When doing right is punishable more than doing wrong.
I know I posted about Chris Peterman’s expulsion from BJU yesterday (the text of the post itself was copied/pasted verbatim from another source). But I’m going to talk about it again today, this time in my own words.
Those of you who are regular readers here are by now quite familiar with Bob Jones University, and even a little bit of the drama that’s been going on there the past year. For those unaware of the drama (and who don’t want to click the previous link and read about it) I’ll post a little synopsis here.
There was a nationally-covered case last year concerning a woman named Tina Anderson, who was raped at the age of 15 by a middle-aged married man in good standing at her church. His name was Ernest “Ernie” Willis. She became pregnant as a result of the rape. When she went to her pastor, Charles “Chuck” Phelps, he had her apologize in a church disciplinary meeting for “being in a compromising situation” that led to her pregnancy, while Ernie only said that he had been in an adulterous relationship – the two confessions were presented as separate, unrelated cases. After this confession, she was expelled from the church-run private school she attended and sent half a country away (from New Hampshire to Colorado) to live with another conservative family until she had the baby, which she was forced to give up for adoption. Her pastor never filed a report with the police (he called them a couple of times, but did not return their calls or follow up further). Her rapist was never outed to the church. The case didn’t come to light until last year, when Tina was contacted by NH police to confirm the story and ask if she wanted to press charges. Ernie was convicted not just for statutory rape but for two counts of forcible rape and sentenced accordingly.
It came to light this past fall that Chuck Phelps, Tina’s former pastor and a graduate of BJU, was on the board for the university despite his cover-up of her rape (in fact, he was a witness for the defense of Tina’s rapist during the trial).
Let me spell that out for you a little more clearly.
Chuck Phelps, the man who forced a 15-year-old girl to apologize to her entire church for being pregnant (without encouraging or allowing her to say that she had been raped nor to name the father), the man who served as a witness in the defense of this girl’s rapist when the case finally came to trial, the man who clearly aligned himself with the rapist and against his child victim – this man was appointed to the board of Bob Jones University. And subsequently defended by the school for his actions.
A student at the school, Christopher Peterman, learned about both the case and Chuck’s position as a board member, and organized a movement called Do Right, BJU (named after a famous saying from the founder of the school, “Do right until the stars fall!”). The movement was designed to pressure BJU to remove Chuck Phelps from his position on the board as well as to encourage the school to start reporting sexual abuse cases as required by law, since the school has a horrendous hidden history of both covering up abuse and victim-blaming. Part of this movement culminated in the first-ever student and alumni led protest held at BJU. The administration initially threatened Chris with expulsion for his “insubordination,” but when the media was alerted to the protest, a spokesman for the school stated that no one involved would suffer any administrative repercussions. Chuck Phelps resigned his position a few days before the protest (supposedly unrelated to the DR-BJU movement, protest, and a petition with over 1,000 signatures demanding his removal). This all happened towards the close of the fall semester of 2011.
As you can imagine, BJU didn’t appreciate Chris’s pressure on them nor the fact that they promised the media nothing would happen to punish him or other students. So, starting in the spring semester of 2012, they put an RA in Chris’s dorm room who frequently informed the dean of men of his activities. People started following him both on campus and off campus to try to catch him doing something that could earn him demerits or get him expelled. His Facebook page and Twitter account were watched constantly to catch him in some kind of wrong-doing. As to the extent of the following and monitoring, Chris says that in the multitudinous meetings he had with the dean of men, Jon Daulton, there were STACKS of printed papers of his Twitter feed and Facebook wall with things highlighted, circled, annotated. The dean of men would email, call, and text him at all hours, demanding to meet with him to discuss his spiritual status. I believe that he was technically on spiritual probation (meaning he had to meet regularly with an uncertified counselor for nouthetic counseling).
It takes 150 demerits to expel someone at BJU. He was recently given 50 demerits for watching an episode of Glee off campus. When he appealed that this was not against the rulebook, they conceded – but gave him the demerits anyway because they found the content of Glee morally reprehensible (the dancing, “immodesty,” and portrayal of homosexuality).
I want to touch on this point again briefly. There are people who keep saying, “But it is against the rules in the rulebook!” I agree that it seems to be, but I also argue that Chris took this before a committee comprised of representatives from the student body, the dean of men’s office, and the dean of women’s office and appealed using the handbook to demonstrate that it was not against the rules to watch the show. And the committee agreed with him. Let me repeat that again. The committee agreed that watching Glee off campus was not an infraction against the handbook. They then said, in essence, “But you should have known better, so you’re getting the demerits anyway.” He got demerits for an unwritten, unspoken rule that was admittedly created on the fly in order to justify giving him 1/3 of the demerits he would need to be expelled, mere weeks before graduation.
