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Sunday, October 04, 2009

Speech-codes

We’ve all heard horror stories about speech-codes in liberal academia, where conservative students are persecuted for merely expressing themselves.

However, here’s a striking example of political correctness run amuck at an evangelical seminary:

In your writing at Denver Seminary, you will be required to use gender-neutral language.

In older English, still used in some parts of the English-speaking world, generic nouns later referred to by pronouns used a form of the pronoun “he.” (E.g., “The student should bring his Bible to class.” Today, particularly in the United States, there are increasing numbers of individuals who find this kind of language archaic, confusing and/or offensive. There are ways, however, to avoid using the masculine pronoun in contexts like this, and thus make the language gender-neutral.


http://www.denverseminary.edu/media/student-handbook.pdf

I’ll just venture a few quick comments:

1.Notice that, in the way this speech-code is worded, it not only prohibits the use of the “offensive” masculine pronoun, but it prohibits the use of gender-specific pronouns of either sex (except in artificially compound constructions: “he or she”; “his or her”).

Thus, to be in compliance with the terms of this speech-code, if I were to write a term paper on Christina Rossetti, I’d be downgraded if I referred her as her. Instead, I’d have to contrive unisex circumlocutions to avoid referring to Christina Rossetti as a woman.

Or is it okay to use feminine pronouns, but not masculine pronouns?

2.And beyond that reductio ad absurdum of political correctness, there is the larger issue. Why does an Evangelical seminary discriminate against students who might wish, for either stylistic or theological reasons, to use gender-specific language?

Notice that I’m not discussing the merits of the unisex language debate. I’m not discussing which side is right or wrong on this issue.

I’m just wondering why Denver Seminary doesn’t believe in a minimal degree of academic freedom for students on what ought to be a point of Christian liberty.

If they require the faculty to be egalitarians, that’s their prerogative. But why can’t they permit a bit more diversity among the student body?

When did this become so all-important that the use of gender-specific language on the part of a student is a punishable offense?

That strikes me as oddly legalistic for an evangelical institution in the Baptist tradition. Don’t Baptists traditionally believe in greater freedom of conscience?

3.I also wonder where they draw the line. If a student were to quote a line from Shakespeare which happens to use gender-specific language, would he be downgraded? Must he paraphrase Shakespeare to bring the bard into retroactive compliance with the speech-code?

What if a student writes a term paper about St. Paul. Is he allowed to use masculine singular pronouns in reference to the Apostle?

4.Incidentally, isn’t there something dare I say paternalistic about this speech-code? Are women such fainting violets that they will wither at the sight of a masculine singular pronoun? Do they need to be protected against this body-blow to their frail sensibilities?

5.It also makes me wonder how Denver alumni could survive as missionaries in sexist nations. Would the culture shock be too much for them?

Denver Seminary is a Christian institution with some really fine faculty. It’s a pity to see it degenerate into fanaticism on this particular issue.

17 comments:

  1. Steve Hays: "We’ve all heard horror stories about speech-codes in liberal academia, where conservative students are persecuted for merely expressing themselves.

    However, here’s a striking example of political correctness run amuck at an evangelical seminary"


    I think of Douglas Groothuis, Rebecca Merrill Groothuis, and perhaps Craig Blomberg when I think of prominent outspoken egalitarians on the faculty at Denver Seminary.

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  2. Steve, you obviously haven't read our document in its entirety or at all carefully or you are basing your information on inaccurate second-hand material. We all use the appropriate pronoun (he for men, she for women) when referring to specific people. Quotations of others' works must preserve their exact wording. Faculty are not required to be egalitarian--about 40% of us are not. Anyone who labels me an egalitarian has not read my major works on the topic, in either edition of Two Views of Women in Ministry (Zondervan, 2001, 2005). If asking students to change a sentence like "Each student must bring his Bible to class" to "All students must bring their Bibles to class" is some horrible theological or literary infringement in someone's mind, they probably need a larger view of contemporary realities. Which is more important--to stop perpetuating the myth that keeps some people from becoming Christian, namely, that evangelicals are hopelessly sexist in their language or to ask mature believers to apply 1 Corinthians 9:19-23? Yes, being a Christian does involve putting others' concerns above self (Phil 2:4, rightly translated in the TNIV as over against the NIV), but I don't hear any of that in this post. If this tiny restriction for the sake of the gospel is to be labelled political correctness run amuck, it's time for the authors of such labels to turn their computers off and join the real world of the rest of us trying to reach lost and dying people for Christ! Why is it that every time my attention is drawn to Triablogue it's because it is being critical of a fellow Christian, usually unnecessarily, usually with a carping tone, and without any sense that people have actually tried to understand where the person being criticized is coming from or to give them the benefit of the doubt that they might be well-intentioned. It's time for this blogsite to make a 180 degree U-turn in substance and in tone, or just stop posting. The Bible calls it "repentance."

