Professor Inciting Violence

Recently, University of Minnesota Morris associate professor of biology, PZ Myers, well-known for his public hatred of Christianity and organizations like Answers in Genesis, lashed out in a blog about politics and stated this:

I was getting angrier and angrier. These are and should be angry times. But then I saw one thing that brought a smile to my face and made me laugh a little, even: white supremacist Richard Spencer getting punched in the face. I watched this several times, feeling my mood lift a little each time.

He then went on to state,

That punch was just a sign that maybe some of us are going to fight back. Of course that immediately prompted maudlin cries that we must deplore punching Nazi scum in the face. I don’t think so. When the Nazi scum are advocating oppression and the persecution of people they don’t like, when they have gotten their toes in the halls of power, that is what you deplore, not the fact that the representatives of genocide and hate receive well-earned tokens of contempt. They can have free speech. They also have to accept the consequences of that speech.

Stop making excuses. Stop regarding manners and politeness and civility as the alpha and omega of civilization. We are in an existential conflict with barbarians who use our unwarrantedly high regard for manners as an effective mask for ideas that kill people.

Time to rise up and fight.

So, is this professor, at a taxpayer-supported university, inciting people to violence? Yes. He said it could be proper if the violence is in response to what he perceives as white nationalism or neo-Nazism, movements which AiG also abhors. Many university leftists seem to admire or condone social-activist violence (while in the next breath will discuss the latest film noire as they sip their favorite wine).

Now as you read such an emotionally charged outburst, keep in mind that people like this professor also can pour out hatred against Christians. For instance, this same Minnesota professor has stated,

I woke up to Ken Ham testifying to his faith . . . and demonstrating why I hate Christianity.

He continues, “Hate is a strong word, but not strong enough for my feelings. Ken Ham might be a decent human being if he weren’t so thoroughly poisoned by this toxic faith he professes, and insists on infecting others. Christianity is the rot that corrupts minds. . . . We all have people we’ve loved and lost to accident, to disease, to old age. To a Christian, their god willed this loss, and to Christians like Ken Ham, those deaths were a punishment for “sin.”

Some day, Ken Ham will die, and remember—it will be because he is struck down by his capricious god for his wickedness, and every moment of his dying, if it be long and agonizing, will be deserved. At least, that’s what he should believe.

You could easily imagine a person like this professor standing in the Colosseum of Rome cheering as Christians were thrown to the lions.

Also keep in mind that over the years I have seen secularists associate my name and Answers in Genesis with Nazis and terrorists. That’s even though I have coauthored two books and given public lectures against racism (including a talk last month in South Carolina) and have developed an anti-racism exhibit in our Creation Museum! In fact, this same Minnesota professor once falsely charged that AiG is “promoting the Hamite theory of racial origins, that ugly idea that all races stemmed from the children of Noah, and that black people in particular were the cursed offspring of Ham.” Of course we don’t teach such thing as a curse of Ham! It’s not in the Bible. A simple search on our website for "curse of Ham" will reveal numerous articles/resources throughout the ministry’s existence where Answers in Genesis refutes this.

I wrote a blog in 2013 with the headline, “So Now Biblical Christians Are ‘Non-Jihadist Terrorists’ and a ‘Greater Threat Than Those Who Admire Al Qaeda’? Beware!” In that blog I stated,

Biblical Christians are being actively maligned with deliberate attempts to marginalize us in this increasingly secularized culture.

In recent times we have seen an increase in secularists doing the following:

1. Accusing Christians/creationists of “child abuse” (as Lawrence Krauss, Arizona State University professor, has been declaring in recent times).
2. Claiming Christianity is a virus (as atheist Richard Dawkins and others have done).
3. Accusing people with religious convictions of mental health issues—and causing children to have their own mental health problems (as we saw in a recent TIME article).

I want to suggest to you there is an increasing ploy by secularists to indoctrinate the public into thinking that biblical Christians are the enemy and dangerous to the culture. I must admit, I've been quite surprised at how rapidly the anti-Christian rhetoric is growing across this country.

You may be shocked to read what was written in a CNN opinion piece April 4 by Peter Bergen. CNN describes the author this way:

Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst, the author of "Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for bin Laden -- From 9/11 to Abbottabad" and a director at the New America Foundation. Jennifer Rowland is a program associate at the New America Foundation.

In this opinion piece titled “Growing threat of extreme right-wing violence,” Bergen states the following:

But the New America data shows that domestic terrorists motivated by non-jihadist ideologies now pose a similar or even greater threat than those who admire al Qaeda. We define non-jihadist terrorists to be those who carry out or aspire to carry out acts of politically motivated violence, and who fall into the following categories: right-wing extremists who oppose the government, subscribe to a neo-Nazi ideology, or oppose homosexuality or abortion; left-wing extremists; violent animal rights activists; and violent environmental activists. (emphasis mine)”

In May 2016, a blogger who writes that he is “an award-winning journalist,” stated,

Ken Ham is a huge bigot. We all know this, I have written those exact words more times than I care to count. He hates homosexuals, atheists, humanists, secularists, [expletive deleted], the [expletive deleted] hates Christians who don’t accept his childish 6,000-year world view of creationism. . . .

He also really hates transgender people. I also don’t use the word hate lightly here. Ken Ham really does hate them.

One can sense the anger in his words as he expresses his very real hatred of me.

Then further on he asks,

Anyone else get the feeling Ham would have been one of those Nazi officers that did whatever he was told without thinking twice?

The above examples are only a tiny sample of such expressed hatred of Christians (and of organizations like AiG) that you can find on the Internet, whether by bloggers, commentators, or even “serious” journalists on major websites.

When a university professor is inciting violence against those whom he hates, and also (like many others like him) express extreme hatred of Christianity, I believe Christians should be concerned that violence may one day be used against them.

The chasm between what’s Christian and what’s not is greatly widening in this nation. Because of the inherent sin nature of man (Genesis 3), and a growing proportion of the US population who are anti-Christian, we are increasingly seeing an extreme intolerance toward those who are Christians.

It is good to be reminded of Scriptures such as:

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution (2 Timothy 3:12).

If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you (John 15:18).

But I say to you, love your enemies . . . and pray for those who . . . persecute you (Matthew 5:44)