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The Ivy League Christian Observer is a quarterly publication of the Christian Union to inform Christian alumni, staff, faculty, students, parents, community members, supporters, and friends about the spiritual state of the Ivy League Universities from a Christian perspective.
Citation preview
THE IVY LEAGUE
CHRISTIANOBSERVER
Volume VI • Issue VII • January 2008
Brown • Columbia • Cornell • Dartmouth
Harvard • Penn • Princeton • Yale
Advancing the
Kingdom of Jesus Christ
in the Ivy League
The Ivy League Christian Observer is published by theChristian Union, an independent Christian ministry.
Ex-Atheist Praises The SonIn The Cornell Daily SunPage 6
Christian Worldview ConferenceHeld at Princeton
Page 9
Chi Alpha Comes to Brown
Page 37
Penn Students Host Veritas Forum
Page 7
Passion Movement ImpactsHarvard Christians
Page 23
Columbia Students Take Partin World Aids Day Events
Page 24
Dartmouth Grad Dinesh D’SouzaDebates Atheist
Page 5
Christian Union Conference at YaleWill Mobilize Students, Alumni
Page 4
The John Jay Institute for Faith, Society, and Law is a para-academic center that is committed to raising up a new generation of public leaders who are grounded and established in the political and legal principles of our Judaic and Christian civilization’s heritage.
Our students explore a curriculum of theological, political, and legal studies that is especially designed for rising law, government, and divinity students. Academic fellowships entail a semester in residence in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The residency is followed by a 12-week practicum placement in a public policy related field in Washington, D.C., various state capital cities, or international political centers.
We encourage applications from college graduates who seek to pursue their respective callings in the public square.
THE JOHN JAY INSTITUTE FOR FAITH, SOCIETY AND LAW
A N N O U N C E S I T S
2008 Fellowships
For more information, visit www.johnjayinstitute.org or call (719) 471-8900.
“John Jay was one of the great architects of American liberty. As an author of the Federalist Papers, he played a critical role in winning ratification of the Constitution. As a leading diplomat, he helped to secure the place of the United States in the community of nations. As the first Chief Justice of the United States, he set an example of judicial probity…. I have no doubt that the John Jay Institute will help many of our most gifted young people more fully to understand and appreciate “the blessings of liberty” bequeathed to us by America’s founding fathers.”
Robert P. George, J.D., D.Phil.McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and Director of
the James Madison Program in American Ideals and InstitutionsPrinceton University
Application deadline for Spring 2008 Term – October 15, 2007Application deadline for the Fall 2008 Term – March 3, 2008
A ministry of Christian Union,an independent nonpro�t organizationcommitted to Advancing the Kingdom
of Jesus Christ in the Ivy League.
It is God alone who directs the course of the world and only by His power thatthe Ivy League campuses can be dramatically transformed to re ect Hispresence and Lordship. We believe that when we pray, God hears andresponds. In Luke 11:9, the Lord says: “Ask and it will be given to you; seekand you will �nd; knock and the door will be opened to you.” With the Lord’sencouragement in mind, we are mobilizing people to commit to a daily time ofprayer for spiritual transformation across the Ivy League. Throughout theacademic year, we are providing a monthly email of prayer requests and updatesgathered from many different campus ministries which may serve as a guide toassist you in knowing how to focus your prayers for the Ivy League. For moreinformation, please contact our Prayer Coordinator, Pam Traeger, atPrayer@Christian-Union.org.
To learn more or to sign up to pray for the Ivy League visit www.christian-union.org/prayer.
God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! – Psalm 66:19-20
240 NASSAU STREETPRINCETON, NEW JERSEY 08542
ILCOEditor@Christian-Union.org
Please help us get this magazine into the hands of thosewho want it. E-mail or write us in order to:• pass along the names of fellow Christian alumni,
parents, staff, faculty, or friends who would enjoy this quarterly update from the Ivy League universities.
• update us on any address change you have.• be removed from the mailing list.
Editor-in-ChiefMatt Bennett, Cornell ’88, ’89
Managing EditorTom Campisi, College of New Jersey, ’88
Senior WriterEileen Scott, Mount St. Mary, ’87
Field ReportersMary Beth Fender, Penn ’09Biblia Kim, Cornell ’09Ishmael Osekre, Columbia ’09Layne Zhao, Dartmouth ’09Christopher Hampson, Harvard ‘09Grace Chen, Cornell ’10
Photo Editor:Pam Traeger
Letters to the EditorPlease send us your feedback regarding events and topicsdescribed in this magazine at the e-mail or regular mailaddress listed above.
By God’s power and the help of other ministries, the mis-sion of Christian Union is to change the world by bringingsweeping spiritual transformation to the Ivy League uni-versities, thereby developing and mobilizing godly Chris-tian leadership for all sectors of society. Matt Bennett(Cornell BS ’88, MBA ’89) founded the ministry withfriends in 2002 in Princeton, New Jersey. To learn moreabout the ministry, please visit www.Christian-Union.org.
The purpose of The Ivy League Christian Observer (thisfree quarterly magazine) is to inform Christian alumni, stu-dents, parents, staff, faculty, and friends of the Ivy Leagueuniversities about the spiritual activity on the campuses.Our desire is that you would be encouraged to pray forthese universities, give financially to Christian initiativeson the campuses, and use your influence for the cause ofChrist.
INTELLECTUAL ENGAGEMENT
Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action to be Held April 11-13Christian Union Conference Mobilizes BelieversBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
‘Is Christianity the Problem?’Dartmouth Grad Debates AtheistBy Caleb Oakes, Contributing Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Self-Proclaimed Atheist Finds the Truth Cornell Graduate Preaches, Publishes the Good NewsBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Reconciliation in a Divided WorldPenn Students Host Veritas ForumBy Matt Doka, Contributing Writer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The Christian Worldviewand the AcademyPrinceton Conference Examines Evangelical Roots of ScholarshipBy Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Jonathan Edwards Center Makes Writings AvailableCollection is one of the Most Comprehensive By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
SOCIAL ACTION
Passion Comes to BostonEvent Calls Students to Show Christ’s Love to Campuses, CommunitiesBy Christopher Hampson, Harvard ‘10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Safeguarding the FutureColumbia Students Take Part in World AIDS Day EventsBy Jin Wang, Columbia ‘10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Donors BewareCenter for Excellence in Higher Education Promotes ‘Effective Philanthropy’By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
‘Jesus Never Just Walked By’Columbia Students Unite Against Hate, RacismBy Jin Wang, Columbia ‘10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Bringing Fatherhood to the ForefrontPrinceton Faith in Action Hosts Roland Warren ‘83By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
ON CAMPUS
Page 2 The Ivy League Christian Observer
January 2008 Page 3
Student Moms Have a Friend at PennPenn For Life Extends Help Through College Parents FundBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
REVIVAL • REACHING THE LOST
‘The Call’ Goes out for Revival at YaleDocument Signers Pledge Life of Prayer, FastingBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
‘We are right on the edgeof Something’Ministry Leaders See ‘Quiet Revival’ Slowly Transforming BostonBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Planting Churches, Harvesting SoulsKCCE Students Play Role in Venezuelan Church Growth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Friday Night LiveEvent Introduces Students to The Real JesusBy Behzad Varamini, Cornell Graduate School . . . . . . . 33
A Heritage of FaithProfessor draws encouragement from University’s Christian rootsBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
STUDENT LIFE
Ivy League Leadership ConferenceMakes an ‘Impact’Students Gather for Time of Discussion, Worship, and FellowshipBy Christopher Hampson, Harvard ‘10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
This Time it’s PersonalMinistry Helps Students Connect with their Catholic FaithBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Helping Students Share the Good NewsChi Alpha Seeks to Strengthen Christian Students at BrownBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Running out of Fresh IdeasBattling Plagiarism in the Ivy LeagueBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Do Holly and Ivy Mix?Finals Put Christmas on Hold for Some StudentsBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
IN PERSON
DEPARTMENTS
Eclectic Brown Grad is Elected GovernorBobby Jindal Seeks to Bring Reform to LouisianaBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
The Currency of FaithChase ‘Coined’ the ‘In God We Trust’ PhraseBy John Andrew Murray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Ryan Anderson Puts ‘First Things’ FirstPrinceton Alumnus Passionate About Defending LifeBy Eileen Scott, Senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Reflections of a Former Intervarsity DirectorOro-Han Helped Launch Veritas ForumBy Ishmael Osekre, Columbia ‘09 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Encouragement from the “Bentch”Campus Minister Makes her Mark with Princeton StudentsBy Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Praise Him in the DanceLuce Fellow Explores King David’s Worship StyleBy Gustav Spohn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Living the Letter of the LawWriter Looks to Bible in Quest for AnswersBy Eileen scott, senior Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Faith HighwayPrinceton Alum Pays Tribute to Religious Signage in AmericaBy Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
News-in-Brief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42-48
The Mission and Vision of Christian Union . . . .49
Prayer Requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
I N T E L L E C T U A L E N G A G E M E N TOn Campus
Page 4 The Ivy League Christian Observer
In 2005, the Ivy League Congress on Faith and Ac-
tion made news in The New York Times article “On
a Mission to the Top.” This year’s event promises to
make history as it brings together the largest gathering ever of
Ivy League Christian students, alumni, parents, and others to
“change the world for Jesus Christ.”
The 2008 Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action (ILCFA),
hosted by Christian Union (www.Chris-
tian-Union.org) will take place April 11
through 13 at the Omni Hotel in New
Haven, CT. Approximately 700 people
are expected to attend the event that will
include representatives from the acad-
emy, ministry, medicine, business, law,
and government. In addition, this year’s
congress will include panels on the arts
and media. More than 400 people at-
tended the 2005 Ivy League Congress
on Faith and Action that was held in
Princeton.
“People from all these fields will share
how they are making an impact for
Christ,” said Christian Union’s Founder
and President Matt Bennett. “What’s
exciting is the coming together of this
growing surge of Christian witness in
the Ivy League to encourage each other
to follow Christ.”
However, attendees don’t just participate for their own edifi-
cation and encouragement. According to Bennett, they see
their positions of influence as a God-given responsibility to
help others. Ultimately, the ILCFA encourages them to use
that influence by putting their faith into action in their partic-
ular areas of industry and interest.
Renowned Christian speakers will highlight the event and are
expected to further inspire students and attendees of all back-
grounds. World Vision President Richard Stearns (Cornell ’73
and Wharton School of Business ’75), and Rev. Charles
Gilmer (Penn ’81), president of Impact Movement, are sched-
uled to be the plenary speakers. Both, said Bennett, possess
the personal experience in the fields of humanitarianism and
campus ministry necessary to speak relevantly to the needs
and interests of the participants.
Other speakers include Eric Metaxas, Yale ’84, a well-known
speaker and the author of Amazing Grace: William Wilber-
force and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, and Ken
Costa, Chairman of Lazard International as well as Chairman
of Alpha International.
In addition, eight vocational panels are
being scheduled throughout the weekend
to facilitate interaction among partici-
pants about how to apply Christianity to
their vocations.
The success of the 2005 conference has
led to high expectations for this year’s
edition. Regarding the ILCFA, the April
2005 issue of the Ivy League Christian
Observer noted that “many alumni, stu-
dents, and campus ministry staff said
that the conference was a tremendous
encouragement to their faith, noting the
quality of the speakers and the powerful
times of corporate worship among
Christians from every Ivy school.”
“It was humbling to observe so many
students worshiping and offering prayers
of praise, confession, and intercession
for the campuses,” said Jay Harvey,
Princeton ’95.
That type of acceptance of Jesus Christ and interaction with
other Christians within the Ivy League is what Christian
Union strives for in its daily mission. The conference is the
culmination of that effort.
“The ILCFA showcases the heart of what this ministry is all
about, which is reaching Ivy League students and alumni for
Christ and strengthening their devotion to him,” Bennett said.
The ministry works to reach out to non-believers and believ-
ers within the Ivy League to mobilize them to live for Christ
and impact the world, he explained.
IVY LEAGUE CONGRESS ON FAITH
AND ACTION TO BE HELD APRIL 11-13Christian Union Conference Mobilizes Believers
Richard E. Stearns, Cornell ’73 and
Wharton School of Business ’75, and
Dr. Charles Gilmer, Penn ’81, are two
of the keynote speakers scheduled
for the 2008 Ivy League Congress on
Faith and Action.
I N T E L L E C T U A L E N G A G E M E N T On Campus
January 2008 Page 5
Those interested in attending the April conference can begin
preparing for it now, Bennett said, by praying for God to
move within the midst of the conference.
Christian Union subsidizes student participation for the event.
Others interested in supporting the students or registering for
the conference themselves can visit the conference website at
www.ILCFA2008.com.
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
Christopher Hitchens’ best-seller God is Not
Great and Dinesh D’Souza’s What’s So Great
About Christianity are so diametrically opposed
that the audience could have skipped the recent debate at the
New York Society for Ethical Culture (NYSEC) and still
have felt the tension. But those who went witnessed a great
show.
The two authors sparred over the question “Is Christianity
the Problem?” in front of a capacity crowd of 800 people.
The event, held October 22, was sponsored by The King’s
College, NYSEC, the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, and
tothesource.org.
As anticipated, the exchange proved
lively. In the opening comments, mod-
erator and King’s provost Marvin
Olasky, Yale ’71, reminded the audi-
ence of a comment Richard Dawkins
made: “If you’re invited to debate Christopher Hitchens, de-
cline.”
D’Souza, a Dartmouth graduate (‘83) and former policy an-
alyst for the Reagan administration, had debated Hitchens on
two prior occasions and was, nevertheless, up for the chal-
lenge again. His first task, however, was daunting—proving
the benefits of Christianity in ten minutes.
“No nation,” D’Souza said, “reaches out to help those in need
like Christian nations,” citing the abolition of slavery as a
movement with Christian roots.
D’Souza also claimed that the foundation of science is based
in Christianity. It alone, he said, provides a framework for
an ordered universe. “It’s not surprising to the theist that you
have this arrangement; but to the atheist, you can’t take any
of that for granted.”
Lastly, he pointed to the atrocities committed under the athe-
ist regimes of Stalin, Mao, and Hitler–and the resulting100
million deaths. In comparison, he argued, the tragedies of the
Spanish Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials were rela-
tively minor, with fewer than 3,000 deaths.
Hitchens, a columnist for Vanity Fair and an intellectual cu-
riosity who eludes classification, proposed three deficiencies
in Christianity, calling it man-made, irrational, and sado-
masochistic–akin to the worst totalitarian regimes.
Hitchens also argued that, since the world has existed for
100,000 years, and God only intervened in the last 2,000, he
must be exceedingly cruel to allow such pain and misery to
go unchecked.
“In order to believe the Christian mes-
sage,” said Hitchens, “you have to be-
lieve that heaven watched that for
98,000 years.”
Both debaters hit-and-missed their op-
ponent’s arguments during the rebuttal. Each claimed the
other was wrongly identifying their group with the horrific
massacres of the twentieth century.
The answer to whether Christianity was the problem was
probably determined more by attendee’s personal view of
Christianity and atheism than by the debate itself. In the opin-
ion of Chris White, a junior at The King’s College, no one
should have gone into the debate expecting a clear cut win-
ner. “That would be absurd,” he said.
Following the event, both men appeared on various cable tel-
evision news shows and continued to make their points. And
with the fall release of D’Souza’s newest book, What’s So
Great about Christianity, one can expect the public debate
over Christianity and atheism to continue. However, if re-
views of D’Souza’s book are any indication, even unbeliev-
ers will have a hard time discounting the truths that lie within
its pages.
“As an unbeliever, I passionately disagree with Dinesh
‘IS CHRISTIANITY THE PROBLEM?’Dartmouth Grad Debates Atheist
DDARTMOUTH
Dartmouth grad Dinesh D’Souza
’83 squared off in a debate
against atheist Christopher
Hitchens.
I N T E L L E C T U A L E N G A G E M E N TOn Campus
Page 6 The Ivy League Christian Observer
D’Souza on some of his positions,” said Michael Shermer,
publisher of Skeptic magazine. “But he is a first-rate scholar
whom I feel absolutely compelled to read. His thorough re-
search and elegant prose have elevated him into the top ranks
of those who champion liberty and individual responsibil-
ity. Now he adds Christianity to his formula for the good so-
ciety, and although non-Christians and non-theists may
disagree with some of his arguments, we ignore him at our
peril.”
Stanley Fish, author of How Milton Works wrote, “The great
merit of this book is that it concedes nothing. Rather than en-
gaging in the usual defensive ploys, D’Souza meets every
anti-God argument head on and defeats it on its own
terms. He subjects atheism and scientific materialism to sus-
tained rigorous interrogation, and shows that their claims are
empty and incoherent. Infinitely more sophisticated than the
rants produced by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christo-
pher Hitchens, What’s So Great About Christianity leaves
those atheist books in the dust.”
By Caleb Oakes, Contributing Writer
For Behzad Varamini, a self-proclaimed atheist
and graduate student at Cornell, there was no log-
ical basis for Christianity. Simply put, he said,
“Christianity was a lie.”
His opinion changed, however, once he began to experience
firsthand the truth of God’s grace. That grace changed him so
dramatically that, in his farewell column for the The Cornell
Daily Sun, Varamini unashamedly wrote,
“Christianity isn’t simply another option in a
‘what works for me or you’ world. It is the
truth.”
Varamini’s spiritual journey began early in his
graduate studies at Cornell. Everything was
about him, he said. He studied nutritional sci-
ence with the hope of working for a professional
athletic team. He began writing for Cornell’s
Daily Sun because of the wide readership and
the attention he received.
But after a series of events and “coincidences,”
Varamini came to know firsthand the life-alter-
ing saving grace of Jesus Christ.
In a talk addressed to a combined campus min-
istry meeting at Cornell, Varamini gave his tes-
timony. He told of a series of incidents that left him admitting
that he “didn’t want his life.” He wasn’t suicidal, but he was-
n’t living either.
He described exploring Christianity and Christian literature
to impress a friend who was a Christian. As he began read-
ing Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, his unbeliever’s mind
asked how Lewis’ small book could defend “the biggest lie
ever told.”
He read the Gospels as well. “Jesus says a lot of wild things
in the Bible,” he said. “One of the wildest was: ‘If you ask
anything in my name, then God will grant that thing unto
you.’”
“I was like ‘OK, let’s see what this is all about.’” So he
prayed for the first time. It was a simple prayer
for God to open his eyes to a particular matter in
his life. Soon after, the matter about which he
was unsure became clear, opening Varamini’s
eyes to the truth of God.
The pain of his life didn’t magically disappear,
and his journey of faith was not an easy one, but
Varamini slowly allowed Christ to enter his life.
He participated in a summer Christian fellowship
at Cornell and learned about worshiping God.
Today, Varamini is a devout Christian and is
eager to share the Gospel with others. He is less
focused on himself and is committed to serving
the Lord. As a result of his shift in priorities, he
decided no longer to write for The Cornell Sun.
But he did not leave the paper with a quiet farewell. “I knew
in my final column I had to write about what I thought was
the most important thing to me,” he said.
And so Varamini wrote a column that was decidedly Chris-
tian.
“For years, I could not believe in God because there was a
SELF-PROCLAIMED ATHEIST FINDS THE TRUTHCornell Graduate Preaches, Publishes the Good News
CCORNELL
Cornell grad
student and former
atheist Behzad
Varamini publicly
proclaimed the
Gospel truth in his
final column for TheCornell Daily Sun.
I N T E L L E C T U A L E N G A G E M E N T On Campus
January 2008 Page 7
void of logic, no signs, no evidence, but only a leap of what
appeared to be senseless faith,” he wrote. “But the Bible ex-
plains that God didn’t intend for us to believe based on signs,
wisdom, evidence, only by faith. God has made it so that He
won’t ever be found in a telescope or microscope…”
Ironically, Varamini, who once espoused Christianity as a
lie, wrote: “We can’t know Jesus as the answer until we sur-
render to Him. I couldn’t know Him as the Truth until I gave
my life to Him. Then I knew.”
Not surprisingly, the column generated a mixed bag of blog
responses.
“This is the Sun's third article in the last month preaching
Christianity and/or attacking atheism,” one blogger wrote.
“This is an Ivy League institution, but you would never know
from reading the garbage printed in this paper.”
But Varamini was thankful for all of the responses, he said,
because they generated discussion about Jesus.
“We go to our fellowships and churches, but Monday through
Friday we aren’t engaging people in discussion about Jesus.
We need the Word daily,” he said.