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  3. Dear Professor Blomberg,

    I wasn't sure if you were egalitarian, and that is why I used the word "perhaps" in my comment above.

    I happily retract my lumping of you as an egalitarian alongside the Groothuises.

    "If this tiny restriction for the sake of the gospel is to be labelled political correctness run amuck...."

    However, I disagree with the above. Although proponents may indeed think that this "tiny" restriction is done for the sake of the Gospel, I would argue that this "tiny" restriction actually restricts the Gospel!

    Biblical patriarchy is God's will. As D.A. Carson said (if it comes up) preach it boldly. Don't be ashamed.

    You come across as being ashamed of Biblical Patriarchy. This is detrimental to you and your attempts to share the Gospel.

    "It's time for this blogsite to make a 180 degree U-turn in substance and in tone, or just stop posting. The Bible calls it "repentance.""

    I respectfully disagree.

    Furthermore, I do recall one comment by Steve whereby he honored and respected you for your contributions to Christian orthodoxy, while also lamenting some of your errors.

    If you want me to, I could locate the comment for you.

    Pax.

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  4. D. A. Carson also wrote an entire book explaining why inclusive language for humanity has nothing to do with biblical patriarchy, of which I am not ashamed.

    The gospel is is no way restricted if I say, "Every one who wants to be saved must confess their sins and trust in Christ." That's the way almost all of us talk in spoken English today anyway. But I have met people who wonder why I am not including women if I say, "Every one who wants to be saved must confess his sins and trust in Christ."

    The very fact that you would need to track down one positive comment about me in the midst of consistent, unfounded criticism directed at fellow evangelicals proves my point about this blogsite. When you have to hunt to find the occasional criticism in the midst of encouraging words toward fellow believers on a shared mission, then the blogsite will have changed to a God-pleasing site.

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  5. I'm very glad to hear that you're not ashamed of Biblical Patriarchy.

    I retract once again.

    BTW, I did locate the post where Steve lauded you and your contributions in a fair and balanced way:

    "Blomberg is a sophisticated proponent for the historicity and inerrancy of the NT. On a related note, he’s also been defending the historical Jesus for many years now.

    In that regard he’s rendered a great service to the church over the years. We salute him for his service to the cause.

    Given his field of specialization, Blomberg’s post and subsequent replies are strong where you’d expect them to be strong, and weak where you’d expect them to be weak. There's some useful material, but it also suffers from some predictable limitations.

    We can get different things from different thinkers and scholars. The wisest course of action is to mix and match the best that each has to offer in relation to the others.
    "

    Steve repeats this in his latest post titled "Dr. Bloomberg on Speech Codes":

    "Dr. Blomberg. You’re a great ornament to the evangelical church. You’ve done wonderful work in the field of inerrancy and the historical Jesus. You’ve authored or coauthored some fine commentaries, as well as a great 2-volume intro to the NT. Not to mention a lot of other useful stuff."

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  6. Steve Hays: "Denver Seminary is a Christian institution with some really fine faculty. It’s a pity to see it degenerate into fanaticism on this particular issue."

    I agree. But given that 60% of the faculty are egalitarians, they had the political clout and the political votes.

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  7. CRAIG BLOMBERG SAID:

    "The very fact that you would need to track down one positive comment about me in the midst of consistent, unfounded criticism directed at fellow evangelicals proves my point about this blogsite."

    That's an allegation you need to document. What are the consistent, unfounded criticisms you allude to?

