{"id":34234,"date":"2016-04-14T06:27:41","date_gmt":"2016-04-14T10:27:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/?p=34234"},"modified":"2016-04-14T06:27:41","modified_gmt":"2016-04-14T10:27:41","slug":"privilege-and-persecution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2016\/04\/privilege-and-persecution.html","title":{"rendered":"Privilege and Persecution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

I spoke to a member of the Midwest regional Society of Biblical Literature recently, who told me that there had been a number of members who were angry about a petition that went around asking the organization to move its conference from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois<\/a>. That school had not only at one point in the past engaged in censorship of a faculty member because of his view of evolution, but also has policies regarding same-sex relationships<\/a> which have made more than one student feel suicidal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think the anger about the petition is at all appropriate. Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n

SBL welcomes Christian conservatives as well as liberals and atheists and people of other religions in an inclusive manner. I am quite certain that, if there were a school which hosted the regional SBL, but which censored conservative Christians on campus and, while allowing them to be present, treated them and spoke about them in a way that made them want to kill themselves, the people who are now angry about a petition, would have made a petition of their own, demanding that the regional meeting move from that institution to elsewhere.<\/p>\n

That is privilege illustrated \u2013 being so relatively free from harassment in one\u2019s own context, that one cannot even imagine oneself into the shoes of others who face it regularly.<\/p>\n

Now, we all fall short in this area of empathy. But when Christians, who follow the one who taught us to treat others the way we want to be treated, fail to empathize, it is especially sad.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I spoke to a member of the Midwest regional Society of Biblical Literature recently, who told me that there had been a number of members who were angry about a petition that went around asking the organization to move its conference from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. 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