2
Opinion
WEdNEsdAy, J anuary 12, 2000
___ ^SPECIAL HUM;
A universal faith
J
ft
Altar of an
Unknown God
Which, speaking of audac
ity, brings us back to Mars
Hill, Athens, where Paul
played the same game the
other way by equating the
nameless Theos whom the
Greeks had revered in igno
rance, with Yahweh, the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
who through an executed Jew
ish Peasant had redeemed
mankind!
Paul reached Athenians
through the culture of Athens.
He declared that it is God’s
will that all nations “should
seek the Lord, in the hope that
they might grope for Him and
find Him, though He is not far
from each one of us; for in
Him we live and move and
have our being, as also some
of your own poets have said,
‘For we are His offspring.’”
This was far more than an
obscure bit of Semetic phi
losophy trickling into Athens.
This was the fundamental
principle of human existence,
of the very universe, being
preached to all nations. Nor was
it a mere switch from one
thought system to another—
from “the Greek way” to “Paul’s
way.” It was the One Way wo
ven into the fabric of the Greek
way. Athenians had men like
Epimenides, and even Socrates
and Plato (which I shall explore
in a future column) to prepare
their hearts for total communion
with the God of Creation.
■ The transition was by no
means smooth. At the mention
of bodily resurrection (a con
cept repulsive to Greek
thought), many hearers scoffed
and dismissed the message. But
some heard. And the kernel of
God’s truth was scattered on
the four winds, spreading
throughout the world. Today
it still offers its wonderful, ter
rible choice: Accept or reject?
Believe or deny? Light or
darkness?
The purpose and namesake
of this column is the presenta
tion of this choice. I show you
a more excellent way.
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This may have little impact on
umn is foremost a platform for
our 20th-century minds, but for
the defense of the Christian
a Jew, a “Pharisee, the son of a
faith. I often feel, though, that my Pharisee” to equate a Gentile
arguments are viewed as merely
>et and seer
with
a
prophet—
he
who
speaks for
God Him
self— is
J
"
'V,
audacious
indeed.
—
a soapbox in the corner of a quite
crowded intellectual market
place—one view among many
which could surely never be
meant to meet the needs of so di
verse a mass of humanity.
This view I take to be fatally
mistaken.
The very title of this column is
a tribute to my belief in the uni
versality of Christian faith. I be
lieve Christianity is more than a
religious peculiarity derived from
the platitudes of a vagabond Jew.
It is the core of reality itself. It is
culturally, personally, and spiri
tually relevant and fulfilling to all
humanity.
The most shining example of
cross-cultural relevance in early
Christian history occurs when the
Apostle Paul sets foot in Ath
ens—the epitome of Christian
zeal meeting the pinnacle of Pa
gan wisdom in a clash of eternal
proportions. .
Athens by this time was glut
ted with gods and their requisite
shrines and idols, much to the
consternation of Jewish-minded
Paul. He could have responded
quite simply to this polytheistic
milieu'. “My God is right. Yours
aren’t. Abandon your culture and
be like me.” But Paul did not re
spond simply.
Paul responded with an elo
quence and broad-minded en
lightenment far surpassing his
Rabbinical background. He
reached out with a truth that reso
nated with a Greek mind, not
merely a Jewish one. “Men of
Athens,” he declared, “I perceive
that you are very religious, for I
even found an altar with this de
scription: ‘TO THE UNKNOWN
GOD.’ Therefore the One whom
you worship without knowing,
Him I proclaim to you.”
Paul was a man with a foot in
both worlds. In his Pagan edu
cation he was likely aware that
around 600 B.C. the Cretan
Epimenides had come to Athens
and banished a plague by sacri
ficing to a nameless god. Paul
even quoted Epimenides in his
Letter to Titus, saying, “One of
their own prophets has said...”
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I ALWAYS St> UPyFT.
Speak up if you're offended by
instructors or material at school
Now, I know I am not the only
student who believes this, but what
-Mirative freedom or lack of re
I am asking is: do we draw a line in
offensive sub-
ject matter
and or com
ments in class.
If so, where?
I think there
are some sub-
Salena De La Cruz
jects, races,
Opinion Editor
sexual prefer-
ences
and
sponsibility to student success?
ideas that touch on sensitive subject
I believe we all have an interest matter. There are some instructors
in an instructor’s agenda and atti who feel they are politically incor
tude. I myself am guilty of taking rect. Now, I would be the last per
classes from instructors who are son to question an individual's opin
known for their offensiveness or ions and freedoms because I value
shock effect. Sometimes that is the my own.
best way for them to get their point
I am not suggesting we go back
across. If I’m bored with the in to the boring, monotone, already
structor and/or the lessons, I find verified by the school board sub
myself less apt to pay attention.
jects. I do think that instructors need
f an instructor says something
I offensive in class, is it adminis
Make a
statement,
beheard.».
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to take into consideration that there
are some students who have a low
tolerance level for bias. It takes a
lot to offend me, but not everyone
is like that. We need to decide
whether there should be positive de
corum for offense.
It is just a question of tact. I am
asking students to look out for ma
terial or subject matter that offends
you personally or you find to be
less than appropriate. Don’t just
shrug your shoulders and say,
“Oh, that’s just the way they are.”
If the instructor doesn’t take your
feelings into consideration, go
higher, or write a letter to The
Clackamas Print addressing the
matter. You don’t under any cir
cumstances have to just take it.
Remember, we are paying to go
to school, so we have the right to
feel comfortable in our road to
success.
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