Another Bracket

We are called and empowered to live out the character of Christ; or to allow His character to be displayed through us.  In Titus 2 , we can read about what Paul prescribed for the young men to be
taught:
6 Likewise exhort the young men to be sober-minded,
7 in all things showing yourself to be a pattern of good works; in doctrine showing integrity, reverence, incorruptibility,
8 sound speech that cannot be condemned, that one who is an opponent may be ashamed, having nothing evil to say of you.

Biblically speaking, you could say that really is a great model for all believers.  The Bible teaches us to be sober in mind - not reactionary or fearful, but thinking and speaking with clarity.  We are called to do good works as the Spirit empowers us, living a life that is beyond reproach.  Verse 8 references an "opponent" - yes, there will be those who oppose us, with whom we disagree, who can even make life rough for a believer, but we can continue to demonstrate our reliance on God and rest in His security.

+++++

In John 15, Jesus teaches His disciples how they would be regarded by the world.  Although some embraced Jesus, He was also rejected by many - here is some of His insight:
19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
20 Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21 But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

Well, perhaps you indulged on some basketball over the weekend - the men's Final Four is set and the women's Final Four will be after tonight.   Lots of questions: will North Carolina rise to the top of the college basketball hierarchy again?  Who would have thought South Carolina would represent the SEC?  On the women's side, will UConn win another one and extend its streak?  Or could SEC powers South Carolina or Mississippi State thwart the Huskies title run?

Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Director of the Center for Academic Freedom Casey Mattox took the men's bracket and predicted victories based on the free speech records of each of the teams in the tournament. He reminds readers that "The ADF Center for Academic Freedom has secured nearly 400 victories for student free speech rights." So, in the bracket, the schools with the weakest records on free speech advance.

In the East region, Casey had Wisconsin facing South Carolina, with Wisconsin emerging.  About USC, he wrote:

I sued South Carolina several years ago when it prohibited religious student groups from receiving student activity fees a decade after the Supreme Court held this was unconstitutional (USC changed the policy in response). And it still maintains a “solicitation” policy forbidding unrecognized student groups from soliciting members necessary to become a recognized student group (see the problem?). USC advances.

He also wrote, about the East Regional participants:

UNC Wilmington had an unfortunate draw. In any other bracket, its multi-year effort to retaliate against ADF client Professor Mike Adams for his conservative views, would make UNCW an easy pick for the Final 4. But it has the misfortune of meeting a University of Wisconsin that (including its system campuses) ADF has had to sue at least six times for violations of the First Amendment rights of its students, including unconstitutional student activity funding policies and discrimination against religious students and student groups.

So, it's Wisconsin in the East and Vanderbilt out of the West.  About the school, he writes:

Vandy has effectively banned orthodox Christian student groups from its campus, requiring them to agree to allow atheists to be Bible study leaders if they want to be recognized. Vandy also violated federal law by trying to require nursing school students to submit to abortion training in violation of their conscience until it backed down in the face of an ADF complaint to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Vanderbilt defeats Florida State, which possesses what Mattox calls "unconstitutional speech codes."

So far we have Wisconsin facing Vanderbilt in one-half of the Final Four.  On the other side, out of the Midwest, it's Iowa State vs. Oklahoma State.  About Iowa State, Casey writes:

Last fall I sued Iowa State because of the school’s stunningly broad speech codes forbidding speech that “annoys” another, and informing students that even “First Amendment protected speech activities” may constitute harassment “depending on the circumstances,” including whether other students believe the speech is not “legitimate,” not “necessary,” or lacks a “constructive purpose.” Few schools can compete with these speech codes.

Iowa State faces off against Oklahoma State, about which Casey writes:

In 2014 we represented Cowboys for Life, a prolife group at Oklahoma State forced to move its displays to other areas of the campus because some might be “offended,” and to place signs warning other students of the potential “offense.”

 And, Iowa State is joined in the Final Four by South regional champion UCLA.  Mattox says:

UCLA is currently caught in a controversy where it appears to be discouraging students from taking a course taught by a conservative professor on … free speech. While the school dropped a speech code in response to an ADF letter in 2012, it has other broad speech restrictions, including a UC systemwide campaign combatting “microaggressions” that earned the University of California system a Jefferson Muzzle award. UCLA advances.

So, there you have it - the Bracket of Shame, the "Final Four" of free speech codes, with the "winners" having the less friendly speech policies:  And, in the championship "game," it's Wisconsin defeating UCLA.  About the school, he concludes:

Year after year a UW system school finds itself on the other side of an ADF lawsuit. Perhaps it should be no surprise then that after their university has repeatedly imparted the message that some viewpoints are more valued than others, these UW students struggle to understand that both people who think like them and those who do not should both be entitled to their beliefs and to live them out.

He concludes by saying: "Teaching this civic understanding to the next generation should be a fundamental purpose of higher education. That many universities are failing to do so is a shame for all of us."

Note: Everybody does not think like you.  If you and I have a discussion, ultimately we will find areas over which we disagree - that goes for Christians; and especially for the relationship of Christians to non-Christians.  But, as Mattox says, people are "entitled to their beliefs and to live them out."  Now, that does not justify unlawful behavior, but it teaches us a truth - we each have been created with a free will and we can make choices and develop our philosophy and even our "personal theology."  The problem comes in society when we allow differences to become divisive and stifle dialogue.

And, unfortunately, we see that Christians on a number of campuses across America have become demonized and their speech has been demoted in status - why?  Some would say it is hostility toward faith or religion, or a misunderstanding of the constitutional practice of religion.  You could even attribute it to the perception of Christians as we have been mischaracterized as intolerant and lacking reason.

While we should work to level the playing field for the protection of free speech rights and freedom of religious expression, we also recognize that the Bible teaches that those who would want to exhibit the character of Christ will encounter opposition.  This opposition should not lead to a victim's mentality; rather, it should propel us to recognize what God wants to do in our lives through adversity.  What can't be shut down is the ability of a Christian to radiate the light of the Lord, Who is the light of the world.