The president of a Christian university in New York City has responded to a magazine report that alleges while recently attending a Christian conference he shared a hotel room with a woman he called his fiancée.
Latest development: Dinesh D'Souza resigned Thursday as president of The King's College.
Dinesh D'Souza, president of The King's College since August 2010, insists the October 16 article in WORLD Magazine gives the "false impression" that he had an affair with Denise Odie Joseph at last month's Truth for a New Generation Conference in Spartanburg, North Carolina. In his response posted on his website, D'Souza describes the report as a "vendetta" against him by WORLD editor Marvin Olasky.
"Olasky ... is the former provost of the King's College. Olasky was on the search committee when I interviewed to be president, and he vehemently opposed my candidacy," he writes. "Olasky publicly admitted that he was resigning his position as a consequence of my appointment."
"And what was Olasky's gripe against me?" he continues. "As he put it, I was seeking to make King's a non-denominational 'mere Christianity college' in the image of C.S. Lewis. This for Olasky was simply intolerable. Having nursed his grievance for two years, now apparently Olasky is using WORLD to continue his vendetta."
That same article in WORLD implies D'Souza filed for divorce from his wife of 20 years only after being confronted at the North Carolina conference. But D'Souza notes he and his wife Dixie have been separated for two years, and that he had been working with a law firm on the divorce filings for the previous two weeks.
"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," D'Souza writes. "Obviously I would not have introduced Denise as my fiancée at a Christian apologetics conference if I had thought or known I was doing something wrong. But as a result of all this, and to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, Denise and I have decided to suspend our engagement."
The college president summarizes the article as "a clear attempt to destroy my career and my ministry" - and as "behavior that is truly worthy of Christian condemnation."