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  8. Further proof of jumping to completely wrong conclusions gratuitously: The policy on inclusive-language was created over 20 years ago in the late 1980's when 2/3 of the faculty were complementarians. As I recall it was approved by the faculty unanimously. If anything, feelings were higher in those days than they are now. That's what makes it so curious that somebody would dredge this up and speak of it as a sign of us deteriorating. I don't know of anyone today who actually penalizes students for not following the policy as a few did 20 years ago. We just encourage students to follow it and be sensitive to their brothers and sisters. If bloggers wouldn't jump to assumptions of things they have no way of actually knowing, then there wouldn't need to be so many retractions. As for frequently unfounded comments, go back to the criticism of my views on middle knowledge this summer, or, for that matter, just about any Reformed vs. Arminian post that regularly show a lack of full understanding of the breadth of both camps. But I'll sign off now, too much else to do, and I don't really sense any willingness to change. Truth truly does divide when the ones being divided from are as quick to state unfounded opinions as truth without checking up on them as you folks are. In which case, Titus 3:10 probably applies. Good-bye.

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  9. Why anyone cares about Denver Seminary's newspeak enforcers is beyond me. Back in 1984, my own alma mater was enforcing these same petty rules, employing usage principles to promote greater acceptance of egalitarian feminism on their students and faculty. And back then, about 50% of the GCTS faculty would have claimed to be non-egalitarian feminists, just as Craig Blomberg does, here. But these petty rules galloped on.

    So what's new? Feminists and their willing helpers denying men the words and meanings God's Holy Spirit uses thousands of times in His Word.

    As for Don Carson, to say that he's written "an entire book explaining why inclusive language for humanity has nothing to do with biblical patriarchy," is somewhat misleading.

    What Carson actually did was write a book in defense of the work he did helping to put out a gender-neutered Bible. He was an interested party in the debate, having been paid for his gender-neutered work. Interestingly, you would have a hard time finding a full disclosure of his bias in the work he published.

    There are few schoolmen today who are able to stand against the publishers, Bible societies, and money wielded by both--as well as the peer pressure of their "colleagues down the hall," as one internationally known schoolman put it to me.

    Pastors must stop serving as the schoolmen's sycophants and get back to work guarding the Good Deposit and Christ's flock.

    As I said, who cares what usage rules Denver Seminary's ideologues and their colleagues have adopted?

    It's predictable and utterly boring.

    In Christ,

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  10. CRAIG BLOMBERG SAID:

    “Further proof of jumping to completely wrong conclusions gratuitously: The policy on inclusive-language was created over 20 years ago in the late 1980's when 2/3 of the faculty were complementarians. As I recall it was approved by the faculty unanimously. If anything, feelings were higher in those days than they are now. That's what makes it so curious that somebody would dredge this up and speak of it as a sign of us deteriorating.”

    I wasn’t blogging in the 1980s. No one was at that time.

    And I didn’t say if it was a sign of institutional deterioration.

    “As for frequently unfounded comments, go back to the criticism of my views on middle knowledge this summer…”

    As I already pointed out, Jeremy Pierce raises the same sorts of criticisms concerning your piece on middle knowledge. Are his criticisms equally unfounded?

    “…or, for that matter, just about any Reformed vs. Arminian post that regularly show a lack of full understanding of the breadth of both camps.”

    That’s just a question-begging assertion.

    “…and I don't really sense any willingness to change.”

    I'd say that’s mutual.

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  11. Tim Bayly: "Why anyone cares about Denver Seminary's newspeak enforcers is beyond me."

    I would if I was a student there or if I was a parent paying the tuition for my child's seminary education there.

    Craig Blomberg: "I don't know of anyone today who actually penalizes students for not following the policy as a few did 20 years ago."

    Douglas Groothuis: "Papers not consistently using inclusive language will be downgraded one-half grade."

    Professor Blomberg, now you know at least one fellow faculty member who does. TODAY.

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  12. CRAIG BLOMBERG SAID:

    "D. A. Carson also wrote an entire book explaining why inclusive language for humanity has nothing to do with biblical patriarchy, of which I am not ashamed."

    I've read Carson's book. I've also read the critique of his arguments by Wayne Grudem and Vern Poythress in The Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy.

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  13. Tim Bayly: "non-egalitarian feminists, just as Craig Blomberg...

    So what's new? Feminists and their willing helpers denying men the words and meanings God's Holy Spirit uses thousands of times in His Word."


