VIDEOS
David French talk: "Jesus Loves Your Political Enemies, and America Needs You to Love Them, Too" (Nov. 1, 2021)
Prominent national political commentator David French blitzed through George Fox University Monday, November 1.
French's comments ranged widely, always pointing toward rethinking how Christians conduct their political lives, as candidates or voters.
"What does the Lord require of us?" French repeatedly asked, invoking Micah 6:8. "To act justly, love mercy -- sometimes translated as 'kindness', and walk humbly with your God." None of these three -- justice, kindness, or humility -- is optional for a follower of Jesus, according to French.
Oregon Braver Angels introductory presentation at George Fox (Oct. 5, 2021)
Braver Angels is a national organization that promotes civil discourse across partisan polarized lines. It offers trainings, workshops, debates and other events. Each state has its own chapter, coordinated by one "blue" from the left and one "red" from the right. Oregon's co-coordinators Elise Keith and Ben Nanke described Braver Angels' history, described the experience of having a conservative and progressive co-chair working together to promote civility, and conducted a simple exercise to give the audience a feel for what Braver Angels does.
Jonathan Kuttab's Two Addresses on "Civility, Justice and Civil Rights" regarding a one-state vision for Israel and Palestine.
Kuttab gave two featured talks as part of the Civility Project last spring semester. In the first talk on February 4, 2021, Kuttab spoke on "Civility, Justice, and Human Rights: A Vision of Israel/Palestine as One State," outlining his vision for a single democratic nation where Israelis and Palestinians could live in peace, under a constitution featuring strong rights protecting each community's right to live and practice their respective faiths.
Kuttab came to campus in person for a second talk on March 31 on "Civility, Justice, and a Bill of Rights: Building a Successful Political Culture in the Holy Land." In that talk, Kuttab sketched how the current violent politics among Israelis and Palestinians could be transformed into nonviolence, both in the process of negotiating a new one-state constitution, and in the future after the constitution comes into effect.
The Civility Project's Opening Events
October 5 & 19, 2020
The Civility Project opened with two events on the George Fox University campus in October, 2020.
On October 5, project director Ron Mock introduced the Project by describing how civility is rooted in stewardship of God's providence, including the gift of political cultures.
Working in small groups, participants -- including those present in socially-distanced Bauman Auditorium, and those attending via Zoom -- evaluated an excerpt from the first debate between President Trump and former Vice-President Biden, and another fictional presidential debate between Governor Polly Paxman and Senator Sheldon Strong. (The small group part is not in the video.) The last twenty minutes covers a good question-and-answer section.
On October 19, the Project hosted a debate between GF professors Dr. Phil Smith and Dr. Mark Hall on which presidential candidate people should vote for. The debate was scored for civility by the audience, both in-person and via Zoom, and was followed by discussion of civility in politics.
The inventory used on October 19 is available to you here. We encourage you to consider using it to score a debate or discussion, and give us feedback. With some advance notice, we can compile results from a group using the inventory, and give you a report on the group's results.