No longer self-focused, Varamini is now considering work-
ing for a ministry in the future and possibly attending semi-
nary. Although still working on his Ph.D. in nutritional
science at Cornell, Varamini is not as focused on the work-
ing of the human body; his priority is now on strengthening
the Body of Christ.
“I can tell you, as a recent hardcore atheist,” wrote Varamini,
“that there is nothing quite like finding joy in God and fi-
nally being made right with Him.”
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
University of Pennsylvania students recently hosted
the Veritas Forum, a three-day, interactive lecture
event centered on the theme “Reconciliation in a
Divided World.”
The Veritas Planners, led by Dave DeHuff of Faculty Commons
(formerly known as Christian Leadership Ministries), arranged
to have a prominent Christian academician share his or her
thoughts each night on the forum topic.
After each presentation, the speakers spent almost an hour in
question-and-answer with students from Penn’s diverse campus
body, followed by another hour for discussion around food and
refreshments provided by local churches.
Penn Christian students attended because of affiliation with
sponsoring Christian groups, including Campus Crusade for
Christ (www.upennccc.org), InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
(www.pennivcf.org), and the Newman Center (www.new-
man.upenn.edu/ext/). But the target audience of the event was
the non-Christian student body, who generally came because of
personal invitations from Christians and extensive publicity for
the forum. One Campus Crusade student felt comfortable invit-
ing many of her friends because the forum was “tailored to reach
someone interested in global politics, human rights, moral is-
sues, or religious issues.”
The first night’s speaker, former congressman and ambassador
to the United Nations Mark Siljander, was especially appealing
to such a crowd with his message, “Darfur: Resolving Conflict
by Bridging the Muslim/West Divide.” His impassioned dis-
cussion focused on the necessity to build bridges between ap-
parently-opposed culture groups, like Christians and Muslims
in the Middle East.
Siljander spoke of his personal efforts to build a relationship
with the president of Sudan. He said discovering commonali-
ties, such as similar beliefs about God, and extending grace
proved much better tactics than the oft-relied upon condemna-
tion of the president as the leader responsible for the crisis.
Siljander pointed out that such blame had only diminished the
hope for a collaborative resolution of problems in Darfur. He
demonstrated his own method of having genuine interest in the
president as a person rather than a focus on the issue at hand had
allowed a real relationship to be built. His message was espe-
cially encouraging because it was through his efforts to truly ex-
tend love and grace to the Sudanese president and his cohorts
that Siljander’s team was able to bring about the implementation
of UN aid to Darfur.
This event especially helped one student realize that “interact-
ing with other world religions is imperative for my own under-
standing of myself and others.” Another student said, “It was
RECONCILIATION IN A DIVIDED WORLDPenn Students Host Veritas Forum
PPENN
I N T E L L E C T U A L E N G A G E M E N TOn Campus
Page 8 The Ivy League Christian Observer
probably the most fascinating talk I have ever heard.”
The second lecture, “The Power of Forgiveness” by Dr. Gayle
Reed took a much more personal tone. Reed, a prominent re-
searcher on the psychological effects of forgiveness, presented
the efforts of years of research in the area of forgiveness coun-
seling with abused women. Her research showed that women
who applied the Biblical notion of forgiveness, irrespective of
faith, experienced dramatic returns of psychological health when
compared with control groups given regular counseling. The
essence of this type of forgiveness was learning to love your
enemy and learning to desire the best for them. Although many
students found the material too didactic for discussion, Dr.
Reed’s message was most helpful to Penn nursing students (she
was a psychiatric nurse) and to those who’ve experienced abuse
themselves.
The final evening’s forum, “Healing the Memory of Evil,”
brought together Dr. Miroslav Volf from the Yale Divinity
School and both a Muslim and a Jewish responder from acade-
mia to discuss the morality of forgiveness and memory. Dr. Volf
shared his own experiences, telling how he struggled to forgive
a general who accused him of being a CIA operative. The gen-
eral subjected Volf to prolonged interrogations during his
mandatory year of service in the Yugoslavian army. Years later,
Volf realized, his memories were sometimes exaggerated and
he was often quick to draw conclusions about the personal, psy-
chological motives of “Captain G,” rather than viewing him as
a military bureaucrat callously doing his job to guard against
“enemies of the state.”
His choice to obey God and extend grace led to the redemption
of his memories; and he believes, as did his fellow responders,
that only in forgiveness can good come from committed wrongs.
The strongest thought Dr. Volf left his audience of 400 was the
belief that true right action to others involves both extending the
grace we have all received to them as well as holding them to the
highest standards of their own beliefs in love. Students had noth-
ing but good things to say about this final evening, such as:
“Without a doubt, Dr. Volf had the greatest impact.” “He pre-
sented his material in a loving tone. He is approachable and kind
while being brilliant and articulate.”
The Forum was definitely a highlight in the cooperative effort
of Penn Christians to engage in a joint dialogue with the rest of
campus. Meeting non-Christians with realistic discussion on rel-
evant topics is a goal that the Veritas Planners and sponsoring
Christian organizations hope to pursue with more vigor after
such an energizing forum.
By Matt Doka, Contributing Writer
Christians and nonbelievers explored “Reconciliation in a Divided World” during the Veritas Forum held at Penn this fall.
I N T E L L E C T U A L E N G A G E M E N T On Campus
January 2008 Page 9
Christian students need to understand the criti-
cal value that both faith and reason play as they
approach their studies on secular university
campuses. That was the message of a recent conference
aimed at strengthening and equipping university students
who may be experiencing challenges to their beliefs.
More than 250 students from Ivy League and peer cam-
puses came away with new per-
spectives on some of the issues
surrounding their Christian beliefs
and approach to scholarship after
participating in a sold-out, inau-
gural conference on November 9-
11. Christian Worldview and the
Academy, sponsored by the With-
erspoon Institute, was held at the
Friend Center at Princeton Uni-
versity. Support from more than a
dozen co-sponsors, including
Christian Union, made it possible
to limit the student price to just
$25 per person for all expenses.
Byron Johnson, co-director of
Baylor University’s Institute for
Studies of Religion, served as con-
ference director.
Leaders at the Witherspoon Insti-
tute decided to host a conference
dedicated to the Christian world-
view, in part, to show frustrated
students the extent of the scholarly
realm’s roots in Christianity and to explain how that foun-
dation remains relevant despite threats from overt secular-
ism. As well, conference leaders said they wanted to visit
spiritual subjects of common interest between Catholics and
evangelical Christians, especially ones involving students.
“There is such an acute need expressed to chaplains by stu-
dents that the Christian faith somehow forces you to com-
promise your commitment to reason,” said Duncan Sahner
(Princeton ’06), assistant director of the Witherspoon Insti-
tute. “We wanted to show them how the Christian faith con-
forms to work of top scholars. The conference was pastoral
in mission, but academic in tone.”
Indeed, students and campus ministry leaders alike say they
were inspired by the conference. And, students were quick
to add that they were pleased to hear their Christian beliefs
receive validation from academic experts.
“I enjoyed this so much. It’s so refreshing to have what you be-
lieve confirmed by a community of believers,” said Caroline
Swinehart, Yale ’11. “Community is
so necessary for believers. That
community can be lacking for be-
lievers.”
During the weekend, more than a
dozen top Christian scholars and
theologians addressed topics in-
cluding: scriptural history and au-
thenticity; secularism; science and
Christianity; bioethics; and sexu-
ality and morality.
Of the conference, Father John
Neuhaus, president of the Institute
on Religion and Public Life, told
the students that “something very
hopeful is happening here.”
“You have been offered a feast of
spiritual and intellectual fare,”
said Neuhaus, also the editor-in-
chief of New York-based First
Things. “There is a very deep
sense that we have been recruited
to a cause that is God’s cause be-
fore it is our confidence. This sense of confidence is not ar-
rogance.”
Neuhaus also told the students that, as Christians, they are
the “great defenders of reason…We are the friends of an
authentic rationalism.”
Along the same lines, Russell Moore, dean of the School
of Theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
encouraged the students not to be ashamed of their faith.
“When we are called as Christians to be in the academy, we
are not called to shrink back,” Russell said.
In addition, Nancy Pearcey, scholar for worldview studies
THE CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW AND THE ACADEMYPrinceton Conference Examines Evangelical Roots of Scholarship
PPRINCETON
The Christian Worldview and the Academy
conference was held at Princeton
November 9-11.
I N T E L L E C T U A L E N G A G E M E N TOn Campus
Page 10 The Ivy League Christian Observer
at Philadelphia Biblical University, told the students to em-
brace a comprehensive Christian worldview and not one
that relegates Christian beliefs to the realm of personal val-
ues and surrenders academia to secularism. Christianity is
not a private, mystical experience. Rather, the only world-
view “big enough” to explain and deal with all issues of
morality and science is Christianity.
Indeed, some students said they were encouraged to hear
that Christianity and elite academia are compatible.
“It was refreshing to have true intellectuals discussing some
of the main topics we have going today,” said Gerrit van
den Berg, Princeton ‘11.
Han-wei Kantzer, Princeton ’11, agreed. “I like the way
they brought up arguments I had not heard before, which
were biblically supported,” he said. “It was nice to look at
things from a fresh point of view.”
Kevin Staley-Joyce, Princeton, ’09, said he especially ap-
preciated a “forum for these highly intellectual [Christian]
speakers…There’s a secularist orthodoxy that dominates
the academy.”
Blake Altman, interim director of Manna Christian Fellow-
ship, said the students received critical validation. “The stu-
dents took away an understanding that important issues to
their faith on campus are indeed very reasonable,” he said.
As they departed, Neuhaus told the students they are living
a life of “high adventure,” and they need to remember the
bottom line of Christianity. “The task of engaging the world
with a Christian worldview is one of love,” Neuhaus said.
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
Mark Your Calendar... May 29 – June 1
Princeton Faith and Action’s REUNIONS ‘08THURSDAY, May 29Noon – 1 p.m. and 8 – 9 p.m. – “Prayer for Princeton”East Room,Murray-Dodge
FRIDAY, May 30Noon – 1 p.m. and 8 – 9 p.m. – “Prayer for Princeton”East Room,Murray-Dodge
SATURDAY, May 319:30 – 10:30 a.m. – “Prayer for Princeton” Wilson House
10:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Brunch and Open House, Wilson HouseCelebrating Christian Life at Princeton.
4 – 5 p.m. (after the P-Rade) – “Prayer for Princeton”East Room,Murray-Dodge
SUNDAY, June 18:30 – 9:30 a.m. – Worship Service, Nassau Christian CenterRev.Kenneth Jasko ’78 (Senior Pastor,Monmouth Worship Center), preaching
11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Worship Service, Nassau Christian CenterFeaturing testimonies from Major Class Reunions, including Dr.Archie Fletcher ’38 (Medical Missions,retired) and Roland Warren ’83 (President,National Fatherhood Institute).
For more information contact Christine.Johnson@Christian-Union.org or visit www.Christian-Union.org/reunions
I N T E L L E C T U A L E N G A G E M E N T On Campus
January 2008 Page 11
More than three centuries after his birth, theolo-
gian and revivalist Jonathan Edwards’ writings
are being given new life at the Jonathan Edwards
Center at Yale University.
Nearly 100,000 manuscript pages, making up 26 printed vol-
umes, have been painstakingly transcribed and compiled by
members of the Jonathan Edwards Center (JEC), making
them one of the most rich and comprehensive archives of
work of any American theologian in the United States, ac-
cording to Caleb Maskell, former associate director for the
Center.
Maskell, a Yale Divinity School gradu-
ate who is currently a research editor
with the JEC and a doctoral student of
Religion and American Culture at
Princeton, said the JEC’s mission is to
encourage and promote study of Ed-
wards’ work. To carry out that mission,
Maskell and his colleagues have not
only compiled the printed volumes,
which represent only half of Edwards’
writing, but they are working to make
the additional fifty percent readily avail-
able to students, researchers, and curi-
ous individuals around the world via the
Internet.
Approximately 200,000 people from
150 countries visit the JEC website each
year, said Maskell, and they don’t just
read the works, they interact with the site, asking the most
basic and the most detailed questions about Edwards and his
writing.
Helping answer those questions is another thing Maskell and
his colleagues do at the center. They serve as guides through
the vast manuscripts, sermons, and notes penned by Edwards.
They also serve as translators of the writer’s abbreviations
and shorthand.
This is no small undertaking when one considers that aside
from the sheer vastness of his writings, Edwards wrote many
of his sermons and notes on parcel wrap and virtual scraps
half the size of standard computer paper due to the scarcity
of paper at that time. Transcribing the thin cursive writing of
the day and the abbreviations and notations unique to Ed-
wards’ style is an arduous task, but one the JEC team pas-
sionately accepts.
In addition to translating and compiling Edwards’ work,
Maskell is co-authoring a classroom reader for what is, per-
haps, Edwards’ most recognized work, “Sinners in the Hands
of an Angry God.” The sermon is part of the first unit of study
in American Literature for tenth and eleventh graders,
Maskell explained.
The writers set out to answer the ques-
tions most 15 to 17 year-olds have about
the work. Questions such as, “Why
does Edwards hate people?” and “Does
Edwards’ God hate people?” And in
doing so, they help clarify the misun-
derstandings and preconceived notions
the students have and enable the young
people to see the true meaning of Ed-
ward’s work and learn that neither he
nor his God hate people.
The fact that the sermon is among the
classic American literature studied by
young people throughout the nation is a
testimony to the richness and eloquence
of Edwards’ writing. To have a class-
room reader available to help young
people understand that writing and Ed-
wards’ message is a valuable resource
that can have a positive impact on today’s youth, Maskell ex-
plained.
And making the works of Edwards accessible to people of
all backgrounds and ages is the very essence of what the JEC
is about. The collection is not reserved for the intellectual
elite or the scholarly theologian. Anyone with a desire to
learn about Edwards and his extraordinary work need only
contact the JEC to make arrangements to visit the center and
explore one’s area of interest.
Maskell hopes that those who do explore Edwards’ words
will experience the humanness of his writings. And, Maskell
said, although Edwards lived in another place and time, his
JONATHAN EDWARDS CENTER MAKES WRITINGS AVAILABLECollection is One of the Most Comprehensive
YYALE
The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale
contains the largest collection of
works by the famed revivalist and
theologian.
photo courtesy of Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale
I N T E L L E C T U A L E N G A G E M E N TOn Campus
Page 12 The Ivy League Christian Observer
thoughts and experiences on revival are timeless and valu-
able to today’s theologians and revivalists.
Some of the most common queries the JEC receives from re-
searchers are in the areas of aesthetics and Edwards’ thoughts
of beauty and God. That theme, in particular, is one Maskell
said is “alive and well in churches in America.”
Other topics of interest include justification and biblical in-
terpretation. Maskell, who called Edwards the greatest the-
ologian of the 18th century, said his writings give today’s
revivalists a base of comparison and of identification with
common themes. They offer a “stamp of intellectual ap-
proval,” he said.
There is something to be learned from the experience and
Excerpt from “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”
By Jonathan Edwards
…How dreadful is the state of those that are daily and hourly in the danger of this great wrath and infinite misery! Butthis is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been born again, however moral and strict, soberand religious, they may otherwise be. Oh that you would consider it, whether you be young or old! There is reason tothink, that there are many in this congregation now hearing this discourse, that will actually be the subjects of this verymisery to all eternity. We know not who they are, or in what seats they sit, or what thoughts they now have. It may bethey are now at ease, and hear all these things without much disturbance, and are now flattering themselves that they arenot the persons, promising themselves that they shall escape. If we knew that there was one person, and but one, in thewhole congregation, that was to be the subject of this misery, what an awful thing would it be to think of! If we knewwho it was, what an awful sight would it be to see such a person! How might all the rest of the congregation lift up alamentable and bitter cry over him! But, alas! instead of one, how many is it likely will remember this discourse in hell?And it would be a wonder, if some that are now present should not be in hell in a very short time, even before this yearis out. And it would be no wonder if some persons, that now sit here, in some seats of this meeting-house, in health, quietand secure, should be there before tomorrow morning. Those of you that finally continue in a natural condition, that shallkeep out of hell longest will be there in a little time! your damnation does not slumber; it will come swiftly, and, in allprobability, very suddenly upon many of you. You have reason to wonder that you are not already in hell. It is doubtlessthe case of some whom you have seen and known, that never deserved hell more than you, and that heretofore appearedas likely to have been now alive as you. Their case is past all hope; they are crying in extreme misery and perfect de-spair; but here you are in the land of the living and in the house of God, and have an opportunity to obtain salvation. Whatwould not those poor damned hopeless souls give for one day's opportunity such as you now enjoy!
And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, andstands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing intothe kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north and south; many that were very lately in the samemiserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them,and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. How awful is it to be leftbehind at such a day! To see so many others feasting, while you are pining and perishing! To see so many rejoicing andsinging for joy of heart, while you have cause to mourn for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of spirit! How canyou rest one moment in such a condition?...
process of revival about which Edwards writes, Maskell said.
In effect, there is substance in the nuance and detail of Ed-
wards’ journal of revival, as well as in the bold sermons and
biblical interpretations. Thus, he continues to influence
awakening and revival today through those who come to un-
derstand his work and are challenged by his inspiration.
Edwards could not have known that his words would be pre-
served, studied, and revered for centuries. Nor could he have
foreseen ever taking his cyber place in digital history. But
it seems that the works of the man best know for “Sinners in
the Hands of an Angry God,” have fallen safely into the
hands of passionate scholars who have meticulously and
thoughtfully preserved his work for centuries to come.
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
I N P E R S O N
January 2008 Page 13
He is Brown and Oxford educated, a Hindu
turned Christian, and an Indian American named
Piyush who chooses to go by “Bobby”–a name
he adopted from the Brady Bunch character when he was
four years old.
He is the nation’s first Indian-American governor. And at
only 37, he is also the youngest. An eclectic, well-educated
Louisiana native, Bobby Jindal, Brown ’91,
has forgone the wealth and success of a
business career and has been working to re-
store his home state’s dignity and prosperity.
But Jindal, who was elected in October,
brings more than energetic youth and cul-
tural diversity to the governor’s post. He
brings a confidence to do the right thing, de-
spite the consequences, and a faith that
guides him as he fights to restore ethics and
integrity to a local government long-known
for corruption and incompetence.
Jindal’s willingness to explore issues to de-
termine the right course of action is perhaps
best-embodied by his own personal journey
of faith. Raised in the Hindu tradition, Jin-
dal, in an article he wrote for American
magazine, explains that he participated in
the Hindu customs, ceremonial rites, and
readings of the Vedic scriptures. “Hinduism provided me
with moral guidance and spiritual comfort,” he wrote.
Yet, when a Southern Baptist friend introduced him to Chris-
tianity, he was compelled to explore it, even though he felt
ambivalent toward the faith. That exploration, however, soon
led him to the Bible.
“I began reading the Bible to disprove the Christian faith I
was learning both to admire and despise,” he wrote. “I can-
not begin to describe my feelings when I first read the New
Testament texts. I saw myself in many of the parables and
felt as if the Bible had been written especially for me. After
reading every book I could find on the historical accuracy of
the Bible and Christianity, I was convinced that the Bible had
remained unaltered throughout the centuries and that cir-
cumstances surrounding Christ’s death led to the conversions
of thousands. However, my perspective remained intellec-
tual and not spiritual.”
He describes his journey from Hinduism to Christianity as
“a gradual and painful one.”
“It would require many hours of discussion with a pastor be-
fore I was ready to take that leap of faith and accept Christ
into my life. It would take another two years for me to be
baptized into the Catholic Church,” he stated
in the article.
“My parents were infuriated by my conver-
sion and have yet fully to forgive me…They
were hurt and felt I was rejecting them by
accepting Christianity. I long for the day
when my parents understand, respect and
possibly accept my faith. For now, I am sat-
isfied that they accept me…”
The people of Louisiana have embraced
him, and Jindal accepts the challenge and re-
sponsibility of living up to his campaign
promises in order to raise Louisiana from its
former political blight.
“I’m not going to take ‘no’ for an answer on
reforming our ethics laws,” he said. “Real
ethics reform is not simply campaign rheto-
ric. It is the lynchpin for change, for regain-
ing the confidence of the voters, for turning our state
around.”
In the eyes of some, Jindal may have started taking that turn,
as he brought God to the podium on victory night.
“I want to thank God for the many blessings He has bestowed
upon me and all of us,” he told the crowd. And when it came
time for his closing remarks, he deviated from the typical po-
litical farewell—good night and God bless America—by stat-
ing “Good night, and may God richly bless you.”
