See the photos

On November 19, The Daily Beacon published a front page story headlined “UT administration not among CBR display’s sponsors.”

Dean of Students Tim Rogers opened the UAC meeting Tuesday night with assurances that the administration did not sponsor the display brought to the campus this week by the Center For Bio-Ethical Reform.

Rogers said the group was allowed on the campus because of their first amendment [sic] rights, and the administration does not take an official position on the issues CBR presents.

Rogers announced the CBR display … should remain there until the end of the week.

However CBR has said they will remain longer if they are met with any violent reactions to the display.

On a related note, an unnamed student posted this electronic note:

I gather that many students would have preferred that the administration refuse CBR permission to hold their protest on our campus. Would these students want UT to spend money and other precious resources defending itself against the lawsuit CBR would (probably) give UT, a lawsuit that the University would probably LOSE? (Of course, since I am not a lawyer, I don’t know for sure that we’d lose … but it’s reasonable to assume that the administration did discuss this with attorneys. If you know an attorney that says we would not lose, let us know.)

This student apparently doesn’t know that Dean Tim Rogers is himself a lawyer, as are three of CBR’s staff members. He is right, however, in speculating that any university which attempts to interfere with the exercise of CBR’s First Amendment rights will be sued. He is also correct in speculating that the offending university will lose. Schools don’t let us in because they want us there. They let us in because they have no choice. Thank God that we live in a country where civil liberties are enforceable in courts of law.

THE PARTY OF DARKNESS

The cultural context in which CBR must operate on college campuses can best be understood by reading the following Daily Beacon editorial, November 20, entitled “Throwing their hats in the ring:”

Would you vote someone for SGA [Student Government Association] president if they wanted to change UT mascots such as the Volunteer into cyborgs [science fiction creatures supposedly synthesized by fusing man and machine]. What if their slogan was “Dry Campus My Ass?” Crazy as it may sound, the Party of Darkness [POD] is betting that ideas such as these will persuade students to elect them into office.

POD’s platform is, well, interesting. Apart from the cyborg and dry campus ideas, POD hopes to, in the words of vice-presidential candidate William Kotas, “un-quo the status.”

To do this they are pushing Tom Millar for president – again.

Running for the third consecutive year, Millar is looking to rally votes from the on-campus residence halls to work on legislation to increase parking and to keep anti-abortionists off campus.

A PASTOR WEEPS

From the ridiculous to the sublime, while conducting GAP at The University of Tennessee, I was privileged to speak during Sunday morning worship at Ridgedale Baptist Church in Knoxville. I also showed a graphic abortion video along with my message and in preparation, Pastor Mike Kinkead placed the following message in the bulletin:

A few months ago [Associate Pastor] Kevin [Rogers] and I sat in my office with a young woman who said to us, “Don’t hate me for what I’m about to tell you. I got pregnant and had an abortion.” Then we saw her emotionally unravel right in front of us. We assured her that we loved her and did not condemn her. We sent her to get support with Hope Resource Center. I’m grateful to report that she is doing well. I tell you this story to say that I had the chance two years ago to present …[the abortion video you will be shown this morning]. If I had not lacked courage to do that then, I may not have had to sit in my office and hear that tragic confession.

As Pastor Kinkead repeated this story before the congregation, he wept openly. He is a great man of God, but as he is now painfully aware, the price for covering-up the horror of abortion can be high indeed. Many pastors care more what parishioners think of them than what parishioners think of abortion. They also care more about the feelings of born people than the lives of the unborn.

Back on campus, a member of the radical environmental group Earth First approached me late in the week, accompanied by companions who evinced anarchist inclinations. A few weeks earlier a group calling itself the Earth Liberation Front (a spin-off of Earth First) had burned a $12 million ski lodge to the ground at Vail, Colorado, in the costliest act of eco-terrorism in U.S. history. In an obviously planned outburst, our Earth First visitor became so belligerent that two police officers immediately stepped forward to deter violence. After listening patiently to his long and loud condemnation of our exhibit, I affirmed CBR’s commitment to environmental consciousness and asked if he had ever done anything extreme to dramatize eco-injustice? After a pause, he acknowledged that perhaps he had. As he admitted chaining himself to trees, his attitude seemed to change and we began to find some common ground. The rest of our conversation was largely constructive and we parted with a handshake.

SPIRITUAL IMPACT

And there was more progress. Kevin Scott (kjscott2@juno.com) E-mailed us the following note:

I am convinced that God used your ministry and the GAP itself to not only make people realize the horror of abortion but also to present Christians at UT with countless opportunities to openly discuss ethics, morality and ultimately their faith with unbelievers. At the time of your visit I was working on staff with an interdenominational Christian campus ministry at UT. I am aware of (as well as observed and participated in) many discussions throughout the week that for myself personally, and others in our ministry, were some of the best evangelistic discussions of this past year. I also wanted to say that I was very impressed with how Gregg and the rest of your staff interacted with people to discuss the issues in a well-informed and loving way.

Student Andrew Brock (andy-brock@utk.edu) went even further in describing GAP’s spiritual impact:

…I think your program was tremendous. I know for sure that the business major folks were talking about it and if it only opened doors for those types of conversations, then it was worth it alone! But, as you know, it accomplished much more than that. Secondly, I believe that it kind of woke up Christians on the campus to bring back a much needed …[breath of fresh air] to our own beliefs on the abortion issue and it actually caused me to receive a little push. I realized how stagnant I had become (without knowing it) on standing up for the rights of the unborn. I know that the Lord’s heart is truly with this issue and I can say that on top of it all, the “unseen” spiritual realm impact won’t fully be noticed for awhile but I do believe that the program brought a supernatural force to break something in the spiritual realm. I could just feel that! Something truly happened spiritually on this campus and I believe that it will play a vital role in the up-coming revival at UT. We’ll probably be able to trace it back to a chain of significant spiritual events, one of which was CBR. Thanks for being obedient to the Lord and please send my gratitude on to the organization!!