Biola University - Biolan Yearbook (La Mirada, CA)

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I .n Ethiopia a hundred people a day are starving to death. World wide aid is going to help. The problem sounds simple, enough, but in actuallity it is extremely complex. There are many questions involved: Is the aid getting to the people who need it? Is Ethiopia ' s Marxist regime taking advantage of the aid? Is aid a solution? Hasn ' t the problem always been there? Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam ' s Marxist regime has often been accused of misusing the aid. Television has suddenly brought millions of dollars worth of food to Ethiopia. So much so, that the small individual relief agencies have been unable to distribute it fast enough. As a result much of the aid has to be distributed by the government. However, many witnesses claim that the government is not giving it to the needy people. Instead the regime has sold it to their officials who in turn sell it to the people. The Marxist regime is not alone, however, many of the relief agencies have also been accused of advertising for the needy people and keeping the donations for themselves. Another question is what has caused all of the sudden interest in the famine? Hasn ' t the problem always been there? Many people claim that the interest is just a fad. Famine has almost become a way of life for Ethiopians. The country has almost been in continual drought since 1967. Television has done an outstanding job of raising money, but how long will the donations last? Obviously if the money stops coming the whole effort will have been wasted. What the country really needs is a stron- ger economy so that it can supply for its own needs rather than depending on the sporatic donations from other countries. The question that arises from the mess of problems involved is, is money the answer? Does aid really solve the problem? As Americans donating food and money, it is easy to think that we are solving Ethiopia ' s prob- lems. However, Ethiopia, like many other third world countries, need more than just charity. As a country they need a strong government and economy. But what about the individual people that are pres- ently starving to death? It takes time to build an econo- my and with one hundred people dying a day, any time is too long. So inevitably we need to continue to provide for their physical needs. We as Christians have another responsibility though. We must give them a hope after life. We need to provide for their spiritual needs which are far more important than the physical necessities. Those of us at Biola have a perfect opportunity to go overseas into mission work. Every summer between one hundred and two hundred Biola students work as short term missionaries. Because of the many opportunities we have here at Biola we can have a real impact in providing for the Spiritual needs in Ethiopia and the rest of the world. — Mark Bardwell 17

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SPIRITUAL 16

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SPIRITUAL TORREY SPEAKERS RENEW FAITH One outstanding characteristic of Bioia University is it ' s ability to spiritually challenge it ' s students in their university experience. One week in particular is set aside each year in dedication to R.A. Torrey, Biola ' s first dean. During this week outside speak- ers come and share various biblical princi- ples and how to personally apply them. This year the 48th annual Torrey Memo- rial Bible Conference was held from Octo- ber 15-19 with such featured speakers as, Darryl Delhousaye, Jill Briscoe, Larry Richards, Lyman Stewart, Mike Cocoris, and R.C. Sproul. Each speaker brought messages challenging students in areas of growth, spiritual renewal, communicating faith and love, and bringing new knowledge in the areas of the holiness of God and the names of God. Even a Biola student, Mike Horton gave a talk on Romans and super- vised a discussion between Marilyn Meberg and R.C. Sproul on the Soverignty of God. — Bruce EricksonJ ;kson 1| TDRREY CONFERENCE !- !yy4 r 7 L oroyaLirc € IS