A few weeks ago, we noted that Glenn Beck has been invited to deliver the commencement address at Liberty University's graduation ceremony and wondered if LU students would react negatively to the idea of having a Mormon deliver such an address, as students at Regent University did back in 2007 when Mitt Romey was invited to its graduation.
Well, the ceremony is tomorrow and we have to admit that we hadn't seen anything from Liberty students objecting to Beck's invitation ... until today when we saw this op-ed by Ryan Begue, who is being awarded the Master of Arts in Theological Studies, complaining that he is "perplexed as to why it seems more [students] are not as equally alarmed" about it as he is:
For those who may not be aware, Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., which has consistently been known for its strong conservative and Christian values as a Baptist school, has invited political talk show host Glenn Beck to give the commencement speech to its graduates this week. On the surface that may not seem alarming to many since he is conservative. But given the fact he is a Mormon there ought to be red flags and sirens going off all across Christian circles.
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I have no beef with Glenn Beck as a person, but I certainly do with his religious beliefs ...If you were under the impression Mormonism is a Christian group you are greatly mistaken. Mormonism is a polytheistic religion which believes Mary had sex with one of their gods and became pregnant with Jesus. They do not believe that salvation is by grace through faith alone or many other critical truths of our faith. Christians sadly have more in common with Muslims if you really get down to it since at least they are monotheistic — and we know how far from the truth Islam is.
I must say how shocked and disappointed I was when I arrived for the commencement ceremonies to discover that a man who is not committed to the Gospel was speaking to a group of graduates who have committed verbally that they are. If I were a student at BYU I would expect it, but not at Liberty. Let's not fall into the trap that conservatism is the greatest need in America.
I consider all the men I have met at Liberty as brothers, but am very concerned about the future of the school. If Liberty is doing this because they are trying to build bridges to reach out to the lost community I applaud their hearts, but this isn't the right avenue. It is time for Liberty to get on track and make sure they send a clear message to the world that their commitment is first to the Gospel.
