[VAGolf]

Looks like I'll be skipping my own graduation.

Good. Less traffic in town. I chortle audibly.

You Bama fans are mean.

[TH Spangler]

Being from the Triad, I noticed that High Point had Bill Cosby and Lance Armstrong recently. And they had Jeb's sister in law, Laura.

I'll be there ... Jeb works for me but don't tell him, I'm voting for Walker ....

[Kiwon]

It's impressive that Falwell pulled in two presidential candidates in one semester.

What I don't like, at graduation, is a campaign speech. I like Bobby Jindal well enough, and he actually has an interesting and inspiring testimony, but his speech a couple of years ago at graduation was a campaign litany. It wasn't inspiring for the grads, but could have been.

"...a campaign litany" is a cliche and a completely inaccurate description of what transpired.

Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke last year, not two years ago, and spoke mainly about religious freedom. I was present and his message was encouraging the graduates to engage the world even as Christians face increased hostility and religious freedoms are being systematically suppressed. His message was spot-on, in my opinion. I guessed correctly and the Benham brothers were in attendance and highlighted as examples of believers standing strong in the face of obvious discrimination.

His closing remarks...."So…we’ve established that our culture has taken a secular turn, we’ve established that persecution of Christians is on the rise throughout the world, we’ve established that religious liberty here in America is under siege, we’ve established that the Left no longer wants to debate, they simply want to silence us.

Now what? What do we do about it? What should you do about it?

First of all, you should be optimistic and be of good cheer. This is an exciting time to be a believer.

It is true that Christians are the last group that it is OK to discriminate against in America. But so what?

If God is with us, who can be against us?

To the graduates: just a couple of last words of advice.

Don’t see yourself as a victim; America already has enough people who see themselves as victims.

You should go out into the world: boldly be the salt and light in a world that needs you now more than ever before.

And most of all, you should be bold in your faith and embrace opportunities to stand up for the truth, just like those people in my life.

You never know when you might be planting a seed that will change someone’s life forever.

God bless you, congratulations on your graduation, God bless the great faculty, staff, and students of Liberty University. Congratulations to the Class of 2014."

You say that his message, "...wasn't inspiring for the grads, but could have been." How did you determine what thousands of other people were thinking?

It might have been boring to non-Christians and uninformed believers who don't care about the secularization of the culture and erosion of religious freedoms. But, in my estimation, when an informed scholar and Christian leader in the public square speaks about these issues other believers should be paying attention.

Again, you are way off base to characterize Gov. Bobby Jindal's remarks as a "campaign litany." Simply criticizing the Obama administration policies by name and speaking about current events like the Hobby Lobby case don't equal a personal appeal to vote for him as POTUS some 2.5 years later. That's silly. Watch it again or read the transcript and I think you'll realize your error.

http://www.liberty.edu/promotionalpubli ... MID=119517

[TH Spangler]

Thanks once again Kiwon for setting the "FF spin" straight.

It's impressive that Falwell pulled in two presidential candidates in one semester.

What I don't like, at graduation, is a campaign speech. I like Bobby Jindal well enough, and he actually has an interesting and inspiring testimony, but his speech a couple of years ago at graduation was a campaign litany. It wasn't inspiring for the grads, but could have been.

"...a campaign litany" is a cliche and a completely inaccurate description of what transpired.

Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke last year, not two years ago, and spoke mainly about religious freedom. I was present and his message was encouraging the graduates to engage the world even as Christians face increased hostility and religious freedoms are being systematically suppressed. His message was spot-on, in my opinion. I guessed correctly and the Benham brothers were in attendance and highlighted as examples of believers standing strong in the face of obvious discrimination.

His closing remarks...."So…we’ve established that our culture has taken a secular turn, we’ve established that persecution of Christians is on the rise throughout the world, we’ve established that religious liberty here in America is under siege, we’ve established that the Left no longer wants to debate, they simply want to silence us.

Now what? What do we do about it? What should you do about it?

First of all, you should be optimistic and be of good cheer. This is an exciting time to be a believer.

It is true that Christians are the last group that it is OK to discriminate against in America. But so what?

If God is with us, who can be against us?

To the graduates: just a couple of last words of advice.

Don’t see yourself as a victim; America already has enough people who see themselves as victims.

You should go out into the world: boldly be the salt and light in a world that needs you now more than ever before.

And most of all, you should be bold in your faith and embrace opportunities to stand up for the truth, just like those people in my life.

You never know when you might be planting a seed that will change someone’s life forever.

God bless you, congratulations on your graduation, God bless the great faculty, staff, and students of Liberty University. Congratulations to the Class of 2014."

You say that his message, "...wasn't inspiring for the grads, but could have been." How did you determine what thousands of other people were thinking?

It might have been boring to non-Christians and uninformed believers who don't care about the secularization of the culture and erosion of religious freedoms. But, in my estimation, when an informed scholar and Christian leader in the public square speaks about these issues other believers should be paying attention.