Truth and love are what Jindal said ultimately forced him to
accept Christ as Lord during his journey of faith. They are
also the elements he will seek to use as he works to bring re-
form to the state capital and passionately serve the state he
loves.
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
ECLECTIC BROWN GRAD IS ELECTED GOVERNORBobby Jindal Seeks to Bring Reform to Louisiana
BBROWN
Brown graduate Bobby Jindal
‘91 is Louisiana’s newest
governor and vows to make
ethics reform a top priority.
I N P E R S O N
Page 14 The Ivy League Christian Observer
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared in
the Wall Street Journal. Used with permission.
Fifty years ago, the phrase “In God We Trust”
first appeared on our nation's one-dollar bill. But long before
the motto was signed into law by President Eisenhower, it
was considered for U.S. coins during the divisive years of
the Civil War.
On Nov. 13, 1861, in the first months of the war, Treasury
Secretary Salmon P. Chase received the following letter from
a Rev. M.R. Watkinson: “Dear Sir, One fact touching our cur-
rency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the
recognition of the Almighty God in some form
on our coins. You are probably a Christian.
What if our Republic were now shattered be-
yond reconstruction? Would not the antiquar-
ies of succeeding centuries rightly reason from
our past that we were a heathen nation?”
The clergyman surmised correctly. Chase was
indeed a Christian.
As a young man at Dartmouth College, Chase
had described himself as skeptical of the Chris-
tian faith. He had written to a friend, Tom
Sparhawk, in 1826: “A [religious] revival has
commenced here [at Dartmouth]. I was not
taught to believe much in the efficacy of such
things but I do not know enough concerning
their effects to oppose them.” Not only did
Chase tolerate Dartmouth's revival of 1826, but he emerged
as one of 12 new followers of Christ. As Chase wrote to an-
other acquaintance in April of that year, “It has pleased God
in his infinite mercy to bring me . . . to the foot of the cross
and to find acceptance through the blood of His dear Son.”
While the thought of a revival at an Ivy League school seems
odd today, they were relatively commonplace back then. Like
his contemporaries, Dartmouth President Bennet Tyler be-
lieved in the importance of integrating faith, virtue and
knowledge: “As the obligations of morality are founded in
religion, so also the only efficacious motives to a virtuous
life are derived from the same source. The man who discards
all religious belief . . . knows no law but his own inclination,
and has no end in view but present gratification.” As Chase
would write to Sparhawk one year later: “Remember too that
the religion of the Bible is the religion I would recommend .
. . and I would wish you to make that book your counselor
and your guide never forgetting to implore the teachings of
the Holy Spirit of Truth.”
Chase’s relationship and trust in God would put him on a
path that would affect both him and the country in the years
to come. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa, Chase became a
lawyer. Believing slavery to be a sin, he defended many es-
caped slaves in his early years of practice in Cincinnati. He
tried to argue, for instance, against the Fugitive Slave Act of
1793 on the grounds that Ohio was admitted to the Union as
a free state and not allowed to have slaves based
on the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. Chase
eventually gained the nickname “attorney gen-
eral for runaway Negroes.” He embraced the
title (which was intended to be an insult) and
went on to fight the institution of slavery while
serving first as a U.S. senator and then as the
governor of Ohio.
When then-Secretary Chase was chosen by
President Lincoln to serve as chief justice of the
Supreme Court in 1864, he appointed the first
black lawyer to argue before the Supreme
Court. And in an 1865 letter to black Americans
in New Orleans, Chase encouraged “the con-
stant practice of Christian virtues” to combat
“unjust hostility” and “prejudice.”
Given the association of his name with Chase
Manhattan, however, Salmon P. Chase is largely remembered
for his role as secretary of the Treasury from 1861 to 1864.
Seven days after reading the 1861 letter from the Pennsyl-
vania pastor, Chase wrote the following to the director of the
Mint in Philadelphia: “Dear Sir, No nation can be strong ex-
cept in the strength of God or safe except in His defense. The
trust of our people in God should be declared on our national
coins.”
It was several years in the making, but on March 3, 1865,
Congress passed a bill calling for “In God We Trust” to be in-
scribed on U.S. coins. It would be one of the last acts Presi-
dent Lincoln signed into law.
By John Andrew Murray
THE CURRENCY OF FAITHChase ‘Coined’ the ‘In God We Trust’ Phrase
DDARTMOUTH
Dartmouth grad
Salmon P. Chase,
class of 1826, is
largely remembered
for his role as secre-
tary of the Treasury
from 1861 to 1864.
I N P E R S O N
January 2008 Page 15
The literary front lines of today’s most hotly con-
tested issues might seem an unlikely place for a
music major from Princeton University; but for
writer and sanctity of life advocate Ryan Anderson ‘04, he is
right where he belongs.
“I majored in music at Princeton knowing full-well that I
would never want to be a professional musician,” said the
Baltimore native. “I viewed undergraduate study as a time to
explore, engage in humanistic study, and develop a passion
I’ll be able to enjoy for the rest of my life.”
It was the courses outside his major—partic-
ularly in religion and philosophy—that fore-
shadowed the path to which he was called.
And his senior thesis—“Twentieth-Century
Catholic Liturgical Music: The Holy See, the
‘Experts,’ and the Liturgical, Theological,
and Musical Debates”—was perhaps the be-
ginning manifestation of his ability to mix
his interests, passions, and intellect into well-
written form.
Since then, he has gone on to pen numerous
articles about critical issues like abortion,
gay marriage, and stem cell research.
Three years after his Princeton graduation,
Anderson has a resume as diverse as his in-
terests that includes junior fellow and now
assistant editor for First Things: A Journal
of Religion, Culture and Public Life; assis-
tant director of the Program on Bioethics and
Human Dignity at the Witherspoon Institute; as well as two
additional Fellowships, one as a 2007 Publius Fellow of the
Claremont Institute and the other, a 2007 Phillips Founda-
tion Journalism Fellowship.
His various works reflect his commitment to the ethical treat-
ment of human beings and he’s not shy about articulating his
views about issues he holds true. In a 2006 column appear-
ing in The Daily Standard, an online publication of The
Weekly Standard, Anderson defended human life against the
assault of television ads denouncing politicians who oppose
cloning and embryonic stem-cell research. He wrote:
These ads are repulsive. They play on the hopes and fears of
million of Americans who are suffering from debilitating dis-
eases, are caring for loved ones, and yearn for something,
anything, to hold onto. They manipulate the public’s emo-
tions in the worst imaginable ways, promising them cures
that are, in fact, quite uncertain, and pressuring them to
forgo their own ethical convictions.
For his Phillips Foundation Journalism Fellowship, Anderson
is taking a decidedly Christian stand while working on a se-
ries of articles regarding “Reason and Religion in the Public
Square,” where he is exploring the alleged chasm between
faith and reason.
“So many of today’s ‘hot-button’ questions
are presented in the media as clashes between
faith and reason, science and religion. As a
student I became convinced that this isn’t the
case. The best of human reason, experience,
and science confirms the revealed truths of
Christianity,” Anderson said.
Although he covers a breadth of topics in his
writing, at the core, Anderson said, they are
related.
“Most all of the topics I write about are spe-
cific issues of moral and political philosophy
and theology. That’s my real passion, be-
cause it looks at the question of ‘what makes
for a good life,’ ‘how should I live,’ ‘how
should we live as a society’…And, from a
distinctly Christian point of view, it means
‘how am I treating Christ as I encounter Him
in others.’”
Despite the personal reflection, his work is aimed at greater
cultural impact.
“All aspects of our lives are shaped by our cultural environ-
ment, and that environment will either support and encourage
authentic human fulfillment and happiness or it will detract
from it,” he said.
Writing about ways in which culture can support authentic
fulfillment, whether through respecting human life, family
life, or basic civil liberties, all seem to be critically important,
said Anderson.
Anderson sees bioethics in culture as particularly important
RYAN ANDERSON PUTS ‘FIRST THINGS’ FIRSTPrinceton Alumnus Passionate About Defending Life
PPRINCETON
Princeton graduate and
writer Ryan Anderson ’04
champions human rights
through broad writings
that examine current
issues on human life
and dignity.
I N P E R S O N
Page 16 The Ivy League Christian Observer
to address: “We live in an age where new technologies pres-
ent possibilities that weren’t even imaginable a generation or
two ago. And this is coupled with almost no agreement
among the ‘experts’ about what ethical principles should
guide how we deploy these technologies. These new tech-
nologies have the potential to truly serve human dignity and
wellbeing, or to really degrade and cheapen life.”
Anderson considers himself an evangelical Catholic and be-
lieves the issues about which he writes to be universal among
“faithful Catholics” and Evangelicals.
“When we face the challenges that we do in contemporary
America, we need as much unity now as we can possibly
achieve,” he said.
Anderson experienced the fruit of that unity while at Prince-
ton, where, until a year ago, he worked as a ministry coordi-
nator for the Aquinas Institute.
“Relations on Princeton’s campus are remarkably good right
now, as witnessed by the recent conference, the Christian
Worldview and the Academy,” he said. The conference was
co-sponsored by Evangelical, Orthodox and Catholic min-
istries.
As Anderson looks forward in his career, he plans to attend
graduate school and study moral and political philosophy.
From there, researching, teaching and writing are on the hori-
zon.
It appears, however, that whether in the academy or society,
Anderson will stand his Christian ground as he continues to
battle the moral issues of the day with a rapier pen and a pas-
sion for Christ.
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
Kevin Oro-Han, the former director of New
York/New Jersey InterVarsity
(www.ivcfnynj.org), was very in-
strumental in introducing the Veritas Forum
to Columbia University. Ishmael Osekre, Co-
lumbia ’09, recently asked Kevin a few ques-
tions about his former position and discussed
some of the challenges and breakthroughs he
had on the job.
As the former director of InterVarsity for
New York and New Jersey, you were very
instrumental in introducing the Veritas
Forum to a lot of campuses. What was that
like?
Well, we started Veritas at Columbia and
NYU. It seemed like a great match in both
places. There is a spiritual openness on both
campuses. People are not necessarily looking
for religion or for doctrine, but they are look-
ing for meaning and connection. Veritas brings
together thoughtful people who have a cohe-
sive view of the world, and stimulates dia-
logue by bringing both similarities and differences to the
surface. That’s what the university aspires to be.
There are people of faith, professors as well
as students, who to varying degrees, feel mar-
ginalized on campus because of their faith.
The free exchange of ideas is the ideal, but the
practice is more difficult than the theory. I be-
lieve that Veritas serves a useful purpose with
public forums on a wide range of topics with
cross-disciplinary appeal.
Why did you get into college ministry?
College is, of course, the time when most of
us make decisions about what kind of world
we want to live in, what kind of life we want
to make for ourselves, and with whom we
want to “do life.” I find it highly energizing to
be part of those discussions. These are really
essential spiritual questions.
It’s really a powerful thing when you watch
someone begin to discover his calling. Over
the course of four years, you can watch some-
one begin to understand how they were
uniquely created, and begin to get some ideas about how that
can be tapped in the service of others.
REFLECTIONS OF A FORMER INTERVARSITY DIRECTOROro-Han Helped Launch Veritas Forum at Columbia
CCOLUMBIA
Kevin Oro-Han, Drew ’95,
former director of New
York/New Jersey Inter-
Varsity speaks to the
ILCO about his former
position and the chal-
lenges and break-
throughs of working with
students in Metro New
York City.
I N P E R S O N
Please share your most difficult, challenging, inspiring,
or life-turning experience in your student ministry.
One thing I noticed early on, even in my student days, but I
think more pronounced now, is that the vast majority of stu-
dents want to make a difference in the world. Yes, they want
to build a career and get a good job, but there is a recognition
that life is about being a force for good in some way. This
may get reflected in different ways, service projects or ac-
tivism and causes, or creative ways to pursue their studies.
But my experience has been-and the statistics back it up-
that for many, this desire gets put on a back burner upon
graduation.
I remember one student, a well-known activist on campus,
who sat with me for a couple of hours in the cafeteria and
just voiced his frustration that people he knew who gradu-
ated seemed to have lost their fire to change the world. He
was trying to get them to come back to demonstrate or or-
ganize, without success. A few years later, I saw him again
and he was having some of the struggles he had seen earlier,
and was feeling guilty about it.
I think that was a significant moment for me. I started to pay
closer attention to some of the spiritual giants throughout his-
tory. The question became less about how we can get stu-
dents to do some good stuff now and more about how we can
ground the desire to do good in the world. Can we tie the en-
ergy of idealism to some spiritual practices that empower and
sustain us over a lifetime?
You’ve made a transition to work with a church that fo-
cuses on a part of the population that doesn't receive
much attention. Tell us a little more about your new min-
istry.
The River Church is focused on downtown Manhattan, a bor-
ough that doesn't see too many people go to church, particu-
larly compared with the rest of New York City, or the rest of
the country. Our focus is really to reach those folks who
haven’t connected well with church before.
There is a great quote from an early saint, Irenaeus of Lyons,
who said, “A person fully alive is the glory of God.” It en-
capsulates, I think, something unique about Jesus. It's quite
easy to find religion that says, “you have to serve God” or
“you have to obey God.” But Jesus claimed that God's de-
sire is to empower an impossibly great life inside of us.
What does it look like to have an impossibly great life? How
can our relationships, our work and career, our philanthropy,
all become fully alive? Helping people work out those kinds
of questions is really the focus of The River.
By Ishmael Osekre, Columbia ’09
January 2008 Page 17
When she was a junior at Princeton University,
Lorri Bentch felt a calling to both get serious about
her relationship with Christ and to dedicate her life
to ministry.
Some eighteen years later and after more than a decade of
ministering abroad, Bentch (‘91) has come nearly full circle
by taking on new duties as a ministry fellow with the Chris-
tian Union, where one of her main assignments is to disciple
female students at Princeton.
“I’m learning how to best reach out to the students, expect-
ing that God will allow me to be a part of what He wants me
to be part of on their campus,” said Bentch, who joined
Christian Union (www.Christian-Union.org) on a part-time
basis in January 2007 and stepped into full-time responsibil-
ities in July.
Bentch’s main goal is to encourage students to lead a Christ-
centered life.
“My goal is to equip these girls with the foundation of the
Scriptures, to encourage their relationship with God,” said
Bentch, who graduated from Princeton with a degree in po-
litical science. “As they go from here to whatever grand, glo-
rious, or mundane callings are ahead, I want them to face the
challenges of life and be vibrant witnesses for Christ.”
Bentch, who accepted Christ at age twelve, initially allowed
her faith to “backslide” after entering Princeton.
“On a personal level, I have a real heart for campus ministry
because I really floundered during my first few years as a
Princeton student,” said Bentch, who grew up on a dairy farm
in Pennsylvania’s Amish country.
ENCOURAGEMENT FROM THE ‘BENTCH’Campus Minister Makes her Mark with Princeton Students
I N P E R S O N
Page 18 The Ivy League Christian Observer
Princeton students say they have been touched by Bentch’s
efforts. Auxilia Munhutu ‘10 described Bentch as the “first
person who made me feel like I could actually make it at
Princeton if I tried.”
Student Ana Gonzalez ’11 echoed Munhutu’s comments.
“Her love for others and for Christ is evident,” Gonzalez said.
“I admire her for her gentleness of heart, understanding,
strength, wisdom, and ability to see and relate to people no
matter where they’re coming from.”
Reaching college students is especially critical because “this
is the point in your life where you decide if your faith is
going to impact how you
live,” Bentch said.
Bentch recalls that her own
defining moment came dur-
ing her junior year. One
evening, while composing a
term paper in her dormitory
room, she said she heard a
“distinct voice from the
Lord. He had called me into
ministry, and I would miss
His best for me if I did not
follow.”
Bentch responded by reded-
icating her life to Christ and
by becoming involved with
Campus Crusade for Christ–
a decision that led to active
Bible study, new friendships,
and a desire to share the
gospel.
After graduation, Bentch’s hunger to minister took her across
the globe, first on an eighteen-month mission to Mexico in
1992 and then on an eight-month trek to Russia in 1994.
Between those trips, the former Lorri Rutt also became en-
gaged to Tim Bentch, an opera singer with a forte for evan-
gelism. The couple married in November 1994 and
immediately relocated to Hungary, where they spent a dozen
years as missionaries with Eastern Mennonite Missions–
and tackling some notable spiritual and occupational pur-
suits. Among them, Tim, a heralded tenor, landed a position
with the Hungarian State Opera and performed extensively in
celebrated opera houses and with major philharmonics across
Europe.
Shortly after arriving in Hungary, Tim combined his twin
passions for performance and preaching when he launched A
Song for the Nations, an outreach to fine arts professionals.
And while Lorri Bentch quips that she spent most of her life
being “known as Tim Bentch’s wife,” she is not short on spir-
itual and professional accomplishments of her own.
Bentch earned a master of constitutional law from Hungary’s
Central European University, where she also led a Bible
study for graduate students. After graduating in 1996, Bentch
helped edit and translate
documents for a professor
who specialized in human
rights law and now serves as
a judge. But Bentch’s main
devotion remains one-on-
one ministry. “I realized that
what I really enjoyed doing
was seeing lives changed,”
she said.
After twelve years abroad,
the couple decided to return
to the United States as they
saw spiritual growth in many
of the people they had disci-
pled. As well, the Bentches
were ready to send their
three young daughters to
English-speaking schools.
In 2006, they relocated to
Lorri’s hometown of Quarryville, Pennsylvania. Bentch now
rejoices in noting that Princeton is swiftly becoming home.
As well, Bentch feels a motherly devotion to the students she
disciples through Christian Union’s undergraduate ministry.
In the fall semester, Bentch led Bible courses for thirty-four
freshman and sophomore women, oversaw weekly gather-
ings of Princeton Faith and Action, and organized outreach
events.
The students are “all at the stage where they’re asking really
good questions,” said Bentch. “They want reasons to be-
lieve.”
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
Christian Union Ministry Fellow Lorri Bentch, Princeton 91,
strives to encourage students to lead Christ-centered lives.
I N P E R S O N
January 2008 Page 19
Kathleen S. Turner, Yale ’08 M.Div., has a lot of
questions. And as a recently named SARTS Luce
Fellow, she plans to find some answers.
Turner, who came to Yale Divinity School after a decade of
teaching dance at Hunter College in New York
City, plans to use her fellowship for a writing
project entitled If David Had Not Danced. As
part of her work, she will examine the Book of
Psalms and explore such questions as, “If King
David was free enough to demonstrate his praise
of God through dance, why can't the modern-day
Christian?” “If David had not danced, what im-
pact would that have had upon the writing of the
psalms and the call to dance unto the Lord?”
“Why did David dance and why are not more
congregations dancing as a form of worship and
praise today?”
Her goal is to elucidate how King David paved
the way for the 21st century Christian Church to
heed the holy call to “praise the Lord with danc-
ing.” Long-term, Turner hopes to encourage the
use of liturgical dance in Christian worship settings.
“My desire is to expose liturgical dance to interested people who
are called to utilize this creative tool within Christian liturgy and
to pastors who are uncertain of its value within the Christian
corporate worship experience,” she wrote as an entering student
in 2005. At the center of her plan is the creation of a curriculum
for liturgical dance for use in seminary settings.
Turner is long steeped in the tradition of dancing and the arts,
having begun her formal dance training at the Gloria Jackson
Dance Studio in New York at the age of five. She graduated
from the New York High School of Performing Arts and earned
a bachelor of fine arts degree from SUNY Purchase. She then
earned a master of fine arts degree from Sarah Lawrence Col-
lege and ventured into some postgraduate work at Columbia’s
Teacher’s College.
At her home church, The Greater Allen Cathedral
of New York, she was founding director of the
300-member Allen Liturgical Dance Ministry,
which she directed for 25 years. According to its
mission statement, “the primary function of the
Allen Liturgical Dance Ministry is to utilize
dance as a praise and worship tool to honor the
holiness and supremacy of God.”
Turner received one of only two SARTS Luce
Fellowships available to students across the coun-
try. The Luce Fellowships, funded through the
New York-based Henry Luce Foundation, are in-
tended to advance knowledge of the intersections
between theology and the arts by supporting the
research of graduate students and faculty and en-
couraging the creation of networks of persons working in those
areas.
Based upon her area of study and writing, one can expect Turner
to dance through that intersection of theology and art with a
heart for Christ, a passion for dance, and a greater understand-
ing of what it meant for David to dance and of the liturgical
legacy he subsequently inspired.
