REMARKS: BOB JONES U WAS UNFORTUNATE VICTIM OF LEFT'S SNIPERS

I have to admit that when the George W. Bush-Bob Jones University flak first appeared in the media, I was a tad confused. My first thought was "Surely there isn't a university named after the poison Kool-Aid mass suicide guy!" Once my brain got warmed up, I remembered, of course, that THAT Rev. Jones was JIM Jones.

I decided to do a little checking on this big, bogus, bigoted behemoth of bedrock biases. Funny thing. From what I can gather, this horrible, Catholic-bashing institution we've heard so much about lately, teaches traditional Protestant Biblical doctrine. As an evangelical Protestant school (now run by the grandson of Rev. Bob Jones, I, who founded the university in 1927), it teaches traditional Christian fundamentalist values -- most likely having some religion classes that outline the differences in evangelical Protestant beliefs and Catholicism. I'm sure BJU students are let to believe that the fundamental Protestant beliefs are the correct ones.

Now, am I not correct in guessing that Notre Dame, Loyola and many, many other Catholic universities do the same outlining and the same teaching that THEIR beliefs are the correct ones? In fact, is it not safe to assume that a Catholic institution of higher learning is SUPPOSED to teach that its beliefs are closest to God's word and that fundamental Protestant institutions are supposed to do likewise? Indeed, would it not be bordering on fraud for an institution to advertise itself a conservative Protestant or Catholic (or Hindu or humanist or satanic, for that matter) institution and then teach something OTHER than that doctrine?

Unless someone produces specific instances in which Bob Jones University did anything other than teach the correctness of the beliefs it was chartered to teach, I think the slandering of this institution needs to stop. In my mind it is a sad commentary on the tactics of the Left. In an attempt to assassinate the character of a conservative presidential candidate, liberals have sullied the reputation of a respectable university and have done their best to divide the Christian Right.

I think this has largely backfired. Neither Protestants nor Catholics are stupid enough to swallow everything the liberal media tries to force-feed one -- especially during an election year.

Conservative Christian voters of all denominations need to stick together -- along with our Jewish brothers and sisters. The Judeo-Christian concepts of law, morality, self-control and respect are what this nation was based upon.

Many today will scream at that very notion and attempt to distance the teaching of American history from the religious principals of our founding fathers. Revisionist history -- when there is no legitimate proof that the revisions are more accurate than the traditional history -- is another story in itself. It needs to be addressed in a separate column.

We are told today that Christians need to stay out of politics. That opinion comes not only from the Left, who out of either fear or ignorance, has tried to twist the First Amendment into a "separation of church and state" clause which was never intended, but also from Christians who fear being soiled by the nasty world of modern politics.

I have to disagree with both camps. The Judeo-Christian presence was a strong factor in the shaping of the United States and its policy from the beginning, well into the 20th century. The breakdown of modern society and of the family unit in recent generations can be directly linked to the declining influence of Christians and Jews in American life. While it is true that personal evangelism and other tasks are more important for Christians than political activism, the political arena should not be left entirely to those who know no Judeo-Christian principals.

How many more years Christians will be on this earth is unknown to anyone here. If we don't start reclaiming our nation soon, though, the years prior to the rapture and tribulation may be a period of "tribulation" in their own right.