In an era when “news analysis has become a bloodsport,” public intellectuals have a role in helping to nurture rational discourse, says Robert Hunt, director of global theological education for Perkins School of Theology, SMU.
Dr. Hunt, a frequently sought-after speaker on world religions, interfaith dialogue, Islam and mission studies, spoke Thursday to a Dallas chapter of the Religion Communicators Council.
Needless to say, his e-mail inbox has been full of media queries lately about Quran burnings and Islamic Centers near Ground Zero—not to mention a Dallas Baptist pastor’s recent comments from the pulpit that Islam is an evil religion that promotes pedaphilia.
Dr. Hunt gave us a quick outline of how academic experts can and should respond in a time when “the most marginalized voice in public discourse today is facts.”
“Our role is to say over and over: ‘These are the facts. This is reality,’ Dr. Hunt said. “Everybody’s got an opinion and 9/10ths of it is based on nothing.”
Like an amusement park’s hall of mirrors, any facts that might have existed are stripped away endlessly with each posting on social media platforms, he said.
Public intellectuals can help sift through the rubble if they “challenge false and misleading arguments and model rational discourse.”
“The single worst thing that’s happened today,” he said, “is that the accumulation of anecdotes counts as an argument.”
In other words, no matter how many examples of bad behavior someone can find, it doesn’t mean a religion promotes such behavior. And it’s not hard to find the facts about a particular faith’s doctrines, he added.
But scholar-experts should choose credible venues for disseminating their factual information -- the Letter to the Editor section of a newspaper, for example, is full of “cranks” and is not a place for rational discourse.
Pithy sound bytes help, as lengthy comments will be edited – and sometimes out of context. Long, nuanced explanations won’t cut it. Dr. Hunt recalled filming 30 minutes of a television interview that was trimmed into a 90-second segment.
“Until we learn to speak in short, clear, factual statements, we are worthless in the new media.”
More tips from Dr. Hunt:
Speak to reporters on deadline (to which I silently mouthed “Thank you!”) or you're of no use.
Know your “enemy,” so you can respond to the misleading material out there.
Stay current. If you’re blogging on current issues, you need to be posting daily so you don't get bumped off the first page of a Google search.
Don’t pretend to be an expert when you’re not. Be willing to say, “That’s not my field of expertise.”
And don’t be afraid to make use of that hall of mirrors yourself. Be consistent in what you say across interviews, blogs, Facebook posts, etc. “Connect the networks yourselves.”
Wise words indeed, in a time when knowledge is so fragmented, emotions are so easily riled and “discourse” is so uncivil.
Nine African-American clergy and scholars support end to UMC ban on gay ordination
Nine African-American scholars and clergy from the United Methodist Church have today released a statement in support of the 36 UMC retired bishops who called on an end to the denomination's ban on ordaining "self-avowed practicing homosexuals."
The statement concludes: "We urgently appeal to other racial/ethic caucuses, as well as other caucuses, and individuals representative of the rich diversity of the United Methodist Church to join us in our support to end this discrimination."
The Rev. Pamela Lightsey, associate vice president of student affairs for Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, said more scholars and clergy will be signing. Here's the statement, followed by a list of the signatories, including Dr. Lightsey:
An Endorsement Against Church Bigotry and The Injustice of ¶ 304.3
On January 31, 2011 thirty-six retired bishops of the United Methodist Church released A Statement of Counsel to the Church calling for the removal of ¶ 304.3 from The Book of Discipline (2008). Their statement is particularly directed at this paragraph because it serves as part of current UMC polity that prohibits ordination, certification as candidates, or appointments to serve in ministry of “self-avowed practicing homosexuals.”
On February 25, 2011 at its 44th Annual Meeting, Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR) voted to endorse our retired bishops’ statement.
