Liberty University, the country’s largest Christian college, is facing a record-breaking fine of $37.5 million for failing to report crimes, including sexual assaults, that occur on its campus. David French and Skye Jethani discuss the case and its similarities to other scandals within Christian institutions. Why is there a culture of cover-ups within American evangelicalism? French points to the “siege mentality” of the culture war, and Jethani unpacks the way strong group identities make us dismissive of our group’s evils while magnifying those of others. They then apply this other news stories including Israel’s war with Hamas and the ongoing mess in Congress. Plus, they get nerdy about new sci-fi shows from Apple.
0:00 - Theme Song
0:17 - Silo
2:55 - Latest Liberty U. Scandal
25:18 - Sponsor - Sundays Dog Food Get 35% off your first order of Sundays. Go to SundaysForDogs.com/HOLYPOST or use code HOLYPOST at checkout.
26:30 - Social Identity Theory
54:19- End Credits
Other resources:
David French: https://twitter.com/DavidAFrench
The Worst Scandal in American Higher Education Isn’t in the Ivy League
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Firstly, I would love to read the article... but that NY Times paywall....
Secondly, as the father of two LU grads, it does appear LU downplayed/ignored many incidents that occurred on campus.
I can't believe y'all didn't mention Severance. It's the most riveting show on AppleTV! Silo is ok but Severance is WAY better for suspense and mystery. (Foundation is by far the BEST show but it's a totally different experience)
So, French is telling the story about this pastor who talks about trans issues all the time while there are zero trans people in the congregation, which leads both of you to conclude that he does that to create a sense of identity in the congregation, etc.. Interesting point. In light of that story, have you ever wondered how many of your listeners love Jerry Falwell, or Trump? If you could make a guess, how many of your listeners listen to Eric Metaxas as well? How many of your listeners use MAGA hats? How many of your listeners think racism is a thing of the past?
See my point now? How are you different from that pastor when yo…
Please air the dirty laundry of evangelicals in public!! write in the NYT the WAPO and in all books and magazines of the world….shout it out from the mountaintops... but for the sake of consistency and credibility, air the dirty laundry of *ALL* types of evangelicals… not just white conservative evangelicals. Otherwise you are, to quote you, “one of those people who are 100% bought to their side & lack the ability to internally scrutinize the faults in their own identity group… and therefore project the entire fault to the other group..”
In other words, as you air dirty laundry, make sure you bring out the dirty laundry of evangelicals who sit to your left, not just to your right.
This episode brings to mind my "Both sides do it" peeve. That phrase isn't used in this episode, but I hear it often in Holy Post content. I've never understood the intent of that statement.
Does "both sides do it" mean "the other side does this immoral or unethical thing so it's OK if our side does it also" or is it a rationale, as in "both sides do it which means it's human behavior and there's nothing we can do about it"?
Is there a basis in scripture for "both sides do it" as a justification or rationale for immoral behavior?