    I re-read your comment more closely on second go-round and I like your third category: "Non-Egalitarian Feminists".

    But please note: Craig Blomberg as a non-egalitarian feminist is not ashamed of Biblical Patriarchy.

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  14. CRAIG BLOMBERG SAID:

    “Why is it that every time my attention is drawn to Triablogue it's because it is being critical of a fellow Christian, usually unnecessarily, usually with a carping tone, and without any sense that people have actually tried to understand where the person being criticized is coming from or to give them the benefit of the doubt that they might be well-intentioned. It's time for this blogsite to make a 180 degree U-turn in substance and in tone, or just stop posting. The Bible calls it ‘repentance’…The very fact that you would need to track down one positive comment about me in the midst of consistent, unfounded criticism directed at fellow evangelicals proves my point about this blogsite. When you have to hunt to find the occasional criticism in the midst of encouraging words toward fellow believers on a shared mission, then the blogsite will have changed to a God-pleasing site.”

    I’m a bit curious about what you consider to be appropriate Christian discourse. For example, in contrast to the above statement, here are some of the zingers you direct at Grudem, Poythress, and the SBC:

    “Unfortunately, this book is such a complex combination of important observations, misleading half-truths, and linguistic naivete that it will only stir up emotions once again, further clouding what is really at stake (and what is not) in this debate…It is not surprising that Broadman and Holman would publish this work because of the heavy-handed politics in the last few years within the Southern Baptist Convention that has led to changes in the Baptist Faith in Message…”

    http://www.denverseminary.edu/article/the-gender-neutral-bible-controversy/

    You seem to be a bit selective and lop-sided in what you consider to be the appropriate way to address fellow believers. It seems to turn, not so coincidentally, on whether or not you happen to agree with them.

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  15. I wonder if Dr. Blomberg's angry over-reaction proves the veracity of Benjamin Franklin's old aphorism:

    "The sting of a reproach is the truth of it."

    He doesn't like the reproach from Triablogue because he feels the sting of the substantive truth within the reproach.

    Compounding his initial error is the recognition that his pride won't allow him to humbly apologize to his interlocutors. Consequently, his destructive comments reveal that he prefers a scorched-earth approach instead.

    Not a good biblical model.

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  16. I was sick yesterday so I'm just getting around to reading this, but I was struck by this comment from Dr. Blomberg:

    ---
    But I have met people who wonder why I am not including women if I say, "Every one who wants to be saved must confess his sins and trust in Christ."
    ---

    I'm sorry, but I think if you're talking to someone that stupid it's going to take a lot more work to evangelize them then simply changing the gender of the language. It would be like saying, "We have to make Calculus more like Algebra I, because some people can't understand it."

    What happened to a quick explanation of what a generalized "he" means? If someone says, "It doesn't include women" you simply say, "Sure it does" and go on. You don't say, "Fine, let me change it so it does" because then the person too stupid to understand what a generalization is might one day find a CORRECTLY translated Bible and realize you lied to him.

    Personally, I think we should be very careful when we decide to alter a translation just because of a current fad, especially when said fad is generated by people who hate Christians in the first place.

    And don't get me started on the self-esteem issues of women who think they're being slighted just because someone uses "he" as a general term. I mean, how pathetic is it if that's what your identity and self-worth is wrapped up in?

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  17. Craig Blomberg: "But I have met people who wonder why I am not including women if I say, "Every one who wants to be saved must confess his sins and trust in Christ."

    Hi Peter,

    Good catch on Dr. Blomberg's statement. I think Steve addressed it quite well in his subsequent post (and what surprises me is that what Steve says is such commonsense, but yet Blomberg doesn't use it or it has hitherto escaped him):

    ii) "We also need to distinguish between the genuine concerns of others and artificial concerns which are driven by a value-system that is diametrically opposed to the Christian worldview.

    iii) Apropos (ii), the better part of putting someone else’s interests ahead of our own is to properly diagnose their true interests in the first place, and deal with their actual needs. Catering to liberal prejudice is hardly the best way to minister to a lost world."

    I wonder if Blomberg's catering to liberal prejudice is symptomatic of him prioritizing being a people-pleaser instead of a God-pleaser which doesn't make sense given that he's not ashamed of Biblical Patriarchy.

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