Today I received an email titled; “GCU statement regarding
Grand Canyon University Email on Ben Shapiro cancelation:
“We wanted to take a moment to address Grand Canyon University’s decision to cancel a speaking engagement on campus by Ben Shapiro that had been scheduled by one of our student clubs.
We believe in many of the things that Ben Shapiro speaks about and stands for, including his support for ideals that grow out of traditional Judeo-Christian values and his belief in a free market economy. Our decision to cancel Shapiro’s speaking engagement is not a reflection of his ideologies or the values he represents, but rather a desire to focus on opportunities that bring people together.
To understand that decision, one has to first understand the University’s history and the culture that has been created on our campus. As a private interdenominational Christian institution, Grand Canyon University’s core beliefs are rooted in biblical truths and outlined in our Doctrinal Statement and Ethical Positions Statement . These foundational documents, inspired in large part by the Nicene Creed, articulate our commitment to the full inspiration of Scripture and provide clarity, unity and alignment across the University on matters of ethics and morality.
GCU has a very unique financial model that was built 10 years ago and allowed us to access funds from the public markets to invest in a hybrid campus that has since grown to more than 20,000 students on our Phoenix campus, with more than 75,000 working adult students studying online. That model has allowed us to make private Christian education affordable to all socio-economic classes of Americans while freezing tuition costs on our campus for 11 straight years. That has resulted in a very diverse student body on our campus — 28% Hispanic, 7% African-American, 47% people of color — that represent all socio-economic sectors of America.
If you ask students what the key differentiators are that made them choose GCU, their responses will center around our Christian mission and the strength of our campus culture. It has fostered a community in which students from all sectors of society feel welcomed in an environment where they can find their purpose while attending GCU. It’s a culture in which:
— Between 5,000-7,000 students voluntarily attend Chapel service every Monday morning in GCU Arena.
— More than 1,500 students attend The Gathering worship services on Tuesday evenings.
— Students participate in more than 150 weekly student-led Life Group sessions, which offer a place to form relationships, build community and grow spiritually through studying the Bible.
— Approximately 300 GCU students participate in 25 global mission trips each year to destinations such as Thailand, South Africa, Cambodia, Mexico and India to expand the Kingdom and spread the message of Jesus Christ.
— In our Phoenix community, students participate in outreach efforts at homeless shelters, senior centers, veterans homes, weekly youth ministries in the park, and shelters that aid the victims of sex trafficking, among others.
— GCU students and staff have contributed nearly 20,000 volunteer hours in a partnership with Habitat for Humanity that has resulted in the renovation of more than 200 homes in GCU’s inner-city neighborhood.
— Roughly 1,200 GCU students provide free academic assistance and mentoring to students from more than 130 K-12 schools through the University’s Learning Lounge program.
In short, it has created a unique and united community where — no matter their political differences — people come together as one to make a difference in the world around them. Jesus Christ taught us that Christians should live as the salt and light of the world by loving our neighbors as ourselves, and that is happening here in real and tangible ways.
Today, we live in a very divided America. The current high volume of rhetoric has not led to community-building or problem-solving. Grand Canyon University, rather than engage in this type of rhetoric, has instead worked to bring people together and build partnerships to renovate our inner-city community. We’re doing that through a five-point plan that has 1) created 10,000 jobs on campus, 2) placed business enterprises in our community that provide jobs for GCU graduates, students and residents of our neighborhood, 3) reduced crime in our neighborhood through a $1.6 million partnership with Phoenix Police to pay for officers’ overtime, 4) increased home values 200% in our zip code in the past seven years, in part due to our partnership with Habitat for Humanity that has thus far renovated more than 200 homes, and 5) provided academic assistance and full-tuition scholarship opportunities to students from more than 130 K-12 schools in our community.
As a university, we encourage thoughtful discussions and rational dialogue in our classrooms about the issues affecting our society, and we encourage students to put greater emphasis on actions that produce positive change in our society. By working together, we have shown that real partnerships can create real programs that produce real results in our community. We hope it is a model that is emulated by others and builds strong communities where people can live and prosper in harmony, no matter their differences.
Based on the response we have received from some within the Grand Canyon community regarding the decision involving such high-profile speakers as Ben Shapiro, we have obviously disappointed and offended some of you. We know that if we had made a different decision, we would have disappointed and offended others within the same community. It was not our intent to disappoint or offend anyone. It was, rather, to use our position as a Christian university to bring unity to a community that sits amidst a country that is extremely divided and can’t seem to find a path forward toward unity.
If you look at America’s history, the Church has been at its best when it has worked to achieve the kind of peace that Jesus commended: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9, ESV). Making peace in a way that honors Christ is something we will continue to try to do.”
