Just asking a student to do this is way over the line. I would say the same if a professor asked students to step on the name of Mohammed, and he was merely a prophet, or any other symbol that is held holy by a religious faith.
There are two lessons here. one is to show that some people take those symbols to a higher level than other students, and the other is to show that stepping on a piece of paper is not the same as renouncing your religion. In a course about communications between people of all different sorts the assignment does focus on one of the sticky points of communicating. if it were done in something like science class i would agree with you that the purpose was completely offensive, but the purpose of the class should be to explore human communication, and this is a part of it.
Long before the church's koran burning days, i had some fun with people online by burning bibles in their name. before you get into it, for the dollar i spent on the copies of the bible it was well worth the reaction. I burned mass produced books that cost a dollar and people freaked out like i had torched jesus himself. It is just a book to me, and to make me feel it is some sort of protected thing is ridiculous. i did not burn anyone's private keepsake religious memento. I certainly could never censor or destroy such a widely distributed work from society by burning a couple of dollar store copies. No, it was purely to show that people took things way too seriously, and they most certainly helped me with that lesson. A couple of years later those same people who sent me death threats were cheering the burning of the koran by churches. hell, some of them may even have burned a koran themselves. You really do not understand the paper contains no power unless you give it to the paper. It is just ink and some plants. It is the words that should matter over the symbol and even you cannot see that.
That is what the professor and what the school said in the beginning. Is this what really happened? It seems you may be as guilty as believing one side of the story as any else is.
I am pretty sure you don't get expelled for not doing an assignment. I did not do plenty of assignments in college, and I never got expelled for it. I may have gotten a failing grade because they were not optional assignments like this was, but I never had a teacher toss me out of school just for not doing the assignment. Certainly there would be no one left in class if that were the way the teacher handled things regularly. No, this kid went overboard in his opposition and that is why he was treated differently. had the teacher tossed everyone who didn't do assignments for him he would be a huge problem for the school and they would have already had actions against him. there is a reason this student is different, and that was his overreaction.
Were I in the class, I also would have been very vocal as it was way over the line. It is completely unacceptable.
According to everything in the assignment and that was said compliance with the act was not a requirement for the assignment. It was to create discussion and recognize the effects of such an action. Insisting on not stepping on the paper and even being offended by the action were part of the lesson. making threats against a teacher was not reasonable, though I would have expected it if i were the teacher.
The assignment is flawed on many levels. On this, I agree with you.
Or a Muslim who respects Jesus as a prophet, or any sane person who has respect for religion. Were anyone to ask me to step on a paper with the name of Budda, I would also refuse and bring up the inappropriateness with the professor.
there is respect for religion, but you are expecting people to follow your beliefs. For example it is against the rules of islam to draw pictures of the prophet muhammed. Some people take that quite seriously, but they also wish to enforce that religious law onto people who have no faith in Islam. Why should I have to obey the religious laws of something i do not even believe in? Your argument is the one used against the happiness of homosexuals. Many christians feel gays should just accept they are not allowed the benefits of marriage, and the happiness of such a thing to respect a religion that has no respect for them. If you wish to abide by the rules of a religion that is your choice, and not one you can impose on others.
As for the buddha thing I do believe his anti-pride stance would have certainly made him reject the idea that a piece of paper holds some divinity. Not to mention ignoring the wisdom of such an assignment and the realities it teaches you of the world because of said sanctified pretext over a piece of paper is probably not a part of his teachings either. What you are referring to is the basic tenant of materialism. That worthless piece of paper becomes important and valuable to you, and because of that you cause problems for yourself and others. Not very mindful if you ask me.
The only batcrap crazy here is the liberal Democrat professor who asked students to do such a thing.
yeah, seeking to destroy a man's career and livelihood, along with making a national issue complete with death threats over a piece of paper and some ink is pretty damned insane.
Something tells me that this is a lesson that will be completely lost on the 'instructor' of the class.
I am pretty sure he is acutely aware of the problems it has caused. After all he may never be able to return to his job because of the violent threats against him, and no other university is going to hire a problem employee that got national attention over such a silly issue. Yes, he has to live that life now. I am pretty sure he is well aware of it.
Perhaps the prof isn't the only who needs lessons in respect. I think the student will be fine. The instructor should never again be allowed in the halls of an instutition of higher learning as a teacher.
It was a piece of paper, and that is this guys life. not very mindful of you.
Most Christians I know do NOT mock Ramadan.
You should visit america sometime.
I certainly don't. Most Christians I know don't hate on other religions.
You should really visit america sometime.
I certainly don't. And the Catholics who were not pleased (not freaking out, don't get melodramatic) are in a small minority. This Catholic wasn't offended and I have actually participated in the foot washing ceremony before with women in the group of twelve.
You are not the pope, so you don't matter. hasn't it ever struck you as a tad odd that a religion based around humility and care for the poor would have a religious head that has more pomp than brittany Spears? One of the biggest complaints about the new pope is he isn't being an icon like the last one. Christians want the golden idol. When the highest person in their religion got beneath the feet of a woman it scared the hell out of them. that is a problem.
And that lunatic who burned the Qur'an was a fringe minority as well. You like to pick on the fringe minority while ignoring the fact that the vast majority of Christians are kind, hardworking, forgiving and tolerant people.
The vast majority of christians watch while their leaders do these things, and never object or stop giving to encourage those actions. Those people are part of christianity and it's effects on the world. They like to sweep that part under the carpet and pretend those people don't count, but they do the will of the church because the church will never oppose them. There is one thing i respected about scientology. They will go after anyone who uses their material. granted it is greed oriented, but we all know that is scientology because they make sure to try and destroy anyone who acts in their name without permission. The christian church tends to let those groups go out and act in their name and then condemns them from afar without ever doing anything to stop them. It is like those kids in Ohio who stood around filming and taking pictures as their friends raped and tortured a girl mentally for a few days. Yeah, they did not do the physical act, but they still filmed it and were silent about it. They still let it happen right in front of them without doing anything. If that counts for doing something to you, then that is great for you, but I won't respect silence as actually doing anything to stop an act they supposedly think is wrong. In this case their lack of actions speaks far more about their true intent than their occasional wagging finger and a wink.
As for gay marriage, that is a completely different issue entirely, but that is not a discussion for this thread.
Actually it is related to the message of the lesson. gay marriage means little to nothing to christians because they don't regard it as real. Sort of like how an atheist is not going to have much trouble stepping on a piece of paper with jesus written on it. You seem to find that piece of paper to take on a sanctified value and want others to respect your opinion about what is essentially garbage to most people. I am telling you that christians disrespect other's beliefs and happiness like in the case of this teacher. you want the teacher to be held accountable for not recognizing the value of a piece of paper while you try to ignore christians who don't recognize the commitment of love and marriage for homosexuals which as an institution they claim to hold dear and sanctified. They are related, and you keep on ignoring the lesson. not very mindful of you.