Thursday, June 23, 2005

USAF Academy: The ugly truth

For my previous comments, in reverse chronological order, go here, here, and here. You can find a fairly good idea where the fatwa is going here.

As this is the end of the beginning of the purge, it is helpful to review the genesis of this all.

This soon to be retired USAF Captain MeLinda Morton (13 yrs service....)

...hired this womyn from Yale Divinity School, a Ms. Kristin Leslie.

And that started the shit-storm that followed. It is very critical that you read the first three posts, then look at Ms. Leslie's CV. Below are some of the core items, but not all, from the CV PDF.
Areas of Teaching Interest

Feminist Pastoral Theology
Feminist/Womanist Pastoral Psychology/Psychotherapy

Courses Taught

Feminist Liberation and Feminist Pastoral Theologies
Feminist Pastoral Psychology

Reviews

Andrew Sullivans Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con: A Reader in The Witness 80, No. 6, 1997.

Publications

"When Violence is No Stranger: Pastoral Counseling with Survivors of Acquaintance Rape. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.

"Writing for Our Lives: Twenty-Five Years of Women Writing in their own 'Languages.'" Reconstructing Pastoral Theology: Under the Influence of Feminist Methodologies and Beyond. (projected publication date July, 1998).

"Sophie's Wisdom: Acquaintance Rape, Relational Theology, and a Redemptive Doctrine of Sin." To be included in a volume of feminist/process theology being proposed and edited by Marjorie Suchocki.

Papers and Presentations

"Acquaintance Rape and a Redemptive Doctrine of Sin" Paper presented at the regional meeting of AAR, San Diego, CA. March 1996.

"Gleaning the Power of Inclusive Language" Paper presented at the annual meeting of National Association of College and University Chaplains, Atlanta, GA. 1990.
I don't think I need to say more. I said it before, no one should be shocked.

A little wordplay here. Trying to dig up the "Sophie" in her "Sophie's Wisdom" work above, and really couldn't get the meaning. Perhaps the Sophie from Casanova? I don't know. What I DO know is what a Sophist is. From Wikipedia:
In modern philosophical usage, sophistry is a derogatory term for rhetoric that is designed to appeal to the listener on grounds other than the strict logical validity of the statements being made.

The Sophists held a relativistic view on cognition and knowledge. Their philosophy contains criticism of Religion, law and ethics. Though many sophists were as religious as their contemporaries, some held atheistic or agnostic views.


'Nuff said.
UPDATE: Head on over to The Mudville Gazette for a solid review of the report by Greyhawk. He also has a link to the WHOLE REPORT in PDF from Fox News. Primary documentation is always key. You cannot rely on boiled down spin. It is 100 pages, but at least read the Executive Summary. If you love Cliffs Notes, I will give you the Phibian Executive Summary from the third paragraph of the Executive Summary.
The HQ USAF team found a religious climate that does not involve overt religious discrimination...

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