He is Sufficient

We spend a lot of misdirected time and energy in the United States on the issue of ‘separation of church and state’. The judicial system spends countless time and money expelling any practice of religious or faith-based “ideology” from our schools, malls, government edifices, etc. when the reality of the concept was to protect the practice of a diversity of beliefs from a central state-sanctioned religion.

It was with interest then that I recently read that a new student publication had been launched at my college. Unashamed is “designed as a public forum for faith-based questions, objections, doubts, testimonies, poems, pictures, or intellectual pieces” and “should provide people with the voice to boldly proclaim their beliefs and to share, explore, and be challenged in their different faiths.”

Carleton has a long history of giving a dominant voice to minorities of all persuasions and marginalizing those who are not, e.g. white Christians. It was not until my senior year there that, confronted with my mother’s impending death, my personal faith was restrengthened to the point of active participation in a local church community. It is my lasting regret that I did not accept the Christian community at school until my days there were winding down.

The following quotes about Unashamed did catch my eye:

Believing that “faith” is a more inclusive word than “religion,” Gammello asserts, “Not everyone on this campus who is ‘religious’ or ‘spiritual’ necessarily follows a specific religion.” He continues, “The adherence to a faith in Jesus Christ does not necessarily imply adherence to Christianity, the religion. What ultimately characterizes the term ‘Christianity’ in the minds of most people will usually diverge from the Christianity that Christians, in fact, practice. The same principle is likely to be true of all religions.”

“We do not want submissions to the publication to be limited by ‘religious preferences,’” [...] “What issues have students personally grappled with? What revelations about their beliefs have they experienced? These are questions that we challenge students to explore because faith transcends religious strictures, traditions, or practices to something deeper and much more personal.”

“In emphasizing ‘faith’ rather than ‘religion,’ we want to avoid politicization of the institution of religion. We want to reveal the common experience that exists behind students who seek out to find, establish, question, or reaffirm personal faith-related beliefs rather than the seemingly myriad of differences that exist between various religions.”

In the appeal to students of all faiths (including Muslims, Jews, Druids and Christians), the editors have separated belief from practice, issues from works, faith from religion. I respect their desire to find common ground, but cannot help but wonder if the editors have bent to the attitude typical of Carleton: “Believe what you want to believe, but if the actual practice of your [Christian] faith offends someone, you’d better stop.” It will be my prayer that they have not.

Regardless of my personal doubts, I’ll look forward to reviewing a copy of the publication and will be interested to see what comes of this effort.