By Gustav Spohn, Yale Divinity School ’73
PRAISE HIM IN THE DANCELuce Fellow Explores King David’s Worship Style
YYALE
A.J. Jacobs (Brown ’90), known as “The Know it
All” from his New York Times best seller of the
same name, recently released another book. In it,
Jacobs immerses himself in the Bible on a unique and witty
quest for answers that inevitably leads him to more ques-
tions—and a bit closer to God than he had thought possible.
“The Year of Living Biblically is about my quest to live the ul-
timate biblical life—to follow every single rule in the Bible as
literally as possible,” Jacobs says about his latest work.
The book is like Seinfeld, Mad about You, and Yentl morphed
into an odd, yet real, personal story of one man’s journey
through scriptures. It is filled with firsthand accounts of wear-
LIVING THE LETTER OF THE LAWWriters Looks to Bible in Quest for Answers
BBROWN
Kathleen S. Turner, Yale
M.Div. ’08, is working on
a project entitled “If
David had not Danced.”
I N P E R S O N
Page 20 The Ivy League Christian Observer
ing only white clothing and carrying a staff in the middle of
Manhattan, and of his learning ancient laws and traditions
from Orthodox Jews and Christians from Israel to Tennessee.
Jacobs embeds himself with the Amish, Hasidic Jews, and a
fundamental Baptist congregation in order to learn how the
Bible is lived out in practice and tradition. He begins by fo-
cusing on the Old Testament where the majority of laws and
commandments are found.
Because the Book of Numbers commanded those taking the
Nazirite vow not to shave one’s beard, Jacobs grows a small
bush of facial hair that he describes as “a
temporary home to cappuccino foam and
lentil.” During his experiment, he builds a
hut in his living room, blows a horn at the
start of every month, plays a ten-stringed
harp, and adopts a modern version of “ston-
ing” Sabbath breakers and adulterers.
Both Christians and Jews can find humor in
the writing and in the concept of trying to
observe ancient laws in the heart of Man-
hattan.
Jacob’s book recently inspired a similar proj-
ect in another U.S. city. Volunteers from
Park Street Church in Boston will “Live
Levitically” for one month to explore the
laws of Leviticus and determine whether
they can or should be followed today. At the
end of the month-long experiment, the
church plans to create a short documentary.
In Living Biblically, Jacobs ponders social laws, such as killing
magicians, sacrificing oxen, and stoning Sabbath-breakers.
Ultimately, he leaves the magicians alone and finds an alter-
nate means of stoning–pebbles.
Intent upon following the rules, Jacobs considers pelting an
Avis counter employee who he deems a Sabbath-breaker.
However, unable to bring himself to toss even one stone, Ja-
cobs opts to “accidentally” drop them on the unsuspecting sin-
ner’s shoe.
He also pebbles an elderly adulterer after an elementary
school-like fight breaks out between them over the “queer-
ness” of Jacobs’ biblical attire. Living Biblically in modern
New York is challenging, indeed.
Jacobs spends a couple months of his biblical year attempting
to follow some of the teachings of Jesus. He writes that to not
explore the New Testament would be telling “only half the
story.” But the situation raises the question: Should he con-
tinue following the Old Testament laws while following Chris-
tianity?
Jacobs decides to maintain his Old Testament practices as he
moves into the New Testament phase of his biblical year. But
he admits to readers, “Overall, it will be much less do-it-your-
self than my trip through the Hebrew Scriptures. It’ll be more
like a guided tour.”
For his foray into what Jacobs called fundamental Christian-
ity, he chose a fringe sect charismatic serpent-
handling service in Tennessee; the self-described
Red Letter Christians; and Thomas Road Bap-
tist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia (founded by
the late Reverend Dr. Jerry Falwell).
Interestingly, Jacobs remained determined to not
lie while living biblically but when he arrived at
Thomas Road Baptist Church, he instantly
crumbled into a heap of lies about why he was
there, where his wife was, and even his marital
status. He finally came clean after the service
when he met one-on-one with a church member.
Throughout Jacobs’ biblical journey he im-
merses himself in scripture. He reads Bible com-
mentaries and many translations of the Bible.
Jacobs possesses boundless educational re-
sources via the Internet and his team of spiritual
advisors. What he lacks, however, is faith.
He is meticulous about keeping the ritualistic laws of the Old
Testament, but cannot embrace the greatest commandment—
“Love the Lord your God.” Jacobs hopes for a spiritual
epiphany, yet his unchanged heart prevents him from having
a life-altering encounter with Christ.
However, that’s not to say that Jacobs was not impacted or
changed by his Biblical quest. Clearly the door that was once
shut to matters of religion and God is now open. He enjoys
giving prayers of thanks and is a more compassionate, in-
volved society member.
But it would seem that for Jacobs, only time will tell if one
year of living biblically will eventually lead to him to accept
God’s gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
A.J. Jacobs, Brown ’90,
takes biblical literalism to
the streets of Manhattan in
his recent book, The Yearof Living Biblically.
I N P E R S O N
January 2008 Page 21
From forsaken, winding backroads to gritty
inner-city neighborhoods, Sam Fentress
crossed the country for decades in search of an
unlikely subject to help tell the visual story of religious ex-
pression in the United States.
The Princeton University-educated photographer (’77)
spent twenty-five years capturing more than 3,000 images
of roadside signs of faith—some left as weathered, hand-
painted messages on a rustic barn and others
illuminated in high-voltage, retro neon let-
ters atop an urban street. The most poignant
of the results are published in a 160-page,
distinctive hardback that features a mixture
of eclectic pictures snapped across forty-
nine states.
“I want to appeal to people who are not nec-
essarily religious believers as a document of
what goes on in the American landscape,”
said Fentress of his recent book, Bible Road:
Signs of Faith in the American Landscape.
“It’s a particularly American phenomenon
and a particularly interesting one.”
In 1981, while teaching at the University of
Arkansas, Fentress became intrigued by re-
ligious-themed road tributes when a student
submitted a stunning snapshot of a barn cov-
ered with scriptures.
“It sort of became a series,” said Fentress.
“A few years after that, I started to think
there was enough for a book.”
Ultimately, Fentress showcased 147 titled entries in Bible
Road, which contains scenes ranging from inspiring, hu-
morous, quirky, strange, and intense to even scary. Some of
the images frame simple messages, while others highlight
fervent religiosity mixed with art or commerce.
“Everybody seems to have something different they con-
nect to in [the book],” said Fentress, an architectural pho-
tographer in St. Louis. “It was sort of an artistic project and
a documentary at the same time.”
On a personal level, the photographer notes that his quest to
chronicle drive-by evangelism appeals to both his intellec-
tual and spiritual interests. “As a believer, I’m willing to go
further and pick up the Bible and get some inspiration,” said
Fentress, who is Catholic.
One of Fentress' favorite photographs contains an element
of irony. It features “Matthew 6:33” stenciled on the win-
dow of a Maryland beauty parlor just below a sketch of a
woman with a short, snazzy hairdo. In Matthew 6, Jesus in-
structed his followers to seek first the kingdom of Heaven,
rather than worry about food, clothing, and
other earthly matters.
In contrast, one of his essay’s more intense
images–a black-and-white shot of “Obey
God or Burn” scratched as graffiti on a rock
outcrop in Harlem–was nearly eliminated by
one editor who wanted to pitch the book as
humorous and thought readers might find the
photograph and its moralistic admonition as
too serious.
Nonetheless, most of the collection trumpets
uplifting refrains, and Bible Road tells a
quintessentially American story; the photos
originate from all states, excluding Hawaii.
“The book shows a lot of what America
looks like from the road while blended with
commercial messages,” said Fentress, adding
that his wife, Elizabeth, and their six children
helped locate many of the scenes for his col-
lection.
The images show that “religion is alive and well in the
United States,” he said.
Fentress, who graduated with an independent major in pho-
tography, said his own faith was deeply shaped by his years
as a Princeton student.
Courses in the philosophy of religion and even studio pho-
tography led Fentress, who was raised Methodist, into a
deep contemplation of his spiritual views. Eventually, he
was moved by Roman Catholic theology and teachings and
converted to Catholicism.
After his stint in the Ivy League, Fentress earned a master
of fine arts from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1980.
FAITH HIGHWAYPrinceton Alumnus Pays Tribute to Religious Signage in America
PPRINCETON
Sam Fentress, Princeton
’77, offers snapshots of
faith in America in his
recently published book,
Bible Road: Signs ofFaith in the AmericanLandscape.
I N P E R S O N
Page 22 The Ivy League Christian Observer
Today, his photographic compositions are
part of collections at The Los Angeles
County Museum of Art, Saint Louis Art Mu-
seum, Mississippi Museum of Art and Bib-
liotheque nationale de France as well as the
private collection of film producer Bruce
Berman.
While at Princeton, Fentress studied under
Emmet Gowin, a master photographer who
is renowned for his black-and-white com-
positions of his wife and children. Gowin, a
professor in the Center for Creative and Per-
forming Arts, recalled Fentress as a student
who “set a kind of standard.”
Regarding Bible Road, Gowin said, “There’s
a mastery that comes with pursuing some-
thing for 25 years, having thought about a
particular thing so passionately. The photos
were composed with articulate visual wis-
dom and illustrate photographic craftsman-
ship.”
Not surprisingly, Fentress said he is still
moved by the time he spent documenting a
slice of spiritual signage on the landscape
of American highways.
“Over the years, I’ve been inspired many
times by the chutzpa of the people with the
property, the risks they took,” Fentress said.
“These people are not afraid to put religion
out in the public square and let it be seen at
50 to 60 miles per hour.”
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
Photos from Bible Road, a
collection of roadside
faith pictures by Sam
Fentress, Princeton 77.
S O C I A L A C T I O N On Campus
January 2008 Page 23
Over 1,300 college students gathered in Boston
University’s Agganis Arena October 12-13 as the
Passion Conference came to Boston, one of six
cities on its current tour. The main speakers were Louie Giglio
and John Piper, and worship was lead by Chris Tomlin, Char-
lie Hall, and Steven Fee. “Finding in Christ all we need and
spending our lives to make Him famous… that’s what Passion
is all about,” says the Passion website.
Several Harvard students attended part or all of the conference,
and departed greatly excited and encouraged, especially for
the opportunity to worship with people from a variety of back-
grounds. Jordan Baehr, ’08 remarked, “It was, in many re-
spects, like a rock concert, but one in which the conference
attendees were performing, rather than spectating.”
“I had always envied the disciples, the crowds who saw Jesus,
the people alive 2,000 years ago who could see Christ, expe-
rience His miracles, feel His power, and hear His words…
[later] I realized how privileged we are, of all generations in
history, to see with our eyes Christ’s ridiculous prophecy about
His global Body realized.”
Behind the music and the talks was a spiritual symbolism that
also left a mark in the memories of attendees. Two simple
crosses were brought to the bottom of each of the aisles, with
cards on which to write prayers. Conference prayer teams were
continually praying for the conference, the attendees, and the
requests that had been left with the crosses.
The service aspect was also very significant for the students
who attended. “Their commitment to giving was astounding,”
said Ona Streikas, ’08.
Part of the mission of the conference is to be a blessing to each
of the cities in which it is held. The Boston conference together
gathered 610 towels and 3,400 pairs of socks for Boston’s
needy, $18,476 for six wells in Africa, and $15,334 for stu-
dents around the globe through the Passion World Tour.
“We are called to show the love of Christ in us, and bring that
love to our community here in Boston, to our hometown, and
to our campus,” said Streikas.
In 2008, Passion Conferences (www.268generation.com) will
be held in Los Angeles (January 25–26), Dallas/Ft. Worth
(February 15-16), Washington, D.C., (February 22-23), and
Atlanta (April 11-12).
By Christopher Hampson, Harvard ’09
PASSION COMES TO BOSTONEvent Calls Students to Show Christ’s Love to Campuses, Communities
HHARVARD
More than 1,000 students, including several from Harvard, attended the Passion Conference held at Boston University this fall.
S O C I A L A C T I O NOn Campus
Page 24 The Ivy League Christian Observer
While the sun was still rising on the frigid morning
of November 30, a group of Columbia students
from InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (www.co-
lumbia.edu/cu/ivcf/) and Korea Campus Crusade for Christ
(www.kcccusa.org) began their weekend by traveling to Fifth
Avenue Presbyterian Church for the conclusion of a 24-hour
global event to raise awareness about the international AIDS cri-
sis. World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, spon-
sored the Global Vigil which began November 29 at 9 a.m. in
Toronto, continued with back-to-back vigils in seventeen cities
around the globe, and concluded with a final vigil in New York.
AIDS activists, students from
the New York and New Jer-
sey area, and many others
gathered for the event, which
began with an introduction
by Bwalya Melu, a native of
Zambia and a World Vision
employee who lost all three
of his brothers and their
wives to the AIDS virus.
Melu set the tone for the
event: “This disease is killing
millions and destroying the
lives of millions more; but
each [one] of those millions
is a real life. My brothers and
their wives had real children
who feel the tragedy of their
loss every day. We must safe-
guard their futures as well.”
The event featured performances by the Christian band Shane &
Shane and the Grammy Award-winning Brooklyn Youth Cho-
rus. In addition, the names of 300 African children who had lost
a parent to AIDS were read aloud. During each vigil around the
world, participants read names to honor the estimated 6,000 chil-
dren who lose a parent to AIDS each day. The last of the day’s
6,000 names were read in New York City and also featured on
ABC’s Good Morning America.
“I thought the name-reading really helped give an identity to the
mere statistics and numbers on the page,” Ki Hoon Kim, a first-
year student at Columbia College, observed afterwards. “The
symbolic significance behind it was very moving. I think God
spoke to me and showed me that this was my duty, my privilege,
to be in a position of service.”
Participants in the event also assembled AIDS Caregiver Kits
to supply volunteer caretakers in communities affected by the
pandemic with vital and often scarce supplies. For each kit, par-
ticipants wrote a note of encouragement and prayer for the care-
givers.
Jonathan Walton ’08 closed the vigil’s formal program with an
invitation for the college students in the audience to participate
in the Student Advocacy Campaign.
“You can see all that has hap-
pened in Africa as an obsta-
cle or [as] an opportunity,”
said Walton. “[You can] save
a generation of Africans and
the generations to come in
China and India, or you can
stand back and let history re-
peat itself. That's the choice
we have today.”
The campaign challenged the
students to collect 6,000 sig-
natures from around the city
as part of a petition asking
Congress and President Bush
to reauthorize the President’s
Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR) program.
Students canvassed the city, collecting signatures in Times
Square, Penn Station, and their respective campuses. Jordan
Davis, a Columbia College senior, was one of those who went
to Times Square.
“Obtaining signatures was definitely a challenging experience,”
he said, “but it was really wonderful to see the way the words
‘AIDS relief’ broke through people's hardened New York fa-
cades. Some people were already past me by the time I said
those two words, and [they] actually came back to lend their
support by signing the petition.”
Students gathered again December 1 at Columbia University
Teacher’s College in recognition of World AIDS Day and lis-
SAFEGUARDING THE FUTUREColumbia Students Take Part in World AIDS Day Events
CCOLUMBIA
Columbia Students work together to prepare kits for World
AIDS Day in New York City.
S O C I A L A C T I O N On Campus
January 2008 Page 25
tened to Richard Stearns, president of World Vision U.S., speak
about the organization’s response to the deadly disease. Stearns
said AIDS is a social and humanitarian problem, not just a med-
ical problem. An entire continent’s professional class of lawyers,
teachers, and engineers is being terminated; and children are left
to take care of their younger siblings once their parents have
passed away, he said.
The results of the signature drive were also announced. Colum-
bia University collected 950 signatures–the most of any partic-
ipating campus. In total, over 4,000 signatures were gathered
during the event. On December 2, President Bush committed to
renewing the PEPFAR Bill with plans to double the funds ear-
marked for PEPFAR program implementation, from $15 billon
to $30 billion for the next phase (2009 -2014).
By Jin Wang, Columbia ‘10
Christians affiliated with Ivy League institutions
have another option for matching their financial
contributions with their interests.
A new nonprofit organization seeks to hold U.S. colleges and
universities accountable for the gifts they receive. A group
of philanthropists, individually known for targeting substan-
tial gifts to higher-education institutions, re-
cently founded the Center for Excellence in
Higher Education to help donors safeguard
the intent of their contributions within tax,
legal, and academic constraints.
John M. Templeton, a Yale (’62) and Harvard
Medical School alumnus (’68) and a physi-
cian who served as professor of pediatric sur-
gery at the University of Pennsylvania, is a
key investor with the Indianapolis-based or-
ganization. The Center’s chairman of the
board is Mike Leven, an honorary member of
the Cornell Hotel Society, a former hotel
franchiser, and a former executive with Hol-
iday Inn and Days Inn.
Of the more than $300 billion spent annually
on higher education in this country, more
than $28 billion originates from alumni and
other donors, according to statistics compiled
by the Center for Excellence in Higher Edu-
cation.
The organization asks a question of interest to many Chris-
tian donors: are donors to higher education getting their
money’s worth? The center asserts the answer often is “no,”
and it also warns donors that some of the nation’s nearly
4,300 universities have violated the intent of some gifts.
“Given the way that universities have secularized, a Christian
donor who is contemplating a major gift needs to be very
careful about how he or she structures that gift to avoid it
being used for the general purposes of the universities rather
than the specific intent,” said Frederic Fransen, executive di-
rector of the Center for Excellence in Higher
Education.
Among its services, the center helps donors
draft program proposals, negotiate details
with university officials, and provide due
diligence after a gift has been placed.
However, representatives of universities say
many institutions already have systems in
place to monitor the use of donations; and
they point out that most sizeable gifts are
handled through carefully negotiated,
legally-binding agreements.
“When there are issues, they are isolated,”
said Rae Goldsmith of the Council for Ad-
vancement and Support of Education.
“Donor confidence remains at an all-time
high.”
Nonetheless, the center was formed on the
heels of a growing trend for alumni to con-
tribute to specific university projects, assert a louder voice
in those ventures, and demand detailed reports on results.
And donors as well as administrators are watching with keen
interest a lawsuit involving Princeton University and a fund
that has flourished to more than $880 million, according to
news reports.
DONORS BEWARECenter for Excellence in Higher Education Promotes Effective Philanthropy
IALL IVY
John M. Templeton, Yale
’62 and Harvard Medical
School ’68, has joined
forces with other business
leaders to safeguard donor
intentions.
S O C I A L A C T I O NOn Campus
Page 26 The Ivy League Christian Observer
In 2002, several family members of the late Charles and
Marie Robertson filed suit against Princeton and sought to
sever the Robertson Foundation’s ties with the Woodrow
Wilson School of Public and International Affairs after ques-
tioning spending practices and claiming few graduates actu-
ally took jobs in government service, news reports said.
However, in a lengthy letter to The Wall Street Journal in Oc-
tober, Princeton Secretary and Vice President Robert K. Dur-
kee defended the university’s use of its bequeathal from the
Robertson’s A&P supermarket fortune. Princeton has “al-
ways used the funds given by Marie Robertson solely for the
purpose for which she made her $35 million gift in 1961,”
Durkee wrote.
Overall, when it comes to the philanthropy involving higher
education, what’s at stake is not pocket change. According
to New York-based Council for Aid to Education, financial
contributions to the eight Ivy League institutions alone
topped $4.1 billion in 2006. Harvard was first on the list with
$594.9 million, followed by Yale ($433.4 million), Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania ($409.4 million), Cornell ($406.2 mil-
lion), Columbia ($377.2 million), Princeton ($207 million),
Dartmouth ($158.4 million), and Brown ($126.4 million).
As such, Fransen said his organization is particularly inter-
ested in working with donors who want to target gifts to Ivy
League campuses.
“We want to work with philanthropists who want to make a
difference,” he said.
For believers, the issue of the soundness and security of their
contributions is especially relevant. Christians “need to be
especially cautious about their giving to higher education,”
Fransen said. “There is the possibility that they are giving to
purposes they don’t support.”
Specifically, evangelical donors should be concerned about
Christians being “marginalized” on university campuses,
Fransen said.
“We believe, in general, that universities, including the Ivy
League schools, if left to themselves, are not moving in a di-
rection that is beneficial to the country,” Fransen said.
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
Two instances of racial bigotry occurred at Co-
lumbia’s Teacher’s College within weeks of each
other this fall. First, a noose was put on the door of
Madonna G. Constantine, an African-American professor at
the college. Just weeks later, a swastika
was painted on the door of Jewish profes-
sor Elizabeth Midlarsky. Both professors
are faculty of the Teacher’s College Coun-
seling and Clinical Psychology Depart-
ment.
