We Are Encouraged
When the Please-Reconcile leadership team sent the Open Letter and Signatories to the Bob Jones University Board of Trustees and Administration on Saturday, November 22, we added a letter of appreciation (pdf). The letter was drafted by Beth Murschell, Tim Tsuei, Josh Tuttle, Rebecca Phillips, with assistance from a number of others who had been involved.
Friday, November 21, 2008
To: Dr. Stephen Jones and Bob Jones University Board of Trustees and Administration
The leadership of Please-Reconcile.org is encouraged to see Bob Jones University’s November 20 “Statement on Race.” In our “Open Letter” to the school, we stated that “should such a statement [of regret and apology] be made, we will support it completely and joyfully.” We support the University’s statement and believe that concerned friends of BJU will accept it.
Enclosed is a packet containing our Open Letter and accompanying signatures. We completed our printing of this packet on the same day the University’s November 20 “Statement on Race” was issued. After much prayerful deliberation, we have decided to proceed and send the Open Letter and accompanying signatures, in the hope that these documents will show why so many alumni have called for the University to issue a statement of regret and apology.
We believe that in undertaking this project, we did what we were trained to do at BJU: to lovingly confront wrong doctrine or practice wherever it exists and to remove every impediment to our Gospel witness in the world. We are thankful that Bob Jones University has responded to the concerns of its alumni and anticipate that the Board of Trustees will support Dr. Stephen Jones and the Administration in this statement. Moreover, it is our strong desire that the University will carry forward into the future the Bible-based principles articulated in its November 20 statement by continuing to eliminate man-made racial barriers to the Gospel.
Sincerely yours,
The Leadership Group at Please-Reconcile.org
Evidentiary Articles Removed
On our Purpose page, we stated that in the event of a “statement of regret and reconciliation from Bob Jones University,” we would remove the evidentiary articles that were on this site. These articles were written to help alumni and former students to understand the background of this group’s request for a statement. The Statement on Race from Bob Jones University is this “statement of regret and reconciliation.” Therefore, we are removing the evidentiary article. As well, the site URL will not be renewed.
Documentation about the new statement can now be found on media outselts and blogs, of which the following are representative:
- MSNBC (as well as ABC, and other AP outlets)
- Christianity Today
- WYFF Greenville (& follow up story with video)
- GoUpstate.com
- Paleoevangelical (added Jan. ‘09)
- Jacob Levy (McGill University professor)
- Ethics Daily
- A Time to Laugh (author and former BJU professor)
- Rick Garnett (Notre Dame professor)
- Lehigh Valley Live
- Inside Higher Ed.
- International Herald Tribune
- Rev. Gerald Britt
New Statement about Race at Bob Jones University
http://www.bju.edu/about/race.html
Statement about Race at Bob Jones University, released Nov 20, 2008
At Bob Jones University, Scripture is our final authority for faith and practice and it is our intent to have it govern all of our policies. It teaches that God created the human race as one race. History, reality and Scripture affirm that in that act of creation was the potential for great diversity, manifested today by the remarkable racial and cultural diversity of humanity. Scripture also teaches that this beautiful, God-caused and sustained diversity is divinely intended to incline mankind to seek the Lord and depend on Him for salvation from sin (Acts 17:24–28).
The true unity of humanity is found only through faith in Christ alone for salvation from sin—in contrast to the superficial unity found in humanistic philosophies or political points of view. For those made new in Christ, all sinful social, cultural and racial barriers are erased (Colossians 3:11), allowing the beauty of redeemed human unity in diversity to be demonstrated through the Church.
The Christian is set free by Christ’s redeeming grace to love God fully and to love his neighbor as himself, regardless of his neighbor’s race or culture. As believers, we demonstrate our love for others first by presenting Christ our Great Savior to every person, irrespective of race, culture, or national origin. This we do in obedience to Christ’s final command to proclaim the Gospel to all men (Matthew 28:19–20). As believers we are also committed to demonstrating the love of Christ daily in our relationships with others, disregarding the economic, cultural and racial divisions invented by sinful humanity (Luke 10:25–37; James 2:1–13).
