The Goshen College Compromise continues

And I mean “compromise” in the very negative sense, i.e. compromising the Good News of Jesus. Goshen College officially started to play the US national anthem before games. I am unable to say all I want to say about this right now (mostly because it would be out of shear frustration), but Andy Alexis-Baker at Jesus Radicals has put together some chiding statements that I wish to echo here. Read the entire piece at Jesus Radicals, but here’s a couple choice passages.

The fact that Goshen College had to qualify the playing of the anthem to make sure that people understood the college’s peace position indicates that they are aware that the anthem communicates something other than what they support. In our discussion with Jim Brenneman, president of Goshen College, he told us that the college has never been more public about its peace witness, placing ads all over the local media with the slogan “Goshen College: Healing the World Peace by Peace.” Not only this, but the college is trying to implement a peace perspective even more systematically in the curriculum. While these are all admirable and much-needed steps, the fact is that the term “peace” in and of itself is not always synonymous with the Judeo-Christian concept of shalom. After all, both Augustine and Aquinas said war is in the service of peace. There are “peacekeeping forces,” missiles with names like “peacemaker,” and military arguments that we should never go to war except that a greater peace be obtained. Even Obama in his Nobel prize speech defended just war all while talking about peace (with the mandatory references to Gandhi and King). Regardless of what the college wants to say about “peace” — be it in their ads or on the field before a game — adopting the national anthem has the unfortunate but explicit side effect of watering down their own core message.

Today was one of the saddest days in my time as a Mennonite. An official institution of Mennonite Church U.S.A. bowed to the golden calf when the music was played. They now have a thin peace that cannot recognize idolatry in the modern world.

Make no mistake, Goshen has compromised the Good News. The peace of Jesus and the Kingdom have no business lying in bed with Empire, and our Lord would not appreciate being associated with the words found in The Star Spangled Banner (I wrote about it here). Words matter. Actions matter. I continue to pray for repentance on the part of Goshen College leadership, and for perseverance and the emphatic yet humble stand for truth by the Anabaptist/Mennonite community.