Then this past week, the dean of men called him into his office to tell him that he was going to receive 50 demerits for posting the lyrics to Matthew West’s “Only Grace” on his Facebook page (just the lyrics, not the song itself) and he would receive 25 demerits because that post occurred during class. Chris asked if he could appeal, and was given several hours between his initial meeting with the dean of men and the meeting he would have with the discipline committee.
During those hours, he prepared his appeal and also contacted the department of education and TRACS, the accrediting association BJU has its national accreditation with, to see if he had any recourse, believing himself to be already expelled. The conclusion of his meeting with the discipline committee was that he would not receive the 50 demerits for the song lyrics, but would still receive the 25 for posting during class. This left him at 145 demerits. Then he was informed that because he had contacted the DOE and TRACS, that he was being expelled because he was “intimidating” the school.
He was 9 days from graduating and will likely receive no refund.
This…this entire situation unsettles me. Angers me. Saddens me. I have lots of feelings about it all.
Basically, this week I have been reliving my own expulsion and reliving the conflicting feelings I have about it. For those who may not remember, I was expelled from BJU because it was discovered that I had sex with my then-boyfriend now-husband. I have written elsewhere about the shame I have about my sexual desire in general, along with the shame associated with my premarital sexual experiences. This shame, brought about by a lifetime of teaching and conditioning that I should feel shame about it, makes a large part of me feel that my expulsion was warranted. Fair. Just. While I now believe that there’s nothing morally wrong with consensual sex between two adults who love and are committed to one another, I understand the belief that this is a deep wrong. And so I am still hesitant at times to say that my expulsion was unjust. Despite the deeply personal questions asked, despite the assassination of my character by the dean of men to my father-in-law, despite the frightening cult-like process by which I was escorted off campus and not even allowed to use the bathroom without someone monitoring me. The shame is still there, and the deeply ingrained belief that I deserved (and still deserve) to be punished for my personal sex life at any given moment.
Yes, I have a lot of anger about my expulsion and about the way my husband and I were treated. I understand it from an experiential point of view in that my beliefs once aligned with that of the university in such matters. While my heart understands and is at times willing to concede, my mind recognizes that it was unjust, damaging, painful, and unChristlike.
What does this have to do with Chris’s story?
For me, I think it goes to show something. In the world of Bob Jones University – and fundamentalism in general – a man who stands up for the oppressed is every bit as damned as a woman who is not a virgin. A man who tries to respectfully (albeit publicly and strongly) hold “authority” of any kind accountable for their actions is every bit as damned as a whore.
When doing the right thing is punished more severely than doing the wrong thing, you’re doing Christianity wrong.
I just tweeted this, great account of events.
Thanks, Daisy!
1. Chuck Phelps did not testify for the defense.
2. Chuck Phelps called police 3 time and called social services. Social Services originally told him they were faxing him a report to file. When he did not receive the fax he called social services and he was told that the forms no longer needed to be filled out since it was now a police matter.
Under oath the police testified that Chuck Phelps DID report Tina’s rape and DID report to social services. See testimony at this link: http://livewire.wmur.com/Event/Day_3_Of_Ernest_Willis_Trial?Page=0#ixzz1f3eVUmP9
Phelps was called by the prosecution as a hostile witness.
Hostile Witness: A witness who is called by or associated with an opposing party or who by statement, conduct, or other evidence (as of relationship) shows bias against or is injurious to the case of the party by whom the witness is called.
Why would a pastor need to be called as a hostile witness to testify about the rape of a minor.
This is not a gold star. It shows Phelps’ black heart.
Also, The officer testified that Phelps had never returned the officers calls. As for the 3 calls, first Phelps claimed it was 4 then 3 actual police reports. As wth so much of wha Phelps said, his story kept changing. http://chucklestravels.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/chuck-phelps-i-filed-numerous-police-reports/
Sister Stitch, Great post.
I graduated from BJU in 1980. I’ve watched BJU deal with many controversies: Calvinism, John R. Rice, van Impe, Free Masonry, interracial dating, Southside Baptist, fraud in Bob Jones III’s own church, etc. The pattern is always the same. From my perspective, it seems that the more things change, the more things stay the same.
Oh, but now there is that internet-thingie with blogs, Facebook, Youtube and it seems that BJU isn’t as successful at dictating and controlling the narrative. Maybe things are starting to change now that BJU no longer has absolute control over the dissemination of information.
