Apparently debate is big at evangelical colleges now.
I want to steer this towards qb-type discussion rather than political discussion because I'm curious about whether there are ways to get that kind of publicity for activities like ours that don't involve the sort of larger trends that someone like a Newsweek editor would find disturbing-therefore-compelling.
I'm also idly curious -- if the article's thesis that evangelical schools are doing really well at debate these days is actually a valid one -- whether there's any particular trait that correlates well with schools that currently have great quiz teams.
On the subject of religion (though really not debate), Julia is now a proud Pastafarian. Yesterday at work a discussion of the Christian music genre led to discussion of the distinction between atheism and agnosticism. I was just a captive audience until at some point I felt the need to share this movement with my colleagues. There's a fine line between being really clever and being a jackass know-it-all; I'd like to think I didn't cross that line but one never knows.
Oh, while we're here, even though I didn't want this to range towards politics, I do have to say that I'm strongly in favor of teaching about the Flying Spaghetti Monster within the context of an Intelligent Design curriculum. I'm dead serious about that! The noodly appendage theories should be in there precisely so that students grasp (by way of stark counterexample) what is scientifically valid and what isn't.
UPDATE: At the very end of that Newsweek piece is one of the most hilarious corrections ever: Correction: In the original version of this report, NEWSWEEK misquoted Falwell as referring to "assault ministry." In fact, Falwell was referring to "a salt ministry"—a reference to Matthew 5:13, where Jesus says "Ye are the salt of the earth." We regret the error.
How can one work for that prestigious a media outlet and be so ignorant?
Posted by Matt Bruce at February 2, 2006 02:09 PM"How can one work for that prestigious a media outlet and be so ignorant?"
One hears what one wants to hear, I suppose.
Posted by: Dave at February 2, 2006 02:22 PMIn defense of Newsweek, if you've never heard of a "salt ministry" (as I hadn't), it's not an obvious term. When Falwell used it he gave a definition, but not an explanation of what it had to do with salt.
It's not as bad as when the New Yorker quoted Tony Perkins as praying to the Lord "that every lion tongue would be cast down."
Posted by: Richard Mason at February 2, 2006 02:49 PM