Hello all,
Tonight I looked at my college's website. I haven't looked at it in about two years. I wanted to look at the college bookstore site, but I checked out "Campus Religious Organizations," to see if there was anything for
Orthodox students. Well...I found out that there are Muslim, Jewish and a (non-specific) Christian organization. Ok so far. The others are the pagan group, the radical Catholic Feminists, and the Unitarians, and
the Ecumenical Christians. I know, I know, I shouldn't be suprised but I was. Then, sadly, I started looking at other student organizations. There are three homosexual groups on campus. Now, this is a woman's college. It has been since 1871, but now apparently they have "transgendered" students, who are born woman, but do not live with that "sexual assignment" as the website so helpfully explained. The college has added "gender neutral" bathrooms. A women's college with gender neutral bathrooms, so a girl with a fake (organ) can use it without feeling uncomforable! What, what, have we come to????
What would Dostoyevsky have said, after predicting the godless, Soviet horror, well, actually, Dostoyevsky knew what happens to Man without God, so I suppose it would not suprise him now. Are we in the end times? I asked Father Luke (from Jordanville) that, and he said Christians must always have hope and not despair. It's so hard though, it's as if madness has taken over the world.
The last time I went to a college alumni meeting, one woman stood up and said "When I graduated, I worked for Planned Parenthood, and when my daughter graduated, she worked for the National Abortion Rights League." I thought, "I don't belong here." I haven't gone to anymore alumni events since then. I know this is the reality of being Christian and also Orthodox, but I used to love my college, and I was happy to have to have gone there. I'm just so...sad.
Am I out of touch?
Am I out of touch?
The sad thing is, when I hear "Duke", I don't think "basketball", I think "critical theory, stanley fish, hermeunitics, psychoanalytic-marxist-feminist linguistics" AAaaaarrrrrrggghhhh
It is so sad, that, to pursue highter education in this country now involves having to compromise or hide one's faith. That should never happen in America. I guess the only advice for Orthodox students would be, take all science courses and stay away from the Humanities Departments! Of course, I knew a radical feminist grad student who was teaching freshman English, which was a required course. I guess some Orthodox Jews sued Yale for making them live in coed dorms freshman year. I don't know whatever happened with that.
You know, when I was in college, I always thought the school was very tolerant, in a New England, liberal sort of way, but in no way radical or extreme. It educated woman in complete equality, just be doing it, but there was no political agenda.
I can only have hope in that our church has tons of babies and little kids in it, and maybe a new generation raised in faith will make a difference.
-
OrthodoxyOrDeath
On a related matter, this is how I had to spend most of my morning today....
Dear Mr. George Henry,
My son, XXX brought home a letter and sign-up sheet for the “XXX School PTA Holiday Around the World Celebration” this coming December 7th. The stated objective of the celebration is to represent our schools cultural and ethnic diversity. I feel it is important for our children to appreciate and respect each other, and learning about our cultural and ethic differences is an integral part of this.
The intent of your letter however greatly disappoints me. The listed themes are: Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Hanukkah, and Santa. Except for Kwanzaa and Santa, the listed themes are not cultural or ethnic at all, but religious. Both Ramadan and Hanukkah are not restricted to any one culture or people. For instance, it is possible to be culturally French, Greek, or Iraqi and also celebrate Hanukkah. Ramadan is far more diverse culturally and ethnically. This by itself is not upsetting; it is also important for our children to learn that there are people of other religions around them, although I would strongly be against any kind of message that they are all equal. I do not believe they are equal, far from it. What is disturbing however is that Christianity is not represented along side the religious holidays of Ramadan (Islam) and Hanukkah (Judaism).
Everyone in America should understand the reason why we have celebrations around this time of the year at all. It is not because of Ramadan, which is already long over, and it is not because of Hanukkah, which is a relatively less important Jewish holiday hardly even celebrated in Israel. We have celebrations this time of the year precisely because Christians have for many centuries celebrated the Nativity of Christ. The Nativity came to be known in the West as “Christmas”, which has been so overly commercialized and exploited that now most people only think of Santa (who is the mutilated caricature of St. Nicholas) and reindeers. Please understand, snowmen, reindeer, santa, and elves have nothing at all to do with the Nativity of Christ. I know this is not a popular thing to say nowadays, but this is the traditional belief of Christians.
Please do not take this as an insult Mr. Henry, I understand the difficulties of the PTA and pleasing every group and parent, and I do appreciate your hard work for our children. I would simply ask that if it is decided to represent religious holidays as themes, that the one most people associate themselves with in this country also be represented: “The Nativity”; or if you must, “Christmas”.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Sincerely,
"OrthodoxyOrDeath" 
I find the almost automatic yet superficial "Chanukah/Kwanzaa/Ramadan/Christmas" lumping together interesting. I think it shows that there is actually very little real in-depth knowledge of the "other cultures". Else it might be known that the Islamic religous calendar is a lunar one that does not have any provision for adjustments. Thus Ramadan travels around the year over the course of time. A few years ago it was in December, but it is happening right now. Chanukah moves too, but there are calendar adjustments periodically so that it doesn't end up in August for example.
I wonder somewhat jaudicedly if there are administrators who just look on it rather like "We have one from here and one from there and one from that so the numbers show we're Truely Diverse." 
Ebor
I heard some homosexual mayor in the English midlands has decreed the December festivities be called "Winterfest"! Now Germans might have a bierfest but 'Winterfest' sounds like some illegitimate offspring of a mind lacking productive employment. Apparently the broadcast media found at least one Anglican cleric who supported the new designation on the grounds that the frenetic activity had little to do with the feast celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Challenged in a television interview the ebullient mayor said the title was appropriate as it recognised a festival carrying on through the winter.
Now many mechanics and military men will tell you if it ain't broke then don't try to fix it. Personally I hate Xmas and am apt to refer to it as Greedmas. However even I do not want this feast's memory lost in a haze of introduced and made up celebrations. Just a personal view.....