I'm almost tempted to stay home and see what Glenn Beck does in front of the camera. I already know that behind the camera, he is rubbing his hands with glee while visions of dollar signs dance in his head.
But the work of this blog goes on. And there are important lgbt issues happening now, such as this one in California:
An instructor at Fresno City College who made anti-gay remarks is in trouble with the administration after students complained that he was using the Bible to teach his Health Sciences class.
Administrators at the publicly funded school promised to take appropriate action against Dr. Bradley Lopez, who told his students that homosexuality is a mental disorder and should be treated with psychotherapy.
Students also complained that Lopez told students to use the Bible to explain climate change, the genetic makeup of Jesus, among other study assignments.
Christopher Villa, vice president of student services, issued a report last week on the complaints.
“Dr. Lopez engaged in conduct that could result in the creation of a hostile learning environment by unreasonably interfering with students’ learning by making insulting comments directed at homosexuals,” the report said, noting that Lopez made statements “unrelated to any legitimate course objective.”
In the report, Villa said that Lopez had violated campus regulations prohibiting religious indoctrination “by assigning readings from the Bible, reading the Bible in class, and otherwise relying on the Bible as an authority in the assigned subject matter.”
“Instructors are not required to hide their own religious belief or non-belief, but they may not engage in religious indoctrination as Dr. Lopez did here,” the report said.
That's the story BEFORE Mat Staver and the Allied Defense Fund possibly get their psuedo holy hooks in it.
If and when they do, Lopez will be cast as the so-called latest "Christian whose faith made him a victim of the homosexual agenda."
Like Crystal Dixon, Patricia Mauceri, and Peter Vadala
According to religious right groups, all of these individuals lost their jobs because "gays want to silence Christians."
But as the links tell, these folks went well beyond their free speech rights by either forgetting what they can or cannot say on the job or about their job or mistaking their power on the employment food chain.
Phony claims of being the victims of a "gay agenda" were immaterial in those cases, just like it is in this one.
Lopez should have remembered that he is paid to teach, not preach.
I'm so thankful that when I was in college we didn't have any religious wing nuts.
ReplyDeleteThis so-called teacher went way over the line. Health science is just that, science. Being an employee of a government funded school, it is not legal nor appropriat to use that position for one's personal religious podium to spew rants about gays, abortionists, women's liberation or any other subject outside of the science of health. I hope this gentlemen is permanently excused from public service as he has proven that he can not and will not leave his personal religious views outside the classroom door.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh yes... good ol' Crystal Dixon. As far as I know her suit against the Univ. of Toledo is still in the system.
ReplyDeleteIn college I took a course on "The Bible as Literature" (I hate to admit this but I chose it based on the day/time it was offered). The professor was a devout Christian but never ONCE did she stray from the theme of literature into preaching, or spewing hatred toward us non-Christians.) She had a PhD in lit, and she was an excellent teacher. She knew the Koran as well, & pointed out similarities between the poetry there and in the Old Testament, without disparaging Moslems.
ReplyDeleteIn a course on Science taught by a Christian, the Bible has no place. If the professor in question teaches at a publicly funded school, then he should be well aware of limits on pushing his religious agenda. If he disagreed with those limits, then he should have been teaching at a private Christian college.
That's not a tough call!