IL - Chicago-Area College Professor Disputes University Accounts

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Chicago-Area College Professor Disputes University Accounts
The professor of a Christian college who asserted Christians and Muslims worship the same God said Wednesday that her views are in line with the suburban Chicago college's mission and disputed university accounts of interactions with administrators who've taken steps to fire her.

Larycia Hawkins, who's Christian, was placed on leave at Wheaton College in December after posting her views on Facebook. She also wore a headscarf to show solidarity with Muslims. College officials placed her on leave in December for having inconsistent views with the college's "doctrinal convictions." On Tuesday, they said she refused to participate in "clarifying conversations" about theological issues and initiated termination-for-cause proceedings.

However, Hawkins disagreed with that notion during a news conference Wednesday at a downtown Chicago church where she received backing from religious leaders, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Hawkins, a political science professor, said she met with administrators several times after the Facebook posting and provided statements explaining her beliefs which she believes line up with the college's mission. Hawkins said she was told further discussions weren't required, but college officials then changed their requirements and said she would have to participate in two years of ongoing conversations during which time her tenure would be revoked. She said university officials advised her to get an attorney, and the next communication was the notice of termination proceedings.
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http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/...ofessor-disputes-university-accounts-36125112
 
I wonder what would have happened if she said Christians and Jews worship the same God.

Our Mission
Wheaton College serves Jesus Christ and advances His Kingdom through excellence in liberal arts and graduate programs that educate the whole person to build the church and benefit society worldwide.
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http://www.wheaton.edu/About-Wheaton/Mission
 
Professor ‘flabbergasted’ over Wheaton’s plan to fire her over worship comments

“I stand in religious solidarity with Muslims because they, like me, a Christian, are people of the book,” Hawkins wrote on Facebook. “And as Pope Francis* stated last week, we worship the same God.”

...
“Wheaton College cannot scare me into walking away from the truth (that) all humans — Muslims, the vulnerable, the oppressed of any ilk *– are all my sisters and brothers, and I am called by Jesus to walk with them,” she said.
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And the school said:
“While Islam and Christianity are both monotheistic, we believe there are fundamental differences between the two faiths, including what they teach about God’s revelation to humanity, the nature of God, the path to salvation, and the life of prayer,” the college said in a Dec. 22 statement.
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* I don't know if there's a quote from Pope Francis phrasing it in exactly those words, but this is from Pope Paul VI:

3. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God.

Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.
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From Pope Francis:

I greet and thank cordially all of you, dear friends belonging to other religious traditions; firstly the Muslims, who worship the one living and merciful God, and call upon Him in prayer. I really appreciate your presence, and in it I see a tangible sign of the wish to grow in recipricol trust and in cooperation for the common good of humanity.
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http://en.radiovaticana.va/storico/...ntatives_of_the_churches,_ecclesia/en1-675184

Her college isn't Catholic and her employers might not care, but I wanted to check on her Pope Francis comment.
 
It isn't a Muslim, Jewish or Catholic college. It is a Christian college. There's a vast difference in the beliefs and teachings of each of them IMO.
 
Well, Catholics are Christians although I know other Christians don't have a Pope.

Do you know what kind of Christian? Because there are vast differences there as well.
 
bluesneakers said:
Well, Catholics are Christians although I know other Christians don't have a Pope.

Do you know what kind of Christian? Because there are vast differences there as well.
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I'm not finding a particular denomination but here's part of their statement of faith.

Statement of Faith
The doctrinal statement of Wheaton College, reaffirmed annually by its Board of Trustees, faculty, and staff, provides a summary of biblical doctrine that is consonant with evangelical Christianity. The statement accordingly reaffirms salient features of the historic Christian creeds, thereby identifying the College not only with the Scriptures but also with the reformers and the evangelical movement of recent years. The statement also defines the biblical perspective which informs a Wheaton education. These doctrines of the church cast light on the study of nature and man, as well as on man's culture.
 
Thanks.

This history appears to go from Methodist to Presbyterian to Evangelical. I've alway thought Evangelicalism was a sort of umbrella term used to cover a few different denominations.

JMO but I'd hate to see her terminated over this. :(
 
It sounds like both she and the college have dug in their heels. I want to know more.
 
Wheaton College says the notice is not a termination but the start of a process for tenured faculty members.

During the process, a committee will consider both testimony and evidence and will make a recommendation to the Ryken regarding Hawkins' tenure. He will add his own recommendations.

