The President of my alma mater on 27 January 2016 testified before the Indiana State Assembly in favor of legislation that would extend special rights to the LGBT community.
Below is the link of Dr. Wright’s testimony,
http://www.iwupresident.com/my-testimony/
I will spend some time fisking this testimony but before we get to that let me provide just a little background. The legislation that Dr. Wright is supporting has, as its intent, according to reports, the elevating of protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Hoosiers, while still protecting religious freedom and other rights cherished by conservatives. The legislation here that Dr. Wright is supporting would mean, in part, that a Christian campus like Indiana Wesleyan University would remain a kind of safe “ghetto zone,” for now, where Christians could still ply their Christianity, such as it is. The trade off that Wright is surrendering in order to secure that safe campus ghetto zone would be his support of elevating protections for LGBT people. Keep in mind that the elevating that we are talking about means that Christians outside the safe ghetto zones, that the legislation creates, will be forced to treat LGBT’ism as normative for the culture and social order. Wright prioritizes his precious campus at the price of surrendering up individual Christians outside the campus ghetto safe zones, some of whom who have been trained at IWU, to the maws of LGBT political correctness. This looks a great deal like Wright throwing someone else out of the lifeboat so he can save himself and his own interests.
Of course the LGBT true believers are outraged with this bill. They don’t want campus ghetto safe zones to be created. They want to infiltrate and conquer everything before them. Wright believes that his position is compromise and that by it he gains half a loaf. The problem here is that everyone with half a brain in their head knows that once the LGBT community consolidates their gains they’ll come back for the campus Christian ghetto safe zones. Does Wright really believe that once LGBT’ism is completely normative in the broader culture that they will tolerate his precious campus to be historically Christian?
Well, therein lies the background to Dr. David Wright’s testimony and capitulation before the Indiana state assembly. Now for fisking Wright’s testimony itself.
President David Wright of Indiana Wesleyan University testified before the Indiana State Assembly saying,
IWU is a Christ-centered university that pursues the best traditions of academic inquiry and teaching while remaining grounded in the rich intellectual and spiritual tradition of the historic Christian faith. For 95 years our university has served the public good of our state and region by graduating exceptional citizens who serve as some of our region’s best teachers, nurses, counselors, business people, pastors, and scientists.
Rev. McAtee responds,
Dr. Wright you say that IWU is grounded in the rich intellectual and spiritual tradition of the historic Christian faith.
Can you name one notable Theologian from Church History prior to 1950 or so that testified in favor or elevating LGBT protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Hoosiers?
Surely if your grounded in such a rich intellectual and spiritual tradition that is the Christian faith you can find a few Theological heavy weights from that tradition that spoke like this?
Augustine? Anselm? Bonaveture? Grotius? Luther? Wesley? Asbury? St. John of the Cross? Meister Eckhart?
I didn’t think so.
President David Wright of Indiana Wesleyan University testified before the Indiana State Assembly saying,
We do not exist for the purpose of proselytizing people to our denomination though we are happy when our students find their faith strengthened and made more meaningful in their lives as a result of studying with us. Instead we exist to serve the public good.
Rev. McAtee responds,
Note the last sentence above. Wright offers as the reason for IWU’s existence is to serve the public good. I would have thought that a Christian man who is President of a Christian University would say that, “we exist to serve the God of the Bible and His Lord Christ.” Already out of the gate, in this testimony, the careful eye notes that Wright is man centered in his thinking. He posits that the University exists to serve the public good.
Secondly, how can Wright make the case that it is for the public’s good that LGBT’ism protections are elevated? Is it the public’s good that the public square be paganized even more? Is it the public’s good that Wright send his trained “world changers” into a public square where the law requires them to shut up regarding right and wrong, and good and bad, in terms of sodomy?
President David Wright of Indiana Wesleyan University testified before the Indiana State Assembly saying,
Here is our mission: Indiana Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered academic community committed to changing the world by developing students in character, scholarship, and leadership.
Rev. McAtee responds,
1.) Committed to changing the world while at the same time committed that the world should be allowed to legislate against the world being changed by the students of IWU. How can IWU’s students change the World for Christ when it’s own President is advancing a position that will not allow the world to be changed in terms of a sexuality that reflects Christian doctrine?
2.) Are we to look for the same character of IWU graduates that we are finding in its President? A character that seeks to protect its own at the expense of the expansion of Christianity in the public square? If this is the kind of character we can expect from IWU students then I find myself hoping I don’t encounter IWU graduates.
President David Wright of Indiana Wesleyan University testified before the Indiana State Assembly saying,
So I come today to offer you reflections on the current intersection of civil rights, public and private moral values, and religious freedom from the perspective of a deeply religious, conservative, yet irenic and hospitable university community.
Rev. McAtee responds,
There is not a thing conservative about what Wright is offering. However, it is most certainly “deeply religious.” Unfortunately, it is not religious in a Christian sense. And this is not so much irenic as it is surrender.
President David Wright of Indiana Wesleyan University testified before the Indiana State Assembly saying,
“Second, I wish to commend those of you who, under exceedingly difficult and contentious circumstances, are seeking ways to wisely balance the civil rights of all of Indiana’s citizens, while also safeguarding the religious freedoms we enjoy as Americans.”
