2008 Woodie Awards
RSSInvitation to Dalai Lama an honor
Letter to the editor
By Kirsten J. Muser, '10
Issue date: 11/9/07 Section: Opinion
I am writing in response to Andy Rice's letter, "Invitation to Dalai Lama Shocking" (Nov. 6, 2007). Rice's contention that our administration should not have invited the Dalai Lama to Lehigh is incredibly ignorant.
Rice has a very unclear understanding of the history of Lehigh. Strong ties never existed between Asa Packer and the Moravians, who founded their school 123 years before Lehigh with deliberate religious motivations. Our school has been nondenominational for many years.
The Dalai Lama would never come to Lehigh to suppress Christian beliefs. Rather, the lectures will educate about and explain a classic Tibetan Buddhist text. If you are content with the current world situation where wars are fought over religious and ideological differences, then you have the right to protest the Dalai Lama's visit and advocate the Bible as the "standard to live by."
If Rice would like to promote peaceful coexistence, as his Christian faith teaches, this campus could definitely use such a globalizing event. Lehigh should be a place to explore ideas that may be somewhat unfamiliar to us, not to keep us blind to what goes on in the world. It certainly seems that Rice has no problem using his favorite Bible verses to convince others of his fundamental Christian beliefs. Rice's desire to suppress the Dalai Lama's teachings of kindness at Lehigh is hypocritical.
It is a shame Rice does not understand that most universities, especially Lehigh, do not exist to make Christ "the center of their belief." His example of Harvard employing the "In Christi Gloriam" motto is a terrible one, because Harvard was founded to educate clergymen. Not everyone came to college to make Jesus the center of their educational experiences.
In any event, before Rice tries to use his self-proclaimed religious clout to prevent people from listening to a man respected around the world, he might want pick up a history book that isn't the Bible.
Maybe he would learn that the university he represents was founded by a certain Asa Packer, because quite frankly, I have no idea who Asa Packard is.
Rice has a very unclear understanding of the history of Lehigh. Strong ties never existed between Asa Packer and the Moravians, who founded their school 123 years before Lehigh with deliberate religious motivations. Our school has been nondenominational for many years.
The Dalai Lama would never come to Lehigh to suppress Christian beliefs. Rather, the lectures will educate about and explain a classic Tibetan Buddhist text. If you are content with the current world situation where wars are fought over religious and ideological differences, then you have the right to protest the Dalai Lama's visit and advocate the Bible as the "standard to live by."
If Rice would like to promote peaceful coexistence, as his Christian faith teaches, this campus could definitely use such a globalizing event. Lehigh should be a place to explore ideas that may be somewhat unfamiliar to us, not to keep us blind to what goes on in the world. It certainly seems that Rice has no problem using his favorite Bible verses to convince others of his fundamental Christian beliefs. Rice's desire to suppress the Dalai Lama's teachings of kindness at Lehigh is hypocritical.
It is a shame Rice does not understand that most universities, especially Lehigh, do not exist to make Christ "the center of their belief." His example of Harvard employing the "In Christi Gloriam" motto is a terrible one, because Harvard was founded to educate clergymen. Not everyone came to college to make Jesus the center of their educational experiences.
In any event, before Rice tries to use his self-proclaimed religious clout to prevent people from listening to a man respected around the world, he might want pick up a history book that isn't the Bible.
Maybe he would learn that the university he represents was founded by a certain Asa Packer, because quite frankly, I have no idea who Asa Packard is.