Chris Colombo, dean of Student Affairs for
Columbia College and the School of En-
gineering and Applied Science, sent an e-
mail to students after the incidents. “While
immediate steps have been taken to re-
move the vandalism, the impact of this
hateful act can not be removed as quickly.”
In recent years, some bias crimes on campuses throughout the
United States were later revealed to be hoaxes, but the inci-
dents at Columbia appear to have been committed with racist
intentions. No arrests have been made.
In response, Columbia InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
(www.columbia.edu/cu/ivcf/) decided to
display its support and consolation for
Constantine and Midlarsky. Students
signed plates containing the inscription
Ubuntu on them. According to ministry
leader Ashley Byrd, the essence of the
word Ubuntu is “to say my humanity is
bound up in what is you. I am because you
are.” The students also included the pas-
sage from Corinthians referring to when
one part of the body is hurt, everyone
hurts. “We are part of Columbia’s campus
and when someone on the campus is being
discriminated against, we want to stand in solidarity with that
person. That is what it means to live with integrity,” said Byrd.
Students also reflected upon the incidents at several events on
‘JESUS NEVER JUST WALKED BY’Columbia Students Unite Against Hate, Racism
CCOLUMBIA
A noose and a swastika were found
over the doorways of two Columbia
professors. InterVarsity responded
with solidarity and compassion.
S O C I A L A C T I O N On Campus
January 2008 Page 27
campus. Based on the success of his poetry slam (poetry with
a hip-hop flair) at Teacher’s College last year, Columbia in-
vited Jonathan Walton ’08 to organize Action Against Apathy,
a poetry slam against hate and violence on November 30.
Walton echoed the sentiments of Byrd when he emceed for the
night: “When one is affected, all of us should be affected. We
are many members, but one body. This is something that's fun-
damental to our faith, and this principle could be a powerful
testimony on our campus if we chose to support those who are
marginalized. Jesus never just walked by. What if we had the
same mentality, the same compassion? The world just might be
a different place.”
The event was co-sponsored by InterVarsity and included spo-
ken word performances by members of the fellowship, Walton
and Jessica Schenk Luwandaga ’04, as well as poetry and hip-
hop dance performances by other Columbia students. Lisa
Harper, director of New York Faith and Justice Mission, joined
the students with her own poetry performance. The night
ended with a musical performance by Virginia Tim Be Told, a
Christian band from Charlottesville, Virginia, whose music is
a blend of pop, soul, and blues.
Kathryn McCaleb ’11 said, “The evening was a great time of
reflection. The event drew attention to the apathy of those
around us and increased my awareness of the world in a
broader sense.”
While Professor Constantine and Professor Midlarsky were
unable to attend the event due to conflicting schedules, gifts
were given at a later date to the professors who appreciated
the show of support.
By Jin Wang, Columbia ’10
In the early 1980s, Roland Warren was an unlikely
candidate to become a national spokesman for fa-
therhood.
Over the Christmas break of his junior year at Princeton Uni-
versity, Warren, learned that his girlfriend, Yvette Lopez, was
pregnant. Despite rejection and urges for abortion, Warren
decided to keep the child, marry Yvette, who was a sopho-
more at Princeton, and break the ugly cycle of fatherlessness
that is prominent in the community.
Warren, who grew up without a father, is now the president
of the National Fatherhood Initiative. The 46-year old
African-American shared about the significance of father-
hood during the November 28 meeting of Princeton Faith
and Action, Christian Union’s undergraduate ministry. War-
ren, the father of two, also met with nearly a dozen Prince-
ton students and ministry staffers during a dinner sponsored
by the Christian Union earlier that evening.
Participating students said they were touched by Warren’s
presentations and by his devotion to promoting the impor-
tance of fatherhood–a rare topic on college campuses.
“Mr. Warren told us to think about fatherhood as a vocation.
It is a part of what you do,” said Robert Haraway ’10. “In
our culture, it’s something that happens to you. He suggested
a shift in the general perspective to see that it’s a calling, just
like anything else.”
Robert Krause ’10 said he felt inspired by Warren, especially
by his desire to reach men before they become fathers.
“It encouraged me to do what I think is important for soci-
ety,” Krause said. “I love to hear about people who are try-
ing to make a core, substantive social impact. It’s exciting to
hear someone who left a lucrative career to do something
more valuable for society.”
Indeed, Warren spent nearly two decades circulating in cor-
porate powerhouses before taking the helm of the National
Fatherhood Initiative in 2001. Warren, who earned a master
of business administration from the University of Pennsyl-
vania in 1996, previously served as a financial consultant for
The Goldman Sachs Group in Philadelphia and held man-
agement positions with IBM and PepsiCo.
He also served as the associate director of development for
Princeton University, where he earned a degree in psychol-
ogy in 1983 and played running back for the Tigers.
But a desire to help children hurt by the harsh realities of fa-
therlessness, led Warren, a board member since 1998, to exit
the business world and join the National Fatherhood Initia-
tive as executive vice president. He assumed the role of pres-
ident a few months later.
Today, the 14-year-old organization maintains an annual
budget of $6 million-plus and about 40 employees. The Na-
BRINGING FATHERHOOD TO THE FOREFRONTPrinceton Faith and Action Hosts Roland Warren ’83
S O C I A L A C T I O NOn Campus
Page 28 The Ivy League Christian Observer
tional Fatherhood Initiative provides programs and resources
for a variety of fatherhood issues, though most center on ed-
ucation for new and expectant dads. The National Father-
hood Initiative also strives to work with teens and young men
to prevent unplanned pregnancies and to en-
courage responsibility in crisis pregnancies.
As well, the National Fatherhood Initiative
celebrates the contributions of “great” dads,
including military parents, and spotlights
corporations that encourage dads to be com-
mitted to their children’s lives. The
Gaithersburg, Md.,-based organization has
nominated Cuba Gooding Jr. to receive one
of its trademarked “Fatherhood Awards” in
2008.
Overall, the number of children living in
“father-absent” homes stands at about 24
million, according to the National Father-
hood Initiative. As such, about one in three
children will “go to sleep in a home where
their father does not live.” Those children
are more likely to be “suspended from
school, or to drop out; be treated for an emo-
tional or behavioral problem; commit sui-
cide as adolescents; and be victims of child
abuse or neglect.” As well, they are more likely to experi-
ence poverty or commit violent crimes, according to the Na-
tional Fatherhood Initiative.
Equally as disturbing, about two-thirds of African-American
children grow up in households without a dad—a scenario
Warren and his team desire to change.
Warren hopes his own story will inspire young men facing
unplanned pregnancies to become committed fathers. The
baby at the heart of Warren’s crisis is now 25, married and an
arts and entertainment writer for The Wall
Street Journal.
Jamin Warren, who earned a degree in so-
cial studies from Harvard University in
2004, described his father as “attentive” and
“intensely interested.”
As for the former Yvette Lopez, she earned
a psychology degree from Princeton in
1985 and a medical degree from Temple
University in 1993. She practices family
medicine in Maryland. Youngest son Justin,
22, is a senior at the University of North
Carolina, where he is majoring in commu-
nications and previously played tailback for
the Tar Heels.
And, as for Warren, he remains committed
to inspiring “our nation that kids need in-
volved fathers.” And, he has taken his mes-
sage across the nation and to major media
outlets and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
“I’m impacting the future,” Warren said. “One of the most
powerful things you can do is be a good father and leave a
good legacy.”
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
Roland Warren (Princeton
’83), president of the National
Fatherhood Institute, met
with members of Impact
during a dinner sponsored by
Christian Union. Warren later
addressed students at
Whig Hall.
Penn For Life (www.pennforlife.com) is better
known for championing the lives of the unborn,
but its College Parents Fund shows that it also
has a heart of compassion towards students with children.
Through the College Parents Fund, this pro-life organization
offers support for students who are also parents and are work-
ing to meet the demands of raising children and achieving an
Ivy League education.
According to graduate student Shannon Martino, the College
Parents Fund (CPF) is dedicated to supporting Penn students
and their children by providing need-based scholarships to
pregnant and parenting students. The vision of this non-par-
tisan, non-sectarian organization, she states, is to create a
supportive environment on campus for mothers and families
so that “students are not forced to choose between their ed-
ucation and their child.”
“I do think that these kinds of resources are incentives for
students not to have abortions,” Martino said. She also
STUDENT MOMS HAVE A FRIEND AT PENNPenn For Life Extends Help Through College Parents Fund
PPENN
S O C I A L A C T I O N On Campus
January 2008 Page 29
pointed out that it sends a balanced message that as a pro-
life organization, they are not only concerned for the chil-
dren, but also for the parents.
“If a woman is going to have a choice, she
should have a choice for life as well,”
Martino said. And CPF is a way of help-
ing student parents ensure a richer life for
themselves and their children by continu-
ing their education and pursuing their ca-
reer goals.
The program was started a year ago with
an extensive fundraising campaign. Chris-
tian Union, through its grant program, was
one of the original donors to the organiza-
tion. To receive funds, students needing
assistance must complete an application to
CPF. Once the funds are awarded, students
will receive confirmation and can then
purchase the necessary items and submit a
reimbursement form to receive the funds.
Support is open to all undergraduate and
graduate students who have children or are pregnant.
There are no restrictions as to how the funds are used, as long
as they are used in the raising of the children, Martino said.
Intended uses are diapers, childcare, doctor visits, etc.
According to Martino, there are approximately 200 grad stu-
dents alone at Penn who have children. Requests for funds
have been sparse, so far, but Martino attributes that to the
newness of the program. She said the organization is making
a concerted effort to increase awareness about the fund
throughout campus with initiatives such as a
new link to CPF through the Penn For Life
website.
However, one student who has benefited from
the program wrote a letter of thanks to the or-
ganization. In that letter, the student expressed
her surprise at the lack of support the univer-
sity offers students with children.
“We were utterly dismayed when we learned
that the university had no method of finan-
cially assisting student parents, particularly
when other schools offer daycare subsidy or
vouchers,” the student wrote. “Not only is this
grant of financial benefit, but it acknowledges
our presence at the University of Pennsylva-
nia.”
Perhaps the essence of what Penn for Life and
the College Parent Fund are all about can be
best articulated through the words of Susan B.
Anthony—words that are displayed on the Penn for Life
website: “Sweeter even than to have had the joy of caring for
children of my own has it been to me to help bring about a
better state of things for mothers, generally, so that their un-
born little ones could not be willed away from them.”
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
The College Parents Fund
offers financial assistance to
graduate and undergraduate
students with children and
those who are pregnant.
R E V I V A L • R E A C H I N G T H E L O S T
From the Ten Commandments to the Declaration
of Independence, throughout history God and
man have put into writing the tenets, laws, and
beliefs integral to human morality and advancement.
In 2006, attendees at The Institute of Campus Revival and
Awakening at Yale University also were inspired to pen a
document that would be a call to action and Christian living
and ignite the flames of revival through personal example
and accountability.
The New Haven Call, according to its framers, is “a docu-
ment being used by campus ministers, faculty, students, and
Christians in general to mobilize campus communities for
another Great Awakening on our college campuses.”
In effect, the New Haven Call (NHC) is a shout to all Chris-
tians with a heart for revival to commit themselves to a
‘THE CALL’ GOES OUT FOR REVIVAL AT YALEDocument Signers Pledge Life of Prayer, Fasting
YYALE
R E V I V A L • R E A C H I N G T H E L O S TOn Campus
Page 30 The Ivy League Christian Observer
lifestyle of prayer, fasting, unity, and purity to help prepare
the way for the manifest presence of God on campuses, ac-
cording to David Warn, founder and director of Collegiate
Impact and director of the Campus Insti-
tute of Revival and Awakening.
“We felt that our week at Yale was such an
historical time. We felt like God met with
us,” Warn said. Although it was not their
intent to craft a document such as the
NHC, Warn recalled that participants of the
Institute came to him saying, “We really
believe, in light of what God has done here,
we should issue this call to the campus
community.”
And that the call should sound from Yale
was no coincidence, according to Warn.
“Yale has a more prevalent and punctuated
revival history than any campus in the
United States,” Warn stated.
He also believes that “God wants his cam-
puses back,” and that Yale and the other Ivies will play a role
in the next Great Awakening.
It is with the intent to help prepare the way for God to re-
claim the nation’s campuses that the Call harkens ministry
leaders, students, and others to sign the document. It calls
signers to commit to “a lifestyle of prayer, fasting, and other
spiritual disciplines to invite the Kingdom of God in revival,
awakening, and transformation.”
The document also calls signers “to live the prayer of unity
issued by Jesus in John 17:23 and to dedicate each Monday
as a national day of prayer and fasting.
Many committed themselves to the Call during their time at the
Institute at Yale and signed the document while there, according
to Warn. Others have obtained the document
by downloading it, or ordering multiple copies
through the Institute of Campus Revival web-
site at www.lifeaction.org/collegiateimpact/in-
stitute/.
It’s important for those signing the docu-
ment to add their names to the New Haven
Call e-mail list while online, Warn said. By
doing so, signers receive a regular e-mail of
encouragement to help them fulfill the com-
mitments of the Call and to stay focused.
“One of the things I’m most excited about
is how God is going to use the NHC in the
individual lives of people. We are doing this
for campus transformation, but also the lives
of the signers,” Warn said.
For those with “eyes to see and ears to hear,”
Warn hopes the New Haven Call will be a steady voice to
guide and encourage those hearts, despite the current spiritual
state of the country and its campuses.
“A lot of campus ministry leaders are tired and see the dark-
ness of our nation,” Warn said. “I want leaders to lift their
eyes up and embrace things like the New Haven Call. I want
us to have hope. I believe that God wants to move and is
going to move in our day. I hope the New Haven Call gen-
erates that kind of faith.”
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
The New Haven Call assists in
the mobilization of campus
communities for another Great
Awakening.
“There are all of three Christians in Boston.”
That’s what one student from Boston told a
Princeton ministry leader.
However, while some describe Boston as spiritually bleak,
others are inspired by a “quiet revival” taking place in the
city. To them, it’s clear the city is on the spiritual move.
Some people may perceive a lack of faith in Boston because
of a decline in Catholic and mainline churches, according to
Jeff Bass (Princeton ’81). Bass is the executive director of
the Emmanuel Gospel Center, a church research and con-
sulting organization in the Boston area. He noted an abun-
dance of church planting among smaller denominations and
within a number of immigrant groups that have brought their
faith with them to Boston. Their members are reaching out to
their community with the love of Christ and producing a lot
of good fruit in the city, Bass stated.
‘WE ARE RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF SOMETHING’Ministry Leaders See ‘Quiet Revival’ Slowly Transforming Boston
HHARVARD
R E V I V A L • R E A C H I N G T H E L O S T On Campus
January 2008 Page 31
This is part of what Bass considers to be “the long-term re-
newal of Christianity in Boston, as the Quiet Revival growth
has been steady for over 30 years and it is having a transfor-
mational impact on our communities.”
“There is certainly a quiet move of God, especially among
the poor in Boston,” said Pat McLeod, director of Boston
Metro Campus Crusade for Christ and a chaplain at Harvard
University. “People are responding to and following the lead-
ership of minority pastors in the city who seem to have the
anointing of God upon them.”
Tammy McLeod, also a Harvard University chaplain, agrees.
“It doesn’t feel like we’re in revival because the numbers of
people coming to Christ are still
low,” she said; but “it feels like we
are right on the edge of something
just exploding here.”
Mrs. McLeod is the wife of Pat
McLeod and the director of college
ministry at Boston’s Park Street Church. She believes God is
pulling the body of Christ together in anticipation of a future
revival.
One indicator, she believes, is the number of church planters
and workers moving into the Boston area and the unity with
which the various churches and ministries work together for
the Kingdom.
“Students are really important in all this,” according to Bass,
who cites the “caliber” of the students in the Boston area and
their potential to impact the future of the country and the
world as they become leaders.
According to Mrs. McLeod, ten percent, or 600 to 700 of
Harvard undergraduates are evangelical Christians–a high
number that she says would surprise most people.
“Boston churches, leaders, and events do have an impact on
Harvard students," said Chris Hampson, Harvard ’09. “The
spiritual climate of the Boston area is the backdrop against
which Harvard Christians live out their faith; and although it
may not be easily sensed, change in Boston does permeate
the Ivory Tower.”
Despite this, the McLeods and Bass agree there is a discon-
nect between the local communities and the students.
“Students are a big part of the population, but [they] tend to
be in their own world. There needs to be better pathways,”
Bass said.
To help build those pathways, one local church is reaching
out to students at Harvard, MIT and others through cooper-
ation with Campus Crusade and InterVarsity.
Park Street Church, a historical fixture in the city, has taken
an innovative approach to reaching undergraduate students
by putting their resources into a direct partnership with Cam-
pus Crusade for Christ known as Real Life Boston.
Real Life Boston is currently on twenty-
six campuses in the area and has the goal
of providing every student with the op-
portunity to hear the Gospel. Currently,
there are about 300,000 students in the
area, with approximately 500 under-
graduates attending Park Street alone,
according to Mrs. McLeod.
But Park Street isn’t simply trying to increase its own atten-
dance, she explained. This is a case of the Body of Christ
working together to increase God’s Kingdom. “We want to
partner with other churches,” she said.
“Boston is a particularly critical area because it is a hub for
internationals, especially students,” said Hampson.
And, with 25 percent of all heads of state having graduated
from a school in Boston, according to Mrs. McLeod, the po-
tential to carry the Gospel message worldwide is a key fac-
tor in the emphasis on Boston revitalization and revival.
But all that makes Boston great insofar as its esteem for ed-
ucation and its attraction to so many future leaders, could
also slow the momentum for revival, suggested Pat McLeod.
“God resists the proud, and I do think the Achilles heel of a
college city that has more of the nation’s top 40 universities
than any other city will be the feeder sin of pride,” he said.
“Revival only comes when there is brokenness; and that, of
course, is the opposite of pride.”
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
Harvard Chaplain Pat
McLeod anticipates great
movement in New England
as more and more Christians
migrate to the city and build
the Body of Christ.
R E V I V A L • R E A C H I N G T H E L O S TOn Campus
Page 32 The Ivy League Christian Observer
The Korean Church at Cornell, English ministry
(KCCE) has supported teams to Venezuela since
2005. Commonly referred to as “MTV” (Mission
Team Venezuela), the number of Cornell students who have
seen God’s work abroad firsthand through this program is
growing—and they have also seen their own lives changed.
KCCE members Jeffrey Bae ’07, Virginia Nam ‘08, and
Thomas Rho ’08 guided a fourth MTV group during a two-
week mission last summer. Bae and Nam have served in min-
istry to Venezuela since the initial MTV trip in 2005, which
focused on ministry around
Caracas. Three subsequent
trips, however, have been to
the city of Maracaibo to sup-
port the congregation of La
Comunidad Cristiana: El
Señor es Nuestra Victoria
(“The Christian Community:
The Lord is Our Victory”).
Plans for a spring 2008 trip
are already underway.
Led by Pastor Danilo Mon-
tero, both the young and the
old of La Comunidad Cris-
tiana have demonstrated the
love of Christ to every visit-
ing team thus far. Christopher
Kim ’07 observed, “I thought it embodied the description of a
true church–one that acts as one body and follows the Bible in
fellowship and family to the letter, like that one passage [in Acts
2] that talks about even eating with your brothers.”
La Communidad Cristiana was planted eight years ago when
Rev. Montero felt God calling him to start a small group, even
while he was part of another congregation. Though he did not
like the idea at first, he obeyed and eventually was led to plant
the church.
KCCE (www.kccem.org) coordinated its first MTV trip
through Youth with a Mission (YWAM), assisted by mission-
ary and translator Hector Chirinos. It was Chirinos who later in-
troduced KCCE to La Communidad Cristiana after praying
about how to encourage Rev. Montero’s fledgling congrega-
tion. The relationship between the two churches blossomed,
and Danilo asked KCCE in early 2007 to partner with them in
planting a new church in Los Altos Tres, a poverty-stricken city
on the outskirts of Maracaibo.
The new church is springing from a 40-member cell group
which began meeting after a Vacation Bible School session led
by the winter ’07 MTV team. Although the adults were not the
focus of the team at that time, God planted seeds in them
through the children that afternoon. Now there is a tangible de-
sire for change and a passion for spreading the good news of
Christ throughout this sprawling 100,000-person district.
