Bernie Sanders to speak at Liberty University

[FloraKitty35]

I find it amusing that Bernie Sanders is going to speak at Liberty University, but a conservative would probably never speak at Brandeis or UC Berkeley.

[Escapefromfundiedom]

It may not be for lack of wanting to...who's issuing the invitations for these speeches?

Ron Paul has spoken at UC Berkeley at least once (to pretty big crowds) and Rand has as well...they're republicans but the GOP pretty much hates their guts so...I'm not sure that counts. I don't think you'd ever see frothy or mike huckabee giving a speech at a "liberal" college - certainly not one that was mandatory attendance - can you imagine the outcry?? I am guessing the speech would be canceled before it ever got started.

Honestly I'm a bit surprised I haven't heard of backlash from Liberty students about Bernie Sanders...

[treemom]

The fact that Liberty is actually allowing is surprising to me.

[treemom]

Yes, Liberty is fundy. I also went there and they would actually describe themselves as that.

In fact, the hard core fundy we have talked about here in FJ was something that was unknown to me when I was at LU. But they are fundy

[treemom]

Certainly fundy. They run a creationist biology conference that doesn't allow intelligent design folks in because they believe in an old earth. How they got accreditation through SACS I'll never know.

They do have speakers you might not expect though. The Unlikely Disciple book mentions they brought an atheist debater to campus once to square off against the Liberty folks. He also comments that a fair number of the students were rather downcast afterwards since they felt the atheist had won the debate.

Many years back Randolph College invited Richard Dawkins in to speak, and Liberty sent a bunch of students. (They were easy to pick out in the audience- they don't dress like normal college students). I'll give them credit since they were polite and asked a number of questions. Dawkins didn't pull any punches on his answers though. One was along the lines of "if you were taught that in college you need to transfer to a better school."

I actually would say these days they do dress like normal college students. There was a huge dress code change since I was there 23 years ago and it was dresses only for women for instance.

They probably weren't sent by LU though. It sounds like the exact sort of thing a groups of friends would do at LU.

[feministxtian]

I have a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies from Liberty University, graduating in 2013. I know, interesting choice for a liberal Christian feminist...however, I had no problems there. I wrote a paper on the first three chapters of Genesis being a myth, not historical/scientific truth and got an A. My prof was of the opinion that if I could defend my arguments coherently and with references, I would get the grade I deserved. There were some uber-fundies in that class who didn't even understand what a creation myth was...and my prof defended me and explained it to them.

So...no, LU is not as fundie as some think it is.

[treemom]

I have a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies from Liberty University, graduating in 2013. I know, interesting choice for a liberal Christian feminist...however, I had no problems there. I wrote a paper on the first three chapters of Genesis being a myth, not historical/scientific truth and got an A. My prof was of the opinion that if I could defend my arguments coherently and with references, I would get the grade I deserved. There were some uber-fundies in that class who didn't even understand what a creation myth was...and my prof defended me and explained it to them.

So...no, LU is not as fundie as some think it is.

It's changed a bunch in the last decade. But they still are fundamentalists. They just are usually cool with BC, dating, now women can wear pants. It was much easier on you in 2013 than it was for me in 1993.

[Sundaymorning]

It's changed a bunch in the last decade. But they still are fundamentalists. They just are usually cool with BC, dating, now women can wear pants. It was much easier on you in 2013 than it was for me in 1993.

I've never been to LU or any other evangelical college, so I don't know the details first hand. However, reading here what other people write, I wouldn't call LU fundie.

I think it depends on how you define the terms fundie, fundie lite, conservative evangelical etc. in first place.

An organisation or college who supports the idea of kids moving out of their parents home and going to college in first place, lets women get a higher education, lets women wear pants, is ok with BC, dating and such, and has female professors and deans, is definitely not fundie in my eyes. Fundie lite maybe, but not fundie.

[treemom]

I've never been to LU or any other evangelical college, so I don't know the details first hand. However, reading here what other people write, I wouldn't call LU fundie.

