and not to "tweek" them to our liking, to interpret it in modern vernacular. There is a reason for this - those commands and that law are from God Himself, and in themselves they are the perfect embodiment of faith and morality because they have divine origin and sanction. Therefore, when we seek to compromise that truth because it is not "popular" with the current cultural paradigms, we commit a grave error. GCU, by its own complicity, is doing just that. When we also look at the parables of Jesus, in particular the classic "Parable of the Sower" found in Matthew 13, it is an indication that there will be some upon whom the Gospel will never take root, despite their exposure. These people are the Laodiceans, and their fate is apostasy unless they have a heartfelt conversion to the truth and repent of their lukewarmness. Apostasy, then, leads to eternal damnation if it is not dealt with and corrected. Those who are in charge at GCU and other professed "Christian" universities need to recognize this fact, and they need to more clearly understand where their loyalties are and make some serious decisions. In other words, what Ben Shapiro says is not what they should be worried about - as a matter of fact, Ben is probably more on-point than they are. They should be worried more about offending the Holy Spirit than they are about offending the proponents of cultural conformity.
I am not going to invest a lot of time on this issue except to say many Christians in the US need to grow some stones and "man up" a little, because the cowardice shown by GCU and even Archbishop Stowe in regard to the Covington boys is reprehensible, and it may cost us dearly in the future if we don't correct that now. I am sure that great Christian leaders of the past - Jerry Falwell, James Kennedy, Pope St. Leo XIII - are turning in their graves at how weak and wimpy American Christianity has become while our enemies are making gains even without popular support. If we are to prevail in the culture wars (and we must, as our own freedoms to live our lives productively may be at risk) we need to stop apologizing for crap we are not responsible for, and be proud to take a stand for what is right. If we don't, who will - let's remember the atrocities of Stalin and Hitler against Christians and Jews to remind us. Have a good week.