Rev. Montero sees God’s
work in Los Altos Tres as
humbly addressing the needs
that accompany poverty. He
hopes to build not only a
church, but eventually a
Christian school, a clinic, and
a place where children can
eat. Despite enormous finan-
cial hindrances, Danilo still
has joy and trusts that God
will provide whatever is
needed. Indeed, Hector com-
ments, “One of the greatest
changes I see in Pastor
Danilo’s church is that they
are no longer a small group,
but rather a big church with big plans to advocate the Word of
God.”
The church body at La Comunidad Cristiana and its plant in
Los Altos Tres are brothers and sisters in Christ with whom
KCCE is building long-term relationships. With the projected
ground-breaking for the church in Los Altos Tres scheduled for
the summer of 2008, there will definitely be the potential for ad-
ditional partnering between the churches for years to come.
And although KCCE is a student church, its congregation be-
lieves the effectiveness of the MTV projects and the fellowship
between the congregations are affirmations that God uses the
weak and gives much grace to the humble—all so that their
boasting may be in the Lord.
By Biblia Kim, Cornell ‘08
PLANTING CHURCHES, HARVESTING SOULSKCCE Students Play Role in Venezuelan Church Growth
CCORNELL
Korean Church at Cornell, English ministry has been work-
ing to assist with Venezuelan church planting since 2005.
R E V I V A L • R E A C H I N G T H E L O S T On Campus
January 2008 Page 33
In an effort to debunk the multitude of colorful
opinions about Christianity and Jesus, Campus
Crusade for Christ, Chinese Bible Study, and Fel-
lowship of Christian Singaporeans held a joint event at Cornell
University on October 12 called “Friday Night Live” (FNL).
The goal of the event was simple: to share the biblical life and
person of Jesus Christ, to debunk myths regarding his life and
death, and to answer the questions: Who is Jesus? Why should
anyone care?
The event was borne out of a realization by ministry leaders
that views on Jesus are largely scattered and inaccurate. It is
difficult for people to see Jesus as
worthy of investigation, even more
so worthy of praise, when the general
view of the person of Jesus is so mis-
construed.
FNL opened with a praise team com-
posed of Campus Crusade and Chi-
nese Bible Study members. The
musical selection was wide, with
both classical hymns (“In Christ
Alone”) and modern rock (David
Crowder Band’s “Glory of It All”) to
suit all tastes.
Two emcees welcomed the audience
and introduced the first speaker, a
Cornell student described as a “hard-
core-athiest-turned-Christian.” He shared his testimony of how
he went from an adamant and outspoken unbeliever to a hun-
gry and needy believer through a series of difficult and life-
transforming events by the power of the Holy Spirit. The
testimony brought laughs as well as silent moments.
Next, a brief video was played in which a number of Cornell
students were interviewed during the preceding days and asked
the following questions: Who is Jesus? What do you think of
when you think of Jesus? Who do you think Christians think
Jesus is? The question “Who is Jesus?” garnered some of the
most interesting answers:
“A good idea”
“A good guy who had a lot going for him, who was right on
about a lot of stuff…but not right on about a lot of other things.”
“A man who died for sin, right? … I think his death had some-
thing to do with sin.”
“The second part of the Trinity.”
The video ended and a short message was delivered by a stu-
dent member of Crusade. The message began by describing
Jesus as the most popular person in human history; more songs
have been sung about him, more paintings painted of him, and
more books written about him than any other person. Jesus is
prevalent in pop culture, the speaker described, most notably
proven by the large number of students and even celebrities
who can be found wearing a cross
around their necks.
But what does the cross really mean?
The message continued by describ-
ing Jesus’ life, who he said he was,
and how he died a gruesome death
on the cross. The speaker described
what the cross achieved: reconcilia-
tion between God and man and the
absorbance of God’s wrath for man
poured out on his only Son. Histori-
cal evidence was also presented
which described Jesus’ life, death,
and resurrection. Numerous authors
have written that more evidence ex-
ists for Jesus’ life than Julius Cae-
sar’s. Students listened as the Gospel was laid out in simple and
plain terms, as the life and death of Jesus was described as hav-
ing more weight than the life and death of just another teacher.
At the end of the event, the emcees invited everyone to Hans
Bethe House, a nearby residential program house, for snacks
and board games.
While it is unclear and impossible to detect the direct result of
such an event on people’s hearts, one thing is clear: it is im-
portant to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to believers and
non-believers, to know Christ and help make him known. It is
the hope and prayer of Crusade, Chinese Bible Study, and
Christian Singaporeans at Cornell that FNL and future events
like it help achieve just that.
By Behzad Varamini, Cornell Graduate School
FRIDAY NIGHT LIVEEvent Introduces Students to The Real Jesus
CCORNELL
Cornell’s Campus Crusade for Christ, Chinese
Bible Study, and Fellowship of Christian
Singaporeans hosted “Friday Night Live”
to debunk myths regarding the life and
death of Jesus Christ.
R E V I V A L • R E A C H I N G T H E L O S TOn Campus
Page 34 The Ivy League Christian Observer
Like most schools in the Ivy League, Dart-
mouth’s roots are steeped in Christian her-
itage. Established in 1769 by Eleazer
Wheelock, a Congregational minister, the college sought
to educate the local Native American community and
share the Gospel with them. More than 200 years later,
the spreading of Christianity is no longer a hallmark of
the institution. But a handful of Christian staff and fac-
ulty remain committed to integrating faith with their ac-
ademic lives and to reaching out to students in the name
of Christ.
Dartmouth’s Faculty/Staff
Fellowship is a group of
Dartmouth educators, staff
members, and their spouses
who share the organiza-
tion’s vision to “cooperate
with God in the advance-
ment of His Kingdom, both
in our personal lives and at
the college as a whole.”
The Fellowship’s constitu-
tion goes on to state, “We
would like this group to be a visible expression of our
unity and common commitment to Jesus Christ. We be-
lieve that such unity expresses the heart of God.”
“I think that it’s a combination of ministry to us and
mission to people outside of us,” said Richard Denton,
a research professor in physics and one of the ministry
founders.
According to Denton, the members meet to encourage
one another in the unique, intellectual environment of
the university. They also work to reach out to students
by sponsoring and participating in events such as the
panel discussion “What’s Important to Me?” and by as-
sisting with the creation of the Apologia, Dartmouth’s
student Christian journal. The ministry has hosted a
number of receptions and barbeques for students as
well.
“One thing we think is important,” said Denton, “is to
have some kind of presence so people know there is a
Christian group visible—that there are such things as
Christians [on campus].”
Although Denton works in the science field with others
who do not share his Christian beliefs, Denton said that,
for the most part, his colleagues are not openly antago-
nistic toward him or his faith; however, their attitudes
are not seemingly open to religious belief.
Still, he said, “It’s not as
hard to be a Christian as
some people think at the
university. It’s not usually
like people are waiting to
pounce on you when they
find out you’re Christian.”
But simply to be tolerated
isn’t what Denton strives
for, either.
“I think for me, Dartmouth
has been a mission,” Denton said. “I feel like this is
where my interest has been in reaching out more than
any other place…I pray a lot here.”
Dartmouth’s founders created a university environment
that would educate the mind and strengthen the soul.
Denton said he too has a vision for God to do something
at Dartmouth. That “something”, he believes, goes be-
yond meetings or efforts on the part of individuals.
“What we do [in the ministry] is nice,” he said, “but I’m
looking for the Holy Spirit to do a much greater thing
here at Dartmouth in terms of awakening.”
Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
A HERITAGE OF FAITHProfessor draws encouragement from University’s Christian roots
DDARTMOUTH
“Dartmouth’s founders created auniversity environment that wouldeducate the mind and strengthenthe soul. Denton said he too has avision for God to do something atDartmouth. That “something”, hebelieves, goes beyond meetings orefforts on the part of individuals.”
S T U D E N T L I F E On Campus
January 2008 Page 35
On Friday, October 26, fourteen Harvard stu-
dents set their coursework aside and took a trip
to the other end of Boston Metro’s “Red Line”
to attend the Ivy League Student Leadership Conference,
hosted by Christian Union (www.Christian-union.org) at
the Radisson Hotel in Rockland, MA. These students,
members of Harvard’s Christian Impact Fellowship
(www.harvard.edu/icb), had the opportunity to spend time
both together and with
students from other Ivy
League schools, engag-
ing in worship, discus-
sion, and hang time. The
music team from City
Life Church, with sev-
eral members from the
Berkeley College of
Music, led worship dur-
ing the event.
According to Daniel
Lorenzana ’09, the pur-
pose of the conference
was to enable interns
and staff with Campus
Crusade to talk about
their experiences and to
help college students
sort through the plethora
of concerns that often
accompany thinking about the future, including finances
and relationships with parents. The theme of Lordship was
central to helping students think about full-time ministry
and put their future into a helpful perspective, Lorenzana
said. Questions addressed included: What does it mean
that Christ is the Lord of our lives? What does it look like?
Carol Green ’09 related that one of the most meaningful
aspects of the conference was a profound yet hilarious talk
given by Rick James, a national speaker and a publisher
with Cru Press (Campus Crusade for Christ). James spoke
on being a child of God, being forgiven by God, and plan-
ning for the future. He encouraged the students to think
far ahead when planning their lives—“nothing less than
10,000 years,” said Green. This concept moved the focus
beyond the individual: “campuses don’t need us, they
need Jesus,” Green said, citing one of James’ talks.
After several of the talks by other featured speakers, the
students broke into small groups and answered questions.
Students from colleges in different locales, but with so
many similar characteristics, were able to share perspec-
tives, encouragement,
and challenges. Com-
mon challenges at Ivy
League schools include
pressure to achieve and
overzealousness for
time, remarked Loren-
zana. Comparing notes
with people from other
schools is particularly
helpful in the light of the
particular character of
Ivy League culture.
Even more time spent
with students from other
schools would have
been useful, noted
Green.
At the same time, noted
Lorenzana, part of the
helpfulness of the week-
end was in its distance from the business of normal col-
lege life. “It took me out of the busy work atmosphere of
Harvard and gave me time to interact with my fellow lead-
ers,” he said. A designated “campus time” gave students
the opportunity to huddle with their peers and spend some
time communicating about the current issues on their cam-
puses.
For the group from Harvard, communication and evan-
gelism was a theme, and the extra time spent off-campus
working through group direction and group dynamics was
extremely helpful.
By Christopher Hampson, Harvard ’10
LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE MAKES AN ‘IMPACT’Students Gather for Time of Discussion, Worship, and Fellowship
HHARVARD
Students from around the Ivy League attended the Ivy Student
Leadership Conference in Massachusetts to explore ministry
leadership and work after graduation.
S T U D E N T L I F EOn Campus
Page 36 The Ivy League Christian Observer
How do you take the enormity of the Catholic
Church and make it personal to roughly 6,000 stu-
dents? By bringing the faith home.
And that’s what Penn senior Luly Trevino and the Penn New-
man Center are doing through informal groups that meet weekly
in student dorms on campus. The Newman Community Groups
are designed to help students explore their faith and build a
closer relationship to Jesus Christ, Trevino said. The meetings
allow time for students to ask personal questions about their
faith, discuss issues, and share
their experiences as Christians at
Penn.
Trevino spearheaded the effort to
reach out to help the nearly 6,000
self-described Catholic students at
Penn and help them reconnect
with their faith about two years
ago.
She said it’s easy for students to
feel somewhat isolated or distant
since the Newman Center is lo-
cated at the edge of campus. In
addition, she said, depending
upon what Mass students attend
on Sunday, they might not get to
know other Catholic students.
Father Charles Zlock, chaplain and director of the Newman
Center at Penn, (www.newman.upenn.edu), explained that
Trevino was among a group of Catholic students who estab-
lished the community groups to reach out to their fellow
Catholics on campus and make connecting easier.
“I’m in awe of these young people,” Zlock said, “I continue to
be incredibly moved by their commitment and the depth of their
inquiry.”
According to Zlock, the students have lots of questions. The
Community Groups provide a safe, open environment where
those questions can be asked. The students are then encouraged
to seek answers for themselves.
The groups are not a substitute for mass, nor are they classes
where students are provided pat answers. “Questions are part of
the faith experience,” Zlock explained. “We give them permis-
sion to live in the question and wrestle with the discomfort.”
While the groups are open to all students on campus, regardless
of their religious background, the discussions are decidedly
Catholic. It’s not ecumenical, Trevino explained, and students
don’t talk about similarities of varying faiths. They discuss the
Catholic faith and what it means to be a Catholic Christian.
Catholic students commonly face challenges from others about
their beliefs, and the community
groups provide a forum where
those tough questions can be ad-
dressed. It’s also an opportunity
for students to reaffirm their own
beliefs and to identify with other
intelligent, like-minded believers,
Trevino explained.
Faith can place a student at the an-
tithesis of academic culture;
Trevino noted that she does sense
a bias against Catholics on cam-
pus.
“What I feel from students is that
they think we are judgmental,”
she said. Students sometimes
avoid talking about certain things
[in front of her] because they know she is Catholic and assume
she would look down on them, she explained.
“In classes, it’s an impression that we don’t think for ourselves
because of the Vatican,” Trevino said. “Professors look down on
people who are very religious.”
Zlock said the Community Groups also provide a solace for the
students. They afford an opportunity for them to be “spiritually
searching” and provide an atmosphere where they are not ex-
pected to know all of the answers. This, he said, stands in con-
trast to the academic environment at Penn where many believe
it is the place to come to get all the answers.
This effort to reach out to fellow Catholics is not unique to Penn.
In fact, according to Zlock, Newman Centers have been estab-
THIS TIME IT’S PERSONALMinistry Helps Students Connect with their Catholic Faith
PPENN
The Newman Community Groups at Penn offer
Catholic students the opportunity to connect with
each other and grow deeper in their faith.
S T U D E N T L I F E On Campus
January 2008 Page 37
lished worldwide as part of a movement on the part of the
Catholic Church to reach Christians on a more personal level.
“The Catholic Church is big. It’s a big, institutional Church,”
said Zlock, who noted how the church comes to the aid of peo-
ple in need when a disaster strikes. “We’ve built a well-oiled
machine. Where I think we have fallen short in the last several
years is that at its core, the Catholic Church is about personal re-
lationship[s]. That’s where we come up short.”
Zlock said the Church has not been known in the past for its
hospitality, but things are changing. Grassroots efforts like the
Newman Community Group and parish small groups are bring-
ing the Church to the homes and dorms of Catholics worldwide,
uniting them through a spirit of hospitality which is grounded in
the love and acceptance of Jesus Christ.
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
There’s a new family in the ministry community
at Brown, and its name is Chi Alpha (www.chial-
pha.com). Also know by the Greek letters XA,
the ministry takes its name from the Greek phrase christou
apostolio which means “Christ’s sent ones,” and it “seeks to
reconcile students to Christ.”
While its name may sound like a fraternity, this is no mere
social club. XA is dedicated to
“following Jesus Christ and
making Him famous around
the world,” said ministry di-
rector John Michaelson.
Founded in 1953 at Missouri
State University, XA is lo-
cated on more than 200 cam-
puses worldwide. Although an
Assemblies of God ministry,
the organization is very inter-
denominational, said Michael-
son, who cares more about the
hearts of the students than
their denominational affilia-
tions.
Michaelson and his wife
Lynne, who works with the ministry part-time, came to Prov-
idence from Texas where they served at the University of
Texas-Austin. They had previously ministered at Ohio State
University.
“The climate at Brown is challenging,” said Michaelson. “In
Texas, the students assume that they are in a culture where
there are a lot of Christians. To be a Christian [at Brown] is
different. It’s very different.”
Adding to the challenge of being a Christian at Brown, said
Michaelson, is the preconceived notion many non-believers
have of Christians, particularly evangelicals. Many tend to
associate Christianity with conservative politics.
“(The term) ‘evangelical’ now has a political, red-state
image,” said Michaelson.
“Colleges are blue-state.”
It’s hard, he explained, for stu-
dents who don’t have a back-
ground in the church to
understand that there is a dif-
ference between faith and pol-
itics.
Christians at Brown run into
students who may never have
been inside a church or had a
conversation with a Christian,
Michaelson explained. As a
result, he believes Christian
students often feel like they
have to be on the defensive,
ready to defend their faith.
“If you’re Christian, you’ve
got to be strong to make it,” he said.
“A lot of what we feel like we’re doing right now is damage
control,” he said. “That’s kind of sad, but it also gives us an
opportunity to preach what we believe.”
And helping students share that Gospel is what XA is about.
“We feel our goal is to help students to be Christ’s ambassa-
HELPING STUDENTS SHARE THE GOOD NEWSChi Alpha Seeks to Strengthen Christian Students at Brown
BBROWN
Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship may be new to the Brown
campus, but ministry leaders are working to give the
ministry a permanent home.
S T U D E N T L I F EOn Campus
Page 38 The Ivy League Christian Observer
dors,” said Michaelson. “God is using us as tools of recon-
ciliation between Himself and others and impacting the uni-
versity, the marketplace, and the world.”
Chi Alpha also takes a special interest in ministering to in-
ternational students. When they return to their home coun-
tries and become leaders, according to Michaelson, that
impacts the world.
Although XA only has about a half-dozen student members,
they are working toward being an officially-recognized cam-
pus ministry. They can’t host outreach events on campus to
encourage further growth until they receive that recognition,
due to university requirements.
Once the ministry is established, Michaelson and his wife
plan to firmly plant XA on the campus. He said they had been
looking to serve in an area that had a spiritual void and a
need. By many accounts, New England certainly fits that de-
scription.
“When we told people that we were going to New England,”
Michaelson said, “they were like, ‘Wow, they really need
God’.”
In addition, there are many Christians who believe that de-
spite the current spiritual void, New England will be the site
of revival. Michaelson is among them.
“It’s exciting to be here,” he said. “I really believe that some-
thing is going to happen here in New England…another
Great Awakening.”
And XA stands ready with Brown’s other campus ministries
to work toward making way for the Lord to bring that Awak-
ening.
Michaelson said that XA has had a good reception at Brown
and that the other Christians they’ve come to know are “ex-
cited” there is another group there. He admits that he’s sensed
a sort of competition among student ministries on some other
campuses where he’s served. And that competition is some-
thing Michaelson said ministries on Ivy League campuses
can’t afford.
“The work is so great and the people are so resistant to the
Gospel that if you don’t have a spirit of cooperation and unity
you’re not going to do any good,” he said.
Unity is a bit of a buzzword among students on campuses,
Michaelson said, and many of them talk about being on the
same team. “But we really feel it here. We feel like we’re not
trying to create one group, but we are all one body—the body
of Christ.”
In other words, as the ministry family at Brown continues to
grow, there is a shared desire to bring Jesus to into the hearts
of students and prepare the way for the Lord’s awakening.
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
The Eighth Commandment simply states, “Thou
shalt not steal.” Most would agree this com-
mandment set down by God through Moses is
pretty straightforward. The taking of another’s property is
usually a clear-cut case of right and wrong. But when it
comes to the pilfering of the ideas, thoughts, and words of
others, the ensuing ambiguity can make this commandment
seem more like a request than an order.
Merriam-Webster defines plagiarize as “to steal and pass off
(the ideas or words of another) as one’s own” and “to com-
mit literary theft.” And while its occurrence is not rampant
within the Ivies, the student, professor, or alumnus who is
caught with a hand in the idea cookie jar attracts wide atten-
tion and public scrutiny.
Harvard suffered a particularly troublesome episode last year
when an undergraduate student, lauded for her first published
novel, was later exposed as a plagiarist as portions of her
book mirrored those of a previously-published work. As this
academic year began, the issue of properly citing work was
raised throughout the Ivy League to help dissuade would-be
plagiarists from lifting others’ thoughts and words.
For example, university websites dedicate sections to defin-
ing the terms and conditions of plagiarism and the conse-
quences associated with them. Some schools, like the
University of Pennsylvania, offer expansive resources to both
students and faculty, including faculty tips for informing stu-
dents about plagiarism as well as links to various cites that
might be used by cheating students.
RUNNING OUT OF FRESH IDEAS Battling Plagiarism in the Ivy League
IALL IVY
S T U D E N T L I F E On Campus
January 2008 Page 39
Other schools such as Yale have offered “integrity aware-
ness” events to bring the issue of original work to the fore-
front of students’ minds.
“It is unethical in every discipline and not permissible,” said
Jon Butler, dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
at Yale. “We want our students to be aware of the ethical stan-
dards within the school. These standards are prevalent in in-
dustry and academia. Whether at Merck [Pharmaceuticals]
or the University, they are going to be in trouble for plagia-
rizing. It’s simply wrong.”
