SIGforum
Babylon Bee CEO barred from speaking at his Christian alma mater because he called BLM a terrorist org.

This topic can be found at:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/320601935/m/3610032574

October 03, 2020, 08:23 PM
lkdr1989
Babylon Bee CEO barred from speaking at his Christian alma mater because he called BLM a terrorist org.
Saw this on Instapundit, PBA University canceled Babylon Bee's CEO from speaking at their chapel because he posted a tweet that said "Black Lives is a terrorist organization".


From Palm Beach Atlantic University's website:


Anchored in Faith
The Christian world view that permeates our campus, community and culture adds a unique dimension to the PBA learning experience. From its presence in the academic curriculum, to weekly chapel to service learning and mission trips, this faith-based foundation will shape your experience and prepare you with the kind of ethical, principled outlook that today’s employers value.


quote:


Palm Beach Atlantic University disinvited alumnus Seth Dillon — the CEO of Christian satire outlet The Babylon Bee — from participating in a speaking event and interview at its chapel, instead changing the location to the school’s library.

The university had scheduled Dillon to participate in an interview at its chapel on the morning of September 30. However, PBA community members reached out to the university with concerns about Dillon speaking in chapel, explaining that it represents a “sacred space.”

“I'm just too dangerous and divisive to be permitted to speak on the campus of my alma mater. Since when do you have to support terrorist organizations that use violence and intimidation to advance their agenda to be welcome on a Christian campus?”

Quoting his assertion that Black Lives Matter is a terrorist organization, a PBA student said that “this should be enough to not welcome @SethDillon to our campus. Not to mention that every LGBTQ student has been disrespected and degraded by his content.”

Social media users did not provide specific examples of Dillon demeaning LGBTQ individuals.

“Cancel culture has come for me,” said Dillon, who posted screenshots of people contacting PBA to speak out against him. “I'm just too dangerous and divisive to be permitted to speak on the campus of my alma mater. Since when do you have to support terrorist organizations that use violence and intimidation to advance their agenda to be welcome on a Christian campus?”

After the social media uproar began, PBA Director of Alumni Relations Steve Eshelman emailed Dillon, asking to eliminate the previously scheduled five minutes of freestyle speaking at the beginning of the event.

A few hours later, Dillon posted on Twitter that he was officially disinvited from speaking at the chapel. He told Campus Reform that he was scheduled to speak on the morning of September 30, yet was notified on the afternoon of September 29 that he would no longer be speaking in the chapel. Instead, the university asked him to speak in the school’s library.

“After I was slandered by @IsomRig and others as a racist — and a cancel mob inundated the school with emails — @PBAUniversity decided they didn’t want me to appear in chapel since that is a ‘sacred place,’” he explained.

In an email forwarded to Dillon by a faculty member, PBA Executive Vice President for Advancement Laura Bishop echoed the same “sacred space” justification as the students on Twitter.

“We anticipated that an honest conversation like this could become passionate, and that emotions may run high,” explained Bishop. “We did not want to compromise the sacredness of a chapel gathering, and, after heated exchanges on social media, it was decided that the Lassiter Rotunda of the Warren Library would be a more suitable venue for Mr. Dillon.”

Dillon told Campus Reform that the questions in the interview were meant to be “lighthearted.” The list of questions focused on his experience as an alumnus and a Christian media entrepreneur.

One question asked, “Did you have a favorite professor?” Another said, “Humor can be a really subjective thing. Are there any [Babylon Bee] posts that you didn’t think were great that got a huge response, or vice versa?”

“The assumption that I would bring a Twitter discussion into chapel and stray from the subject matter I agreed to discuss was pretty uncharitable,” he explained. “It seemed to me that it was an excuse… what they wanted to do was cancel me without canceling me and appease everyone involved.”

Dillon explained that “Bishop would not explicitly tell me what I'd said or done that made my presence in the chapel suddenly inappropriate. I told her that if I'm not welcome in their chapel, then I don't feel welcome on their campus.”

Many students expressed disappointment that Dillon would no longer be speaking at chapel.

Dillon said that he is a graduate of Palm Beach Atlantic University, which he attended from 2000 to 2004. He is a “Christian running a successful Christian media company” and “currently employs 10 Palm Beach Atlantic graduates” on a full-time basis. He also told Campus Reform that he recently donated $300,000 in seed funding to launch a new master's program at the university.