Again, you are way off base to characterize Gov. Bobby Jindal's remarks as a "campaign litany." Simply criticizing the Obama administration policies by name and speaking about current events like the Hobby Lobby case don't equal a personal appeal to vote for him as POTUS some 2.5 years later. That's silly. Watch it again or read the transcript and I think you'll realize your error.

http://www.liberty.edu/promotionalpubli ... MID=119517

[LUminary]

It's impressive that Falwell pulled in two presidential candidates in one semester.

What I don't like, at graduation, is a campaign speech. I like Bobby Jindal well enough, and he actually has an interesting and inspiring testimony, but his speech a couple of years ago at graduation was a campaign litany. It wasn't inspiring for the grads, but could have been.

"...a campaign litany" is a cliche and a completely inaccurate description of what transpired.

Gov. Bobby Jindal spoke last year, not two years ago, and spoke mainly about religious freedom. I was present and his message was encouraging the graduates to engage the world even as Christians face increased hostility and religious freedoms are being systematically suppressed. His message was spot-on, in my opinion. I guessed correctly and the Benham brothers were in attendance and highlighted as examples of believers standing strong in the face of obvious discrimination.

His closing remarks...."So…we’ve established that our culture has taken a secular turn, we’ve established that persecution of Christians is on the rise throughout the world, we’ve established that religious liberty here in America is under siege, we’ve established that the Left no longer wants to debate, they simply want to silence us.

Now what? What do we do about it? What should you do about it?

First of all, you should be optimistic and be of good cheer. This is an exciting time to be a believer.

It is true that Christians are the last group that it is OK to discriminate against in America. But so what?

If God is with us, who can be against us?

To the graduates: just a couple of last words of advice.

Don’t see yourself as a victim; America already has enough people who see themselves as victims.

You should go out into the world: boldly be the salt and light in a world that needs you now more than ever before.

And most of all, you should be bold in your faith and embrace opportunities to stand up for the truth, just like those people in my life.

You never know when you might be planting a seed that will change someone’s life forever.

God bless you, congratulations on your graduation, God bless the great faculty, staff, and students of Liberty University. Congratulations to the Class of 2014."

You say that his message, "...wasn't inspiring for the grads, but could have been." How did you determine what thousands of other people were thinking?

It might have been boring to non-Christians and uninformed believers who don't care about the secularization of the culture and erosion of religious freedoms. But, in my estimation, when an informed scholar and Christian leader in the public square speaks about these issues other believers should be paying attention.

Again, you are way off base to characterize Gov. Bobby Jindal's remarks as a "campaign litany." Simply criticizing the Obama administration policies by name and speaking about current events like the Hobby Lobby case don't equal a personal appeal to vote for him as POTUS some 2.5 years later. That's silly. Watch it again or read the transcript and I think you'll realize your error.

http://www.liberty.edu/promotionalpubli ... MID=119517

Sorry to offend. That wasn't my intention.

A few points: I like Bobby Jindal. I heard his testimony about being a Christian in a 10-minute radio segment a good while before I heard him at graduation. It was outstanding. Would have liked to have heard more of that at graduation. You are correct, it was last year. I should have remembered that because my son graduated and I was there as well. I actually agree with his political positions and I would support him if he was the Republican nominee. I didn't disagree with anything he said at graduation. However, memory lapse aside, I recall a very long speech that was overwhelmingly political in nature and nothing that was particularly inspiring, other than a few moments such as the last few lines that you cited. I don't need to go back and read the entire speech. I know what I heard. And I'm not speaking for others. It's just my interpretation, my opinion. You obviously have a different opinion, and different analysis. Fair enough. I'm not against a politically-oriented speech, I just didn't care for that much of one in a graduation setting. Pardon any further cliches I might have stumbled across, and glad you enjoyed his speech. I like him and what he stands for, I just didn't care for what, to me, was overtly political at a graduation ceremony.

[ballcoach15]

Why would anyone skip their own commencement ?

[thepostman]

I skipped mine. I decided that I wanted to celebrate my accomplishment in a much less stressful way. I've never regretted it.

[ATrain]

Why would anyone skip their own commencement ?

If it wasn't for the fact that I was the first in my family to a master's degree, I would've likely skipped out. Of course, had one of our tennis teams just won the Big South tourney, I would've likely had to have missed it.

[BJWilliams]

I didn't want to skip mine, it was seven years in the making...course even if I did, my parents wouldnt have let me for the same reason)

[Purple Haize]

Why would anyone skip their own commencement ?

I had headphones on listening to the Bulls/Pistons game. Passed notes down the aisle with score updates. We also handed marbles to our President as he shook our hands. Great prank
I didn't attend my Master's Commencemet

[Kiwon]

http://www.liberty.edu/promotionalpubli ... MID=119517

Sorry to offend. That wasn't my intention.