But this “literary theft” goes beyond industry and academia;
even those with a “higher-calling” have been felled by the
lure of plagiarism. As author Thomas G. Long writes in The
Christian Century, “Pulpit plagiarism may not be new, but
there is plenty of evidence that the practice is spreading and
that the kerosene on the fire is the Internet. Not only are thou-
sands of sermons available for the snatching on church Web
pages, but scores of commercial sites hawk complete ser-
mons, illustrations, outlines, images, and PowerPoint ac-
companiments for a fee.”
Students, too, are faced with the digital temptation of pre-
written reports and papers found on such boldly named web
sites as the Evil House of Cheat and eCheat.com (where “It’s
not Cheating, It’s Collaborating”) and many others.
Although called e-Cheat, the site states it was created to “pro-
vide a reference for students writing papers.” As long as you
cite the paper, it’s not really cheating, the e-Cheaters claim in
their FAQs. Yet, according to Valerie Ross, director for the
Critical Writing Program at Penn, these “paper mill” docu-
ments would not be acceptable documentation as a source.
“The papers are dreadful,” she said. “The caliber of writing
at papermills isn’t good.” Ross said the papers are either
poorly written or they are “too knowing,” meaning the lan-
guage would make it too difficult to have been written by an
undergraduate.
However, even if a student could pull the wool over the eyes
of an instructor, e-cheaters may be doing battle in their own
domain as campuses begin using plagiarism detection soft-
ware such as turnitin.com. Currently available at Harvard
and Penn, this software enables instructors to electronically
scan papers for common sentences and phrases that are avail-
able in on-line works.
But the particulars of digital cheating or digital detection fall
short of the fundamental question around plagiarism, which
often lies in the intent.
“There are students who don’t know they are cheating,” Ross
contends. “For the most part,” she said, “the students who
are plagiarizing are writing under a great deal of stress. They
tend to be doing it under duress.” Still, she admits there are
those “frauds who have found ways to get by with cheating.”
One student from Cornell echoes those sentiments: “It’s im-
portant to combat plagiarism in general, in order to maintain
academic integrity and, not to mention, the creative rights of
the original author(s). But it’s also equally important not to
be so quick to define all those who do plagiarize… as crim-
inals. Plagiarism may be considered a crime in certain
places, but it is really unfortunate for a stressed-out college
student to be permanently labeled as a plagiarizer on their
record just for misciting a quotation in a final paper.”
Even if the act is not criminal, a sampling of students ques-
tioned by the ILCO about plagiarism still considered it to be
sinful, immoral, and unethical. And for Christian students
committed to following Jesus Christ, honoring God means
honoring University honor codes regardless of the conse-
quences.
Dan Knapke, director of undergraduate ministry for Prince-
ton Faith and Action, recalls an incident last semester when
a senior at Princeton came to believe that he had cheated
Students, professors and graduates all wrestle with the challenges of authentic writing and proper citation when producing
academic public works.
S T U D E N T L I F EOn Campus
Page 40 The Ivy League Christian Observer
early on in his classes. Despite the potential ramifications of
admitting to violating the honor code, the student notified the
professors for those classes. In the end, upon in-depth dis-
cussion with the professors, it was determined the student
had not, in fact, cheated. The situation, however, exemplifies
the struggle some students have with clearly understanding
the guidelines for the honor codes, and more importantly
epitomizes that one’s values and faith do not stop at the class-
room door.
However, for Valerie Ross to plagiarize or not to plagiarize
is not necessarily the question. Rather, she questions the con-
cept of owning ideas in the first place.
“None of us has an original idea,” Ross states. She explains
that much of what we know has come from our life experi-
ences such as our parents, the books we read as children, and
so forth. “You’d need a history of your subjectivity before
saying whose idea it is,” she said. “There is nothing new.”
Or as French moralist and essayist Marquis de Vauvenargues
(1715-1747) put it, “Every thought is new when an author
expresses it in a manner peculiar to himself.”
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
If there is one thing that keeps Christmas cheer
at bay throughout the Ivy League in early De-
cember, it’s the intensity of thousands of stu-
dents working diligently to finish final papers and exams
and get home for the holidays. This is true even at Har-
vard and Princeton, where finals aren’t taken until after
Christmas.
“In general,” one student said, “I think the average Chris-
tian Harvard student is extremely busy wrapping up pa-
pers-essay papers, not wrapping paper-right up to our
break… and then we all leave to celebrate Christmas with
our families. I’m afraid that you’ll find that the time that
feels Christmas-like [before the break] is a very short
piece of time. It doesn’t feel like Christmas to me until
I’ve left school, and I’m pretty sure most of my friends
here feel the same way.”
But even if the students had time to look up from their lap-
tops during the Christmas season, they may see “holiday”
trees and “holiday” decorations, but what they wouldn’t
see—despite the Christian heritage of most of the
schools—are more overt symbols.
At Cornell, Dean of Students Kent Hubbell stated, “Indi-
vidual students are free to express themselves as they
wish. Institutionally, we don’t set up nativity displays in
consideration for those in our population who do not ob-
serve Christmas. However, holiday decorations, trees, etc.,
are present in many locations throughout the campus.”
In recent years, the Christmas season has ignited nearly
as many political issues as spiritual ones. Who can say
Merry Christmas at what store, and what interfaith sym-
bols of the season peacefully co-exist on municipal lawns
around the country tend to take the headlines.
Around the Ivy League, however, students and ministry
leaders reported that anti-Christmas sentiments seen else-
where in the country are not seen as a big issue at the
schools. Although, that may once again be due to the
“blinding” effect of studies.
Brodie Herb, a staff member with Brown’s College Hill
for Christ, said that most students are too consumed with
finals to be concerned with the effort of some in society to
keep Christ out of Christmas.
According to Clay Daniel, director of Yale’s Reformed
United Fellowship, “Holiday events are tough with cam-
pus ministry…as most students are home during the
salient times.” Daniel and his wife did host a gathering at
their home for Reformed United Fellowship (RUF) lead-
ers on December 8 and a campus-wide Christmas party
for RUF was also held.
However, in spite of the many demands of the academy,
and the absence of some Christmas symbols, the spirit of
Christ’s birth and the altruism of the season still twinkled
amidst the clouds of work as students and staff of the uni-
versities brought the season to life through song, worship,
and selflessness.
Cornell hosted the annual Sage Chapel Christmas pro-
gram, which according to Hubbell is one of the most pop-
DO HOLLY AND IVY MIX?Finals Put Christmas on Hold for Some Students
IALL IVY
S T U D E N T L I F E On Campus
January 2008 Page 41
ular and well-attended events during the season. The pro-
gram included music by the Cornell University Glee Club
and Chorus and readings from the Bible by prominent
members of the Cornell community.
On December 6, Music of the Season at Yale was held.
The annual event featured the Yale Glee Club Chamber
Singers, the Yale Collegium Players, the Yale College
Chamber Singers, and members of the Yale Concert band.
Additionally, Princeton’s University Chapel was the site
of an Advent Concert by the Chapel Choir.
At Dartmouth, holiday giving started in early November
when the Church of Christ at Dartmouth opened its annual
“Christmas Market with a Difference.” What makes this
market different is that all profits from the market are re-
turned to the non-profit organizations that participated in
it. In addition, each year, the church also purchases gifts
and clothes for families, children, and adults in the Upper
Valley.
The Dartmouth newspaper reported that the University’s
Center for Advanced Learning put a new twist on office
giving by pooling money usually spent on intra-office
gifts to purchase a goat from Heifer International, a non-
profit organization working to end world hunger by con-
necting animals with struggling families worldwide.
Students involved in Cornell’s Fellowship of Christian
Athletes (FCA) participated in Operation Christmas Child,
a project of Samaritan’s Purse. FCA members coordinated
the effort at Cornell, where students shopped for items to
fill shoeboxes that were distributed to needy children. In
addition, some Cornell’s FCA members sent Christmas
cards to U.S. military members overseas.
So, despite political correctness and busy schedules, the
sentiments and gestures of Christmas were present in the
Ivy League to some extent. And despite studying into the
wee hours and missing nativity scenes, it wasn’t a totally
“Silent Night.”
By Eileen Scott, Senior Writer
Exam preparations delay Christmas cheer for a lot of Ivy League students. Nonetheless, some ministries find time to
celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
photo by Pam Traeger
N E W S - I N - B R I E F
Page 42 The Ivy League Christian Observer
Boston University Conference Highlights
‘Evangelical Intelligentsia’
Christian Union Founder
and President Matt Ben-
nett joined several Ivy
League alumni, students,
and faculty at Opening of
the Evangelical Mind, a
conference sponsored by
Boston University’s Insti-
tute on Culture, Reli-
gion, and World Affairs
(CURA). The confer-
ence, held in December,
was designed to “illumi-
nate the development, contributions, and cultural conse-
quences” of the emerging evangelical intellectual elite, or
“evangelical intelligentsia,” according to CURA.
Participants in the event included: Nicholas Wolterstorff,
Ph.D., Harvard, and former Noah Porter Professor of
Philosophical Theology at Yale, Andrew Schuman, Dart-
mouth ’10, founder and executive editor of Dartmouth’s
Apologia, and D. Michael Lindsay, Ph.D., Princeton, and
author of Faith in the Halls of Power, among many others.
Christians Seen as ‘Cool’ at School
According to a November article by
Reuters News Service, it’s “cool to
be Christian on campus.” Reporter
Andrea Hopkins determined that
“while public colleges in America
were once considered hostile terri-
tory for religious students, a revival
among both evangelical and tradi-
tional churches on campus has made
it safe–and even cool–to be a college
Christian.”
The article also cited a 2004 Univer-
sity of California-Los Angeles sur-
vey which concluded that “8 of 10
college students attend religious
services, 90 percent discuss religion
or spirituality with friends, and 69 percent pray.”
“There’s an increasing acceptance that intellectualism and
Christianity go hand in hand,” stated Christian Union
Founder and President Matt Bennett in the article. Bennett,
Cornell ’88, said between three and nine percent of Ivy
League undergraduates now participate in various Chris-
tian activities each week.
Study: Parental Involve-
ment Benefits Student’s
College Experience
According to an article in
Family Edge, the National
Survey of Student Engagement
determined that involved par-
ents are beneficial to the qual-
ity of life of college students.
“Compared with their coun-
terparts, children of ‘heli-
copter parents’ [termed so
because they hover closely
near their children] were more
satisfied with every aspect of their college experience,
gained more in such areas as critical thinking, and were more
likely to talk with faculty and peers about substantive top-
ics,” survey director George D. Kuh said in the article.
College Parents of America President James Boyle said in-
volvement of college parents is a natural offshoot of the em-
phasis put on the benefits of parental involvement during
grades K-12.
Christian Union Board of Directors
Names New Member
Lolita Jackson, Penn ’87, was recently named to the Chris-
tian Union Board of Directors. Jackson is in her second
year serving as president of Christian Union’s New York
City ministry. Jackson is also the Manhattan director for
Mayor Bloomberg’s Community Affairs Unit in New York
City.
“Lolita has such a heart for the Ivy League and New York
City,” said Carol Fausnaught, vice president for City Chris-
ALL IVY
Christian Union Founder and
President Matt Bennett,
Cornell ’88, joined other Ivy
League alumni and students
for the Opening of the Evan-
gelical Mind conference in
Boston.
An article by
Reuters News
Service deter-
mined that “a re-
vival” among
churches on
campuses has
made it “cool” to
be a Christian on
campus.
Children of so-called
“helicopter” parents,
those who hover over
their children’s lives,
were more satisfied with
their college experi-
ences, according to the
National Survey of Stu-
dent Engagement.
CHRISTIAN UNION
N E W S - I N - B R I E F
January 2008 Page 43
tian Unions and director of Public Affairs for Christian
Union. “She is a tremendous asset.”
Students Put Faith in Action at Princeton
Enthusiasm from a group
of Princeton University
students interested in
sharing their faith
prompted leaders of
Princeton Faith and Ac-
tion (pfanda.com), the
Christian Union’s under-
graduate ministry, to hold
evangelism training ses-
sions in November.
About 25 students at-
tended the first session
on Nov. 17, and 15 or so
returned for the second session on Dec. 1. Princeton Faith
and Action Director Dan Knapke led the training, which
took place in three-hour sessions on Saturdays at the Wil-
son House.
“It’s part of the larger initiative to equip and motivate the
students to reach out and share their faith with their
friends,” said Lorri Bentch, a ministry fellow with the
Christian Union.
Persevering with Prayer and
People Is Theme at CU
Luncheon
Tom Campisi, managing editor of
the Ivy League Christian Ob-
server, delivered the devotional
message at Christian Union’s
monthly luncheon for Princeton
University staff members on No-
vember 13 at Wilson House in
Princeton. His message, “Perse-
vering with Prayer and People,”
referenced the “Hall of Faith” found in Hebrews 11. Camp-
isi shared his testimony about coming to Christ at the Col-
lege of New Jersey through InterVarsity and encouraged
the Princeton Faith and Action campus ministry team with
Galatians 6:9: “Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not
give up.”
Brown Featured in PBS Segment:
‘Religion vs. Spirituality’
Public Broadcasting
System featured Brown
University during its
November 9 segment of
Religion and Ethics
Newsweekly. “Religion
vs. Spirituality” included interviews with some evangelical
Christians, Buddhists, Muslims and others who are Brown stu-
dents. The show differentiated between an observance of reli-
gious traditions and an authentic faith that is deepened by
practice.
Brown was depicted as a place where religions can and
should be challenged because such tests can strengthen the
faith of true believers. Two students discussed the trials
they faced when they arrived at Brown because of their
Christianity and their need to defend their faith.
University Extends Compassion to
Children of Fire Victims
Brown University is among sevenRhode Island colleges and universi-ties pledging to provide scholarshipsand financial aid to seventy-six chil-dren who lost a parent in The Stationnightclub fire of 2003.
The institutions are offering a varietyof tuition and aid services. Specifi-cally, Brown plans to open its sum-mer college preparatory program tothe children. The offer to students willremain in effect until 2024, in orderto include the youngest child whowas an infant at the time of the fire.
Lolita Jackson (Penn ’87), president of
New York City Christian Union, was
recently named to the Christian Union
Board of Directors.
Dan Knapke, director of
Undergraduate Ministry for
Christian Union, talks with
Princeton students about
sharing the Gospel during
evangelism training at Wilson
House in Princeton.
Tom Campisi,
managing editor of
the Ivy LeagueChristian Observer,spoke about
perseverance at
the November
Christian Union
staff luncheon.
BROWN
Students and Chaplains at
Brown University were the
focus of PBS’s “Religion and
Ethics Newsweekly.”
Brown University
is offering schol-
arships and
assistance to chil-
dren who lost par-
ents in the tragic
nightclub fire in
Rhode Island.
N E W S - I N - B R I E F
Page 44 The Ivy League Christian Observer
Holiday Events Encourage Service and
Stronger Relationships
Brown’s College Hill for Christ
(www.collegehillforchrist.com)
and Athletes In Action
(www.aiaatbrown.com) held
their annual fall retreat in mid-
October, challenging students
to live out the Gospel through
growing in their relation-
ships with each other, with
God, and with non-Christ-
ian students on campus.
Additionally, as the holidays approached, students hosted a
Thanksgiving dinner and a Christmas party to encourage
service and stronger relationships among those within the
ministries and with other students on campus. Nearly half
of the 50 people who attended the Christmas party were non-
Christian, providing opportunities for outreach and cama-
raderie among the students. Christian Union provided grant
money to help support these ministry efforts.
Upperclassmen Serve Freshman
Columbia Students for Christ
(www.columbia.edu/cu/ccc/)
held a class dinner on Oc-
tober 16. Upperclassmen
cooked a homemade meal
for attending freshmen, giv-
ing them a respite from din-
ing hall food. Icebreakers
were used to help encour-
age interaction and the din-
ner also included a time of
prayer and worship.
According to the event’s coordinators, the purpose
was to connect with freshmen and develop deep and
meaningful relationships with them. The event was
partially funded by a Christian Union grant.
Columbia Student Wins Religion Reporting Award
Tina Shah, a graduate student at Columbia’s Graduate
School of Journalism, won the 2007 Chandler Award for
Student Religion Reporter of the Year. The award is part
of several contests sponsored by the Religion Newswrit-
ers Association (RNA) that aim to honor excellence in re-
ligion reporting in mainstream media. Shah received her
award at the 2007 RNA Annual Contest Awards Banquet,
September 29, in San Antonio, Texas.
Ministries Reach out at Thanksgiving
InterVarsity, Columbia Stu-
dents for Christ, and Korea
Campus Crusade for Christ
came together for a Thanks-
giving outreach activity that
focused on inter-ministry
bonding through serving the
community. On November
17, students volunteered
with the Latino Pastoral Ac-
tion Center in the Bronx.
Groups spent time praying,
serving Thanksgiving dinner to homeless people, and tak-
ing part in the Homeless Plunge, an activity in which stu-
dents went into the surrounding community to befriend the
homeless and share a meal with them.
God is the Constant at Concert
Measureless and aRise, two Christian performing arts
groups on Cornell’s campus, held a joint program themed
God is the Constant on November 4. Measureless demon-
strated its a capella ministry and performed accompany-
ing skits; aRise, a group founded during the spring ’07
semester, shared the Gospel story through dance. Directed
toward believers and non-believers alike, the semi-annual
College Hill for Christ
and Athletes in Action
teamed up to host a va-
riety of outreach events
for Brown students.
COLUMBIA
Columbia Students for
Christ hosted a class
dinner for freshmen
this fall with upper-
classman cooking the
meal.
Tina Shah, a student at Columbia’s
Graduate School of Journalism, received
the 2007 Chadler Award for Student
Religion Reporter of the Year.
At Thanksgiving,
Columbia students
prayed together and fed
the hungry in the Bronx
and Manhattan.
CORNELL
N E W S - I N - B R I E F
January 2008 Page 45
concert gathered members of several campus ministries
and their friends.
Cornell Christians go Into the Streets
Into the Streets, a program estab-
lished by Cornell students in 1992
through the Cornell Public Serv-
ice Center, focused on clean-up
efforts in the Ithaca area on Octo-
ber 27. The program is designed
to promote a lifetime of commu-
nity service. Into the Streets
caught the attention of Christian
campus ministries and churches in
the Cornell area, which saw its
ability to tangibly serve and love
others in the community. The out-
reach was expanded to span three
New York counties in 2006.
Campus On A Hill Leaders’ Forum
Leadership from various Cor-
nell ministries met December 1
to exchange ideas, share prayer
requests, and provide ministry
updates to Campus On A Hill
(COAH) leadership. COAH, an
umbrella organization for Chris-
tian groups on the Cornell cam-
pus, desires to unify and
strengthen efforts make Christ
known at the university. The
forum was in addition to the
weekly COAH meetings at-
tended by one representative
from each participating ministry.
Trustee: University Leaders
Don’t Believe in God, Country
Dartmouth Trustee Todd Zywicki ’88
generated controversy and criticism
from fellow alumni and the Dart-
mouth community when he spoke
October 27 at the John William Pope
Center for Higher Education Policy
in Raleigh, N.C.
In his speech, Zywicki accused
donors to the academy of “buying in-
dulgences for being rich,” referred to
former Dartmouth President James
Freedman as an “evil man,” and de-
clared that those who control the uni-
versity “don’t believe in God or
country.”
Zywicki later told Higher Education
Online that he was speaking in an in-
formal manner and “didn’t mean
many things to be taken literally.”
Presidential Candidates Vague
about Bible References
During a major Democratic presidential debate at Dart-
mouth College, participants were asked to name their fa-
vorite Bible verses. None responded with a specific chapter
and verse. Hillary Clinton cited: “The Golden Rule – ‘Do
unto others as you would have them do unto you.’ I think
that's a good rule for politics, too.” Barack Obama re-
sponded, “The Sermon on the Mount, because it expresses
a basic principle that I think we've lost over the last six
years.” And John Edwards said, “What you do unto the
least of those, you do unto me.”
Cornell’s Christian music groups,
Measureless and aRise, performed
a concert for believers and non-
Christians at the University.
Cornell Christians
took to the streets
to help with clean-
up efforts in the
Ithaca area as part
of the Cornell
Public Service
Center’s Into the
Streets program.
photo by iStock
Leaders from Cor-
nell’s various Chris-
tian ministries met
December 1 to share
prayer requests and
provide ministry
updates. L-R COAH
Core Team. Josh
Lequieu, Raymond
Li, Henri Wen,
Behzad Varamini.
