Disclaimer: Letter to the Editor does not represent the viewpoints of The Whitworthian, members of the editorial board or Whitworth University.
“Whitworth University’s mission statement is ‘to provide its diverse student body an education of the mind and the heart, equipping its graduates to honor God, follow Christ and serve humanity.’ This, I would argue, is distinctly a Christian mission. If we wish to be associated with God, we must be prepared to pay a price for following him. Jesus said that the world will hate the disciples for what they stand for (Luke 14: 25-34, John 15:18-25) and that his teachings would bring division (Matt. 10:34-36). We should expect pushback from living lives that honor God.
Considering this, we cannot ignore the Bible’s teachings concerning homosexuality. God sees these lifestyles as sins. God clearly abhors sexual immorality in any form, when we look at the Bible! Premarital sex, homosexuality and bestiality are all forbidden by God (Hebrews 13:4, Leviticus 18, Rom. 1:18-32). Today, forms outside heterosexuality are against God’s designed plan for humanity and marriage (Gen. 1:27, 2:24).
Now why does this matter in terms of a professorship at Whitworth? As a distinctly Christian University, we cannot, in good conscience, hire individuals who, by their lifestyles, condone sinful practices. We cannot confuse the message of the gospel in such a way! Jesus calls us out of our sins to live a better life with Him, not to lounge in our sins and live as we please. How can we rightfully “serve humanity” if we potentially lead our student body astray and into sinful lifestyles through who we hire?
If Whitworth wishes to hire individuals who identify under the LGBTQ+ label, I won’t be the only one disappointed—God will be. God makes the rules of what’s right and wrong. He has been clear on his stance toward the LGBTQ+ agenda. Whitworth must take a stand as well.”
Sincerely, Jonathan Gray
Celia Hagey • May 7, 2023 at 8:55 pm
I am going to go “lounge” in my gayness now and get a nice tan. Have fun judging and condemning people over there in homophobia land 🙂 couldn’t be me
Josh Olsby • Apr 27, 2023 at 6:15 am
https://thewhitworthian.news/opinions/letter-to-the-editor-lgbtq-rights-at-whitworth-from-a-queer-students-perspective/
It’s interesting to compare this Letter to the Editor to the one written by Celia. Om the one hand, a plea to no longer be discriminated against solely for whom they love. On the other, a condemnation of the existence of very real people for the same reason. “Serve humanity”, but only those I choose are worthy.
It’s been a while since I worked on the Whitworthian, admittedly, but it’s disappointing to see a very deliberate message of hate given a platform. As Celia put it, it seems Jonathan has the quintessential failing of the modern “Supply Side Christian”. A failure to love and the hypocrisy to declare himself blameless in that damning character flaw.
I would encourage some introspection and perhaps a bit less hate in the diet.
Kathryn Lee • Apr 26, 2023 at 9:20 pm
I am curious what the writer thinks about Whitworth hiring persons who are divorced. Given your literal reading of the passages you cite, providing no historical context for them, I would assume that you think Whitworth should have no professors who are divorced given certain verses in the gospels.