Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 8, 1992 TAG: 9202080268
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CODY LOWE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A `POLITICALLY INCORRECT' ALLY FOR RELIGION ON CAMPUS
"There ought to be at an institution such as Roanoke [College] a significant place within the curriculum for courses which help students see what the world looks like from the perspective of Christian faith. There is no reason at all why these should be only religion courses, and there is certainly no reason why such courses must seek to bring students into the circle of faith."At least that's how Gilbert Meilaender feels about it.
Meilaender was one of three experts to address Roanoke College's Colloquium '92 last month. The addresses and discussions are part of the college's sesquicentennial celebration this year.
The discussions were on "Educating the Whole Person," and Meilaender addressed the moral and spiritual aspects of the topic.
Ernest Boyer, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teachers talked about "The Importance of General Education"; and Robert Brustein, artistic director of the American Repertory Theatre and Harvard University professor of English, discussed "Sense and Sensitivity: The Options of Multi-Culturalism."
In an interview before his address, Meilaender said there are times that Christian or other religious perspectives can be addressed in just about any discipline.
Meilaender, a professor of religion and chairman of the department of religion at secular Oberlin (Ohio) College, acknowledges that his views often are in a minority on campus.
That is a position he doesn't seem to mind, even on such "politically incorrect" stances as his opposition to most abortions and to much genetic engineering research.
"I don't expect people to agree with me," Meilaender said, but he would be "satisfied to think through the questions" with others.
Meilaender - a member of the Lutheran Church-Missouri synod - believes that the influence of Christianity on many subjects is too obvious to be ignored, though it often is.
In sociology, for instance, "a lot turns on what are the important factors that influence human society," he said, and religious belief would logically be included.
No matter what the subject, "if questions are raised for the thoughtful believer" those should be addressed, Meilaender said.
That doesn't mean that Christianity or religion have to solve all the problems or answer all the questions, he said. In fact, the answer from the Christian perspective can legitimately be "I don't know" to a whole range of important questions about science, life, relationships, even religion.
At an institution such as Roanoke College, which is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Meilaender believes "the task of educating the whole person . . . will extend well beyond curriculum or classroom."
Such an education "should have an impact on countless aspects of life here - from the structure of living arrangements in dormitories; to the way in which the Christian calendar has its effect upon the academic calendar; to the way in which the college treats administrative assistants, custodians and other support personnel; to the way in which faculty hiring and student recruitment are conducted."
A total of 1,879 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the United States during 1991, according to the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.
That was an 11 percent increase over the previous year, according to the league, and its highest level in 13 years of record-keeping.
"By contrast," said Ira Gissen of the league's North Carolina/Virginia Region, "Virginia had a significant reduction in the total number of antisemitic incidents."
Last year, 19 incidents were reported in Virginia, compared to 23 in 1990.
The national breakdown included 950 incidents of harassment, threats and physical assault reported. The 60 physical assaults listed were double the figure for 1990.
There were 49 episodes of arson, bombing and cemetery desecration, 29 percent higher than 1990 and up 200 percent over the last five years, Gissen said.
Tidbits from the mail:
Lewis A. Drummond, president of the embattled Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., has announced his retirement.
In his four years there, following the appointment of a fundamentalist majority on the school's board, the seminary has experienced severe financial and student declines.
Among those mentioned as a successor is Paige Patterson, an architect of the "conservative resurgence" in the denomination and for the time being head of Criswell College in Dallas.
Seminary enrollment is up slightly for the first time in several years at institutions sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
The 1,378 people studying for master of divinity degrees this academic year is still below the 1,414 in 1987-88.
The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has written a letter to President Bush and members of Congress warning of an "escalating trend of religious discrimination" that threatens not only individual rights but "the moral fabric that binds America."