Dinesh D’Souza has resigned from his position as president of The King’s College. Christianity Today reports:
Dinesh D’Souza has resigned as the president of The King’s College (TKC), the Manhattan school’s board of trustees announced Thursday.
“The Board of Trustees of The King’s College in New York City has accepted the resignation of its president, Dinesh D’Souza, effective immediately,” the board’s statement said. Board chairman Andy Mills will be appointed as interim president.
“We have thoroughly considered all of the facts as we know them, and after careful consultation with our board and with Dinesh, have concluded it to be in the best interest of the college to accept this resignation,” Mills said.
President of The King’s College in New York, Dinesh D’Souza, has experienced a rise in popularity within the evangelical world. This may be due in part to his recent film, 2016: Obama’s America. On 16 October 2012, World magazine published an article entitled, “King’s Crisis,” wherein author Warren Cole Smith implied that D’Souza was engaged in an affair with a young woman named Denise Odie Joseph II. D’Souza allegedly introduced this woman to at least three people as his fiancée. The problem, notes Smith, is that D’Souza is still legally married to his wife, though divorce papers were filed back on 4 October. Writes Smith:
The next day another conference organizer, Alex McFarland, distressed by D’Souza’s behavior, confronted him in a telephone conversation. D’Souza admitted he shared a room with his fiancée but said “nothing happened.” When I called D’Souza, he confirmed that he was indeed engaged to Joseph, but did not explain how he could be engaged to one woman while still married to another. When asked when he had filed for divorce from his wife, Dixie, D’Souza answered, “Recently.” Source
These allegations are serious, especially when made in such a public manner. It was not long before multiple media outlets picked up the story. It also was not long before D’Souza responded to both the allegations and to World’s reporting of the events. Today, Fox News reports D’Souza’s response:
A recent article in World magazine gives the false impression that I, a married man, had an affair with a woman Denise Joseph at a Christian conference in Charlotte, N.C. The article alleges that I shared a hotel room with her and introduced her as my fiancé. Finally it states that I filed for divorce only on the day I was confronted about my conduct by intrepid reporter Warren Smith. Source
The King’s College president goes on to explain that he has been separated from his wife since 2010, and only met Denise Joseph three months ago. “We are not and have not been having an affair. Nor did we share a hotel room in Charlotte,” states D’Souza. He further declares,
I sought out advice about whether it is legal to be engaged prior to being divorced and I was informed that it is. Denise and I were trying to do the right thing. I had no idea that it is considered wrong in Christian circles to be engaged prior to being divorced, even though in a state of separation and in divorce proceedings. Source
Christianity Today’s report on D’Souza’s resignation shares some interesting insight from Carl Trueman, professor of historical theology and church history at Westminster Theological Seminary, who initially was “perplexed” by “D’Souza’s appointment at an evangelical school because of D’Souza’s identification as Roman Catholic.” Says Trueman,
“By and large, evangelicals functionally tend to be concerned more about morality than about doctrine,” he said. “Ironically it is likely to be his adultery rather than his Roman Catholicism that limits his usefulness to evangelicals.” (D’Souza has been attending evangelical churches for the last several years, signed TKC’s statement of faith, and said he was “comfortable with Reformation theology,” but told CT in 2010 that he did not renounce his Catholicism.) Source
Both sides of this story contain claims and statements that are a bit troubling. The details and grounds for D’Souza’s divorce are not public, so it cannot be determined how they align with Scripture’s discussion of the matter in 1 Corinthians 7. Perhaps the best response of the Christian is to pray that the cause and the Gospel of Christ are not harmed by these unfortunate events.