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<font face="Times New Roman, Times">Greetings:<br><br>
Last night I posted Roy Atwood's response to my Aug. 12 column in
the Idaho Statesman, and here are two others that appeared
yesterday. I feel as if I'm in a reverse Three Pigs story.
Here the three little pigs are huffing and puffing to blow down the Big
Bad Wolf's house. I'm just now putting the finishing touches on
that solid brick structure, and I will post it later in the morning.
<br><br>
Last night I forgot to repost my original column. You will find it
at the end.<br><br>
Idaho Statesman, Aug. 22, 2005<br><br>
Opinion piece was misleading and careless<br><br>
Nick Gier has proven again that zeal doesn't guarantee knowledge. His
article which appeared in the Aug. 12 edition of The Statesman (topped
with the sensational headline "Neo_Nazi Christians make presence
felt again in Northern Idaho") makes clear that factual reporting is
not his gift. Indeed, his article with its innuendo, misleading
statements, and outright lies reminds us of nothing so much as some of
the old Nazi propaganda that was used to raise fear and hatred of the
Jews in pre_war Germany. This article proves two things at least: First,
that Mr. Gier's potential for irrational and unfounded hysteria knows no
bounds, and second, that Mr. Gier has no qualms about utilizing the
tactics of the Nazis in spite of the disgust he professes toward their
beliefs.<br><br>
The article itself contains too many errors to respond to in a brief
space, but what was particularly egregious was the identification of me
and my friends at Christ Church, Moscow, as "neo_Nazi"
Christians. This would be hilarious if it were not so outrageous and
libelous. I have never been a "neo_Nazi" and indeed, have
opposed such groups and positions both publicly and privately for over 30
years now.<br><br>
To prove his charge, Mr. Gier offers the fact that I was "a founding
director of the League of the South." This happens to be true (one
of the few things that Mr. Gier gets right in his article) but he then
follows this by saying the goal of the League is establishing a "new
15_state Confederacy ruled by Calvinist patriarchs" and that the
League has "close ties" with the Sons of Confederate
Veterans claims which would cause members of both the League and
the Sons of Confederate Veterans to howl with laughter.<br>
The fact is, however, that I resigned from the League's board of
directors over five years ago. But I did not resign because the League is
a "neo_Nazi" organization. From the beginning, the League has
rejected all ties with the KKK and neo_Nazi groups. Its goal was not
racialist but cultural. It was concerned to restore the constitutional
liberties which we have progressively lost in this country and to do so
"by all honorable means" (expressly denouncing racial hatred
and bigotry). As far as I know, this goal has not changed.<br><br>
I am an ordained minister in good standing in the Presbyterian Church in
America (which does not condone "neo_Nazi" beliefs or
practices). I pastor a church which happens to have black members (I
don't think we deserve any particular congratulations for this it
seems quite normal to me but I mention it only because I think this
would probably be a strange thing for a "neo_Nazi" to approve
of).<br>
One of the elders of our congregation has, throughout his entire
professional life as a lawyer, provided legal protection for blacks and
other minorities from false charges and unjust harassment. Again, he
doesn't want nor has he ever sought any praise for this, he simply views
it as part of his obligation as a Christian to seek justice, but I
mention it because it would be strange for a "neo_Nazi" to
rejoice over his work (which I do).<br><br>
Further, for two years we had a black assistant pastor who worked with me
in this congregation. He was a gifted man and we worked happily together
during his time here (and again, I don't think this is particularly
praiseworthy or notable, but I doubt "neo_Nazis" would
approve).<br><br>
Though I've never met any "neo_Nazis," from what I hear, they
are not particularly tolerant of those who differ from them. Despite Mr.
Gier's affinities with them at this point, I still doubt that even the
"neo_Nazis" he's apparently familiar with in Idaho would
approve of my activities. Though The Statesman is not responsible for Mr.
Gier's opinion, it is responsible for what it allows into print. Printing
an article containing such inflammatory charges without bothering to
check whether there is any truth to the charges is irresponsible and
unethical. The right to express your opinion does not carry with it the
right to commit libel or to slander others. The Statesman has the
obligation to be sure that what it allows into print doesn't injure or
endanger others. The inflammatory nature of Mr. Gier's false charges,
given the present climate of mistrust and hatred in our country, has the
potential to do this very thing.<br>
Thus, the journalistic carelessness demonstrated by The Statesman in
giving Mr. Gier a platform from which to spread his dangerous slanders is
inexcusable. For this reason, a public apology from both Mr. Gier and The
Statesman is due to Doug Wilson, to me, and to the members of Christ
Church who put on the wonderful three_day celebration (the First Annual
Trinity Fest) in Moscow this past week. Denouncing "neo_Nazis"
is one thing, imitating their tactics is quite another.<br><br>
Steve Wilkins is pastor of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church in Monroe,
La.<br><br>
Paper owes apology for inflammatory headline<br><br>
I am writing this as a minister of Jesus Christ, and I am in a position
where I need to do this because we live in a time when virtually anything
can be said about conservative evangelicals. So before denying that I am
a neo_Nazi, let me therefore state at the outset that I am a minister of
the gospel, and that Jesus Christ died to secure the salvation of all His
people, gathered from every tribe, nation, and language. I hate all
doctrines of racial supremacy, and have consistently opposed them
publicly over the course of many years. I loathe racism, and always have.
