Bob Jones Changes Mind About Jungle Fever!
Posted Saturday, March 4, 2000, at 1:01 AM ETBob Jones III announced an astonishing, seemingly spur-of-the-moment decision March 3 on Larry King Live. Remember that little rule BJU had against interracial dating? The one that (as Chatterbox pointed out in an earlier item) BJU, in a recent online reply to its critics, couldn't seem to decide was essential or negligible in the great battle against the Antichrist? The one that caused BJU to lose its tax exemption? Well, guess what? Jones decided the damned thing wasn't worth all the indigestion it was giving him!
PRINT
DISCUSS
E-MAIL
RSS
RECOMMEND...
Facebook
MySpace
Mixx
Digg
Reddit
del.icio.us
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Sphere
StumbleUponHere is what Jones said on the CNN program:
[W]e don't have to have that rule. In fact, as of today, we have dropped the rule. ... I met with the administrators this afternoon before coming here. But let me tell you why we dropped it. We don't want this to be a--here is a great institution, one of the premier academic institutions in America, one of the premier Christian colleges of America. We have a broader testimony. And if all anybody can see is this rule, which we never talk about or preach, which most of our students couldn't even tell you what it is. It is that unimportant to us.
I said to our administration, you know, guys, this thing is of such insignificance to us, it is so significant to the world at large, the media particularly, why should we have this here as an obstacle? It hurts our graduates, we love our graduates greatly, it hurts maybe the church, as well. I don't want to hurt the church of Jesus Christ. ...
Does this mean BJU gets its tax exemption back? Apparently not. Here's how Jones fielded a call on this question from a 1994 BJU alumna:
CALLER: With the rule being dropped, how will this affect BJU's tax exemption? Was there any provision in the Supreme Court ruling for tax exemption to be reinstated if the rule is dropped?
JONES: Great question, I'm glad you ask. It won't make any difference at all. There was no provision, and we are not going to take it back. I don't want anybody to think that this rule was dropped for any reason of gain. ... The only gain I want is for everybody to understand that the liberals were all wrong when they said we were racist. They were wrong when they looked at our rule and drew a conclusion about us that was so unflattering and so untrue. I just want to, you know, take this club out of their hand. That's the only thing I want to do.
At this writing (Saturday, 12:30 a.m. EST), a "letter to the nation" that Jones posted today on BJU's Web site makes no mention of the new policy, but Chatterbox doesn't see how Jones can take it back now. So hurrah! Students of different races may now date at BJU! They still can't hold hands, of course--even white students at BJU aren't allowed to do that with one another--but it's a start. ...
E-mail Timothy Noah at .
Happy Birthday, Smokey Bear
Are Gas Grills More Eco-Friendly Than Charcoal Ones?
He-Man: Briefs of Rage and Other Toy-Inspired Movies We're Dying To See
Kaus: Seven Possible Theories Explaining Palin's Resignation
The U.S. Embassy in Djibouti Cordially Invites You to a Fourth of July Cookout
The Week's Best Editorial Cartoons
Highlights from The Fray:
The recent flap and media circus surrounding Bob Jones University would be funny if it weren't so ludicrous. When I read press reports about BJU I wonder if it's the same school I attended and graduated from in 1978.
It is true that students aren't to touch or hold hands. For those who've never been called on to exercise discipline in this area I'm sure that it sounds hokey. But there is something to be said about dating someone for conversation and friendship and getting to know someone before moving on to the physical side of a relationship. I didn't agree with the inter-racial dating policy and am glad they dropped it. But it never was an issue for most students.
In our era of political correctness and tolerance, it is intolerable to be different. BJU marches to a different drummer and by God's grace it always will. It's a great school. If you want to send your children to state schools with drug problems, co-ed dorms, party animals, etc, go right ahead. You won't find those problems at BJU. Your daughter won't be making out with guys she dates, she won't get pregnant or want an abortion. BJU is not part of the problem of our decadent nation. It's not a utopia but an oasis.
--Steve Davis
(To reply, click here.)
No one really thinks that Bush's appearance at Bob Jones indicates that he is personally anti-Catholic. What folks find offensive is that Bush was spinelessly pandering to folks who hold irrational and offensive views. The objection is not that Bush himself is personally bigoted but that, in appearing at BJU without speaking out about their racist and anti-Catholic views, Bush doesn't take the bigotry of others seriously enough. Bush will tolerate bigotry in the name of the higher cause of getting himself elected. This is the criticism that both Keyes and McCain have pressed against Bush's appearance in the Republican debates. Keyes appeared at BJU and took them to task and McCain said he would have done the same had he been invited to speak there. McCain's phone calls did not suggest that Bush was himself a bigot. By reminding Catholics in Michigan of Bush's BJU appearance, they effectively said, "Look, Dubya is willing to pander to folks who irrationally castigate you." This criticism is factual and fair. Bush's whining is an obvious and flawed effort to divert attention from this criticism, which is in my view is fully justified.
--tom stacy
(To reply, click here.)
If, as I have previously understood, BJU prohibited interracial dating based on Biblical teachings, how then can the university lift this ban? This seems to be a sacrilegious departure. And what scriptures seem to support the theory to begin with? How is Moses marriage to a Black woman explained or justified? Admission of other races to your university does not eliminate the taint of intolerance. While Mr. Paisley et al have railed against the Catholic church and the office of the Pope, it is a lot easier to admire an institution that takes a stand on dogma and sticks with it even when it is unpopular,(read--birth control) than one who does a backstep when questions arise concerning the veracity of the stance. (Before anyone goes off half-cocked to point out that the Church has backed off some issues, make sure that what you are talking about is faith and morals, not about eating meat on Friday or denying that Copernicus had a valid point.)
--Granny B
(To reply, click here.)
(3/7)