E. Calvin Beisner Legal Squabbles
Former Covenant College professor and current Knox Theological Seminary Associate Professor of Historical Theology and Social Ethics, Calvin Beisner, is involved in a legal imbroglio over a statement he made in an Interfaith Stewardship Alliance newsletter.
The statement was in regards to a reporter, Bill Moyers, who had recently interviewed Mr. Beisner for a segment he ws producing called "Is God Green?" Mr. Beisner said:
The bias of Moyers’s program is not surprising. He forthrightly told me before our interviews that he, as a liberal Democrat, hoped to use this program to divide the evangelical vote and return control of Congress to the Democrats in November’s elections. The timing of the program’s release, therefore, is not surprising.
Moyer's and his lawyers claim that was Calvin Beisner said wasn't true.
The affair, including the letters from various attorneys, is documented in it's entirety here and here by the estimable Jimmy Akin.
Covenant College | By Josiah Roe | 9:19 AM
Comments
Unless Dr. Beisner can produce the tape in question, his only hope of a legal victory is to assert that Moyers has suffered no cognizable injury: no harm, no foul. The argument would be that his statement is not materially different than those made by any number of other sources in terms of its implications on Moyers reputation. That being said, asserting in a public forum that someone said something they did not say is not a good fact pattern from which to build a case.
Could go either way, but I'd bet that Moyers is better equipped to mount a legal campaign than Beisner is to mount a defense. If he can't find someone who wants to take the case for ideological reasons, he may be forced to settle.
Posted by: ryan at October 20, 2006 10:09 AM
Rye Dawg Attorney at Law.
I recall dropping a beisner class before stepping one foot into the class room. His reputation alone at covenant made me cringe at the thought of taking a class from him.
Posted by: holton at October 20, 2006 12:35 PM
Josiah... thanks for keeping an eye on this for us (you WILL keep an eye on it, right?).
I got into Chattanooga last Wednesday in preparation for Aubrie's wedding Friday, plopped down in my room after a long flight, and turned on the TV. Mindlessly channel surfing, I hit Beisner being interviewed... I felt I'd time-warped in going back to Chattanooga. Weird.
Ryan's concerned about the legal aspects... I'm more concerned about "the truth". Sounds simple enough... If Cal really had his own tape rolling, it should be a piece of cake to back up his statement. If not, well... I'd like to reserve that possibility until giving Cal his say. For his sake, I hope he has the goods in hand.
Keep us posted though... will you? We can all only cast our net so far...
--
RDS
Posted by: Randy D. Smith at October 20, 2006 2:29 PM
I never knew E. Cal Beisner had a website of his very own until I Googled his name to see what else was floating around the web. How about those apples, Bill Moyers? ECB's all over the world wide web.
Obviously the only way for this to be settled fairly (because I'm betting E. Cal's only proof is his word, which might possibly be delivered in a monotone voice), is a best of three Indian Leg Wrestling Battle Royale. Time to seperate truth from fiction, and men from integrity.
Posted by: Micah at October 20, 2006 3:22 PM
Oh, I think the "integrity" thing was punted a long time ago.
Posted by: Josiah at October 20, 2006 5:43 PM
I must admit this sounds a bit fishy. I imagine that if Moyers had frankly told Beisner that he planned to use the program to manipulate an election and elect liberals, Beisner would have refused to participate. I can't help but wonder if retroactive memory embellished a bit when Beisner realized "the commie made me look like a tool!" Now he may end up in some serious legal hot-water.
As one who also tends to embellish my recollections I will always rember poor Calvin and bite my tounge (at least when talking bad about famous people with lots of lawyers).
Posted by: Jonathan at October 21, 2006 1:57 AM