My most recent book entitled "Black & Tan" has an entire
chapter showing the sinful and wicked nature of all forms of racial
animosity or vainglory. All this is a matter of public record, and is
easily ascertainable.<br><br>
Why do I have to make such a statement? In the Aug. 12 edition of The
Idaho Statesman, Nick Gier published an opinion piece that was
egregiously reasoned by him, and outrageously introduced with a libelous
headline, provided courtesy of this newspaper. That headline was false,
misleading, libelous, defamatory, untrue, and ran like this:
"Neo_Nazi Christians make presence felt again in Northern
Idaho."<br><br>
The article goes on to argue (if you can dignify this travesty with the
term argue) that I and a number of my colleagues are in fact those
neo_Nazis up here in the Panhandle, making our presence felt. I was
initially hesitant to respond to this libelous charge in this space
because I do not agree that this kind of question is a point/counterpoint
kind of issue. I have never been convicted of bank robbery either, and
this is not a fact upon which there are two legitimate opinions. I have
never been to Brazil, I do not pal around with Donald Trump, and I do not
have a Kerry/Edwards bumper_sticker on my truck. These are things that
reporters and journalists used to call facts. These are things that
reporters, journalists and editors used to check on before they would
run, say, an article that claimed I was wanted for bank robbery in three
states. And suppose that had been the charge in Gier's column, but it
turned out to be entirely and completely false. Do you think it would be
a sufficient response for the newspaper to offer me space to respond, so
that I could clean up their mess? I didn't think so.<br>
Gier's "argument" that we are neo_Nazis was of the "six
degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon" type. His article contained
a number of simple factual errors (e.g. I do not hold the franchise for
any schools), but the centerpiece of his reasoning was that Richard
Butler (a real neo_Nazi type) performed the marriage ceremony of someone
who belonged to an organization that had dealings with another
organization which had a relationship with a man who is a friend of mine.
On the basis of this kind of cracker_jack shoe leather reporting, on the
basis of this scoop, The Idaho Statesman decided to run with the column,
and they helpfully provided the inflammatory headline for it. But this is
bad luck for The Statesman, because they are now publishing me, and if
this kind of reasoning were valid, that makes The Statesman neo_Nazi too.
They are only one more degree of separation from Richard Butler than I
am.<br><br>
I don't get to supply the headline for this article, but I can still
request one. If I had my druthers, the headline for this column would be
"Idaho Statesman Admits Their Own Neo_Nazi Ties." But I doubt
they will run a headline like that (being more concerned for their own
reputation than for ours), and so a fundamental fact remains. The Idaho
Statesman still owes an apology to an awful lot of individuals and
institutions who were falsely accused by that headline and column, and
needs to publish a retraction immediately. The Ninth Commandment (the one
against bearing false witness) applies to newspapers, too.<br><br>
Douglas Wilson is the minister at Christ Church in Moscow, and is the
author of number of books including "Reforming Marriage" and
"The Case for Classical Christian Education."<br><br>
My title: The Culture Wars Come to Moscow<br>
Neo-Nazi Christians make presence felt again in Northern Idaho<br><br>
Edition Date: 08-12-2005<br><br>
"My Town," a new documentary on America's cultural wars, had
its premier<br>
June 23 in Moscow, Idaho. The newly refurbished Kenworthy Theatre was
filled<br>
to capacity with an enthusiastic crowd of 340 people.<br><br>
Michael Hayes, an education professor from Washington State
University,<br>
worked on the film for about 18 months, interviewing the principal
players<br>
in the debate about Douglas Wilson's religious empire.<br><br>
Wilson is pastor of Moscow's 800-member Christ Church, which has
mission<br>
churches across the country. Wilson also holds the franchise for
154<br>
classical Christian schools, his own Logos School in Moscow being the
model.<br><br>
In 1996 Wilson founded New St. Andrews College, and it now enrolls
130<br>
four-year students in a building in the heart of historic
Moscow.<br><br>
The controversy about Wilson exploded in October 2003 over his book<br>
"Southern Slavery As It Was," which describes the Antebellum
South as the<br>
most harmonious multiracial society in human history.<br><br>
Wilson co-authored the book with Steve Wilkins, a Monroe, La., pastor