I like your post’s title, “When doing right is more punishable than doing wrong”. Yours is a title that could have headed many a tale involving a man or woman who dared to stand and point the Nathanic finger at a Jones, a follower of Jones, or at BJU itself. Let me briefly recount one such story that is remarkably similar to Christopher Peterman’s story:
In 1983, Charles Underwood, the first Director of Church Planting at BJU, penned an Open Letter to Bob Jones III. One of the issues strangely enough, dealt with pressure to have SC’s then-Senior US Senator, Strom Thurmond, resign from BJU’s Board because Strom was a FreeMason. Bob Jones III himself had declared Masonry “a Luciferean religion”. However, when a Board member pointed out that Senator Strom Thurmond was a 32-degree Mason and called for Strom’s removal from BJU’s Board, Strom was retained on the Board, McLario, a former Mason was elevated to the Chairman of the Board, and the one who stood against having Masons on BJU’s Board was himself forced off of the Board!
But,I recall what Charles Underwood said of the man who called for Thurmond’s removal, “It is refreshing to see – and it only happens occasionally – a man with enough moral courage to take a stand against evil without regard to persons or consequences.”
Here is the link to the Open Letter to Bob Jones III by Charles Underwood, It is a primer for anyone interested in knowing how BJU-crowd deals with those who oppose them: http://bju.typepad.com/bjuexposed/the_jonesian_pattern_a_look_at_charles_underwoods_open_letter_to_dr_bob_jones_iii/
Grace and Peace to you, Stitch.
Mark
Dear “Stitch”,
I am as a veteran educator who has taught in both Christian schools and public schools, I am very sorry for your suffering. It is never easy to be disciplined – either by earthly parents or by the Heavenly Father. And it is often difficult to feel the love while being disciplined.
I am also very sorry that you have come to the conclusion that sex between non-married consenting adults is OK. Paul taught specifically that fornication/ adultery are wrong. It is impossible to believe in Biblical principles, and not accept this. (If this part is not true, then how can we trust the rest of God’s Word? How can we trust God’s Word and Christ’s gift of Eternal Life?) So I am also truly sorry that you no longer believe the Bible – whether you reject Fundamentalist beliefs or not.
The following is my heartfelt and honest counsel to you:
The first step in going forward with your life would be to sincerely acknowledge your wrong-doing to God and ask forgiveness. If you have sincerely asked God’s forgiveness for your sin, then He is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. The Bible also teaches us to go to those who have been affected by our sin (or sin that becomes public) and ask forgiveness. A second step in the right direction is to sincerely apologize to BJU for breaking your agreement with them to live a chaste life while a student there. Even for those who say sex outside marriage is OK, most say it is wrong to break one’s word.
These steps could go a long way in helping you clear your conscience in this issue. If you were truly “over” this, you wouldn’t feel the need to blog publicly about it, trying to blame/shame BJU rather than yourself & your now husband shouldering the responsibility for the consequences. If you have children, you have no doubt noticed human frailty in this regard.
As for the fellow who was expelled 9 days before graduation: He claimed watching “Glee” was not against the rules. No Christian school is able to list every single “worldly” thing students are not to participate in. It is possible only to give guide-lines, perhaps listing certain specific examples. It would be impossible to re-write student handbooks every time a new worldly or godless TV program appears. It is hard enough seeing many commercials and not be tempted to sin, much less watching some of the programs.
However, a senior in any Christian college should have better judgment than this fellow had (actually HAS, based on his public attempt to blame the school rather than taking the blame like a man). Unfortunately, the way he presents himself shows that he was (is) not spiritually minded. If he were not breaking the “letter of the law”, i.e. specific infraction of the handbook, he certainly knew he was breaking the “spirit of the law”.
According to his own explanation, based on incomplete information regarding the BJU board member, he also tried to foment a rebellion of sorts among the student body, Incomplete, because he was not privy to much of what occurred in the dealings with those involved during the aftermath of the rape(s) of the young girl by the church member.
What happened to this girl cannot be excused by anyone. The man was at fault.
Most pastors have never dealt with anything of this kind, and it was felt by BJU administration that he did the best he could at the time. He had not committed some horrible sin – perhaps in 20/20 retrospect, he might have done things differently upon encountering such a horrible thing in is church. [He said he contacted the police. Why did the police not arrest the rapist? The pastor might not have understood the law, but they should have.] So he was allowed to simply resign from the board. This is the way Christians are supposed to act in good faith towards each other…
As a young adult, the girl went public with her horrible experience. She disagreed with the way her pastor and her own mother had handled the situation. It is her right to disagree. It is not the Christian way, however, to try to publicly humiliate those who tried to help her during those trying times.
And it is not the right of a college student to try to foment a rebellion against the administration. If he felt strongly that BJU was so much in the wrong, the adult Christian thing would be to have recounted his feelings to the appropriate people. If he still felt strongly they were in the wrong, he should have just left the school on his own. Instead, he continued to show his rebellion by breaking rules. So he was expelled. That’s life. I am sorry for him.
