Who is Eddie Fox and why do I say that?
He is a widely published and highly respected pastor, author, and leader who since 1992 has been the Executive Director of the World Methodist Evangelism Institute. His 1986 book Faith Sharing (co-written with George Morris) was instrumental in my own call to enter seminary.
And speaking of seminary, Fox is a 1962 graduate of Candler School of Theology, the divinity school within Emory University. While there, Fox graduated first in his class.
With all those accomplishments, then, it seems logical and proper that Candler would honor Fox with its Distinguished Alumni Award, right? So in August, the seminary did just that.
Not so fast.
Fox’s selection has created a furor on the Emory campus. Is it because of some shady ethical dealings in his background? No.
Is it because of a morals charge that has arisen? No.
Is it because he has clergy hoof & mouth disease (can’t preach & won’t visit)? Nope.
It’s because Eddie Fox stands with 2,000 years of Christian teaching in affirming celibacy in singleness and faithfulness in heterosexual marriage. Meaning: he believes that homosexual intercourse is not God’s design for humanity.
And for many on the Candler campus, that’s the one belief that can’t be tolerated.
Zebulun Treloar, a Masters of Divinity student at the school, wrote an open letter to Fox that included these words:
“I have to stand in opposition to your being awarded an alumni award because of [your] views [on homosexuality]. This is also why I cannot be a part of a church that does not give full inclusion to people of all sexual orientation and gender identities.”
In addition, Candler alum Josh Noblitt, a minister of social justice at Saint Mark United Methodist Church, put it this way:
“It’s hard for me to want to lift up someone who engages in exclusionary rhetoric . . . Eddie Fox does not seem to represent the values of Emory University.”
And finally, the Emory Gay and Lesbian Alumni (GALA) announced on Twitter that its steering committee approved a motion opposing the award and recommended that Fox’s award be rescinded
You can read the story in the Emory Wheel here.
Now: Eddie Fox is not a hatemonger. He’s an exegete. He’s not a Wesleyan Fred Phelps. He’s a United Methodist Pastor. Both his demeanor and his conversation are saturated with what we commonly call grace.
And not insignificantly, his view remains the official stand of the United Methodist Church when it comes to human sexuality.
But isn’t it interesting? Those who would change Christian sexual doctrine for the sake of tolerance are so openly intolerant?
From my view, the story has a satisfying ending: Jan Love, the Dean at Candler, decided to continue with Fox’s award despite the opposition. In her words:
“Candler’s task is to continue to facilitate an open, vibrant community of conversation created with people who hold stark and different perspectives. And then we come together and call it Christian conversation . . . After careful consideration, I have decided to confer the award on the Rev. Fox. His love of Candler runs deep [and his] characteristics were among the reasons he was recommended for this award and why I believe he should receive it.”
There are 3 comments
This story is a perfect example of where totalitarian view of many in academia at this sad time in history. It is a certainty that academic discipline suffers from this terrible intolerance which promotes ignorance and close mindedness. I have been privileged to hear and meet Dr. Fox and am delighted to hear he is the recipient of this well-deserved award. The grace he extends will open more doors and minds in future, I expect.
A few questions for the writer of this blog:
1) Do you have a relationship of any kind with someone who is part of the GLBT community? If not, then I find it hard to believe you could understand there view on this issue and their response to Candler awarding Eddie Fox. This probably explains why your blog entry is oversimplified and one-sided.
2) Are you willing to recognize the enormous pain Eddie Fox has caused in the UMC by actively using his political power to exclude GLBT people? If not, this probably explains why your blog entry is oversimplified and one-sided.
Billy
What commenter # 2 said. Eddie Fox may be a wonderful pastor, husband, father, love his dog, never litters, etc., but his exclusionary views make Candler’s decision to give this award quite suspect. Should we also not honor the late Governor George Wallace, who “stood in the schoolhouse door” at the University of alabama to block admission of African-American students, and who, I believe, was a Methodist? Wallace later recanted his views and won his last two terms with African-American support. And yet the damage was done. People acknowledged that in his last years Wallace was a good man whose good acts exceeded his evil ones, but honorariums were not forthcoming and for good reason. Fox may indeed be like Wallace a man whose good acts exceed his evil ones, but Candler’s reputation is damaged because his acts on the issue of human rights of today – whereby he is to Fred Phelps exactly as George Wallace was to the Ku Klux Klan in his day – is what makes him box office poison here.