Mark Pody Takes Vanderbilt Police Bill (HB1150) Off Notice (LEBANON, TN) – After much debate and input from constituents, State Representative Mark Pody (R- Lebanon) has taken HB­­1150 off notice in the House.  The intent of this legislation was to protect students against discrimination on the basis of religion.  Private institutions enjoy special privileges granted to them by the state.  Some receive millions of taxpayer dollars and they have been… [Continue Reading]

“Come down, come down from your ivory tower Let love come into your heart Don’t lock yourself in an ivory tower Don’t keep us so far apart. . .It’s cold, so cold, in your ivory tower” Ivory Tower is a love song written by Jack Fulton and Lois Steele popularized in 1956.  Many of its lyrics remind me of the battle that some of us are engaged at Vanderbilt University where we confront what… [Continue Reading]

(Published in The Tennessean 9/15/2011) Evangelical Christians are increasingly under attack for their biblically-based worldviews. Shortly after graduation last spring, Vanderbilt University’s Office of Religious Life quietly deferred its annual approval of several mostly conservative Christian organizations. Groups affected included the Christian Legal Society, InterVarsity and the graduate chapter of Campus Crusade. These organizations face an uncertain future because of a new policy that prohibits religious organizations from requiring that… [Continue Reading]

Herman Cain is speaking an uncomfortable truth when he points out that Islam and Sharia law complicate the Muslim situation in America.  Under certain conditions, religiously devout Muslims can pose a threat to the civil rights of other citizens.  The solution, I believe, is for America’s political and religious leaders to educate themselves about the tenets of Islam and to encourage a return to the ideal of the melting point. Those who… [Continue Reading]