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I just want to say this:

Bill of Rights

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

in response to the actions of the Oklahoma State Legislature as reported in to this article:

Well, it's official: Oklahoma's state legislature is investigating the University of Oklahoma for hosting a speech by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.

. . . 

. . .  Oklahoma State Representative Rebecca Hamilton requested substantial information relating to the speech from Vice President for Governmental Relations Danny Hilliard. Representative Hamilton's exhaustive request included demands for all e-mails and correspondence relating to the speech; a list of all money paid to Dawkins and the entities, public or private, responsible for this funding; and the total cost to the university, including, among other things, security fees, advertising, and even "faculty time spent promoting this event."

Look, there are many things that are said on University (and Seminary) campuses that I disagree with...but this is America.  We actually believe that free expression of ideas is a good thing, and that somehow in the free marketplace of ideas that thinking people can make decisions for themselves regarding what is true and valuable.  As a believer, I have no issues with Richard Dawkins speaking, and I don't think God is worried that Dawkins is speaking, as He seems to allow him to go on doing it.  We should encourage our universities to bring in a variety of speakers from different worldviews and religions.  I would love for OU to bring in some great theologians to speak. 

I am embarrassed that my state's legislation has done this.  It is damaging to the reputation of higher education in our state, and it runs counter to the ideals that have made this country so great.   

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Jonathan Bartlett     |64.207.224.xxx |05-08-2009 09:01 Jimmy - I was actually in the room when much of the planning for this move was going on. The problem was not that Dawkins was speaking, but that the University is basically having an atheism hayday in celebration of Darwin's 200th birthday. They've had a slew of speakers - for public lectures - covering the relationship between science and faith, all from the same perspective. And then, as the capstone, they are paying Richard Dawkins somewhere in the area of $30,000 for a public lecture to say that there is no true purpose in life (that is actually his talk's subject - "the purpose of purpose"). It's not an issue of whether or not Dawkins should be speaking on campus - I don't think anyone has a problem with that. The problem is that the University is having an extremely one-sided discussion in its series of public lectures - rather than being a place for open discussion, OU is rather intentional about having one particular perspective, and putting on multiple public lectures to convince the public of that perspective. I think the people making this move are doing it from the same set of values that you are criticizing them for. Reply | Quote

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