Cornerstone University Responds to LGBT Soulforce Group
By Guest Columnist Dr. Rex Rogers, President of Cornerstone University
Cornerstone University is one of 44 Christian colleges and universities targeted this spring for a “Soulforce Equality Ride” visit. CU politely declined this visit, but Soulforce informed the university its bus would be stopping anyway, April 23, 2007.
Soulforce (www.soulforce.org) is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) advocacy group promoting sexual immorality in the name of Christianity. Last year, Soulforce attempted to visit 19 Christian schools, busing about 25 well-trained LGBT and possibly a few straight young people to the tour stops. Soulforce claims it is seeking “compassionate dialogue” about the “oppression” of “traditional religion.” Some Christian institutions pursued engagement with differing results and some declined interaction. At a few schools, Soulforce riders ignored school injunctions and were arrested.
Cornerstone is an evangelical Christian university, so it has historically embraced biblical views of human sexuality. In recent years, Cornerstone developed a “Human Sexuality Statement,” affirming the university teaches that sexuality is a creation and gift of God designed for the experience of a monogamous, heterosexual, lifelong marriage. Consequently, the university teaches that all forms of sexual expression outside of this kind of marriage is immorality and therefore sin in God’s eyes. So while LGBT are not spiritually unpardonable sins, nor are they the only sexual sins in which human beings engage, they are nevertheless sin according to the Bible. (See
www.cornerstone.edu/departments/spiritual_formation/sexuality).
What makes Soulforce’s peaceful but presumptuously aggressive approach especially disagreeable is that Soulforce riders say they are Christians (actually, a variety of religious or spiritualist views are evident) and that homosexuality is not offensive to God. Beyond this, the organization has demonstrated it is not above using deception in communications or inaccuracies in interpreting events to promote its agenda. This is why Cornerstone declined Soulforce’s desire to present itself to students in classrooms or other sponsored forums.
While the organization is untrustworthy, the youthful individual riders are simply lost sheep. They are not naďve, but they are spiritually confused and are being used by sophisticated people with money and a political/social agenda that goes beyond this spring “mission trip.” Cornerstone will, therefore, set parameters limiting the organization’s access even as the university wishes to treat the individuals respectfully. This is how the university, in the words of Scripture, can speak the truth with love.
Cornerstone University recognizes LGBT individuals’ civil liberties and their right to free association in a group like Soulforce. But Cornerstone does not believe Soulforce’s right to free speech should cost the university against its will—not in class-time, for which parents and students pay, not in freely provided venues, and not in safety or other professional expenditures. Soulforce is free to promote its viewpoints; it’s just not free to promote them on the Cornerstone campus without permission.
Dr. Rex Rogers
President, Cornerstone University