I think it depends on how you define the terms fundie, fundie lite, conservative evangelical etc.

An organisation or college who supports the idea of kids moving out of their parents home and going to college in first place, lets women get a higher education, lets women wear pants, is ok with BC, dating and such, and has female professors and deans, is definitely not fundie in my eyes. Fundie lite maybe, but not fundie.

They call themselves fundamentalist Christians.

[Sundaymorning]

They call themselves fundamentalist Christians.

They also call themselves "Liberty university", and I'm pretty certain that there isn't so much liberty there.

Don't get me wrong, everyone has a bit of their own standarts of what they consider to be fundie, fundie-lite etc.

And yes, LU might be fundie in some areas, but in my mind, if you consider all the factors and compare them to other fundies and their world view, LU doesn't match up to be that fundie after all.

[GenerationCedarchip]

Yes, Liberty is fundy. I also went there and they would actually describe themselves as that.

In fact, the hard core fundy we have talked about here in FJ was something that was unknown to me when I was at LU. But they are fundy

I would agree. They're not hardcore fundie in the ATI sense, but they definitely consider the school's philosophy to be fundie. However, in the name of making money, they are a lot more open now than they used to be. I have a cousin who works there and from her description, it sounds like the school admin is still fundie, but the student body tends more fundie-lite.

By way of comparison, Patrick Henry, also in VA, is much more solidly fundie. They have students from a variety of backgrounds, but reformed fundie still dominates there.

[Sundaymorning]

I would agree. They're not hardcore fundie in the ATI sense, but they definitely consider the school's philosophy to be fundie. However, in the name of making money, they are a lot more open now than they used to be. I have a cousin who works there and from her description, it sounds like the school admin is still fundie, but the student body tends more fundie-lite.

By way of comparison, Patrick Henry, also in VA, is much more solidly fundie. They have students from a variety of backgrounds, but reformed fundie still dominates there.

This is very interesting. How do they for example reconcile their fundie-ism with the fact that they have various female professors and deans? I was under the impression that women working outside the home and even holding senior positions is a huge no-go in fundie circles?

[treemom]

The students were almost always more progressive than the last class.

I understand that fundamentalism is in the eye of the beholder, but LU was founded on fundamentalist ideals. Fundamentalists have just gotten more strident and extreme.

[Sundaymorning]

I have a bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies from Liberty University, graduating in 2013. I know, interesting choice for a liberal Christian feminist...however, I had no problems there. I wrote a paper on the first three chapters of Genesis being a myth, not historical/scientific truth and got an A. My prof was of the opinion that if I could defend my arguments coherently and with references, I would get the grade I deserved. There were some uber-fundies in that class who didn't even understand what a creation myth was...and my prof defended me and explained it to them.

So...no, LU is not as fundie as some think it is.

May I ask why you choose to attend this particular university?

[feministxtian]

May I ask why you choose to attend this particular university?

Because, honestly, their reputation for this particular course of study was pretty darn good. I completed most of it online. They also go out of their way to help vets and vet spouses. Although I'm pretty liberal, the classes provided a fantastic foundation in biblical studies, and an encouragement to look at biblical texts critically. It was an amazing experience, I learned much more than I learned in 12 years of Catholic schools.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

This happened today.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/what-bernie ... niversity/

Of course most won't vote for him, but I was happy to see the alumni come and support him, and that they had evolved beyond the bubble that is Liberty University.

I think this is the video

youtu.be/bLNt2_bChK0

[GiggleOfGirls]

I watched the livestream yesterday and I thought he did quite well. I only wish that he had brought up the underlying causes of many abortions and how his proposed policy changes would help address those causes and probably lower the abortion rate indirectly and significantly. Props that he started off his time by talking about the things he knew he disagreed with most of the students about (gay marriage and abortion).

There were some very uncomfortable-looking LU students in that audience during some of the audience shots.