Again, I am sorry that you have not really been able to go on with your life since being expelled from BJU. I hope that some of what I have said in my post will be of help to you. We all do things for which we must repent and ask forgiveness. I pray that you can find peace in the only way possible – through forgiveness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“But God commendeth his love toward us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
I approved this comment only because it was a hug-slug. If it had simply been a “slug” it would have gone in the trash, where it probably still belongs. There’s a lot that I want to say in response, but there’s no point. So all I will say is that you have no reason to be “truly sorry” that I have come to any conclusions since you are entirely unknown to me and, apart from this blog, I am entirely unknown to you. Save your sympathies, honest counsel, and heartfelt prayers for people with whom you interact on a regular basis, not a blog that you found through search terms or an outside link. I do not need sympathies of your kind, I have no desire for your counsel (honest or otherwise), and your prayers are most likely better spent elsewhere.
Allyce,
You were obviously delusional when you made the comment that “it is not the right of a college student to try to foment a rebellion against the administration.” First, most colleges treat their students as adults, not mindless peons. Second, you state that a college cannot include everything. Wrong. The college’s rules constitute a contract of expectations. Making rules with words like “worldly” is abstract, ambiguous, and not defined. Again, if BJU were up-front, they would spell out reasonable rules that could be printed, not left to the whim of the administration. It is ironic, BJU didn’t apply their idea of “spirit of the law” when they didn’t refund the student for an education they prohibited him from receiving; they were very much “letter of the law” (our policy says….).
As both a public school teacher and a former faculty/staff at BJU, I think you are anything but honest. You preface your comments with these credentials, but neither gives you the support for the personal views that you subject Stitch to. Likewise, you venture into biblical exposition (which I can tell is not thought out and original on your part), but it is merely spewing the party line which you have heard from the pulpit. I would suggest that you begin with a biblical study of judgment toward others, since you assess judgment against several people in your rant. Then you may want to proceed to the first and second commandments as Jesus gave them. Then, move to the fruit of the spirit as Paul presented them.
Allyce,
I am trying to give you credit for attempting to be both kind and faithful to your beliefs. But I think you have made statements that lack the credibility or worthiness you and those of your tradition ascribe to them.
I contend that the bible has been translated repeatedly and then published in the Western world by those who are already biased in the direction of various false notions and who are not academically free to differ far enough from their sponsors to be genuinely honest about translation. I would go so far as to say that the bible is mistranslated in numerous places over a wide variety of themes with a deliberate intention to create an excessively dramatic theology and give maximum leverage to the traditional institutions locked into a paradigm of manipulative cultic fear.
None of the words translated homosexual or other related words can be demonstrated through accepted methods of linguistic research to refer to the phenomenon of same sex attraction. They are either words that refer to the use of homosexuality in heterosexual worship, as a way of humiliating a conquered people or a slave by allowing heterosexuals to be raped by homosexuals or some other ancient practice used to violate people or push them to some mystical edge. But none of those words are a reference to same sex attraction.
Most tools for translation currently in use in evangelical and fundamentalist circles are merely a regurgitation of the theology and history of the movements from whence they came having gotten their start prior to the protestant reformation when the church went through a synthetic process of “rediscovering” the meaning of the Koine Greek words by comparing them with church doctrine and the Latin Vulgate.
At no time since has any protestant or catholic effort ever been made to actually do an exhaustive and proper linguistic research to raise the dead language of Koine Greek back into existence. This is a scandal when the one tradition most adamant about the bible being the literal inerrant word of God lacks the academic energy to do an honest study of the original language. Even the Old Testament passage that uses the idea of a man lying with a man is translated and interpreted in a manner that isolates it from the context talking about the horrible things done to the Hebrews while they were still slaves.
The fundamentalist prefer to ignore the fact that church history clearly shows that from about 300 AD to 400 AD Koine Greek fell out of use and the Latin Vulgate took over. Koine Greek remained ignored for close to 1000 years and when it once again regained their focus they could not read it because the dialect was too strange. Then for over 100 years the church lived in the illusion the Koine Greek was some special Holy Ghost dialect. It was during that time that the church redefined the meaning of Koine words and in almost every case they were defined in a manner that maximized justification of church tradition, church power and with a preference for the most dramatic notions.
Fundamentalism has used a false scholarship to create loyalty to a falsified set of words and use this to among many horrible things, condemn an entire class of people and then they hide behind, “God said it” to avoid taking full responsibility for their own attitudes.
What the…? Did someone actually write that letter to you? I am surprised that I still get surprised by the level of ignorance, arrogance, and mindless disconcern for the emotional and relational pain of others. I’m not going to honor that letter with a response. It doesn’t merit the time and energy it would take from me on the 8th day straight of active psychosis, insomnia, and other brain damage related unpleasantries.
Love to you, Jim. :) Thinking about and praying for you daily.
Funny how some people defend an organization but not the victims of those various organizations.