A few points: I like Bobby Jindal. I heard his testimony about being a Christian in a 10-minute radio segment a good while before I heard him at graduation. It was outstanding. Would have liked to have heard more of that at graduation. You are correct, it was last year. I should have remembered that because my son graduated and I was there as well. I actually agree with his political positions and I would support him if he was the Republican nominee. I didn't disagree with anything he said at graduation. However, memory lapse aside, I recall a very long speech that was overwhelmingly political in nature and nothing that was particularly inspiring, other than a few moments such as the last few lines that you cited. I don't need to go back and read the entire speech. I know what I heard. And I'm not speaking for others. It's just my interpretation, my opinion. You obviously have a different opinion, and different analysis. Fair enough. I'm not against a politically-oriented speech, I just didn't care for that much of one in a graduation setting. Pardon any further cliches I might have stumbled across, and glad you enjoyed his speech. I like him and what he stands for, I just didn't care for what, to me, was overtly political at a graduation ceremony.

No, no....you didn't offend me. I just disagreed with your characterization.

The speech was a little long, but substantive. But the ceremony itself was long. There were so many graduates that the processional took what, 25-30 minutes? That's my guess. I think LU will have to go to two graduation ceremonies, Fall and Spring, soon. I am just glad that the rain mainly held off. People were told not to bring their umbrellas inside the stadium and most followed the rules. But when the rain started, I saw several pop out. Uh-uh, we've got sin in the camp.

In Jindal's case, I view him as a smart, sincere Christian leader (Catholic) who happens to hold public office. I don't doubt his altruistic motives for wanting to do elected public service. I want to see more like him in politics, not fewer.

I think for many Christian leaders that speaking at Liberty's graduation and receiving an honorary doctorate is truly an honor. Liberty's heritage, mission, vision and success make it a distinctive and attractive place for conservative leaders to come and share their values and concerns without the constraints they would find on most campuses.

Actually, Jeb Bush's speech this year will have more significance in a political sense than anything from last year. He is another Catholic convert, like Jindal, and needs Christian conservatives to help elect him after he announces his candidacy. He will speak on education, of course, but I will be interested to hear what other themes he includes in his remarks.

[TH Spangler]

I wonder if he will bring up Common Core?

[jack_sparrow81]

There is no way he brings up Common Core in that setting

[ballcoach15]

May 2015: I can think of no better speaker than Jeb Bush, all things considered.

[JK37]

I skipped my master's commencement, too. My bachelor's ended up being the first without Doc. I'll never forget that.

I think once you've done it, it loses it's luster.

[Purple Haize]

I skipped my master's commencement, too. My bachelor's ended up being the first without Doc. I'll never forget that.

I think once you've done it, it loses it's luster.

That's what she.....

[LUminary]

Liberty's heritage, mission, vision and success make it a distinctive and attractive place for conservative leaders to come and share their values and concerns without the constraints they would find on most campuses.

I'm glad that's the case. And on that we totally agree.

[ATrain]

I skipped my master's commencement, too. My bachelor's ended up being the first without Doc. I'll never forget that.

I think once you've done it, it loses it's luster.

Yeah, I remember my bachelor's quite well for that reason.

For my master's degree, after they called my name and I walked across the stage, I left.

[Sly Fox]

I was living in Corpus Christi and chose not to walk rather than have my family feel compelled to take the trip to Lynchburg. It would be a different experience now because an excuse to go Lynchburg is something I hunt these days.

[TH Spangler]

May 2015: I can think of no better speaker than Jeb Bush, all things considered.

Roger Ailes, chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group would be a good choice one year. He's a good speaker.

https://www.liberty.edu/academics/communications/

[VAGolf]

May 2015: I can think of no better speaker than Jeb Bush, all things considered.

My left sock would be a better speaker than Jeb Bush.

[LUOrange]

As a school, that was founded by Dr. Jerry Falwell, I don't have a problem with most of our commencement speakers being prominent conservative political leaders. In my opinion, that's who we are and it's part of what makes us unique.

We are a conservative Christian university, that was founded by a politically active Pastor who wasn't scared to take unpopular moral stands. He made mistakes and said stupid things, but he was a good man who was willing to stand up for Christ. I think our nation is in the moral trouble that it is because no national Christian leader stepped up when he passed. We shouldn't change who are for public perception or for a football conference, as the Sun Belt Board whackos suggest. After all, I don't see these prominent leaders begging to speak at their schools.

That said, I'm very politically active and not a Jeb Bush fan. I'd prefer Walker or Rubio as the speaker. However, I'll bet our speaker next year will be the Republican frontrunner or nominee. Personally, I wouldn't mind it if the speaker was Tim Hawkins, the Kendrick brothers, LTC Ralph Peters, or Admiral Wiliam McRaven.

[ballcoach15]

Who is LTC Peters ?

[Sly Fox]

Fox News analyst

[Purple Haize]

Fox News analyst

Also a good author. Great Civil War book. Hell or Richmond
http://www.amazon.com/Hell-Richmond-Ral ... 0765336251