Fox News commentator Glenn Beck received an honorary doctor of humanities degree from Liberty University yesterday before giving the commencement address to 8,650 students–the school’s largest graduating class ever.
Beck, who attended one semester of college because he could not afford to finish, gave a faith-filled message, according to a recap on the school’s website.
Beck, who is Mormon, said speaking at Liberty is “an endorsement of your faith. This is a time when we all need to come together. We may have differences, but we need to find those things that unite us.”
… Beck urged graduates not to underestimate the power of the atonement. When he was 13, his mother took her life. He said he nearly followed in her footsteps.
“As a man who needed the atonement … I read the promise. He will carry your burdens. I made Him a promise. You keep your word and I will keep mine,” he said. “He will never break his promise, and now it’s all up to me. [The atonement] is the most powerful thing you will ever encounter.”
The original story on Liberty’s website did not note that Beck is a Mormon; however, Falwell noted in a statement that speakers have represented a diversity of religious beliefs.
“The baccalaureate ceremony always includes a gospel message brought by someone who is in complete theological alignment with the university,” Falwell said. “Commencement, however, has always featured leaders from all walks of life and all faiths who share the university’s social values and traditional family values. Commencement speakers have included representatives from the following faiths: Roman Catholicism, Judaism, mainline Protestant denominations such as the Episcopal Church, and even some speakers with no religious affiliation at all.”
Paige Patterson, the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, gave the keynote address at the Baccalaureate Service on Friday. Yesterday, Beck read from his journal he originally wrote for his daughter.
“Your father loves you and so does your heavenly Father. … As long as we have today, we can change the world. … Marry for love, marry for laughs, but mostly importantly as my wife Tania taught me, marry for God. Without God, life’s storms are too strong to withstand. … Life is hard, and then it gets harder. Then you die. But every second of life is worth it. … Always forgive, but don’t forget so much that you put yourself in the same situation. … Freedom and rights are given to man by God, they are his, we are the guardians. … Read the Scriptures every day — they are alive. He speaks to you through them.”
