Jordan River Forum

Protesters do not represent majority views \nAs a concerned Christian, I would like the IU community to know that the views of the recent Christian anti-gay protesters are not the majority. Most Christians, although we do not agree with the lifestyle because it is forbidden in the Bible, do not condemn those who follow that lifestyle. \nChrist has commanded us to hate the sin, but love the sinner. We know that we have no place to judge, as that is entirely under the realm of God's authority. We also know that every sin, whether it's a lie or a murder, condemns a person before a holy God. Therefore, all have sinned and are in need of forgiveness. \nChristians, though, because of their belief in Jesus Christ, have received God's mercy and grace. It is a shame that those who protested Monday did not remember that they too were once under His judgment because of their transgressions.\nBrandon Pickett\nSophomore\nProtesters miss message\nI would consider myself a Christian fundamentalist in that I believe in the absolute truth of the Bible. And I am fairly frustrated and saddened by the actions of the anti-gay group on Kirkwood Avenue. While their message contains bits of truth, it misses the greater truth and serves only to confuse and mislead. \nThe Bible does teach that homosexuality is a sin, alongside (not a "greater" sin, or a lesser, but of the same magnitude) adultery, lying, stealing, killing, gluttony (see if that's addressed at any church potluck!), and others. Christians who say that "God hates fags" are horribly mistaken. For God to hate anyone is completely inconsistent with His character as portrayed in the Bible. God hates sin. He hates all sin because it separates Him from the object of all His affection: humanity. \nTo the group of Christians who were on Kirkwood Tuesday, I would ask that they search their hearts, remove the plank from their own eyes (Matthew 7:5) and approach the world like Jesus did -- with love. To the community, I apologize on behalf of my brothers and sisters on Kirkwood and would ask that you search your hearts and find out what it means to be loved by God.\nTodd Riggins\nFreshman\nGod does not hate\n"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God....He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (I John 4:7,8) \nThe message of Jesus Christ throughout the Bible has never been one of hate, but of love and mercy. God does not hate anyone, according to the Bible, and is "...not willing that any should perish" (2 Peter 3:9). \nTo stand on the streets proclaiming that God is the God of hate is abominable, and those who would esteem themselves to deal judgment upon others with such bold ignorance do not know the true love of God. True Christians know that God hates sin, not individuals or groups of people. Unfortunately, there are, and always will be, those who choose to call themselves Christians while twisting the truth to fit their agendas. \nWe at Campus Ministry International do not support the message of hate displayed by the "religious" protesters this week and are deeply saddened and angered by their actions. We ask that you would pray for our community and for the forgiveness of these people. "If a man say, I love God and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" I John 4:20.\nHeidi Fishel\nPresident, Campus Ministry International\nTiffany Dyar\nVice president, Campus Ministry International\nWhat am I paying for?\nI am writing this because I have a question for the University, mainly Parking Operations. Why do I pay money to park on campus and be a student if I can't depend on them when I really need them? Last night, I left my dorm at 10 p.m. to go see a friend and found that my car was dead. Because there are no lights behind my dorm, I was standing all alone in the dark. \nI had parked on the street, 20 feet away from the commuter lot, since I didn't want to walk 15 blocks at 1 a.m. to park out by the stadium, and the buses had stopped running. I was parked in perfectly legal parking, but owned by the city ... as I soon found out. \nI was rudely informed by Parking Operations that because I was parking on a Bloomington street, they would not come jump my car. If I had been parked 20 feet away in the lot where there were University lot signs as I was told then they would have come to my rescue, but since I wasn't they didn't have to come to jump my car and they were not going to. I was left on the street in the dark. \nI had to call around to find someone to come jump my car so instead of waiting five minutes, I sat outside in the cold and the dark for 25 minutes by myself waiting on my friend to drive across town to help me.\nWhy do they take my money if they are not going to help me? They can go all the way out to Second Street and ticket on Bloomington owned streets, but they can't come help a woman stranded in the dark on campus. These kinds of incidents are a big part of the reason women don't feel safe on this campus.\nJessica McBride\nJunior\nDon't call me 'un-American'\nAn accumulation of events during the past month and a half have led me to really question who I am and where I am. The tragedy of Sept. 11 and inspirations from a group called Conversations on Race have made me think "outside the box." I have listened to people tell stories of being called "un-American" for opinions that criticize the actions of the retaliation by our government. \nHow ignorant are those who call these people un-American! Did you know that the beauty of America is the right to voice those opinions without the government singling you out and punishing you? Why must fellow "citizens" do so? Possibly the words of our president stating that if people aren't with "us" then they are against "us" and on the side of terrorism may lead people to make assumptions about who is "un-American." How wrong for us to assume!\nIf you listen to a person say he or she does not agree with the bombings, you probably do not hear that person speak of respect for all life, so you automatically make false assumptions about their lack of patriotism. Open your ears, eyes, and mind to realize the respect for human life these people have in their hearts. They are equally affected by the devastation brought onto American lives, but their anger does not seek "an eye for an eye." \nThrough Conversations on Race, I am more aware of how unrepresentative our leaders are of our highly diversified "American" society. What is even an "American" anymore? If you were to conceptualize an American solely on media images, many races, genders and religions would be excluded or generalized by harmful stereotypes. \nFor once, let us first connect to each other as humans before we connect as Americans. Understand and face up to difference of people. Embrace these differences; do not ignore them. Grow as a human being by admitting with yourself your lack of interactions with people who are different from you. Admit ignorance to allow understanding. \nThere is nothing wrong with feeling comfortable surrounding yourself with people like you. But how do you know who you really are until you surround yourself with people who are different? Push yourself into unknown and uncomfortable situations to truly discover what an American is.\nJean Buckel\nJunior\nKudos to Teater\nDuncan Teater's last dozen-or-so articles have been the most intelligent writing to grace the Opinion Page of the IDS in my term at IU. Indeed, they are probably the most brilliant feature of the entire paper (with the possible exception of that one cartoon with the wily cat and his adorably fatuous dog-friend... what will that crazy cat do next?!)\nAlthough I applaud his critics for their well organized "Let's Have At Duncan Teater" letter campaign and their daring underdog attempt to challenge the sharp wit of Mr. Teater, it only makes one cringe to watch their dull "He's just plumb un-American" reviews be utterly quashed by Mr. Teater's impenetrable cerebral prowess. As President Bush said, "Those letters can shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of Duncan's resolve... They may blow up Duncan's Starbucks, but they'll never crush the coffee beans of his heart." (I'm paraphrasing here, people...)\nWere I to have a son, his name would be "Duncan." If little Duncan had a twin sister, I would name her "Teater," even though she would most surely be teased as she approached adolescence.\nHis critics: Begone!\nRoss Eiler\nJunior