Firing Law School Dean Costs Trinity International University Millions

Trinity International University loses millions from disgruntled board member A former member of the Trinity International University Foundation says he’s dropping plans to give the school $7 million annually. The gift would have made Trinity’s divinity school tuition-free, but now William P. Welty tells the Los Angeles Times the deal is off. Welty, a satellite entertainment entrepreneur who received a Master of Divinity degree from the school in 1978, is giving several reasons for his change of mind. But “the catalyst that led me to revoke the gift,” he says, was the firing of Trinity Law School Dean Winston L. Frost last summer. “Trinity didn’t live up to the principles of a Christian law school in the way they terminated him,” Welty said. “The process was arbitrary and unfair.” (Regular Weblog readers will remember that Frost was fired for plagiarizing the Encyclopedia Britannica.) Welty is on the law school’s advisory board (though his curriculum vitae says his post ended in October 2001).

But that’s not all: this guy is fascinating (so fascinating, in fact, that Weblog has used his entire Weblogging time reading Welty’s c.v.). On the religious side of things, he is heading up the creation of the International Standard Version Bible translation project, he’s the former CEO of Maranatha Broadcasting, and he used to teach apologetics at Simon Greenleaf University. But the guy is also a technology geek. In addition to his satellite activities, he’s behind the creation of the Atlas Engine. And he founded The Compassionate Use Project, which “teaches diabetics how to import animal insulin alternatives to human-based insulin products.” Readers will also be interested to know that his Compassionate Use Project/CARE Foundation is working to use diabetics’ own stem cells in treatment.

Trinity International University officials say Welty’s gift is irrevocable, and the school’s lawyers are examining the terms (just so long as they don’t rip off the encyclopedia in their briefs). “It’s a sensitive thing around here,” Trinity spokesman Zach Kincaid tells the paper. Welty, meanwhile, says he’s talking to another school.

Church and state:

Court revisits ruling on cross, city’s land sale | American Atheists says San Francisco area deal was rigged (San Francisco Chronicle)
Bill seeks to end ban on Catholic monarchs | Ten-minute rule allows MP to challenge 300-year-old law (The Guardian, London)

Politics:

The moral equivalent of war | Bush’s religious convictions inspire a move to make America a kinder, less sinful place (Ann McFeatters, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Clergy, footrace see clash | D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams’ suggestion that downtown churches hold Palm Sunday worship at the Washington Convention Center to avoid traffic snarls during the D.C. Marathon has not calmed complaints about a footrace soiling a sacred day (The Washington Times)
Christians berate politicians over crisis | Christian Association of Nigeria says politicians are playing Christians against Muslims (Daily Trust, Abuja, Nigeria)

Evangelism:

A black adventurer in the heart of darkness | In the annals of swashbuckling 19th-century explorers, the little- known figure of William Sheppard, one of the first black American missionaries to Africa, was surely among the most extraordinary. (The New York Times)
Jesus shows up in peoples’ mailboxes | Longtime pastor Gib Martin knows it’s difficult to spread the Christian gospel in Washington, one of the least churchgoing states in the nation (Bucks County Courier Times, Pennsylvania)

Sex and marriage:

Stand firm against divorce | The indissolubility of marriage is not a burden. It is not an imposition to be borne only by strict Christians, nor an old- fashioned restriction on personal liberty, but a protection – something that provides security for spouses and children. (George Pell, The Daily Telegraph, Australia)
Gay priest fights to change church | Jose Mantero has become a celebrity in Spain (Associated Press)

Clark Bowers, former hostage?

Kidnap details murky, but a resume stands up | Clark Bowers wanted to show the plight of Afghans and help fight the war against terrorism. Instead, he found his resume questioned and his kidnapping story ridiculed in the media. (The Boston Globe)
Also: Alleged ex-Afghan abductee is quiet | At meeting of Hawaii Christian Coalition, Clark Bowers doesn’t talk about Afghanistan abduction (Associated Press)

Other stories of interest:

Interfaith gatherings build trust, goodwill | Requests for forums double since Sept. 11 (The Detroit News)
The spiritual job search | More Americans are turning within for career guidance (The Denver Post)
Spiritual psychotherapy a path around a stigma | New clinics take cultural tack to change lives (The Washington Post)
Whose god is God? | Although religious freedom is expressed wonderfully in this country, Americans are still under pressure to toe the line in favor of differing philosophies, beliefs and disciplines. (Roger M. Dumais, San Diego Union-Tribune)