Reply #12: He spoke at my alma mater, Pepperdine, which is a very conservative school

[keopeli]

The dean of the law school is Ken Starr. 95% of the Faculty are from a single denomination - Church of Christ. This is a fundamentalist evangelical religion. Other notables grace the campus, such as George Will & Ben Stein. Professors are often called on by news shows to represent republican positions on faith and government, among other things.

Pepperdine was the second place at which Ronald Reagan spoke after leaving the WH.

To be fair, they have hosted a democrat (usually "small potatoes" and low profile) from time to time, but the topic is always amicable to their positions.

In this case, the Kerry speech fit the criteria (even though it was about Catholicism and Pepperdine is Evangelical Protestant, which has also been done before). However, the fact that they hosted this speech is certainly a departure from their tradition and must have been very difficult for the upper echelon to digest. I know there are some good people in top positions there. Maybe their rationale is beginning to come through. I can hope, anyway.

In as much as conservative Christians are willing to respond to the 'olive branch' that is being extended by liberal Christians (like myself), I think it is a good thing. The political rift that exists must be bridged if we are ever to recover from this pathetic mess we're in. If not, the cycle of rivalries that has allowed rogue oil men to take over the government will continue.

Peace.