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Beckwith in World Magazine

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. . . The old guard got rid of Mr. Dembski and then Mr. Sloan, who moved into the largely ceremonial position of chancellor. Still, Mr. Sloan’s Vision 2012 plan for Baylor is still on the books. The new president, John M. Lilley, former president of the University of Nevada, Reno, was a compromise candidate, so Baylor’s future was unclear.

Based on information from Baylor faculty members and graduate students to whom WORLD granted confidentiality because their careers would be in jeopardy, here is what happened: Mr. Beckwith came to Baylor in 2003, as associate director of the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies, over the objection of the institute’s funder, the Dawson family. Mr. Beckwith had argued for the constitutionality of teaching intelligent design. The late Mr. Dawson had been an early champion for teaching evolution at Baylor.

The institute was set up to promote the strict separation of church and state, and Mr. Beckwith’s pro-life activism and conservative politics put him at odds with most of his colleagues in his department. (One colleague, Jewish pro-Palestinian activist Marc Ellis, is one of “The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America” in David Horowitz’s new book, The Professors.)

“Beckwith was widely viewed as a conservative, Christian hire forced on the hallowed J.M. Dawson Institute by the administration,” one graduate student told WORLD. “To a veteran faculty already resentful of the move to transform the university into a research university with a stronger Christian character, Beckwith’s hire was symbolic of the problem.”

When tenure time approached, the anti-Sloan interim president, William Underwood, appointed psychology professor Jim Patton, the chair of the anti-Sloan faculty senate, to Mr. Beckwith’s tenure committee. In an e-mail message about another faculty member shown to WORLD, Mr. Patton wrote, “I clearly do not think highly of anyone who claims ID theory is science.” . . .

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CORRECTION: Beckwith has published a lot more than the 28 papers cited in the article.

Comments
More on Beckwith World has an article on Frank Beckwith's denial of tenure at Baylor University. Beckwith's writings have been an encouragement to me over the years of rigorous scholarship from a person of Christian Conviction. This I suppose is the sad state...Power of Change
April 8, 2006
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“I clearly do not think highly of anyone who claims ID theory is science.” . . . Considering the alternative to ID is multiple atomic accidents, coupled with multiple chance collisions, coupled with multiple lucky events, all wrapped in multiple universes, who in their right mind would say that ID isn't scientific?Joseph
April 8, 2006
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The secular academic world continues to reveal its thoroughly unpardonable hypocrisy. It is in this ivory-tower world that tolerance and diversity are preached as the highest values, but it is also in this world that the greatest intolerance and rejection of diversity are exhibited. Tolerance of diversity in race and ethnicity is preached, as it should be, but tolerance of ideas is abhorred, and is punished with absolute intolerance. I am a recovered militant academic atheist. I was indoctrinated in academia by this nihilistic nonsense, but was liberated from it, thanks (at least in part) to people like C.S. Lewis and Francis Beckwith. Perhaps this is what the academics who are persecuting Beckwith fear. Perhaps they fear that more people like Gil will abandon their atheism, and accept the historical Christian faith, through the influence of people like Francis Beckwith. A book recommendation: "Relativism, Feet Firmly Planted in Mid-Air," by Francis J. Beckwith and Gregory Koukl.GilDodgen
April 7, 2006
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I would like to refer to a previous posting that speaks to the political relevance of Neo-darwinism: https://uncommondescent.com/index.php/archives/1000#comments Taken as politcal doctrine, Neo-darwinism ranks right up there with Nietzsche's "Will to Power" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_to_Power#The_Will_to_Power Anyone seeking an acedemic career (or a even a political career) would be wise to take this under serious consideration.Collin DuCrâne
April 7, 2006
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