DARTMOUTH
Dartmouth
trustee and
graduate Todd
Zywicki’88
generated
criticism and
debate when he
accused donors
to the academy
of “buying
indulgences for
being rich,”
among other
statements.
Barack Obama, Columbia ’83 and Harvard Law
School ’91, joined other Democratic presiden-
tial hopefuls for a debate at Dartmouth that
touched upon the candidates’ beliefs and faith.
N E W S - I N - B R I E F
Page 46 The Ivy League Christian Observer
Dartmouth Hosts Poverty
Awareness Events
As part of National Hunger and
Homelessness Awareness Week, No-
vember 11 - 17, Dartmouth hosted
programs to increase understanding
and action about poverty issues. The
Upper Valley Educational Task Force
on Homelessness and Poverty and
Dartmouth’s Economic Equity Initia-
tive offered the events.
Grace Outreach in West Lebanon,
New Hampshire was the site of “Try
My Life,” where participants role-
played what life is like for people liv-
ing on low incomes by interacting
with human service agencies, bill col-
lectors, and grocers. Moore Hall was
the venue for a seminar by poverty expert Jodi Pfarr enti-
tled “Bridges Out of Poverty.”
Harvard Law Professor Named
Vatican Ambassador
President George W. Bush has
nominated Harvard law profes-
sor Mary Ann Glendon as am-
bassador to the Vatican.
According to the Boston Globe,
Glendon is “an anti-abortion
scholar and an opponent of gay
–marriage who has written on
the effects of divorce and in-
creased litigation on society.”
Pope John Paul II appointed
Glendon to the Pontifical Acad-
emy of Social Science in 1994,
and in 1995, she led a 22-member delegation of the Holy
See to the Fourth U.N. Women’s Conference in Beijing.
Glendon is the Learned Hand Professor of Law at Harvard
and has authored numerous works in the fields of human
rights, comparative law, constitutional law, and legal the-
ory.
Harvard Dinner Promotes Religious Literacy
On October 17, The Cambridge
Roundtable on Science, Art & Reli-
gion (www.cambridgeroundtable.org)
and the Harvard University Commit-
tee on the Study of Religion presented
a dinner and discussion at the Harvard
Faculty Club. The event featured
Stephen Prothero and the topic of re-
ligious literacy.
Prothero is the author of Religious Lit-
eracy–What Every American Needs to
Know–and Doesn’t. During the round-
table, he discussed his theory that
Americans need to have knowledge of
the world’s religions to have proper
insight into the major issues of the
day.
“Through Prothero's essential points and the discussion, it
became clear how potentially conflicted the interpretation
and implementation of that idea might be,” said one partic-
ipant.
Harvard Honors First Woman
President with Thanksgiving Service
Harvard marked the inau-
guration of its first woman
president, Drew Gilpin
Faust, with a Service of
Thanksgiving at the Memo-
rial Church at Harvard on
October 12.
The Reverend Professor
Peter J. Gomes; Bernard
Steinberg, president of Har-
vard Chaplains and presi-
dent of Harvard Hillel; and
the Right Reverend G.P. Mellick Belshaw, Faust’s cousin,
attended the service.
“We have come to pray for the happy and useful adminis-
tration of our twenty-eighth president, Drew Gilpin Faust,”
said Gomes, in the Harvard University Gazzette. “We are
mindful of her gifts, and we pray that they may be both sus-
tained and increased in our behalf.”
Dartmouth
hosted pro-
grams to in-
crease
understanding
about poverty
issues as part
of National
Hunger and
Homelessness
Awareness
Week.
photo by iStock
HARVARD
President George W.
Bush, Yale ’68, nomi-
nated Harvard law
professor Mary Ann
Glendon as ambassa-
dor to the Vatican.
The Roundtable
on Science, Art &
Religion was
held at Harvard
on October 17.
Stephen
Prothero was the
featured speaker
and discussed
religious
literacy.
Drew Gilpin Faust
(Penn '71 and *75), the
first woman president
at Harvard, was honored
with a Service of
Thanksgiving.
photo courtesy of Harvard University
N E W S - I N - B R I E F
January 2008 Page 47
CCC Holds Fall Retreat
Campus Crusade for Christ held its fall retreat from
October 5-7 at Camp Innabah in Spring City, PA.
The speaker for the event was Alec Million of
Wycliffe Bible Translators. The focus of the retreat
was on individual and corporate spiritual growth and
unity.
According to retreat coordinators, this is a time
when “freshmen get deeply involved and develop
stronger relationships with upperclassmen.” In ad-
dition, taking a weekend off campus to spend time
together enables staff and students to refresh the
ministry’s vision for outreach.
Penn Graduate Joins Faculty at
Southern Seminary
Christian author and lecturer
David Powlison recently ac-
cepted a visiting professorship
in the Biblical Counseling Pro-
gram at Southern Baptist The-
ological Seminary in Louisville,
Kentucky. Powlison received
an A.B. in Social Relations
from Harvard (’71), an M.
Div. from Westminster Theo-
logical Seminary (’80), and an
M.A. (’86) and Ph.D. (’96)
from the University of Penn-
sylvania.
Powlison, the author of Speak-
ing Truth in Love, Seeing with
New Eyes, Power Encounters, and Competent to
Counsel?, is a faculty member at The Christian Coun-
seling and Educational Foundation in Glenside, Penn-
sylvania, and a visiting professor at Westminster
Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.
Ugandan Pastor Speaks of
Transformation in Africa, U.S.
Ugandan pastor and transformation
leader John Mulinde spoke at
Penn’s Houston Hall on November
3. He addressed college students in
the Philadelphia area to help equip
them for a revival like the one that
occurred in his homeland. Before
the revival hit, the Ugandan people
were oppressed and the country’s
government was corrupt. However,
a researcher describes the African
nation as one of the most trans-
formed nations on the face of the
earth. The Ugandan leaders believe God is now leading
their hearts to pray for this type of transformation in the
United States.
Anscombe Society Threat Is a Hoax
The Anscombe Society, a pro-abstinence, pro-marriage
group at Princeton University, received national atten-
tion in December after one of its members was allegedly
attacked and others received threatening e-mails. How-
ever, a police investigation revealed that Princeton Uni-
versity student and Anscombe member Francisco Nova
’09 sent the e-mails and also inflicted injuries on his
own body while fabricating a story of being beaten and
threatened. Princeton University did not make an im-
mediate decision regarding disciplinary action. Nova,
who committed a similar act while at the Groton School
in Connecticut, could also face charges for filing a false
police report.
Manna Christian Fellowship Supports World AIDS
Day, Orphaned Children
Manna Christian Fellowship (www.princeton.edu/~manna/)
participated in World AIDS Day by selling T-shirts to
highlight the plight of orphaned children in sub-Saha-
ran Africa.
Students in the ministry sold the shirts, labeled “OR-
PHAN,” to about five percent of the student body at
PENN
Penn alumnus David
Powlison *96 was
recently named
visiting professor in
the Southern Baptist
Theological
Seminary’s Biblical
Counseling
program.
Ugandan pastor
and transforma-
tion leader John
Mulinde spoke to
college students in
the Philadelphia
area about revival.
PRINCETON
N E W S - I N - B R I E F
Page 48 The Ivy League Christian Observer
Princeton University to help demonstrate that one in 20
children in sub-Saharan Africa is orphaned by AIDS.
Over 200 students wore the bright orange shirts on De-
cember 3 in coordination with campus events scheduled
across the nation by World Vision.
Respect Life Week Highlights
Pro-Life Stance
Respect Life Week 2007 was
held at Princeton from October 7
-12. The events began with Pro-
Life Sunday, which included an
inter-faith service held at Uni-
versity Chapel. Other events in-
cluded a pro-life, pro-family
evening of dessert, coffee, and
conversation with Professor
Robert P. George and other
Princeton faculty members, and
a message from Karen Shablin of Feminists for Life, who
addressed her experience with abortion and how she be-
came pro-life. The week concluded with a candlelight vigil
on Frist Lawn that included five minutes of silent mourning
for the lives lost to abortion and euthanasia. The event was
sponsored by Princeton Pro-Life.
Worship CD to Fund Missions’
Efforts
“Driven,” the worship team at
Yale Christian Fellowship, re-
cently released a CD featuring
music from Africa and Latin
America, gospel tracks, and con-
temporary Christian music. Ac-
cording to Yale Christian
Fellowship (www.yale.edu/ycf),
all proceeds from the CD will go
toward missions trips to help restore the Gulf Coast,
fund inner-city youth initiatives in New England cities,
and serve the poor in the Dominican Republic.
The CD producers “hope that by raising awareness for
God’s ministry and mercy, the Driven CD will further
help to glorify God’s Kingdom.” The students also plan
to send copies of the CD to China and Morocco through
a grassroots distribution within those nations. The proj-
ect was partially funded by a Christian Union grant.
Yale to Host Institute of Campus
Revival and Awakening
Yale University will once again be
the site for the Institute of Campus
Revival and Awakening this sum-
mer. Scheduled for July 13 through
19, this annual event helps to edu-
cate attendees on past awakenings,
as well as current events, and helps
equip them for transforming cam-
puses today.
Among the scheduled presenters
are: Walt Kaiser, author of Revive
Us Again: Your Wakeup Call for
Spiritual Renewal, Rhonda Hughey, director of Fusion Min-
istries and author of Desperate for His Presence, and Dr. J.P.
Moreland, speaker and Distinguished Professor of Philoso-
phy at Biola University.
Seminar Explores Christianity
and Career Scholarship
The Rivendell Seminar: Becoming aBiblically Faithful Scholar was heldat Yale this fall.
The event, sponsored by the Riven-dell Institute at Yale, was an explo-ration of the challenges andopportunities facing the believeraiming to become a faithful followerof Christ as a scholar and teacher.
The seminar consisted of a series of related themed eventsthat were held from September to November and includedtopics such as Scholarship as a Christian Vocation, EssentialVirtues, and Three Critical Turns for a Faithful Life.
Manna Christian Fellowship sought raise aware-
ness about orphaned children during World
AIDS Day.
Respect Life Week
2007 raised
awareness of pro-life
issues such as
abortion and
euthanasia.
photo by iStock
YALE
Yale Christian Fel-
lowship’s worship
team, Driven, re-
leased a music CD
which features a
variety of genres.
Dr. J.P. Moreland is
one of the antici-
pated speakers for
the 2008 Institute
for Revival and
Awakening to be
held at Yale July 13
through 19.
The fall Revindell
Seminar, Becom-
ing a Biblically
Faithful Scholar,
explored the chal-
lenges of the be-
liever in academia.
C H R I S T I A N U N I O N
Following is the mission and vision of the Chris-
tian Union, which is printed in each issue of the
Ivy League Christian Observer to keep new read-
ers informed of the ministry's purpose and passion.
The mission of the Christian Union, by God’s power and
with the help of other ministries, is to change the world by
bringing sweeping spiritual transformation to the Ivy League
universities, thereby developing and mobilizing godly lead-
ership for all sectors of society.
It’s an ambitious vision, but it’s
what God has called us to give our
lives to. We have a deep passion to
see Jesus Christ honored and exalted
at the eight Ivy League universities
(Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dart-
mouth, Harvard, Penn, Princeton,
and Yale). As you may know, these
universities were established many
years ago to bring praise and honor
to Jesus Christ, but have drifted far
from their moorings. For example,
Yale was founded in 1701 by the
colonists of Connecticut, and in
1726, Yale College laws, reflecting
the students’ and university’s devo-
tion to Jesus Christ, ordained that:
“Every student shall consider the
main end of his study to know God
in Jesus Christ and answerably to
lead a godly, sober life.”
The contrast with today could
hardly be more startling. The former
assistant dean of Religious Life at Princeton stated of all the
faculty on campus that he ministered to, evangelical Protes-
tants were the most fearful of disclosing their religious be-
liefs to others out of fear of discrimination and ridicule. At
Dartmouth, the administration tried to ban the distribution of
the book Mere Christianity a few years ago until media at-
tention forced them to back down. In spite of all the rhetoric
on campus about the “free exchange of ideas,” there is in
many quarters, an intense hostility to Jesus Christ. Reflect
on the fact that on every Sunday, almost 50 percent of Amer-
icans are in church, however, adding up the involvement of
all students every week in all the para-church, and local
churches combined it would amount to less than 10 percent
of the student body.
You may ask, what can be done to bring these universities
spiritually in-step with the rest of the country? The most im-
portant means to improve the spiritual dimension is to sup-
ply enough long-term, capable, godly campus Christian
workers. The spiritual vibrancy of the campuses is most di-
rectly related to this reality. Yes, we
also need effective strategies, and,
of course, we need the Holy Spirit’s
presence and power; however, the
Spirit works through people, and
without campus Christian workers
leading the charge, there is little
spiritual life. Take Cornell, for ex-
ample. It has 20,000 students,
served by 3,000 faculty and 7,000
staff. That makes a total of 30,000
university people who need to be
presented with the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and taught the Scriptures. If
you were to count all the full-time
Christian workers on campus, it
would amount to less than five peo-
ple. Even with the Herculean efforts
of volunteers and the local
churches, there is no way for the
university to be significantly im-
pacted.
Moreover, the few campus Chris-
tian workers present are usually not there long enough to be-
come excellent in what they do, nor are they able to establish
an institutional memory for the ministry as they transition
out. Every few years, most ministries start from scratch all
over again through the work of ambitious recent college
graduates. After a few years, these dedicated workers usu-
ally move and the cycle starts again. The workers move be-
cause they see the position as a stepping stone toward other
ministry positions, such as the pastorate. What we need are
people who see university ministry as a calling in and of itself
THE MISSION AND VISION OF THE CHRISTIAN UNIONChristian Union Founder Matthew W. Bennett Shares the Vision and Purpose of the Ministry
Christian Union Founder and President,
Matthew W. Bennett, Cornell ’88, ’89
January 2008 Page 49
C H R I S T I A N U N I O N
and not as a stepping stone to other ministries. An even big-
ger reason that people move on is that they get married and
have children, and are no longer able to raise the needed sup-
port. Living close to campus in these university towns is ex-
pensive, and it is difficult to raise the money that’s needed.
To provide enough godly, capable, long-term Christian work-
ers and to meet other challenges, the Christian Union was
formed in 2002 to trust God for dramatic change on these
campuses. A unique aspect of the ministry is our commit-
ment to both help other Christian ministries on campus
through fund raising and other means as well as implement-
ing our own direct ministry programs. Our passion is to see
these campuses changed, whether or not it happens through
one of our particular programs. We only direct our ministry
programs to the Ivy League schools because they are among
the most hostile to the Gospel, but also among the most in-
fleuntial in our nation.
Many of our country’s future leaders will graduate from these
schools, and as the leaders go, so goes the country. Thou-
sands of future leaders in business, media, law, government,
journalism, medicine, ministry, academia, and the arts are
currently enrolled at the Ivy League schools. And when they
graduate, they will make an indelible mark on society. Ivy
League alumni include the founder of Federal Express, the
founder of Amazon.com, the CEO of eBay, Bill Gates, Don-
ald Trump, Martha Stewart, Warren Buffet, eight of the nine
U.S. Supreme Court Justices, George H. W. Bush, George
W. Bush, Dick Cheney, the head of the FBI, the head of the
CIA, the head of the SEC, the U.S. Ambassador to the United
Nations, the National Intelligence Director, Donald Rums-
feld, the head of the World Bank, Madeline Albright, Janet
Reno, Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry,
Howard Dean, Joe Lieberman, former Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist, and countless others. The names of those
who serve in government are more recognizable than other
names, but there is similar Ivy League representation in
media, academia, journalism, medicine, and other fields.
For the sake of the individual students, staff, and faculty on
the campuses who need forgiveness and peace through Jesus
Christ and for the sake of the future of our country because
of the leadership these people will give, we must do whatever
it takes to see these campuses transformed. I want to urge
you to pray fervently for these campuses, to give generously
to supply more campus Christian workers, and to use your in-
fluence in whatever capacity you have to make an impact.
By God’s grace and by all of us working together, we can see
significant spiritual transformation.
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Matthew W. Bennett
Founder and President of
the Christian Union
Page 50 The Ivy League Christian Observer
P R A Y E R R E Q U E S T S
• Pray for the Christian students as they renew their vision to
advance the Kingdom of God at Columbia. Pray that the whole
campus will be transformed as Jesus Christ changes lives.
• Pray that Christian students at Columbia would impact not only
their campus, but New York City as well.
• Pray that as a result of the Veritas Forum, the campus will have
truly been exposed to Jesus Christ and many people will begin
asking questions about Christianity.
• Pray that the meeting space and reference room at Christian
Union’s Mott House will continue to serve as a blessing for the
cause of Christ.
• Pray for even greater unity among the ministries and Christian
faculty at Cornell.
• Cornell’s Chosen Generation gospel concert in December brought
out 750 people. Pray for each member of the choir as they strive
to expose the Cornell community, through song to God, and in-
spire them to walk closer to Him.
• Fifteen new students became actively involved in Christian
Impact at Dartmouth as a result of their fall outreach. Please
pray that these students will continue to grow in their faith and
love of God and serve Him with passion all the days of their
lives.
• The Dartmouth Christian Graduate Students are soon to start a
weekly discussion of ‘Mere Christianity’. Pray that this will
promote much in-depth discussion and spiritual growth and stu-
dents will challenge each other to live out what they believe.
• Be in prayer for Harvard-Radcliff Christian Fellowship as they
meet each Friday evening for a time spent glorifying God together
in prayer and worship.
• Pray for the members of the different Christian campus ministries,
as they take time out from their busy schedules to meet with God,
in a time of worship and prayer each weekday morning. Pray that
they will be strengthened and prepared to face the day God has
given them, no matter what challenges they are met with.
• Pray that students who participate in the Penn Campus Crusade
for Christ large group meetings (“Cru”), will continue in their
desire to share their faith with confidence with their friends.
• Pray that Catholic students would find grace and peace at the
college’s Newman Center.
• Pray for increased excitement about Athletes in Action, where
students learn how faith in Jesus Christ can impact theirs lives
in the midst of the challenges and demands of sports and col-
lege life.
• Be praying for the Ivy League Congress on Faith and Action in
April, specifically that many will attend, that much will be
learned and that God will be glorified.
• Princeton Pro-Life joined the March for Life in Washington DC
in January. Pray that their efforts continue to promote and fos-
ter a culture of life at Princeton, and their presence in DC will
increase their effectiveness.
• Pray for the lasting fruit from the Princeton Faith and Action
week-long Ski Trip to Vermont this winter.
• Keep the leadership of The International Church at Yale in prayer,
as they continue to minister to about 40 students from different na-
tions, through Bible teaching, worship and Friday evening din-
ners. Pray that the students attending would find meaningful fel-
lowship and friendships.
• Pray for students’ hearts to be more of a match to their talk, for
intellectual substance to their faith . Pray that they would love
God with all their heart, mind and soul. Pray for clarification of
calling for students.
COLUMBIA
CORNELL
DARTMOUTH
HARVARD
PENN
PRINCETON
YALE
• Pray for the ten students involved in College Hill for Christ,
who are starting their training and preparation for a mission trip
to help restore lives of child victims of war-torn Uganda Pray
that they bring the comfort and hope that the Gospel of Jesus
Christ can offer..
• As Reformed University Fellowship continues to meet each Fri-
day night for a time of fellowship, worship and teaching, pray that
the participants will learn to love and live together as Christians
and that relationships would strengthen and grow deeper.
BROWN
January 2008 Page 51
Our mission and passion is to change the worldfor Christ through the mobilization of the IvyLeague community. Next spring we will be host-ing the 2008 Ivy League Congress on Faith andAction for Ivy League students, staff, faculty,alumni, parents, and friends. Our plenary speak-ers will be Dr. Char les Gilmer, President ofImpact Movement and Richar d E. Stear ns, Pres-ident of World Vision U.S.
During the day on Saturday there will be semi-nars on various vocations with experts in theirfields who have changed the world for Christwithin their particular discipline. Seminars in-clude Business, Law, Government, Media, Min-istry, Medicine, and Academia. The weekend willalso provide opportunities for attendees to meeteach other in order to form mentoring and col-laborative relationships to help change the worldfor Christ.
Ivy League Congress on Faith and ActionDates: Apr il 1 1 -1 3, 2008 • Location: New Haven, CT
Richard E. Stearns is presidentof World Vision, a Christian human-itarian organization serving childrenand families in nearly 100 countries.
A
For info, visit www.Christian-Union.org/ILCFA.
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