A Bob Jones University graduate takes a close look at the Joneses, Bob Jones University, and the national network of Bob Jones-styled fundamentalist churches and ministries staffed by Bob Jones University graduates and influenced by the pragmatic philosophies and principles taught and practiced by BJU. Jonesianism, a term perhaps first coined in BJU Exposed, is simply modern-day Phariseeism. Jonesianism is essentially a combination of psuedo-religious legalism with endless man-made rules given Ten Commandment-status, religious hypocrisy, extreme sectarianism, religious pride, and pervasive intellectual, ecclesiastic, ethical corruption and dishonesty all ruled over by a few men who embodied the worst qualities of the original Pharisees and whose teachings and actions cannot be questioned. I recently engaged a BJU grad on a forum. He apparently thinks that to confront Bob Jones III's sin and heresy would undermine the Gospel. Defensible views that are based on facts, sound logic, and scriptural rationale are not evidence of bigotry, else every Christian who believed in the authority of the Bible would be a bigot. But, propagating unbiblical division within the Body of Christ by banning interracial marriage, and doing it deceitfully the way Bob Jones III has done, is sin. Thus, it is equally important that Bob Jones III publicly repent for his sin of bearing false witness just as. I just talked to a BJU grad whose parents were both BJU faculty lifers. However mistaken, with Bob Jones III's continued dissembling on this issue, he reveals that his 'mistake' was deliberate and that he is bent upon dodging responsibility for his actions. Bob Jones III has never begged forgiveness from the University family for deceiving us and abusing those within our number. And, Bob Jones III continued the deception by deliberately issuing false statements to the American people regarding the Rules. Again, any apology needs to include public repentance and a plea for forgiveness from Larry King and the American people. When I watched Bob Jones III being interviewed by Larry King, I was appalled; much of what Bob Jones III was saying was simply untrue! When I pointed out this to other BJU grads, they simply dismissed the facts and started talking about how good it was that the ban had been dropped. The authors of the Petition at have done an excellent job of concisely exposing the deception Bob Jones III employed on LKL to deceive Larry King and the American people about the true nature and history of BJU's interracial dating and marriage ban. In a post titled the Pleasereconcile authors quote Jones' response to Larry King's question about not being able to back up the interracial dating ban with a verse from the Bible. We never have tried to, we have never tried to do that. But we have said there is a principle here, an overriding principle of the one world government. But let me tell you how insignificant this is. Students never hear it preached. There have been four, five, six generations of students that graduated from there have never heard this preached in our chapel or taught in our school... The pamphlet cites specific passages of supporting Scripture on nearly every page. Take a look at the Pleasereconcile blog. They are doing a good thing. I pray that they may be successful in their efforts. Mark Fitzhenry Years ago, in 1983, Charles Underwood, first director of Church Planting at BJU, penned an Open Letter to Bob Jones III. At the end of the letter was a form, a petition of sorts, that readers could sign and send to BJU to express their disapproval for the actions of the Joneses and their management of BJU. I considered Underwood's letter to Bob Jones III to be so insightful - and so up to date in its observations - that I engaged a transcriptionist to type the body of the letter so that I could include it in BJU Exposed. There is a direct link to the Open Letter on this page. I don't know how widely Underwood's letter was circulated or how many people signed and sent in petitions as a result of his letter. BJU was able to limit the impact of such letters because there was not a mechanism to circulate the information widely. The landscape has changed and anyone with a computer can have access to everyone else who is connected to the web. BJU can no longer control information or access to their constituency. The letter, apparently a draft, reads as follows: Dear Stephen Jones, Bob Jones University Board of Trustees, and Administration:. We are Bob Jones University alumni and students who care deeply about our alma mater. We recognize that God has used the university in our lives for good, and we pray that God preserves the university and uses it in the lives of those who come after us. We value our time there, the many wonderful faculty and staff members who taught us and touched our lives, the godly friends we met, and the school's fearless stand for Jesus Christ. The school is widely known as segregationist, bigoted, and racist. Some of us were not aware of this reputation while we attended the university and were baffled when we encountered negative perceptions from others after we graduated. Nevertheless, the reputation remains. We see it in people's faces and hear it in their comments and reactions upon learning where we went to school. Sometimes we encounter it in job interviews--troubling times to be confronted about racial prejudice. For some of us, employees suspect our motives as employers. Those of us who are ministers and spiritual leaders must explain our association with the university to minority congregants. All of us are charged to present the gospel, but must now do so in the context of this stigma. After a period of objective discussion and research, we begin to understand the origin of these negative impressions. The University's historical position on race is deeply troubling, and some of that history is disturbingly recent. Stories of its founding leaders having connections to notoriously bigoted characters and organizations. Married black students were not admitted until 1971, and unmarried black students were not admitted until 1975. Even then a ban on interracial relationships lasted into the twenty-first century. Records from those years include vicious and embarrassing statements from people representing the University in an official capacity. The individuals on the receiving end of this treatment recounted those experiences to their tight-knit communities, and their stories provided a public record of the University's attitude toward minorities. Finally, many of us have personally seen actions or heard statements from current members of the University community which seem to indicate that sensitivity toward this issue is not a priority of its administration or representatives. We realize that other institutions have made mistakes as well. We do not excuse their mistakes, but neither are we concerned with them. They are responsible for what they have done, and many of them have issued public statements of regret and apology and have taken dramatic steps to demonstrate their commitment to change. Bob Jones University, to our knowledge, has never done so. We are writing to request that such a statement be made, backed up by concrete actions that demonstrate its seriousness. We hope and believe that such a statement would be sincere and accurate. We recognize that it may be difficult to make and realize that it may attract criticism from other corners. That is why we want you to know that should such a statement be made, we will support it completely and joyfully. We hope that you will choose to address this issue because of your own conviction that all people, regardless of their skin color or ethnicity, are made in the image of God and that God desires unity in His Church. We request this not just to remove stumbling blocks in our dealings with others, or to improve appraisals of our resumes though we believe it will do both. We pray that you will do this, most of all, because it will be doing right, and showing forth a true demonstration of the love and humility that God desires from His people. Sincerely yours, First, those who drafted this petition are to be commended. Finally, someone is taking some initiative! It is thoughtfully composed and it has been well-received by some within the University family. I think the petition glosses over the issue of Bob Jones III's involvement in this controversy. It would have been better, more biblical after the Pauline example in correcting Peter in Galatians 2, to have included Bob Jones III as a specific recipient. As such, it should have forthrightly addressed Bob Jones III's duplicity and deceit in his handling of the interracial dating ban scam. Pleaserconcile includes a copy of from Bob Jones Jr. Pleasereconcile's petition drive has been discussed on the Sharperiron debate forum. I found the discussions very interesting as they revealed current attitudes of graduates toward this issue. Unfortunately, the thread has been closed because it reached a 20 page-limit. Ask Bob Jones III some tough questions. He never answers such questions. When he spoke, people listened. Jones went out of state to start his school. He founded Bob Jones College in College Point, Fla. Feldman said he did not research the question of whether Klan money went into the school. The racist organization likely had money to spare back then: It claimed 150,000 members in A