Campus Reform asked Dillon what it would take for him to donate to Palm Beach Atlantic University in the future. He answered that “If the university were to boldly and openly engage in the battle against cancel culture and take a clear stand against it, and back up people like me to the mob instead of doing exactly what the mob wanted them to do… then I wouldn’t have any qualms about donating to them in the future.”

In a meeting with Dillon, Laura Bishop and PBA President Debra Schwinn apologized and said that they wanted to rectify the situation. According to Dillon, Schwinn said that the university would look for opportunities to eventually have him back in the chapel.

Dillon has not committed to this; he would still like to see the university “take a strong, public stand against cancel culture.” However, Dillon believes that inviting him to the chapel “would send the message that I'm welcome there, and that it would right the wrong of how this was handled.”

“Cancel culture is a destructive disease, and Palm Beach Atlantic University is not immune to it,” said Dillon. “We need more backbone and less coddling in our Christian institutions. And we need it yesterday.”

Campus Reform made contact with Palm Beach Atlantic University and is still awaiting comment; this article will be updated accordingly.



https://www.campusreform.org/?ID=15849




...let him who has no sword sell his robe and buy one. Luke 22:35-36 NAV

"Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16 NASV
October 03, 2020, 08:30 PM
Balzé Halzé
quote:
Originally posted by lkdr1989:
Saw this on Instapundit, PBA University canceled Babylon Bee's CEO from speaking at their chapel because he posted a tweet that said "Black Lives is a terrorist organization".



Ummm, but they are a terrorist organization. Obviously there must be some type of misunderstanding, otherwise why would the University cancel his speech for telling the truth?

(Sarcasm)


~Alan

Acta Non Verba
NRA Life Member (Patron)
God, Family, Guns, Country

Men will fight and die to protect women... because women protect everything else. ~Andrew Klavan

October 03, 2020, 08:36 PM
thunderson
quote:
Dillon explained that “Bishop would not explicitly tell me what I'd said or done that made my presence in the chapel suddenly inappropriate. I told her that if I'm not welcome in their chapel, then I don't feel welcome on their campus.”

.....

“Cancel culture is a destructive disease, and Palm Beach Atlantic University is not immune to it,” said Dillon. “We need more backbone and less coddling in our Christian institutions. And we need it yesterday.”



This is the crux of the problem. Public school is not the only place that the commies have infested. Believe it or not the socialists have invaded many christian churches and institutions as well.



I have the heart of a lion.......and a lifetime ban from the Toronto Zoo.- Unknown
October 03, 2020, 08:37 PM
dsiets
I'm not a psychic but I see several Babylon Bee articles toying w/ PBA University on the way.
October 03, 2020, 09:17 PM
jljones
Well that’s not very Christian of them.




www.opspectraining.com

"It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it works out for them"



October 03, 2020, 09:20 PM
sigmonkey
Dang, satirizing satire.




"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב!
October 03, 2020, 09:31 PM
Bassamatic
That was a Christian University?

Good grief.



.....never marry a woman who is mean to your waitress.
October 03, 2020, 09:43 PM
braillediver
Cancel Culture would of banned Jesus from speaking if they existed back then.


____________________________________________________

The butcher with the sharpest knife has the warmest heart.
October 03, 2020, 09:47 PM
darthfuster
Notice how they still want his money though.



You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier
October 03, 2020, 09:57 PM
roberth
This is another example of how preconceptions of certain groups gets shattered.
October 04, 2020, 12:23 AM
Rightwire
Ok, let I get this straight.....

A guy scheduled to speak at a college, calls BLM a terrorist organization. BLM supporters terrorize the university through social media, so out of fear they withdraw their invitation....

.... thus proving EXACTLY what he said.

Oh and as a bonus the LGBTQ crowd were offended too. For some reason.




Pronoun: His Royal Highness and benevolent Majesty of all he surveys

343 - Never Forget

Its better to be Pavlov's dog than Schrodinger's cat

There are three types of mistakes; Those you learn from, those you suffer from, and those you don't survive.
October 04, 2020, 04:49 AM
mrvmax
I'm a Christian and I can see the pull to the left that American Christianity has taken. There's just as much nonsense within "Christian universities" than there is in secular. Honestly the label of Christian means very little in America today and it certainly does not reflect how it's portrayed in the Bible. Just like most every group, there is systemic hypocrisy and corruption within Christian organizations.