My Response:
Your decision to cancel Ben Shapiro’s speaking engagement and your explanation, demonstrate that your institution stands for very little if anything concerning the non-negotiable truths of the Scriptures and especially those truths that stand in opposition to the culture we live in, of which Ben would have spoken to with clarity, discernment, and kindness. You clearly see Biblical truth as negotiable. You have a “form of godliness but deny its power” (2 Tim. 3:15). To say you stand for Biblical principles and then deny Ben from speaking on campus in support of those Biblical principles that so clearly speak to the conditions of our society as a whole is spiritual cowardice, a failure to stand with Christ (Matt. 8:19-22) and a cowardice that illustrates your “fear of men” (Proverbs 29:25; John 12:42-43), and clear lack of real and urgent concern for the souls under your tutelage. Racial, cultural, and denominational diversity is no excuse for failing to stand up for that which is true, no matter what the cost.
It is my understanding that this was not a chapel but a public forum speaking engagement. I realize that Ben Shapiro is a devout practicing Jew. As such, he denies the deity and saviorhood of Jesus Christ. But the speaking forum was not a chapel or worship centered event. Had it been, then a denial to speak in such a situation would have been understandable, even commendable. But that was not the case. It was a speaking engagement where social issues would have been addressed that might have been political in nature and as well as Biblical. For you to deny his speaking engagement, while you say you agree with him, IS a denial of the values he represents. To say otherwise is obfuscation at best, and let’s be honest, a LIE. The values he would have shared run counter to the “spirit of the age” in which we live and as such are irreconcilable to that spirit. There is no unity here with this prevalent and pervasive world view. To seek any kind of unity would mean an ultimate denial of the biblical principles Ben Shapiro would have expressed, and in the end, a denial of our “Judeo-Christian Biblical ethos” and the Lord Jesus Christ as well. So, let me state it again, Christianity is counter-cultural and is no friend of this world’s system (James 4:4). There is no unity to be had here, only a principled stand for Biblical truth with clarity, discernment, and love. Biblical truth and principles cannot be sacrificed on the alter “Unity.” To do so would be a betrayal of the very person of Christ (John 14:6). And let’s be honest, the world is not seeking Christ. “Seeker sensitivity” is unbiblical (Rom.3:10-12) and to be worried about an offense or offending a potential seeker is a completely inappropriate and an unbiblical response.
While your students and staff social activity in the community is commendable, it is no substitute for standing up and being counted for the truth, especially when the opportunity is staring you right in the face. Social charity work cannot and should not be used as a “cover” for doing the right thing. There can be no effective Gospel where there is no effective declaration of sin. There is no Gospel if there is no offense of the Cross (Gal. 5:11, 1 Cor. 1:18, 20-28). We have not been called to “make people comfortable” on their way to hell, but uncomfortable (Pro. 27:6), as they are confronted with the claims of Christ and their own desperate need due to sin. In this effort of proclamation, it is clear, that the Church (Body of Christ) must expose societal sin that is being promoted as a virtue (Isa. 5:20). That, Ben Shapiro, would certainly have done. How else can the world know what is true virtue and what is real evil (Matt. 5:13)?
Geoffrey Wilson wrote, “The unpopularity of a crucified Christ has prompted many to present a message which is more palatable to the unbeliever, but the removal of the offense of the cross always renders the message ineffective. An inoffensive gospel is also an inoperative gospel. Thus Christianity is wounded most in the house of its friends” (Romans: A Digest of Reformed Comment [Carlisle, Pa.: Banner of Truth, 1976], p. 24).
I suspect that you as well as other so-called Christian institutions are far more concerned about losing government funding and grants and possibly in the future, accreditation, than standing up for that which honor’s the Savior. You are infected with the Laodicean spirit (Rev. 3:15-18) and fear the loss of your wealth, comfort, numbers, and perceived prestige, more than you are the approval of God (Rom. 14:18).
I have a student from our church that is attending GCU. I will inform the family of my position and will counsel them to find a school that will stand for the immovable principles from the Scriptures that exalt Christ and are practiced not merely stated in a doctrinal statement or creed as some moral “aspiration.” And I will no longer refer any students to your institution. I will also actively share your decision and your email of explanation with fellow pastors in person, via letter and my blog, as well and will encourage other pastors to actively stand against such spiritual defection.
Your institution has demonstrated the “spirit of this age” and is no longer worthy of our recommendation or support. You are far more concerned about being offensive and at “peace” with the world, while, in the end, offending Christ (James 4:4).
With regret,
Pastor Michael Holtzinger