When Christians Are Too Afraid to Hear Ben Shapiro Speak

[Valin]

National Review

David French

February 4, 2019

On Friday another university canceled another Ben Shapiro speech. He’s used to this by now, of course. It’s happened at public and private universities across the country. There are some on the left who hate him. They want him de-platformed as often as possible. And so it’s hardly surprising that where the Left holds the most power, his position will be most precarious.

But Friday’s cancellation was different. This time, a Christian college canceled his appearance. Grand Canyon University holds itself out as traditional and orthodox in its beliefs. Its doctrinal statement reads like the statements of faith at countless Evangelical churches in the United States. Moreover, the school supplements its doctrinal statement with a truly admirable series of ethical position statements.

As a matter of official position, the school declares a belief that God created the universe (without stating a specific position on the manner of creation), it supports a right to life from conception until natural death, it affirms the view that sexual relationships should be reserved exclusively for marriage, and it defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman. Grand Canyon even has a strong statement in support of academic freedom, stating that “critical thought, open dialogue, and a fair presentation of all major views is vital to higher education, but is indispensable for genuinely Christian instruction.”

Shapiro, by the way, believes in each of the statements above. He wasn’t coming to disrupt the university’s mission. If anything, he’d affirm many of its most central teachings. Yet Grand Canyon canceled him anyway. Why?

The school’s statement justifying its decision was a revealing mess — somehow managing to be simultaneously self-righteous and cowardly. At the outset, it acknowledges that the school agrees with “many of the things that Ben Shapiro speaks about and stands for,” but then it (nonsensically) claims that “our decision to cancel Shapiro’s speaking engagement is not a reflection of his ideologies or the values he represents, but rather a desire to focus on opportunities that bring people together.”

(Snip)

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Meanwhile The Babylon Bee Responds

GCU Disinvites Jesus From Campus For Causing Division

PHOENIX, AZ—Private Christian school Grand Canyon University has disinvited Jesus Christ from its campus in order to preserve the school's mission of unity after uncovering controversial comments made by the Jewish Messiah that might cause division among students.

(Snip)

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It's getting harder and harder to do satire.