There are a minority though that have taken stances against this, John MacArthur is one and that's why he came out with a document stating their stance on social justice issues. It caused big waves within evangelical groups. Too many churches are driven by bringing in money so they'll go along with anything and everything popular so it doesn't hurt their pocketbook. In reality they serve money and not God - a fact that's pretty obvious even to the oblivious.

You can read some of what the anti social justice document states here: https://relevantmagazine.com/f...ustice-proclamation/
October 04, 2020, 07:07 AM
tleo205
quote:
This is the crux of the problem. Public school is not the only place that the commies have infested. Believe it or not the socialists have invaded many christian churches and institutions as well.


That is the exact reason that I refuse to set foot in the church I grew up in. The national administration has openly expressed support for black lives matter after the Ferguson riots and has not said one peep against all the current rioting and destruction. Some of the local churches pulled out of the membership but mine has remained and has been steadily losing members since then. The last minister made matters even worse with his openly leftist "woke" ideas.
October 04, 2020, 07:12 AM
stickman428
Who are the real fascists? I see people on the right being called the F word over and over and over but when it comes to censoring, deplatforming and outright digitally deleting people it’s almost all coming from the left. EVERY SINGLE DAY they become more fascist and at the same time they accuse the other side of the exact behavior they themselves are engaged in. It’s nauseating and infuriating and I wonder when it will end?

Oh and by the way Google redefined the term “fascism” to be a right wing ideology.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The price of liberty and even of common humanity is eternal vigilance
October 04, 2020, 08:57 AM
mark_a
Well, what I read was they didn't want a scene in their chapel. Maybe I'm missing something.

Did they ask him to refrain from speaking about any particular topic in the library?

Again, maybe I'm just not reading correctly but it seems they are worried about their students and others creating a scene in the chapel.

If you remove the filter of looking for outrage from everything that happens your blood pressure will be much lower.

But, that's just me.
October 04, 2020, 09:10 AM
Haveme1or2
Emotion over mental.
Lack of balance between the two.
Inevitable when the "feelings" are exercised and the brain power is not.
All the "help the down trodden" regardless of their actions that got them there caused unbalance.
Letting ppl pay the price of their decisions is the only way ppl evolve.
October 04, 2020, 09:25 AM
Aglifter
A) If they are that offended, it seems like they should return his money.

B) I could see an argument for not having him speak in the chapel, if they are expecting a scene/expecting him to talk about non-religious matters. I can’t say I’ve heard of a church using the chapel for anything other than religious purposes.
October 04, 2020, 10:10 AM
thunderson
Churches, and in this case universities, use their chapels for many other purposes than strict "religious" purposes. It usually has the largest seating capacity.

If someone saying something "disrespectful" has the power to desecrate a church, well I hate to be the one to tell you but there wouldn't be an undesecrated church in existence.

This was nothing but cowardice and placating internet trolls by the university. It was disrespectful to Mr. Dillon. The University could not give him an explicit example of anything he said or did because they had no legitimate explanation. He is correct by the way, if he is not welcome in the chapel, he is not welcome on the campus.



I have the heart of a lion.......and a lifetime ban from the Toronto Zoo.- Unknown
October 04, 2020, 10:21 AM
Micropterus
quote:
Originally posted by mrvmax:
I'm a Christian and I can see the pull to the left that American Christianity has taken. There's just as much nonsense within "Christian universities" than there is in secular...


------

quote:
These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you... Psalm 50:21


Indeed, we have. American "Christians" have by and large created a false god, one like themselves.

Have you seen the documovie called "American Gospel: Christ Alone"? If not, it's worth watching and speaks directly to your point. It showcases some of the most biblically centered preachers out there theses days. A real eye-opener.

https://vimeo.com/ondemand/gospel1/296083675


_____________
"I enter a swamp as a sacred place—a sanctum sanctorum. There is the strength—the marrow of Nature." - Henry David Thoreau
October 04, 2020, 11:40 AM
Graniteguy
What's happening in Christian schools is the same thing that is happening with the state-to-state spread of left/socialist ideals and values. Woke parents want their kids to get a better education that what many public schools can offer, so they enroll their little Chads and Karens and pretend to be Christians.