A social media controversy involving race, Christianity and the concept of white privilege has been brewing at Moody Bible Institute after a forum hosted last week by an African-American student group.
The Tuesday event, called "White Like Me" and sponsored by a campus student group known as Embrace, was billed as presenting "thoughts on race from the perspective of a privileged person."
A photo was posted on Facebook a few days later showing a flier used to promote the event in which the word "privileged" was scratched out.
Subsequently, a Moody professor posting from his personal Facebook account commented about the event and flier promoting it, fueling online discussion by saying that, "Using the term 'white' to categorize millions of people under one catch-all term, then pegging them as elite oppressors, is offensive on its face and unworthy of Christian discourse."
Reached by phone Monday, the professor, Bryan Litfin, who teaches theology and Christianity at Moody, confirmed he made the Facebook post but called white privilege a "complicated issue" and said he regretted his words.
"As I look back on my comment, I just made it too quickly against my brothers and sisters, and I regret it," said Litfin, who lives in Wheaton. "And I look back on it as not being worthy of what a professor should do. That's in my own heart and what the Lord has given to me."
Moody's president, Paul Nyquist, said in a letter posted Monday evening on Moody's website that the event sponsored by the group Embrace was "part of an ongoing effort to bring greater campuswide understanding to (white privilege) and I applaud and affirm its purpose."
He added that Moody administrators will investigate the matter.
Moody students Tiana Taylor and Seth Rieger, who lead the group Embrace, told the Tribune late Monday that they were thankful that a discussion on white privilege is taking place.
"That being said, we were grieved to see the way in which the conversation turned, as it was not filled with grace and compassion," Taylor and Rieger said in an interview over Facebook Messenger.