The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire taught the ancient Greek classics in its schools for the entire thousand years-plus of its existence, but come on, man! We are much smarter than that now, and know that we have to move and change with the times. Even in theological schools, where the naïve and untutored might think that special attention is given to timeless truths, the forward-thinking have better ideas. At the University of Portland, a private Catholic university in determinedly “progressive” Oregon, they have come up with the best idea of all, as far as the left is concerned: throw out all that old, musty theology and dive head-first into the deep end of theological wokeism.
The main thing is that the university has deep-sixed that most hidebound, backward-thinking, and doggedly unprogressive of books, the Holy Bible. (Yes, I am being sarcastic, and attempting to convey how the University of Portland looks at the Bible, not how I do.) After all, what use would a book of that kind be in a university in the enlightened, deep-blue state of Oregon, even a Roman Catholic university? And so The College Fix reported recently that “University of Portland theology majors will no longer have to take a class on ‘Biblical Texts,’ according to the department chair who has previously said opponents of homosexual behavior are like the soldiers who nailed Christ to the cross.”
Wow, dude. That’s really deft. You gotta hand it to the Chair of the Theology and Religious Studies Department at the University of Portland, David Turnbloom, for his audacity, if for nothing else, in hollowing out the message of Christianity to such an extent that he ignores the teachings of the Bible (and the Roman Catholic Church) on homosexuality but keeps the part about Christ on the cross. It is unclear whether Turnbloom would liken unrepentant thieves, murderers, or liars to Christ on the cross, but for those who engage in his favorite sin, he is eager to claim the left’s most coveted status: victimhood.
In a meditation he wrote for Good Friday 2022, Turnbloom exhorted Catholics to “stop trying to unite our suffering to Jesus’s suffering” and instead strive to “begin to recognize the presence of Christ in the Queer community where we have been so consistently denying it. Perhaps then, we will have the competence to see the beauty and dignity of the queer love that we have been crucifying.”
To help University of Portland students do this, they can now replace that boring old “Biblical Texts” course with one that has more apparent relevance, such as “Queer Theologies.” The course description for that one says about what you’d expect: “This course introduces, explores, and evaluates queer Christian theologies. Examining sources and methods within this burgeoning theological sub-field, it traces developments of queer(ing) theologies—from early turns to Scripture/doctrine affirming same-sex relationships, to efforts revising theologies in light of queer lives—and considers key themes, future possibilities, and impacts on ecclesial and public contexts.”
Sure, the scripture affirms same-sex relationships. They’re called friendships, a supremely important idea in the ancient world, and they’re not sexual. Whether the “Queer Theologies” will make that key distinction is not immediately clear. But if you’re not into the idolatry of homosexual activity, you could opt instead to take a course called “God Our Mother,” which “aims to broaden the theological imagination of the students as they reflect on the wonderful reality some call God. Together with 'The Catechism of the Catholic Church,' this course will affirm that ‘God transcends the human distinction between the sexes’ and explore various ways of envisioning God that go beyond the image of a male God.”
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That’s swell, but will the students explore the rich philosophical tradition in Roman Catholicism that explores how God can “transcend the human distinction between the sexes” and also be a Father in a way that He is not a Mother? My money is on a big “no” to that question. After all, Thomas Aquinas wrote his massive philosophical works over 750 years ago. What could he possibly have to say to modern-day “queer” Christians with blue hair and nose rings?
Turnbloom explained that the “Biblical Texts” requirement was being ditched in order to “allow students more autonomy over their UP education and provide students with the opportunity to take classes that align with their faith traditions.” Whatever they may be, the university is clearly not Roman Catholic anymore in any real sense. C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League, noted that “this functional apostasy is one more example of how faithful Catholics have been dispossessed of their own institutions by modernist heretics.”
Indeed, and it’s not happening only in the Catholic Church, either.
