Mr. Jeffrey, who had taught or mentored many in the audience during his days at the University of Ottawa, did not disappoint. He expounded on how many students in North American universities are blithely ignorant about the Bible, a complacency he says threatens Christianity and, as a result, Western civilization itself. In one of Mr. Jeffrey's classes before moving to Baylor, only three of 30 students knew about Noah and the flood, and none was really sure what the story meant. They weren't even embarrassed to admit it.
Without some knowledge of the Bible, we can't know the basis of our laws, literature, science, or our fundamental outlook on the world, Mr. Jeffrey told the audience. As knowledge fades, we cease to remember why it was important, and civilization loses its train of thought. After the applause, Mr. Jeffrey was besieged with so many well-wishers that it took him more than an hour to get from the podium to the parking lot.
Few of his fans knew that essentially the same speech, delivered two years earlier, had almost ended his career at Baylor, where he teaches English literature. Colleagues wanted him fired. His family was threatened, their tires slashed, sleep interrupted by anonymous phone calls. At college football games, Mr. Jeffrey and his family had to sit behind a plexiglass shield with armed security staff.
Even now, his troubles are by no means behind him.
The Education of David Jeffrey
Monday June 26, 2006
This is a breathtaking story of an extraordinarily gifted Christian scholar, David Jeffrey, and what was done to him here in Texas when he tried to make Baylor University into a more intellectually serious college, but one that was still deeply committed to the faith. The story begins with a speech Jeffrey recently delivered in Canada:
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About Crunchy Con
Rod Dreher is an editorial columnist for the Dallas Morning News, and author of "Crunchy Cons" (Crown Forum), a nonfiction book about conservatives, most of them religious, whose faith and political convictions sometimes put them at odds with mainstream conservatives. The views expressed in this blog are his own.
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Wilted Lilley, if you're referencing Leeper as the woman Lilley picked as Chief of Staff, believe me, the anti-Sloan crowd ain't comfortable with her, either. She led Communications Studies through a virtual gutting of telecom, leading to a crucial lack of funding in one of Baylor's most popular and successful departments. I'm leery of what she'll pull as Lilley's right hand chick, too.
Personally, I can believe that Dreher bought into this article. From everything I've read of his in regards to Baylor, he's had an agenda to prove that Sloan's crowd should still be in power. When you come into a place and automatically assume that you're more Christian than everyone else, of course everyone else is going to be uncomfortable! The newcomers, by claiming to be more Christian or better Baptists than everyone else are being ridiculously judgemental of everyone else! As has been mentioned before, tires get slashed at Baylor all the time because it's located in the midst of one of the poorest sections of Waco. Chances are, it was something of value in sight to a poor Wacoan wanting food/booze/drugs/whatever, not a religio-political statement. Furthermore, the piss locker incident sounds like an average school prank. Hell, boys have been known to explode feces in the microwaves in some of the dorms down here. But does Dreher examine the context, or understand the context of the university featured in this article? No, because if he did that, it wouldn't support his pro-Sloan agenda.
I have news for you, and wonderful news at that--Sloan is gone! Move on, people, especially those of you who never witnessed the atmosphere of fear around this campus when the Sloan/DLJ administration was in power. Common sense would tell you that if Jeffrey dismissed a well-liked prospective hire for being too boring, heaven only knows what he'd pull on the old hires. But common sense isn't applied on this blog, is it?>
I read the Ottawa link and found no mention of plexiglas or armed security. What am I missing?>
Oops, read it again and there it is on page 1 of 7. OK, that's over the top and certainly takes away from the credibility of the rest of the story. The other posters who point out that the plexiglass is part of the luxury sky boxes are correct. They provide no serious protection and in fact physical security was never needed.>
How could a journalist believe this stuff?
Does Dreher know anything about defamation law or basic fact checking?
When presented with a crazy story, check the facts before republishing it.>
That is the most hilarious thing I have ever read. Thanks for the laughs.
If you believe this stuff, you are delusional. Only someone who is unfamiliar with Baylor, Waco and Baptists could believe the material in that article.>
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