Update on Dr. Kenneth Howell

The University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana has relented and will allow Dr. Kenneth Howell to teach on Catholicism. Dr. Howell, a popular teacher, was fired for expressing the views of the Catholic Church in a class about Catholicism.

This case was truly bizarre. It made as much sense as firing a physics professor for talking about General Relativity, or a history professor for mentioning the Civil War. Likely the humiliating publicity caused the university to back down.

Make no mistake about it: at many public universities the long knives are out for Christians and any who would defend them. The princes of this world are jealous of their power.

Update on Dr. Kenneth Howell

Alliance Defense Fund attorneys have sent a letter to the University of Illinois protesting the firing of Dr. Howell because of he religious beliefs.

There are some Christians who believe that "separation of church and state" means humbly accepting every decision handed down by governments. This is not true. For the time being, Christians still have civil liberties. It is no sin to protest an unjust decision by a university that has violated its own professed belief in freedom of speech.

Remember: the world will judge Christians by their own standards. So what is wrong with pointing out that the world cannot live up to its own standards? Firing Dr. Howell was the antithesis - not the affirmation - of what the secular world professes to believe. For Christians, turning the other cheek does not mean turn away from the truth.

Witness to the faith: Ken Howell

Ken Howell, an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois who taught courses on Catholicism, was fired for stating that he believed that homosexuality is immoral. The charge that such beliefs constitute a "hate crime" is rapidly becoming the weapon of choice for the suppression of views and beliefs that happen to annoy the rich and powerful few.

The day is coming in the United States when disagreeing with state-approved religious beliefs (homosexuality, environmentalism, feminism, etc.) will be punishable by firing - or worse. More and more will suffer Ken Howell's fate.

Many American Christians have watched the persecution of Christians in Communist and Muslim countries and have breathed a prayer, "Thank God we have freedom here!" That freedom is slowly but inexorably coming to an end as the princes of this world flex their muscle and crack down on those they view as enemies.

It is safe to say that on the University of Illinois campus one could find a course or two in which tactics of the late Senator Joseph McCarthy are denounced as a dark and sinister threat to American civil liberties. Ironically, the University of Illinois has taken a page out of McCarthy's book in adopting its own blacklist and eliminating professors who will not swear an oath of fealty to the state religious belief of homosexuality.

UPDATE: (4:00 PM 7/10/10) The AP article states that Howell was recognized in 2008 and 2009 for being an outstanding teacher.

Then there is this:

Cary Nelson, president of the American Association of University Professors, said professors should be able to tell students their own views and even argue in favor of them, provided students can disagree without being penalized.

"It's part of intellectual life to advocate for points of view," said Nelson, an emeritus English professor at the University of Illinois. "Hopefully when they go out in the world, they can emulate that. They can argue a case, and do it in a well-informed and articulate way, and can make a more productive contribution to our democracy that way."

Shouldn't secular universities like the University of Illinios live up to their pledges to be places of free and open inquiry, free from discrimination and hostility towards the opinions of others?