Rev. McAtee responds,
I wonder … if LGBT people have civil rights that need to be balanced then why don’t necrophiliacs have civil rights to be balanced or pedophiles have civil rights to be balanced or bestialiacs have civil rights to be balanced? If we are going to extend civil rights to one perverted form of sexuality why not extend civil rights to all perverted forms of sexuality? I fear, Dr. Wright, that you are a hater not wanting to treat all perverts with the respect they deserve.
President David Wright of Indiana Wesleyan University testified before the Indiana State Assembly saying,
“I am struck with how often fear and anger are the subtexts of the conversations. Fear and anger are present on all sides of these debates. “
Bret responds,
Can you show me from Scripture where anger is universally sin? Maybe this is a time for anger Dave? Maybe you should be angry?
In this testimony, you speak about the rich Christian tradition from which you speak out of Dr. Wright. Well, allow me to quote someone from the rich Christian tradition who had something to say about anger,
“He who is not angry, whereas he has cause to be, sins. For unreasonable patience is the hotbed of many vices, it fosters negligence, and incites not only the wicked but the good to do wrong.”
John Chrysostom, c. 349, Archbishop of Constantinople
Next you mention fear?
Well, fear is an act of worship and so belongs only to God but if I were to fear my fear would be of sell outs like you who think you’re doing the Lord Christ a favor by testifying to elevate LGBT protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Hoosiers.
President David Wright of Indiana Wesleyan University testified before the Indiana State Assembly saying,
If we are intent on following the metaphor of warfare to its conclusion, this means we will be locked in combat until one side dominates or destroys the other by force.
But I ask you, how can we embrace a trajectory of warfare that leads us to seek the destruction of our enemies when our enemies are our neighbors?
Rev. McAtee responds,
What a terrible thing that Christ and His people would have dominion over the enemies of Christ. God the Father speaks to His Son in Psalm 2,
9 Thou shalt break them (God’s enemies) with a rod of iron; Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
But Dr. Wright says, “We dare not think about having dominion over God’s enemies.”
Psalm 2 teaches the Christ hater to,
12 Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way,
But Dr. Wright says,
“We just want to live in peace and harmony with you. We would never want to have Godly dominion.”
Then Dr. Wright moves to the whole trajectory language. Here we see that Wright would rather seek the destruction of Biblical Christians by forcing them to create a social order in keeping with the religion of LGBT’ism than the end of a LGBT religion that imprisons and destroys people.
Dr. Wright, isn’t the whole goal of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to destroy the enemies of the Gospel through conversion?
President David Wright of Indiana Wesleyan University testified before the Indiana State Assembly saying,
“By the same token, our religious convictions also call upon us to honor the dignity and worth of our fellow citizens who, for their own good reasons, disagree with and choose to live in ways contrary to our convictions. In fact, in this intensely conflicted debate about sexual orientation and gender identity, most of us who hold the religious convictions I have described know, care for, serve, and associate with persons who are either uncertain about their sexual orientation or have come to the settled conviction that their personal happiness lies in the pursuit of a life different from the one we would choose.”
Rev. McAtee responds,
Dave, you can not have a stable social order and culture by trying to combine people who have diametrically opposite worldviews. This is what you are championing. The way worldviews work is that they favor those who embrace them and disfavor those who do not.
We have come to the point where the ability to honor the dignity and worth of LGBT folks is not possible because they have come out of the closet and will not be satisfied until Christians are shoved back into the closet they escaped from, and here you are helping the LGBT crowd push Christians back into the closet in the public square.
The expansion of LGBT civil rights will, by necessity, mean the diminution of the civil rights of those who are Biblical Christians. You seem to think that it is possible to have these two religions co-exist in one social order but that is not possible. We have that truth before us every day. Our children are being recruited for the LGBT agenda. Our Churches and Universities are collapsing in the face of this onslaught. And yet here you are thinking that these polar opposite religions can live in harmony with one another.
President David Wright of Indiana Wesleyan University testified before the Indiana State Assembly
“What do we want for these friends and neighbors of ours? We are not at war with them. We are in conflict with their understanding of the pathway to personal and social well-being. But we do not view them as enemies to be ridiculed, bullied, punished, or persecuted. They are the neighbors whom Jesus has called us to love as we love ourselves.”
Rev. McAtee responds,
We are in conflict with their understanding of the pathway to personal and social well-being but we are not at war with them?
Really?
They desire to build a different social order and culture than what we envision. They intend to recruit our children and grandchildren to their cause, religion, and lifestyle. They intend to change legislation so that we are forced to associate and do commerce with them, and yet, you want to insist that we are not at war with them? What is war if it is not that?
Your whole Testimony Dave, was nothing but surrender wrapped in phrases that weren’t even all that high sounding. Further, your whole testimony Dave, sounds a good deal like a treaty that communicates friendship with the world which is warfare against God (James 4:4).
Biblical Christians are the ones being ridiculed, bullied, punished, and persecuted and yet here you are worried about the privileges of the enemies of Christ who are doing all that ridiculing, bullying, punishing and persecuting.
If the Church in the West is met with the Sunset of its existence, when the record is written, if it is written, it will be written that it was Church-men like you and your advisers who were the Judas-goats who betrayed the cause of Christ with your feckless testimonies and ubiquitous surrenders.
