Bethel University - Spire Yearbook (St Paul, MN)

Page 27 text:

I have an idea that makes my head reel with its sheer simplicity and urgency. I can get a Bible and read the creation account from Genesis to the prof. All the humanistic rationalizing in the world cannot stand up to the beautiful power and wisdom of that simple passage... A nervous conviction quickly replaces the empty sinking feeling which had taken hold of me. Of course I will be respectful, but I could never live with myself if I were to let unchallenged ideas like this one go. especially here in a Christian college. Maybe I’m just losing my nerve, but something prevents me from bluntly confronting my prof, some undefined hunch that there might be more to this than I have yet seen. It’s not that I’m losing my faith, it’s just that it's not like me to do anything too quickly. Anyway, nothing will be lost if I take some time to think things through. After all. that's what I’m in college for.

Page 26 text:

■ Bethel can be a crucial turning point in a young person's spiritual life. The conflict of old ideas v ith new concepts and world views can cause faith to both shatter and blossom. My friend is a beautiful example of a student moving from broken beliefs to higher levels of insight and commitment during his years at Bethel. All through class I’ve had this sinking feeling growing in my gut. I’ve always tried to be open-minded, but I just don't know how to deal v ith what I am hearing. The word evolution has never been used in my home without at least a note of disdain, and the concept has never been discussed in my presence without being soundly refuted, with its adherents designated to the ranks of the lost. The prof might as well try to get me to do dope as teach me about the theory of evolution. I feel my very being rebelling against his words. I am amazed at the cunning of the Enemy in convincing intelligent Christians to fall into such obvious fallacies. oe

Page 28 text:

00 Lying awake, thinking things through, my roommate stumbles in at about 1:30 a.m. I didn't need the light to know what he’d been up to. As soon as he shoved the door open I was rudely assaulted with the olfactory evidence of some heavy partying, and not of the Baptist variety. He snaps the light on anyway, and I am instantly wide awake with anger. I lie staring tight-lipped at the ceiling as my roommate clumsily prepares to pass out. I'm not thinking about evolution and misled profs anymore. It's not that I have never known anyone who smokes and drinks. There were plenty like that back in high school, though I deliberately stayed out of that scene. I just never thought I would see this kind of thing at a Christian college. I mean, really, what’s a guy like this doing at Bethel? He knows the rules, doesn't he? Why come here and cause trouble? I was too outraged to say anything to my roommate the other night about his behavior. But after some contemplation I've decided I really should say something to the R.A. Not that I like telling on people. I really don’t. But I just can't let that kind of rebellion continue without doing something. Well. Christ wouldn't let something like that go on. I mean, someone that drove the moneychangers out of the temple would send a guy like my roommate back to whatever sinhole he came from, or at least demand some dramatic improvement in his behavior.