The final decision will be in the hands of the Wheaton College board of trustees.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/05/us/wheaton-college-professor-hijab/
 
I'm starting to think there were problems before this.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Hawkins had been asked to affirm the college’s statement of faith four times since she started teaching at Wheaton College nine years go. Hawkins and the school have butted heads over a paper relating the Bible and race relations in America, a photo taken of her inside a home at a party on the same day as Chicago’s Pride Parade and suggesting the college's curriculum should include sensitive vocabulary for talks concerning sexuality, according to the paper.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/01/0...s-to-fire-professor-for-comment-on-islam.html
 
Jesse Jackson OF COURSE had to insert himself into this. And calling him a 'religious leader'? Laughable. Dr. King is rolling in his grave.
 
In all matters of faculty and staff conflict with the Statement of Faith, Wheaton College undergoes dialogue to determine if agreement can be found. Statements have been made in recent days raising similar questions by other faculty members from whom the College requested clarification. In those instances, the individuals rapidly and emphatically explained their opinions and affirmed their full consistency with the theological identity of Wheaton College.

However, the views expressed by Dr. Hawkins were more complex. Discussions between her and the administration were at an initial stage, and she was placed on administrative leave by Provost Dr. Stanton L. Jones in order to allow adequate time for reflection and review by Dr. Hawkins and the administration.

In her most recent statement, Dr. Hawkins seems committed to her personal theological stance, as stated in social media posts and subsequent media interviews; she has not yet reconciled her beliefs with the College’s theological position.

http://www.wheaton.edu/Media-Center...heaton-College-Statement-Regarding-Dr-Hawkins
 
meanmaryjean said:
Jesse Jackson OF COURSE had to insert himself into this. And calling him a 'religious leader'? Laughable. Dr. King is rolling in his grave.
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He's an ordained Baptist minister. He attended the Chicago Theological Seminary. He has been awarded a Master of Divinity Degree. Those three facts, along with his record of service and activism, make him a religious leader. A civil rights leader too.
 
bluesneakers said:
Well, Catholics are Christians although I know other Christians don't have a Pope.

Do you know what kind of Christian? Because there are vast differences there as well.
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Wheaton College is a private American four-year Evangelical Protestant Christian liberal arts college in Wheaton, Illinois, a suburb 25 miles (40 km) west of Chicago. The college was founded by abolitionists in 1860.[2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_College_(Illinois)
 
Tillicum said:
I'm starting to think there were problems before this.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Hawkins had been asked to affirm the college’s statement of faith four times since she started teaching at Wheaton College nine years go. Hawkins and the school have butted heads over a paper relating the Bible and race relations in America, a photo taken of her inside a home at a party on the same day as Chicago’s Pride Parade and suggesting the college's curriculum should include sensitive vocabulary for talks concerning sexuality, according to the paper.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/01/0...s-to-fire-professor-for-comment-on-islam.html
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This make it sound like she's an agitator. Maybe the school has been waiting for their next chance. That's four times it was enough of an issue she had to affirm the statement, it's likely there were smaller infractions as well.

But after nine years? How many times does she have to convince them she's Christian enough? I can see where it would be tempting to walk away, but I've had many professors who were invested (not $) in the school and it would have been hard for them to leave.

I don't know. It's difficult to figure out without knowing all the details. JMO
 
This poll is interesting and may help us to understand why they've both dug in their heels. They probably both feel strongly that they're right. More at the link with many things that factor in to each person's belief.

Summary: Americans are evenly split among whether Christians and Muslims pray to the same God. Younger people are more likely to agree that they do (55% of those age 18-34 agree). Christians, and particularly self-identified evangelicals, are less likely to agree. But opinions vary among all groups we examined, with more than a third of self-identified evangelicals agreeing and no examined sub-group reaching 60% agreement.
In other words, self-identified evangelicals and religious service attendees strongly disagree that Muslims and Christians play to the same God. Furthermore, this is "self-identified evangelicals," and practicing evangelicals would almost certainly disagree at a higher level.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ed...lam-how-do-people-see-them-and-who-they-.html
 
Jews, Christians and Muslims all claim to worship the God of Abraham. So technically she is correct.
 
Wheaton College Faculty Council Recommends Administration Withdraw Firing Professor

The council, the school’s highest faculty-elected body that represents the its 200-plus professors, formalized its recommendation Wednesday evening after meeting on Tuesday:

“Following recent discussions between faculty council, President Ryken and Provost Jones, Faculty Council unanimously recommended to administration that the administrative leave and the notification of termination ‘for cause’ of Dr. Larycia Hawkins be withdrawn due to grave concerns about the process,” Lynn Cohick, New Testament professor and chair of the council, wrote on its behalf in an email sent to the entire faculty
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The faculty and administration are going to have a "Listening Session" and some questions will be addressed, like:
“1. Does the College have a position on what can or cannot be said regarding the question: ‘Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?’”
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