Des Moines Register
09-06-07
Hansen: Cross debate at ISU prods young minds
By MARC HANSEN
REGISTER NEWS COLUMNIST
Warren Blumenfeld received the following e-mail:
"People like you who are representing special interests should all be put on a
boat with a loaf of bread and set afloat.
"I'm sick of people like you trying to tear down the majority for the opinions of a
select few. If it makes you that uncomfortable, leave Iowa State. I think you and
a lot of other people would be much happier."
A loaf of bread? Set afloat? That's almost biblical.
The e-mailer gets points for signing his name and giving his phone number. He
might be abusive, but at least he isn't cowardly, which is an improvement on
much of the cross-in-the-chapel correspondence Blumenfeld has been seeing
lately.
After signing off, the boat-and-bread e-mailer included a Bible verse, Philippians
4:13. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Wait. Isn't that verse supposed to be soothing? As opposed to scary?
I realize this is just one person, but my understanding from Sunday school and
beyond is that Christians are supposed to persuade people to join the club.
Don't you stand a better chance on the recruiting trail by letting people see your
kindness and compassion?
Instead of handing someone a loaf of bread and a seat in steerage, maybe you
advance the cause by taking the opposite approach. You say something like, "I
think we can work this out."
If you're a nonbeliever looking for something to believe in, you read the loaf-ofbread response and you're thinking, "Why would I want to play for that team?"
If you're a confirmed skeptic, maybe you're saying, "See what I mean?"
But back to Blumenfeld, who teaches at Iowa State. An assistant professor
in the department of curriculum and instruction, he's the guy who triggered
the cross-in-the-chapel debate with a letter to multiple editors titled "Christian
Privilege Expressed in ISU Chapel."
He also protested the hiring of a chaplain for the Iowa State football team.
Apparently, Blumenfeld likes to challenge the conventional thinking.
"Does this cross," he wrote, "not violate the separation of religion and
government clause of the United States Constitution by promoting one form of
religion over all others?"
Later, he said the Star of David needed to go, too.
From a news standpoint, the cross-in-the-chapel controversy has just about run
out of steam. Even the president of the Muslim Students Association says the
cross should stay.
Yes, it's a Christian symbol in a publicly supported, state-owned
nondenominational chapel in the student Memorial Union. At the same time, he
points out, nobody is telling him he can't pray there.
But here's where Blumenfeld really gets a bum rap. In firing up the discussion,
he's doing his job - one of them, at least - as a college professor. He's getting
young people to think.
He's challenging them, forcing them to examine and articulate their beliefs.
I'll say it again: College isn't a mainstream kind of place. Most kids in Iowa grow
up paddling blissfully down the mainstream. They don't need more mainstream.
They need prodding and stretching. They need to be exposed to different
philosophies and new ideas. College is more than picking up job qualifications.
An e-mail from recent ISU bachelor's and master's degree graduate Basil
Mahanyi helps explain why this makes sense.
Mahanyi comes from a Muslim background, but most of his friends are Christian.
He says he recognizes the importance of faith in their lives. He and his friends
were able to agree and disagree about religion in a calm, civil, constructive
manner.
But whenever Mahanyi went public with his opinions in online or other forums,
calm, civil and constructive flew out the window. So he learned to keep his mouth
shut.
"It generates a sense of isolation," he writes. "Our campus atmosphere often
stifles the discussion of such issues because of these personal attacks. Now that
my time at Iowa State is complete, I cannot help but sympathize with the
students who feel isolated for their ideas because I, too, have felt this way."
Not all of the response was nasty, and only some of the nastiness was studentgenerated. But instead of dissecting Blumenfeld's argument, too many people
wanted him fired, deported, sent to Saudi Arabia or worse.
Personally, I believe he should stay.
Do not board the next ship out of the Port of Ames, Professor Blumenfeld. Stick
around. Continue to tell young people, and the rest of us, what we don't always
want to hear.
Columnist Marc Hansen can be reached at (515) 284-8534 or
mahansen@dmreg.com