Undercover at Falwell's university

[DMB]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/22/kevin-roose-infiltrates-l_n_190124.html

Roose had transferred to the Virginia campus from Brown University in Providence, a famously liberal member of the Ivy League. His Liberty classmates knew about the switch, but he kept something more important hidden: He planned to write a book about his experience at the school founded by fundamentalist preacher Jerry Falwell.

Each conversation about salvation or hand-wringing debate about premarital sex was unwitting fodder for Roose's recently published book: "The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University."

[Redshirt]

Interesting. I still get a kick out of Dawkins's comments about Liberty University (of which many of LU's students were in attendance). Go to the last minute or so of the video.

Um3lzs00mcg

[DMB]

I couldn't access the last part of that video.

[Redshirt]

Weird. It worked for me. Sometimes, youtube videos stall. Try it once more.

[Matty]

cool. i'll have a read of the book when hes written it.

And i love that video. Dawkins sets them up and then knocks them the fuck down with style.

[VoxRat]

cool. i'll have a read of the book when hes written it.
... Apparently he already has:

Roose's recently published book: "The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University"

Clearly he comes to it with a perspective different from mine:

Once ambivalent about faith, Roose now prays to God regularly _ for his own well-being and on behalf of others. He said he owns several translations of the Bible and has recently been rereading meditations from the letters of John on using love and compassion to solve cultural conflicts.

He's even considering joining a church.

But then, he's pretty young.

[Matty]

doh. matty wins the skim reading award for this morning.

[Garnet]

I loved the phrase "rigorously normal" in the article.

[BigEvil]

This sounded familiar and knew I had read this before when I got to the below part:

Roose researched the school by joining as many activites as possible. He accompanied classmates on a spring break missionary trip to Daytona Beach.

So I went looking for where I had read this and found this page from Salon. (http://www.salon.com/mwt/excerpt/2009/03/18/unlikely_disciple/index.html)

Its an excerpt from the book concerning when he went on the spring break trip to Daytona Beach.

[frazier]

So I went looking for where I had read this and found this page from Salon. (http://www.salon.com/mwt/excerpt/2009/03/18/unlikely_disciple/index.html)

Its an excerpt from the book concerning when he went on the spring break trip to Daytona Beach.

That is an interesting read, and it made me feel differently about how I might respond if approached. Previously, I would probably have brushed the guy(s) off with a quick "No thank you." Now I see that that is the response they get most often - probably 98 times out of a hundred. If I want to stand out from the crowd, I'll have to engage them, try to win them over. My odds can't be any worse than theirs!

[VoxRat]

... it made me feel differently about how I might respond if approached. Previously, I would probably have brushed the guy(s) off with a quick "No thank you." Now I see that that is the response they get most often - probably 98 times out of a hundred. If I want to stand out from the crowd, I'll have to engage them, try to win them over. My odds can't be any worse than theirs!The odds are infinitesimal either way. Therefore, unless you're bored and looking for entertainment, your best bet is, in fact, "No thank you".

On a related note... in one of his books, Al Franken (you know, the senator in exile from Minnesota) wrote about taking his son to Liberty U, posing as parent & kid college shopping.

I don't recall the details. Does anyone else?

[court and spark]

On a related note... in one of his books, Al Franken (you know, the senator in exile from Minnesota) wrote about taking his son to Liberty U, posing as parent & kid college shopping.

I don't recall the details. Does anyone else?

Yes, it was in "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot."

[frazier]

... it made me feel differently about how I might respond if approached. Previously, I would probably have brushed the guy(s) off with a quick "No thank you." Now I see that that is the response they get most often - probably 98 times out of a hundred. If I want to stand out from the crowd, I'll have to engage them, try to win them over. My odds can't be any worse than theirs!The odds are infinitesimal either way. Therefore, unless you're bored and looking for entertainment, your best bet is, in fact, "No thank you".
You're probably right.

But, why should I be the one to turn the other cheek??

[court and spark]

... it made me feel differently about how I might respond if approached. Previously, I would probably have brushed the guy(s) off with a quick "No thank you." Now I see that that is the response they get most often - probably 98 times out of a hundred. If I want to stand out from the crowd, I'll have to engage them, try to win them over. My odds can't be any worse than theirs!The odds are infinitesimal either way. Therefore, unless you're bored and looking for entertainment, your best bet is, in fact, "No thank you".
You're probably right.

But, why should I be the one to turn the other cheek??

Because you aren't the jerk trying to push your agenda on a total stranger?

Hey, maybe you are, I don't know...