Jerry Falwell
Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005

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  The ad reads: “In a world of almost endless media noise and political spin, you wonder where you can find real truth. Well now there’s a source that’s accurate, clear, and reliable. It’s the TNIV – Today’s New International Version of the Bible. It’s written in today’s language, for today’s times – and it makes more sense than ever.”

Kent Brownridge, general manager for Rolling Stone’s parent company, Wenner Media, told USA Today that the Zondervan ad “doesn’t quite feel right in the magazine.”

“The copy is a little more than an ad for the Bible,” Mr. Brownridge added. “It’s a religious message that I personally don’t disagree with.”

By the way, I’m not familiar with this Bible translation and have not endorsed it. But that’s not the issue. The concern here is that in the alleged culture of “diversity,” we are actually seeing a burgeoning atmosphere of repression when it comes to issues of faith.

This controversy comes down to one question: Where is the harm in running the Zondervan ad in a secular publication?

I’m not asserting that the editors at Rolling Stone hate religion. Mr. Brownridge proclaimed that he didn’t disagree with it. But I am increasingly concerned with this perspective of absolute secularism that prohibits the religious community from participating in the free flow of cultural ideas.

I doubt if Rolling Stone would have seen a mass exodus among its subscriber base if it had approved the Zondervan ad. And I doubt if the publication’s editors even feared such a response. It appears that they simply did not want a religious message – and particularly one from an evangelical perspective – to be in their publication.

While the editors say they “are not in the business of publishing advertising for religious messages,” this still stinks of censorship.

So, what does one find at Rolling Stone? A search of the publication’s Web site reveals political content (President Bush’s Social Security policy is a “con”), music themes (singer Gwen Stefani appears on the home page posing in a bra) and plenty of rock and roll excess (including a “big pimpin’” interview with jeweler Chris Aire).

The folks at Zondervan determined that they would like to offer a ray of spiritual hope to a rock and rap audience that may not typically think about matters of faith and eternity. But apparently, rock and roll and the Bible do not mix – at least not at Rolling Stone.

The Great Commission of Matthew 28 tells us that Christians are to be perpetual beacons of hope to the world. The Zondervan team was simply trying to follow this biblical mandate by taking the message of God’s Word to a new secular audience. It’s tragic that they were shut out.

Thankfully, other secular outlets – including The Onion (hardly a bastion of conservative religious values), MTV.com, VH-1 and America Online – have accepted the Zondervan ad. I commend each of them for operating under a policy of openness to religious expression.

And I urge the leadership at Rolling Stone to reconsider their decision to ban the ad. In the spirit of freedom of the press, I ask that they allow Zondervan to offer Rolling Stone readers an opportunity to look into this new Bible translation. I imagine most Rolling Stone readers would say they are mature enough to handle a small dose of the Bible in the publication.

Readers may view the Zondervan ad at the publisher’s Web site: http://www.zondervan.com/zHomeInt/images/RollingStone.pdf

Liberty University School of Law Announces Scholarships

Dean Bruce W. Green of the Liberty University School of Law has announced that the law school will offer full- and partial-tuition scholarships to qualified applicants for the Fall 2005 entering class, crediting the success of the law school’s inaugural class and Liberty University’s commitment to reward meritorious applicants. The 60 members of the Fall 2004 inaugural class, representing 22 states and 47 undergraduate universities, all received full- or partial-tuition scholarships.

Dean Green said, “We are delighted to have the opportunity once again to recognize our highly qualified applicants who show great promise for success in law school and in the legal community.”

Interested readers should visit the Liberty University School of Law Web site: http://law.liberty.edu

Editor's note: