Wheaton College suspends Christian professor who wore a hijab

  • Thread starter Thread starter Son_of_Niall
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Son_of_Niall

Guest
A tenured Wheaton College professor who, as part of her Christian Advent devotion, donned a traditional headscarf to show solidarity with Muslims has been placed on administrative leave.
Click to expand...
Larycia Hawkins, a political science professor at the private evangelical Christian college in Chicago’s west suburbs, announced last week that she would wear the veil to show support for Muslims who have been under greater scrutiny since mass shootings in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif.
Click to expand...
chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-wheaton-college-professor-larycia-hawkins-20151216-story.html
 
I hope not many people start doing this. That is always a sign to me to pray that God will draw them to His Son and give them knowledge of the Truth. That time could be spent praying for different intentions for that person, or praying for someone else.

I just realized though, if I remember right (and I have a bad memory), God granted many of the Saints to know that no prayers are wasted. If we pray for a soul in purgatory, for instance, and that person is already in Heaven, then God will apply the prayers to someone else in purgatory.

Am I right about this? No prayers are wasted right? So if I were to pray for her thinking she is a Muslim, God might grant her to come to the Catholic Church and fullness of the Truth right? Or apply the prayers to an actual Muslim, right? Or does that only apply to purgatory?
 
DaddyGirl said:
Her motives seem very good and sound, even though it’s a show of support we don’t usually see. It’s rather brave of her to do this.

But…why was she suspended?

.
Click to expand...
DG, I am trying to sort this out too. I know many Wheaton College alums, so part of the whole picture is understanding the milieu of the college. Since Dr Hawkins is a tenured professor, her academic place is secured pending a formal charge. I rather think that this gesture goes against the college’s Statement of Faith. As you know from posts here on CAF, there are very different views/understandings of Islam and of Allah. If she is claiming that Allah is the God of Abraham, and therefore the God of the Jews and of Christians, it could be considered going against Wheaton’s evangelical position on the matter.

What do you think?
 
I don’t agree with her reasoning, if it can be called that; however, she did nothing to warrant the suspension. She didn’t violate any school code or regulation, she merely expressed and opinion that the school obviously disagrees with. I think she’s incredibly foolish and naive to push it, but it oughta provide some lively discussion on campus, no?
 
DaddyGirl said:
Her motives seem very good and sound, even though it’s a show of support we don’t usually see. It’s rather brave of her to do this.

But…why was she suspended?

.
Click to expand...
ComplineSanFran said:
DG, I am trying to sort this out too. I know many Wheaton College alums, so part of the whole picture is understanding the milieu of the college. Since Dr Hawkins is a tenured professor, her academic place is secured pending a formal charge. I rather think that this gesture goes against the college’s Statement of Faith. As you know from posts here on CAF, there are very different views/understandings of Islam and of Allah. If she is claiming that Allah is the God of Abraham, and therefore the God of the Jews and of Christians, it could be considered going against Wheaton’s evangelical position on the matter.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
I read that the stated reason is something like what ComplineSanFran describes. The college maintains that her statement that Christians and Muslims worship the same God could be taken as a statement that the two faiths are equally valid (although that is not what she said.) Interestingly, she referred to the Pope’s recent statements about Muslims in her statement. I have also read that the college was facing pressure from conservative high dollar donor who were upset with her.
 
**Wheaton Students Demand Reinstatement of Hijab-Wearing Professor Who Declared ‘We All Worship Same God’ **
WHEATON, Ill. — A number of students from a prominent Christian-identified university are demanding that school officials reinstate an associate political science director who posted photos of herself wearing an Islamic hijab, stating that she was doing so to show solidarity with Muslims.
Click to expand...
christiannews.net/2015/12/18/wheaton-students-demand-reinstatement-of-hijab-wearing-professor-who-declared-we-all-worship-same-god/
 
This story made front page on the Chicago Tribune a couple of days ago. That fact that it made the front page was of little surprise given the recent religious tension towards Islam and its followers.
 
Video courtesy of PBS
Click to expand...
Wheaton College Political science professor Larycia Hawkins was suspended from her post at the evangelical college last week after saying on Facebook that Christians and Muslims “worship the same God.” The college administration has asked her to explain how her views accord with the college’s statement of faith. In this video from the PBS show “Chicago Tonight, Hawkins explains her views and why, during Advent, she is wearing a Muslim headscarf, although she is a Christian herself.
Click to expand...
religionnews.com/2015/12/22/wheaton-muslim-christian-god/?utm_content=buffere4325&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=bufferforbiz
 
I read an article that said Muslim women do not want non-Muslim women wearing hijabs in solidarity because they don’t really understand the meaning of wearing the hijab.
 
First, I’d like to complain a little bit about how badly this has been covered by regular news outlets. And I’d like to provide a couple of links to Christianity Today (CT) pieces, which have been the most useful sources that I have been able to find.

christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/december/wheaton-college-hijab-professor-same-god-larycia-hawkins.html
christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/december/same-god-standoff-wheaton-college-larycia-hawkins-hijab.html

The first one, in particular, gives us a pretty solid Catholic connection. On December 10, Prof. Hawkins referenced Pope Francis in a Facebook post, effectively stating that within the past week, he also affirmed the idea that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Of course, this could easily be an example of an Evangelical cherry-picking a quote from an important Catholic. So I thought I would run it by some Catholics. Is that a fair assessment of what Pope Francis said? To the very casual observer, it seems an awful lot like something he would say. But does it stand up to greater scrutiny? Is this a fair representation of what he said?