and<br>
founding director of the League of the South, whose vision is a new
15-state<br>
Confederacy ruled by Calvinist patriarchs.<br><br>
In rejecting the charge of racism, Wilson claimed that it was
Christianity,<br>
not genes, that makes a culture superior. He said if Christianity had
moved<br>
south instead of west, Africans would now be the most advanced people in
the<br>
world.<br><br>
One might ask how Wilson defines cultural superiority. If it is
economic<br>
power, then the Chinese and Indians will overtake Euro-Americans in
20-30<br>
years.<br><br>
If it is moral superiority, how does Wilson explain that Christian
America<br>
now imprisons 2 million people, while Buddhist Japan currently
incarcerates<br>
150,000, if you adjust for population?<br><br>
History appears to disconfirm Wilson's view of Christianity's
special<br>
advantage.<br><br>
Medieval Europe is Wilson's ideal world, but the rest of the civilized
world<br>
at that time - China, India, and the Islamic countries - was far
more<br>
advanced than these Europeans.<br><br>
In fact, if it had not been Mongols bringing Asian goods and inventions
and<br>
the Muslims preserving Greek philosophy and science and introducing
their<br>
numerals and algebra, Europe would have remained stagnant.<br><br>
In the film, Wilson prophesied that the conquest by Christianity would
hit<br>
secular culture like a tsunami hitting a folding chair on a
beach.<br><br>
When Wilson encourages Americans of all beliefs to replace public
schools<br>
with their own private schools, his tolerance for their short tenure
does<br>
not appear to be much of a virtue.<br><br>
Wilkins was asked in the film if he really believed that only
propertied<br>
males should vote. He answered "yes," while Wilson nodded
approvingly.<br><br>
Always the jokester, Wilson said democracy was just like two coyotes and
a<br>
lamb voting on what to eat for lunch.<br><br>
Wilkins and Wilson were asked about slavery, but neither of them
condemned<br>
the owning of one person by another. Wilson said slavery is a
sinful<br>
institution, but rebellion is just as sinful. Slaves who have
Christian<br>
masters will at least be treated with love and respect.<br><br>
Since 1998, Wilkins' League of the South has had close ties with the Sons
of<br>
Confederate Veterans, who in 2000 elected Kirk Lyons to its
national<br>
executive board.<br><br>
An outspoken racist, Lyons was married by neo-Nazi Richard Butler in
1990.<br><br>
The League and the Sons of Confederate Veterans organize public
protests<br>
with the Council of Conservative Citizens, whose Web site decries
"negroes,<br>
queers and other retrograde species of humanity." (Try replacing the
"Cs" in<br>
their acronym with "Ks.")<br><br>
One League leader said that we "need a new type of
Klan."<br><br>
People in North Idaho applauded when the neo-Nazis were forced to
leave<br>
Hayden Lake, but now Wilkins is telling his friends that Moscow would be
a<br>
fine place to live.<br><br>
Nick Gier taught religion and philosophy at the University of Idaho for
31<br>
years. For more on the Wilson controversy see<br>
</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times" color="#0000FF"><u><a href="http://www.tomandrodna.com/notonthepalouse" eudora="autourl">www.tomandrodna.com/notonthepalouse</a></u></font><font face="Times New Roman, Times">.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
</font><x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<font size=2>"The god you worship is the god you
deserve."<br>
~~ Joseph Campbell<br><br>
"Abstract truth has no value unless it incarnates in human beings
who represent it, by proving their readiness to die for it."<br>
--Mohandas Gandhi<br><br>
"Modern physics has taught us that the nature of any system cannot
be discovered by dividing it into its component parts and studying each
part by itself. . . .We must keep our attention fixed on the whole and on
the interconnection between the parts. The same is true of our
intellectual life. It is impossible to make a clear cut between science,
religion, and art. The whole is never equal simply to the sum of its
various parts." --Ma</font><font size=1>x Planck<br><br>
</font>Nicholas F. Gier<br>
Professor Emeritus, Department of Philosophy, University of Idaho<br>
1037 Colt Rd., Moscow, ID 83843<br>
<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~nickgier/home.htm" eudora="autourl">http://users.adelphia.net/~nickgier/home.htm</a><br>
208-882-9212/FAX 885-8950<br>
President, Idaho Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO<br>
<a href="http://users.adelphia.net/~nickgier/ift.htm" eudora="autourl">http://users.adelphia.net/~nickgier/ift.htm</a><br><br>
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