Bob Jones University has existed since 1927 as a private Christian institution of higher learning for the purpose of helping young men and women cultivate a biblical worldview, represent Christ and His Gospel to others, and glorify God in every dimension of life.
BJU’s history has been chiefly characterized by striving to achieve those goals; but like any human institution, we have failures as well. For almost two centuries American Christianity, including BJU in its early stages, was characterized by the segregationist ethos of American culture. Consequently, for far too long, we allowed institutional policies regarding race to be shaped more directly by that ethos than by the principles and precepts of the Scriptures. We conformed to the culture rather than provide a clear Christian counterpoint to it.
In so doing, we failed to accurately represent the Lord and to fulfill the commandment to love others as ourselves. For these failures we are profoundly sorry. Though no known antagonism toward minorities or expressions of racism on a personal level have ever been tolerated on our campus, we allowed institutional policies to remain in place that were racially hurtful.
On national television in March 2000, Bob Jones III, who was the university’s president until 2005, stated that BJU was wrong in not admitting African-American students before 1971, which sadly was a common practice of both public and private universities in the years prior to that time. On the same program, he announced the lifting of the University’s policy against interracial dating.
Our sincere desire is to exhibit a truly Christlike spirit and biblical position in these areas. Today, Bob Jones University enrolls students from all 50 states and nearly 50 countries, representing various ethnicities and cultures. The University solicits financial support for two scholarship funds for minority applicants, and the administration is committed to maintaining on the campus the racial and cultural diversity and harmony characteristic of the true Church of Jesus Christ throughout the world.
Help with Shipping Costs
We at please-reconcile.org have been extremely focused on keeping our motives, attitudes and actions as pure as possible, so as to not detract from the message of the Open Letter. Because of this approach, the de facto leadership group has self-funded the website and infrastructure. However, as we go to print on Nov 19 for mailing the packet of documents to the administration and board at Bob Jones University, we are asking for a little help from you.
We don’t want to collect too much; just what we need for actual costs for printing, paper, postage. We’ll post a clear accounting of what it all cost after we finish the shipment so that this all remains above board.
Our estimated cost quote right now is that we’ll need approximately $400-$450 to send out approximately 90 packets to the Board, Cooperating Board and Administrative Board at BJU. We’ve received $175 already from the leadership team members, so we need just a little more help. We are also sending them emails with PDF documents for those members who have email. We wanted to make it convenient for them to read the letter, see our names, see our comments and in so doing, understand our hearts for this cause and the motivation for reconciliation.
If you can help with a few dollars, please donate via paypal below. If you can’t help, just pray. Seriously. All this is for naught without God’s help.
UPDATED 11:36PM PST, Nov 18: DON’T SEND ANY MORE MONEY! We raised $490 in 10 hours. Thank you so much for your generosity. We’ll find out the exact costs at the printer on Nov 19 and will report back here. I’m taking the PayPal Donate button off this article for now.
Collection of Blogs and Facebook posts
We have one week left. For those who are just learning about this issue, here are some other articles that have been written in the last 6 months about the please-reconcile site and the Open Letter.
BLOG POSTS (newest on top)
- The White House, on Nov 18
- A Time to Laugh, on Nov 18
- Where Do the Mermaids Stand, on Nov 18
- Karagraphy, new post on Nov 17
- And So It Goes, new post on Nov 17
- Unmeasured Grace, new post on Nov 17
- The Savage’s Lair, new post on Nov 17
- A Time to Laugh, new post on Nov 17
- The Mercied, updated Nov 16
- Broken Silence, new post on Nov 15
- Paleoevangelical
- Broken Silence
- True Womanhood
- Karagraphy
- Solid Ground
- The Happy Surprise
- Cold Fusion Guy
- Cold Fusion Guy, again
- A Time to Laugh
- Internet Monk
FACEBOOK NOTES, accessible to all Facebook users.
Deadline approaching
We plan to send the letter to BJU on November 19th. If you have not signed yet, or if you have friends who have not signed, please consider signing and asking others to do the same. We appreciate and have been touched by the thoughts many of you have shared along with your signatures.
Thank you for praying that this effort will remove barriers to the gospel and bring some healing to those who have been hurt. We desire reconciliation.