There are opportunities to address fundamental issues of religion

I have been involved with Oberlin Christian Fellowship (OCF) all of my four years and have been a leader since my sophomore year. At Oberlin my faith has been challenged and has grown as a result through my academic studies, and through many conversations, discussions and debates with fellow Obies. At Oberlin my faith has been strengthened as I have worshipped, prayed, learned and had fellowship with wonderfully diverse people (in interests and talents, as well as in ethnicity). At Oberlin my faith has been broadened as I have interacted with Christians of many different backgrounds - Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal, fundamentalist, liberal, evangelical, etc. At Oberlin I have even seen people been challenged with Christianity and come to believe - to find a faith of their own! OCF is not just a group that I am involved with here at Oberlin; it is a ministry I have been called to. What I have learned through OCF has prepared me for my future in international Christian ministry, which is starting next year!

However, what I want to address here is that there are many opportunities to "openly address the fundamental issues of religion in a non-classroom environment" at Oberlin, that are even more productive and meaningful than "debating" Rev. Jed Smock. As a Christian, there are many things about Brother Jed which are problematic to me. I do not agree with his methods, and his theology is a little off too (compare what he says with 1 John 1:8!) Brother Jed's forum is not the best place for serious dialogue. There are many serious Christian students with whom one could have a constructive dialogue and many forums at which to do so. Attend any meeting or activity of a campus religious organization, attend a Voices For Christ concert, or Agape's Gospelfest, join the Ecumenical Christians of Oberlin for dinner and discussion, take the EXCO Investigative Bible Study sponsored by OCF, attend a Newman retreat or Mass, join Oberlin Christian Athletes for Bible study, or just find Christian friends and ask them what they believe and why.

However, because of the prevailing attitude toward religion, and especially Christianity, on this campus, I have found that most students would rather simply bask in the sun on Tappan Square and make fun of or yell at a bow-tied preacher, and consider that "constructive" dialogue about the "fundamental issues of religion." It is easier this way, for it takes courage to have a serious dialogue about Christianity with a fellow student, someone you have to see in the dorms and dining halls, and sit next to in class. It is far easier to taunt and crack jokes at someone passing through, but it takes courage to really listen to and have respect for what a fellow Obie is saying in an on-going dialogue.

This attitude is also the one that prevails when posters announcing Christian meetings or activities are torn down, covered up or defaced, when the OCF sponsored activities which constituted half of the Hunger Week events last semester were not even mentioned in the Review article, when the sacristy in Fairchild Chapel used by the Newman Catholic community during Mass is taken over for office space or the top floor of the Religious Life Center (now called "Lewis House") by the Center for Service and Learning (all without asking the religious community's opinion), and when Christian voices or perspectives are subtly silenced in the classroom by professors who preach tolerance. Oberlin is a place where all voices should be heard and considered, but this is not the case when it comes to the religious, and especially the Christian, community.

I want to challenge you all, as my parting words, to be the Oberlin that does these things, that fosters the kind of environment where there can be healthy and not one-sided dialogue between students of many backgrounds. One of the reasons I came to Oberlin was because someone told me once that "Oberlin is a place where people not only ask what you believe, but why." I believe Oberlin can be this place again.