Volume 4, Issue 1

Crown & Cross Columbia’s Journal of Christian Thought

Things Not Seen

by Kai Tinsley - 5

The People's Pope

by Mollie Bayer - 11

West Side Gospel

by Crown & Cross Staff - 19

A Letter from the Editors Cities matter. They have outsize effects on culture and are filled with people, all of whom have hopes, dreams, and fears of their own. Indeed, the modern city and its interplay with Christianity are among the most interesting topics one could consider. How does a country in which most residents identify as Christians exist when the culture around its largest metropolitan centers is so aggressively secular? What effect does the rigor of urban life have on a person’s mental health, and how should a Christian respond to these concerns? What should city churches do to keep their message firm against the contrary winds of an increasingly hostile society? In the big picture, we must ask: what is a Christian's mandate for the city?

To address these questions and many others, we as a staff unanimously agreed to explore the theme “God and the City” in this issue. Our primary calling is to Christ, of course, but we also each have a penchant for the attractions of New York, one of the largest and most impactful cities in the world, where we all live and study as full-time students. We seek to observe our surroundings and provide helpful understandings of the complex relationship between what we believe and where we are. As the world’s balance continues to shift in numerous ways, we owe it to ourselves and to our readers to extrapolate as much as we can from this theme.

Our contributors, editors, and layout designers have worked tirelessly to present you an issue as intellectually thoughtful as it is visually attractive. In “Things Not Seen,” Philadelphia native Kai Tinsley discusses his hard-nosed urban upbringing and what it has taught him about the pursuit of happiness. Lifelong Catholic Mollie Bayer, in “The People's Pope,” explains why Pope Francis’ new approach to his position could make the religion palatable to New Yorkers, who have spent the last half-century wandering away from Catholicism. In “West Side Gospel,” several staff-members provide a wide-ranging perspective on the massive success Redeemer Presbyterian Church has experienced in an environment that repudiates many of their core beliefs. Finally, while mourning Columbia’s recent wave of student suicides, Chris Bolton grapples with the spiritual factors behind mental health crises in “A Word About Hope.”

We welcome people of all backgrounds and beliefs to join us as we contemplate God’s calling on our lives. We do not claim to cover every locus at which God and the City connect, but we do hope to shed some light on their significance to us as Christians, and as New Yorkers. Furthermore, we aim to prompt fruitful discussion about these topics all over campus and beyond. We have compiled this issue with hard work, but great joy—we hope that you would reward our efforts by reading on. We’re confident that, wherever you find yourself in life, you will discover something in these pages that will comfort you, challenge you, and resonate with you all at once.

The Columbia

Crown & Cross Volume 4, Issue 1 STA F F

C ON T RI BU TOR S

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

STAFF EDITORS

Titus Willis CC ’18

Bryan Lee CC ’18 Chris Bolton CC ’19 Daniel Lee CC ’18 John Russell CC ’20 Raymond Li CC ’17

MANAGING EDITOR Tiffany Li SEAS '19

WEB TEAM Ashley An SEAS '20 Crystal Ren SEAS ’19

BUSINESS TEAM Cal Falkenhayn CC '19 Michael Yitayew CC ’19

LAYOUT EDITORS Myles Zhang CC ’19 Mollie Bayer BC ’19 Lina Tian CC ’19 Daniel Kim CC '20

ONLINE EDITORS

E S S AYS

Nathan Barlow CC '20* Mollie Bayer BC ’19 Chris Bolton CC ’19* Cal Falkenhayn CC '19 Tiffany Li SEAS '19* Lina Tian CC '19* Kai Tinsley SEAS '20 Titus Willis CC '18* Nathaniel Wyatt CC '20

P OE M S Afua Addo CC ’20 Kyra Dawkins CC '20

Clara Monk CC ’20 Johanan Sowah SEAS ’17 Nathan Barlow CC ’20 Pauline Morgan CC ’18

If you are interested in getting involved, e-mail us at columbiacrowncross@gmail.com Check out our blog and print issues online at crowncross.org Like our Facebook page: facebook.com/columbiacrowncross Special thanks to the Collegiate Network and Christian Union * - Contributed to West Side Gospel feature piece Volume 4 | Issue 1

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Essays

3

Poetry & Art

5 Things Not Seen Kai Tinsley

15

The People's Pope 11 Mollie Bayer

28

17

Christianity is a Skyscraper.

Cal Falkenhayn

19

West Side Gospel Crown & Cross Staff

29

Life in the Past Tense...

Nathaniel Wyatt

32

A Word about Hope Chris Bolton

Columbia Crown & Cross

soul silence Afua Addo Build Your City Kyra Dawkins Front and Back Cover Myles Zhang

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Things Not Seen

Kai Tinsley

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here it was, the sound, the little “pop” noise my digital alarm clock made before it went off. My heart dropped in my chest as my halfawake brain tried to override the momentum of three hours of sleep. I engaged in this small internal battle as tinny radio music floated over from the clock to the edges of my pillow, taunting me with the possibility of another day, another twenty hours of no sleep.

I shot up in my bed, hoping the shock and subsequent brief feeling of vertigo would be enough to fully wake me. It wasn’t. Bright blue LED light shone through the cracks of my eyelids as I squinted at the clock and shut if off. It took me a few tries to hit the right button.

Resisting the dangerous urge to fall back on my pillow, I yanked my toasty blankets off my body and stepped into the icy cold of my room. It was 5:30 a.m. Still dark out.