She also makes an admittedly vague reference to “countless Christians (Church fathers, saints, and regular Christian folk like me)” who believe the God of Christianity and the God of Islam are the same being understood in different ways. This comment, in and of itself, doesn’t even really point to a consensus, but I thought it would be worth it to run the idea by CAF in a way that’s easier to run down.

So allow me to put it this way. Is anyone here familiar with Church history around and after the rise of Islam, and also the important points of contact between Islam and Christianity in both the East and the West?
What do you know of the Christians who said Christians and Muslims worship the same God? In particular, were any of these people Church fathers or actual saints?
And assuming these type of claims exist, how were they received by Christianity in general at the time? Were they well received?
What are some specific stories that concern this same basic issue, but in a different time and place? And in a specifically Catholic context- or, just as valid and something I’ll now ask for officially, an Eastern context and perspective is also something I’d like to look at.
 
From the second article: “We worship either the God of Abraham and Moses, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, or the God of Mohammed. The God in each of the faiths is understood differently enough to conclude that saying we worship the ‘same’ God muddies the water.”

The problem is that God is a Person, and not a summation of understanding. Either the Moslems worship, albeit wrongly, the God of Moses and Abraham, or they do not. The CCC says they do, so I have to go along with that.
 
badnewsbarrett said:
First, I’d like to complain a little bit about how badly this has been covered by regular news outlets. And I’d like to provide a couple of links to Christianity Today (CT) pieces, which have been the most useful sources that I have been able to find.

christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/december/wheaton-college-hijab-professor-same-god-larycia-hawkins.html
christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/december/same-god-standoff-wheaton-college-larycia-hawkins-hijab.html

The first one, in particular, gives us a pretty solid Catholic connection. On December 10, Prof. Hawkins referenced Pope Francis in a Facebook post, effectively stating that within the past week, he also affirmed the idea that Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Of course, this could easily be an example of an Evangelical cherry-picking a quote from an important Catholic. So I thought I would run it by some Catholics. **Is that a fair assessment of what Pope Francis said? **To the very casual observer, it seems an awful lot like something he would say. But does it stand up to greater scrutiny? Is this a fair representation of what he said?

She also makes an admittedly vague reference to “countless Christians (Church fathers, saints, and regular Christian folk like me)” who believe the God of Christianity and the God of Islam are the same being understood in different ways. This comment, in and of itself, doesn’t even really point to a consensus, but I thought it would be worth it to run the idea by CAF in a way that’s easier to run down.

So allow me to put it this way. Is anyone here familiar with Church history around and after the rise of Islam, and also the important points of contact between Islam and Christianity in both the East and the West?
What do you know of the Christians who said Christians and Muslims worship the same God? In particular, were any of these people Church fathers or actual saints?
And assuming these type of claims exist, how were they received by Christianity in general at the time? Were they well received?
What are some specific stories that concern this same basic issue, but in a different time and place? And in a specifically Catholic context- or, just as valid and something I’ll now ask for officially, an Eastern context and perspective is also something I’d like to look at.
Click to expand...
Yes, it is a fair assessment of what the Pope said, and of Catholic teaching. Christians, Jews and Muslims worship the same God, although each understands Him somewhat differently.
 
Yes, it can be said that Jews, Christians and Muslims understand God differently, and thus worship him differently.

Narrow that differences, it is similar to Catholics and Protestants who understand and worship God differently.
 
We believe in the Holy Trinity. The God of Abraham and Moses is one person of the Trinity.

Muslims and Jews worship the God of Abraham and Moses so technically yes we do worship the same God.

None of the articles will delve deeper into the huge theological question posed here because it is beyond their understanding and most people on here. All they will write is “Pope Francis agrees that muslims and Catholics worship the same God”. 🤷
 
TMC said:
Yes, it is a fair assessment of what the Pope said, and of Catholic teaching. Christians, Jews and Muslims worship the same God, although each understands Him somewhat differently.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I did find this as well, same topic although it covers a different event.

catholic.com/blog/todd-aglialoro/christians-muslims-and-the-one-god

I continue to be interested in how the history of this played out in the centuries just before and after the Schism.
 
Update (Jan. 6): Larycia Hawkins was surprised by Wheaton College’s decision to initiate the process of terminating her tenure and employment with the Illinois school [see prior post below].
Click to expand...
“I am flummoxed and flabbergasted,” she told the press Wednesday at the Chicago Temple in downtown Chicago.
Click to expand...
Flanked by roughly three dozen clergy, along with Wheaton faculty and alumni, Hawkins recounted her conversation with Wheaton provost Stanton Jones after she published her “same God” Facebook post.
Click to expand...
According to Hawkins, Jones asked her if she affirmed the school’s statement of faith and told her that if her theological statements were sufficient, no further conversation would be necessary. She delivered a statement that, according to Hawkins, Jones told her would be accepted by the faculty personnel committee “with little to no revision.”
Click to expand...
christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2016/january/wheaton-college-terminate-tenured-larycia-hawkins-same-god.html
 
The reality is that Ms Hawkins is being a provocateur to a highly conservative Christian Collegiate culture. She is trying to make them think and they don’t like it; especially with things like Black Liberation Theology. Whether she is pushing too hard or they are pushing back too hard is mostly a matter of perspective and one has to really know more about the situation to have a fervent opinion. Either way if the whole episode sparks thought, she just may be doing her job in the first place.
 
As an academic I have to say - i’m surprised they threatened her tenure over this.

I mean - some professors in the various disciplines have really…really…reallly strange views that would probably shock and disturb many of you.

Look at Ward Churchill for instance → en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ward_Churchill

He’s the Ethnic studies professor who essentially said “America deserved 9/11…”

And they couldn’t oust him directly from his roost, he had to be investigated for “Research Misconduct.”
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top