March 8, 2000

Matthew C. Ebbel, an Undergraduate Council representative, is president of the Ivy Council. Fentrice D. Driskell is president of the Undergraduate Council.

Hate Spong, But Say So

To the editors:

J. Stuart Buck sets out to criticize Memorial Church administrators for allowing Bishop Spong to deliver the William Belden Noble lectures (Op-Ed, March 6). He claims to be upset because Bishop Spong's beliefs do not coincide with the doctrinal requirements set out by Nannie Noble in 1898, the founder of the lectures. I say "claims," and although I have no doubt that this situation does upset Buck, he seems to be lying when he tells us he is concerned with W.B. Noble's spirit. Instead, Buck directs his criticism at Bishop Spong himself. The body of Buck's op-ed is actually a vehement attack on the Bishop, not an explanation of how he feels Spong's beliefs do not fit the occasion.

Buck calls Spong "self-congratulatory," accuses him of "racism," and throws in a sarcastic, willfully ignorant comment about one of the Bishop's parallels being an "unexplainable" analogy. How do these points relate to the Bishop's religious doctrine and its compatibility with Noble's stipulations?