Here comes a story from the Chicago Tribune about a Wheaton College Professor who was fired for divorcing. Evidently, most merciful and all-knowing Wheaton President Duane Litfin has passed judgment – as in cast the first stone – against Wheaton College English professor Kent Gramm. His divorce has evidently rendered him incapable of, as their mission explains, “combine [ing] faith and learning in order to produce a biblical perspective needed to relate Christian experience to the demands of those needs.”
As one looks more closely at the Wheaton College mission
one notices no mention of or commitment to citizenship or social justice. Just to their god. As such, it follows mercy doesn’t factor in, as naughty behaviors are just simply profane. Naughty behaviors should be walled out of the city of god. Let these victims of evil suffer under the weight of their sin (in god’s name, of course!).
Below is an image from the Chicago Tribune of Kent Gramm.
As a humanist with a Catholic background, I certainly sympathize with him. At the same time, I feel something in me that says he’s getting as good as he gave. As he sat in his classes and either overtly or covertly fostered an environment that encouraged judgment on his brothers and sisters (on matters that hurt nobody), he was setting himself up for similar scrutiny. For someone versed in the humanities, he should have been ashamed of himself.
1 response so far ↓
Bailey // May 2, 2008 at 4:00 am |
As an alum of Wheaton, I’ve got to say that I’m disappointed with the college.
However, I have to take issue with what you said about Dr. Gramm. I had him for a few classes, and he was a very soft-spoken, non-judgmental person.
Wheaton college is a strange place. It seems to me that there is a divide between the teaching staff and administration. As a philosophy and Lit major, I had great teachers. They all encouraged me to seek truth, even outside of Christian parameters. Personally, this led me to Buddhism. Most of my friends became agnostic or existentialists. My professors, especially in the philosophy department, got this. Wheaton seems to have some great people teaching their classes.
However the administration seems a bit 15th century. I remember how my pre-med roommate (now in residency) was shocked when his favorite prof was fired for not teaching… creationism. As if a biology professor could somehow teach that the world was 6,000 years old! Insane.
Gramm’s a good guy. Wheaton college? Not so much.