As committed citizens of God’s beloved kingdom, we, the undersigned Black clergy and scholars of the United Methodist Church also endorse the bishops’ statement and applaud the action taken by our colleagues of BMCR. The action is an expression of the original intent of BMCR to be a renewing agent within and beyond the United Methodist Church, not just on matters of race, but on justice issues beyond race. The current critical discussion within our church on matters related to sexual identity is the issue beyond race that BMCR should, and is now addressing in a manner consistent with its historic advocacy for civil rights in the midst of unrestrained horrific discrimination.
As Black people we are uncomfortably familiar with discrimination. We have borne the weight of building up our nation and our United Methodist Church even under the harsh strokes of racism justified by theological convictions and human arrogance. Imperfect humans draped in an august array of Christian doctrines uttering an allegiance to “scriptural authority” and “natural law” are not new scenes on the landscape of Church history. Amazingly we who oppose such bigotry find ourselves in a strange and disturbing place: too many fellow progeny of Black slaves have now joined ranks with those who spew bigotry and, to our dismay, are wielding doctrine and scripture as their tools just as was done during slavery and the Jim Crow era. As before, segments within our church polity are the bulwark of this discriminatory logic.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. made this prophetic comment about the church in his 1965 eulogy of civil rights activist, Rev. James Reeb: “He was murdered by the irrelevancy of a church that will stand amid social evil and serve as a taillight rather than a headlight, an echo rather than a voice.” As persons of African descent, we have seen the Church be a taillight regarding colonialism, slavery, segregation, and the rights of women. Since 1972, in its language and legislation the UMC has been a taillight on the rights of LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) persons in our denomination and to the world.
Now, forty-six years later, facing the civil rights issue of this epoch, rather than silence, we Black clergy, leaders and scholars with bold voice and through this document say, “No more!” Too many are being murdered. Too many are being bullied. Too many have committed suicide.
Sadly, the season in which the United Methodist Church might have been a headlight for justice in the affirmation of the God-given rights of same gender loving persons has passed. Actions of secular courts and legislatures as they have responded to the equality provisions of our Constitution have affirmed the human and civil rights of same gender loving persons in ways our denomination has not. We trust that the delegates to the 2012 General Conference will rescind language and legislation that denies those rights.
Howard Thurman in “Jesus and the Disinherited,” described God as very present with those who are relegated to places outside the gate. BMCR embraced this belief in their support of the statement by our retired Bishops. We join them because we know that the Jesus who is "the center of our joy," is also the Jesus who has stood with Black Methodists both within society and Methodism, as we challenged those who restrict and restrain us. We will not stand on the sidelines as our church through its legislation denies LGBTQ persons, access to ordination as United Methodist clergy.
We therefore emphatically support the right to ordination of LGBTQ persons. We urgently appeal to other racial/ethic caucuses, as well as other caucuses, and individuals representative of the rich diversity of the United Methodist Church to join us in our support to end this discrimination.
African American Scholars and Clergy of The United Methodist Church
Rev. Pamela R. Lightsey, PhD
Northern Illinois Annual Conference
Assoc. VP of Student Affairs
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Evanston, Illinois
Rev. Traci C. West, PhD
New York Annual Conference
Professor of Ethics and African American Studies
Drew Theological School
Madison, New Jersey
Rev. Donald Francis Guest
Pastor, Glide Memorial United Methodist Church
San Francisco, California
Rev. Linda E. Thomas, PhD
New York Annual Conference
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
Professor of Theology and Anthropology
Chicago, Illinois
Rev. Cheryl B. Anderson, PhD
Baltimore-Washington Conference
Associate Professor of Old Testament
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Evanston, Illinois
Rev. Gilbert H. Caldwell
Rocky Mountain Annual Conference
Retired Clergy
Asbury Park, New Jersey
Rev. Phil Lawson
California-Nevada Annual Conference
Retired Elder
San Francisco, California
Rev. Theodore L. Lockhart
New England Annual Conference
Retired Clergy
St. Petersburg, Florida
Rev. Gennifer Benjamin Brooks, PhD
New York Annual Conference
Associate Professor of Homiletics
Styberg Preaching Institute Director
Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary
Evanston, Illinois