Club sponsors Jesus debates

Homophobia. Immigration. Racism.

These are just a few of the controversial issues the IU chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship will tackle this week with its series “Jesus and the end
of ... ”

The five-day event, which began Monday will feature a themed interactive display at various locations throughout campus during the day and a discussion during the evening with a different guest speaker each night.

Erika Sutton, senior and member of the InterVarsity leadership team, said the group has been working on the events since last May, adapting the speaker series from a similar Canadian InterVarsity program.

“The overarching theme is that Christians should care about social issues. We hope bridges are built between Christians and student justice groups and that the campus has a better understanding of the ways faith can speak to modern-day issues,” Sutton said.

The discussions will present a biblical perspective on the nightly topics, presenting a case for how Jesus would respond if he were living on IU’s campus today.
Sutton said the best part of the series is the diversity and expertise of the
speakers.

“They’re really going to surprise people. Their responses won’t necessarily be what you would hear from mainstream churches,” she said.
 
Though InterVarsity is a nondenominational Christian organization, the week’s events are open to all.

“It targets Christians because it can provide them with a new perspective, as well as people who just care about these topics who didn’t exactly know Christians were involved with these issues,” Sutton said.

“We expect our biggest day to be Monday because the topic is Jesus and the end of homophobia. It has already stirred lots of reactions on campus among faculty and students,” Sutton said.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Equality is partnering with InterVarsity for the inaugural programming. Both groups were outside of Ballantine Hall to facilitate the themed interactive display, which received students’ input on homophobia at IU.

“There are a lot of burned bridges between the (GLBT) and Christian community, and there hasn’t been a lot of talk of reconciliation,” Sutton said. “You don’t really see the groups working together. Ultimately, we want to bridge some gaps.”

InterVarsity has already met some opposition to its programming from Christians who believe the group is being too liberal and from others who are concerned about how the topics will be presented.

“We’re dealing with controversial issues that the Christian community isn’t united on. The question is ‘How do we disagree well?’ or ‘What type of consensus can we make with a very diverse group of Christians?’” Sutton said.

Despite the often racially conservative representatives of Christianity, Sutton said InterVarsity has no political agenda.

“Our group is not conservative or liberal. We’re interested in looking at issues from a biblical perspective,” Sutton said. “We still feel we have an important message. It if takes some backlash, that’s okay.”

The program is, in part, funded by the IU Student Association’s Funding Board. The board recently began allowing funding for religious organizations due to a change in U.S. court law.

Danny Schuster, funding board director of funding, said the board must remain viewpoint neutral, free from discrimination on the basis of religious orientation against groups or events.

“After reviewing the application and presentation, the board felt that the event will provide an open forum on relevant issues and would add value to
campus life.”