Image Credit: Lipscomb University / Facebook
The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –
Lipscomb University, a private Christian college in Nashville, is unsurprisingly facing pushback over their stance on traditional marriage from members of the LGBT community.
On their “What We Believe Page”, a statement about their views on marriage reads, “We believe that from the beginning God designed marriage as a covenant between one man and one woman, which is affirmed by Jesus in the New Testament, and that God’s design is for sexual intimacy to occur in the context of that covenant. In this affirmation, we stand both in the modern heritage of Churches of Christ and of the two-thousand-year-old Great Tradition of the faith.”
Though marriage between a man and woman is spoken of frequently in the Bible and remains one of the sacred tenets of the Christian faith, critics have taken it upon themselves to question a private faith-based institution’s right to promote its beliefs and operational mindset.
An article from The Nashville Scene claiming the “struggles” students and faculty now face to find their place in the university community refers to The Tennessee Conservative by name, calling it a “right-wing” site and referencing an article published in August of this year forewarning pushback from the LGBT community, who is now doing exactly that.
Despite no policy forbidding LGBT or non-Christian students from enrolling, they worry the expression of faith, “could cause harm to Lipscomb’s LGBTQ students, deter prospective students from enrolling or amplify anti-LGBTQ sentiments on campus,” though there have been no such documented incidents.
Also easily accessible on the “Who We Are” page, yet never mentioned by the critics is the university’s statement regarding “Diversity, Belonging & Unity” which reads, “Lipscomb is devoted to building a culture of diversity, unity, inclusion, justice, equity, and belonging on our campus. We strive to ‘walk humbly with our God’ on our continuing journey to serve all students. As a Christ-centered community, our greatest contribution is to ensure every student feels valued as an image-bearer of God. As beneficiaries of God’s love and grace, we reflect His truth when we treat each other with fairness, respect and compassion.”
These critiques raise the question of why those who feel their ideological beliefs differ so greatly from the school’s heritage and value system would demand the school accommodate them when there is a plethora of other options for education or work which encourage and promote a differing lifestyle and values.
Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
2 Responses
Of course they would. They don’t have to make special provisions for a fake religion to demonize their beliefs.
“Lipscomb is devoted to building a culture of diversity, unity, inclusion, justice, equity, and belonging on our campus. We strive to ‘walk humbly with our God’ on our continuing journey to serve all students. As a Christ-centered community, our greatest contribution is to ensure every student feels valued as an image-bearer of God. As beneficiaries of God’s love and grace, we reflect His truth when we treat each other with fairness, respect and compassion.”
Let me just say that promoting DEI before God is a slippery slope.