A coalition of student leaders at Wheaton College is calling on evangelical Christian leaders to condemn recent remarks by Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. that students armed with guns can "end those Muslims."

In an open letter published in the west suburban college's campus newspaper Thursday, students implored evangelical leaders to "follow the voice of Jesus, calling us to love our neighbor and to pursue peace toward those hostile to us or our faith, and to stand in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters."

Last week, Falwell, who is also chancellor of the evangelical Christian college in Virginia, encouraged students to apply for concealed weapons permits so they could defend themselves in the event of attacks similar to the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. Falwell is the son of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the late televangelist.

"While these sorts of remarks epitomize the ever-growing fear and hostility directed toward Muslims, we as Evangelical Christians hold that Christ calls us not to react with religious oppression or violence — instead, we have the responsibility to live out fearless love in order to pursue unity," the letter states. "We, therefore, reject the ideology espoused by Chancellor Falwell in his recent remarks to the Liberty student body, and we invite you to stand in solidarity with our Muslim brothers and sisters who share our human dignity."

Nathan Heath and Iskar Smith, two of the letter's authors, said they hope it corrects any misconceptions that Falwell speaks for all evangelical Christians. They emphasized that the letter represents a consensus of student leaders on campus, not an official college response.

"Evangelicals are speaking out against the comments that have mischaracterized Muslims as a whole and possibly encouraged violence against our Muslim neighbors," said Heath, 23, a senior at Wheaton majoring in international relations and music. "The negative impact of this was so egregious, we had the moral obligation to clarify."

Smith, 23, a senior political science major from Philadelphia, said he has heard of too many incidents both in Wheaton and at home where Muslims have been targeted by hateful behavior. Most notably, a pig's head was dumped at the door of a Philadelphia mosque earlier this week, especially offensive because many Muslims do not eat pork for religious reasons.

"We ought to be more considerate about how we talk to and about other people," he said. "We claim to be proponents of religious freedom and yet when we bring up religious freedom for anybody other than Christians, then it becomes a problem." Falwell's remarks preceded Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's call for a ban on Muslim immigration.

David Iglesias, director of Wheaton College's Center for Faith, Politics and Economics, praised the students' initiative.

"This is precisely the kind of thing you want college students to do on public policy issues," Iglesias said, adding that Wheaton was founded by an abolitionist Christian who didn't approve of many Christians' silence on slavery.

"I believe the students thought 'We can't give into fear,'" he said. "'As students we are truly countercultural. For our own self-defense, our protector is God and we should rely on that first and foremost.'"

In a statement, Wheaton College administrators acknowledged that the solutions to cultural challenges and violence in the U.S. are not clear-cut.

"We are grateful that our emerging leaders are encouraging other Christians to treat and to speak about our Muslim neighbors in loving and respectful ways," the statement said.

"We affirm our students' call to address our nation's challenges through respecting the dignity of all people, rejecting religious discrimination, and pursuing the peace that triumphs over hostility," the statement said.

Liberty University did not respond to questions.

But on Wednesday, Falwell announced that Liberty University's board would consider lifting a ban on firearms in residence halls. Heath and Smith said their concerns have nothing to do with objections to concealed-carry laws and the Second Amendment. They are more concerned that people's claims to free speech under the First Amendment could marginalize others.

"There's a climate in this country, and we're going along a very dangerous trajectory," Smith said.

mbrachear@tribpub.com

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