[adam42381]

Replace those Muslims with Jews or Christians and ask yourself whether he would have made the same statement. The answer is pretty obvious.

Jews and Christians aren't doing that, are they??

Maybe not Jews, but Christians have been the main perpetrators of mass shootings in the US.

[adam42381]

'We could end those Christians before they walk in..."
"So we can teach them a lesson....'

'We could end those Jews before they walk in..."
"So we can teach them a lesson....'

[Purple Haize]

'We could end those Christians before they walk in..."
"So we can teach them a lesson....'

'We could end those Jews before they walk in..."
"So we can teach them a lesson....'

Look at me being helpful

[jinxy]

Adam is completely clueless as usual.

[LUinPA]

Replace those Muslims with Jews or Christians and ask yourself whether he would have made the same statement. The answer is pretty obvious.

Jews and Christians aren't doing that, are they??

Maybe not Jews, but Christians have been the main perpetrators of mass shootings in the US.

Examples please!

[adam42381]

Examples please!

Seriously? I'm not doing your homework for you. It won't take you long.

[adam42381]

Adam is completely clueless as usual.

That may be a compliment coming from this crowd.

[Purple Haize]

Adam is completely clueless as usual.

How so? I wouldn't agree with him that most of these attack were done by Christians but they were certainly done by Non Muslims

[thepostman]

I think the difference is they didn't do it in the name of Christ. I get what you're saying though Adam. They would probably call themselves Christians.

[LUinPA]

What is the argument here? Are we defending Muslims or claiming that Christians are killing in the name of there faith.

[Yacht Rock]

Adam is completely clueless as usual.

How so? I wouldn't agree with him that most of these attack were done by Christians but they were certainly done by Non Muslims

This. To argue that practicing Christians carry out the majority of attacks is specious. However, it is important to understand that the kind of threat most in the US will be protecting themselves against with a concealed weapon won't be Muslim extremists. It will be random crazy guy, etc.

We do need to be realistic about the threat they pose, but like I said, there are more tactful, Christ-centered approaches to discussing that topic. I expect a school that prides itself of building "Champions for Christ" to consider difficult topics like this from a Christian worldview, not the worldview of say, Donald Trump. Nothing against Donald, but he's not a Christian leader so that's not expected from him.

[adam42381]

What is the argument here? Are we defending Muslims or claiming that Christians are killing in the name of there faith.

Neither. I was just pointing out that Jr. wouldn't have mentioned the religion of the attackers if they weren't Muslim. He specifically chose to speak about them when there have been several recent attacks by people who were non-Muslim.

[Yacht Rock]

What is the argument here? Are we defending Muslims or claiming that Christians are killing in the name of there faith.

The argument is that the president of a Christian university should be able to respond to situations like this in a way that encourages campus safety while pursuing the goal of "Training Champions for Christ."

You're not training people for Christ when you tell students to "teach them a lesson" by "ending them (Muslims) before they walk in the door."

It's not about being PC or being sensitive. I'm one of the least sensitive people I know. Ask my wife. Lol

This is about looking at the bigger picture and considering the damage that can be done to the mission of the university and the overall goal of winning souls for Christ. A good leader knows how to address these topics gracefully while getting the message across. I personally can think of a dozen different ways to say what needed to be said.

[LUinPA]

I appreciate the conversation Yacht... I simply look at this differently. If Falwell Sr. had made the statement then perhaps I would have been more questionable of it as he was a Chancellor of a University as well as a Pastor of a large Church. However, since his passing I feel the role JR plays is different as he is exclusively part of the school while Jonathan is exclusive to the church. Had Jonathan stated this then I would have a harder time reckonsiling the statement.

I just don't think the statement is so jaw dropping for him in the role he plays as chancellor.

[Yacht Rock]

I appreciate the conversation Yacht... I simply look at this differently. If Falwell Sr. had made the statement then perhaps I would have been more questionable of it as he was a Chancellor of a University as well as a Pastor of a large Church. However, since his passing I feel the role JR plays is different as he is exclusively part of the school while Jonathan is exclusive to the church. Had Jonathan stated this then I would have a harder time reckonsiling the statement.

I just don't think the statement is so jaw dropping for him in the role he plays as chancellor.

I understand that he's not a pastor but the reality is that if you lead a large Christian organization, whether it be a school, a charity, non-profit, etc your public statements have consequences. These statements do nothing to help the mission of the school.

The reality is that comments like this don't live in a bubble. For better or for worse people will look to Jr as an example of the Christian response to Muslim extremism. The reality that this happened at Convo only hammers home that point. This wasn't an off the cuff statement caught on video during a seemingly private conversation. A good leader should know better when it comes to considering the consequences of their statements and how they will be perceived.

[Schfourteenteen]

Has to stink coming from a middle-eastern/south asian background and working for Liberty right now.

[Colbster757]

If you listen to the entire speech, I don't understand how people are assuming he was referring to all Muslims.

Worth a listen.

[ALAFlamesFan]

Smh...
Just when I was starting to be proud of how far my school has come..back to the stone age.
No one can spin this in a way that glorifies Christ or reflects an attitude representative of what a Christian institutional leader should be about.

Even if you disagree with my position above you have to know this is a PR disaster for the institution he leads. I wonder how this might affect recruiting (both athletic, academic, top faculty, events like a Republican debate, etc) ?

This thing has gotten major traction in the media. Just a huge black eye for LU and damaging to the efforts of Christians around the world trying to reach out to the disenfranchised. Makes us look small, fearful and petty. It plays right into the jihadist narrative of this being a holy war between religions. Nicely done.

[01LUGrad]

This is currently the top story on CNN.com.

Huhhhhhhhh.

[Purple Haize]

If you listen to the entire speech, I don't understand how people are assuming he was referring to all Muslims.

Worth a listen.

It's the first thing I did when the whole thing hit the news The first statement about 'those Muslims' could be taken either way but on first blush, it's a tough spin. However, the second statement about 'teach them a lesson...' Makes the first sentence tougher to defend. Teach who a lesson? The SB shooters are dead, so it's not them. He never mentioned any other incident, so it's not them. The only people he mentioned were 'those Muslims' so it's not that difficult to deduce that he is talking about teaching those Muslims a lesson

I heard him interviewed about the statement yesterday on local radio and he said he would not change one word of his comments if given the chance. He didn't mention the other attacks, just the 'Islamic Threat'. If his point was to encourage more people to conceal carry, he certainly is going about it in a ham handed manner more appropriate for Alex Jones than a University President. (Let alone a lawyer, whose profession demands clarity of words)

[thepostman]

Well that would be the difference between him and his dad. He said some dumb things but more often than not h3 would apologize for how he presented himself.

[Yacht Rock]

It's either pride or ignorance. Either way it's sad.

[ballah09]

that was painful to listen to, trying to justify his comments. fact is non muslims have committed more mass shootings, christian or not is debatable. Islamic terrorism mo is to blow themselves up or to plant explosives and JR won't prevent that esp if they go undetectable. seriously most of them aren't that stupid. his comments were a slap in the face to average muslims. we would feel the same way if we were generalized by a secular president with the pp shooter.

I love what JR has done to the campus with expansion and all that but his politics and arrogance is only going to hurt students and alumni.

[thepostman]

I'm sure bj will send him a pm any day now about this issue.

[Purple Haize]

I'm sure bj will send him a pm any day now about this issue.

Funny. I thought the same thing. He's going to run tell the teacher on us!