By 6:30, I was on the bus. I sat listlessly in the back, watching people get on and then later disappear into the hazy early morning light. All I could think about was how much I really just wanted to stay home. I don’t wanna go to school. I don’t feel like sitting through no more classes for another seven hours, or staying after school for three, or doing homework for the next six after that.

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I don’t feel like it. Why am I even doing this? But all I could do was sigh and give a slight laugh. It ain’t matter whether I hate it or love it. I don’t got no other option.

This was my life for all of junior year and most of senior year of high school. School was about an hour away by public transportation. My three AP classes kept me up until at least 2 a.m. each night studying and doing homework. The most draining part of my day, however, occurred during the three hours after school.

I was president of my school’s robotics club, where we supported and managed several competitive robotics teams. Being involved in any robotics competition is a challenging and time-consuming task, involving a heavy amount of mentoring, planning, strategy, and testing.

We had to raise funds to register for competitions and buy new parts and tools, to make sure we had consistently active members, and much more. Most of this responsibility fell on me and the rest of the executive team, a team that had basically stumbled into existence.

A team that, needless to say, had no idea what it was doing. We would stay and work for hours after school and make absolutely no progress. It was a constant struggle.

For a time, we assumed that our experience was normal—until we had the opportunity to advance to the state level of competition. We rolled in with our scrawny, “rinky-dink” masterpiece and were met with a slap in the face. Everywhere we looked, we saw teams of ten to twenty people, each with five to six adults working with them, each having a large, sturdy robot to show off.

Logos from several sponsors, such as Comcast, Lockheed Martin, and Google, adorned their perfectly matching uniforms. They had their own flags and fighting chants.

And there we were. Six members. One ugly robot.

Mismatched shirts. One adult. No sponsors. No flag. No fighting song. Not a shred of evidence that we deserved to be there.

We worked just as hard as, if not harder than, these kids. We stayed after school just as long. We asked for grants from sponsors, but would not receive them. We tried to bring in mentors, but they wouldn’t stay long. Our one adult mentor was helpful, but he often had his hands full with other things. When we occasionally did win, no one would applaud for us (though they would clap for other schools). We did everything “right,” but apparently, a Philadelphia public school just wasn’t meant to win robotics competitions.

Somehow, though, some way, we were able to keep getting up at 5:30 a.m., and go back at it again. On my morning bus rides, I would often wonder what we were doing wrong. We had stepped back, reevaluated, replanned, and reorganized several times, but something always held us back. It felt like we were swimming in a pool of cold syrup, slogging towards a fuzzy light up ahead that only became more distant as each step we took covered barely any ground. Every morning ride to school was a series of questions with no answer.

Why does it have to be so hard? Why can’t we just get ourselves together? Why do we keep slogging if we obviously ain’t getting nowhere? At the back of my mind, though, sat a more ominous question. It was a question

I was afraid to confront because I couldn’t answer it.

Why was God letting this happen? I would pray every morning for God to make sense of my situation. I would ask Him to show me what the purpose was for all this, because I sure couldn’t see it. As far as I could tell, I got no response. I would tell myself it was for my “future,” for me to “grow” in an effort to make myself feel better, but this was small consolation. None of it made sense.

It felt like we were swimming in a pool of cold syrup, slogging towards a fuzzy light up ahead that only became more distant as each step we took covered barely any ground.

Despite this, I somehow learned to accept this dilemma as a fact of life. The question remained, but nothing provided any answers. It wasn’t until I began my studies at Columbia University, in fact, that I started to reconsider it as a serious question worth answering.

A lot of things were difficult about my transition here. It would probably take a few books (or maybe even a movie) to even come close to describing the sort of mental, emotional and spiritual shift that had to take place. One thing that struck me explicitly when I first arrived here, however, was a simple ideology captured in a single phrase. I had heard it before of course, but not as I heard it here. Not as some moral axiom. Never as some standard to hold my whole self to.

“Do what makes you happy.”

I don’t exactly remember where I first heard this idea spoken, nor when I realized how prevalent it was on campus. What I do remember, though, is my reaction to it. I laughed. I laughed at the fact that anyone could possibly think life was meant to be happy. Who had the time to worry about that? Who had the luxury?

And then I began to understand why I had found it so humorous. I had unknowingly internalized an alternative ideology, an alternative understanding of how life worked. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized where I had gotten it from—my very own city.

Philly is known as a working-class city, a place known for being rough around the edges, to say the least.

It has the highest deep poverty rate of any of the largest cities in the United States,1 the school district is broke, and while the homicide rate isn’t as high as it used to be, it still looms over daily life. As I would go about my day, I could count on being confronted by several homeless people asking for money. I could count on someone 1

Philadelphia: The State of the City. Rep. Philadelphia: Pew Charitable Trusts, 2016. Print.

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coming up to me offering to sell (or buy) a “loosie."2 I could count on seeing something on the news about somebody getting shot. This does not by any means to paint a complete picture of my home, but it does present many of its realities, realities that we accepted.

What kept the homeless person going out every day to ask for money? What motivated that guy at the bus terminal to keep selling loosies? What made me get up every morning to go to school and stay after for robotics? None of these lifestyles were particularly pleasurable. I’m sure most of us don’t think of them as being our dream job. Yet, we kept living them. We didn’t look for an alternative because we saw no other option.

The thing about Philly is that it teaches you to grind. It teaches you that life doesn’t hand out favors. No one has the time to seriously search for “happiness.” That isn’t a luxury that’s been afforded.

While a sense of joy does exist, of course, it is ultimately recognized that life is a rough experience. You focus on moving through that pool of syrup, one day at a time, because if you stop, you drown. Do what you can and hope God works out the rest. It’s that simple.

Because no other options seemed to exist, it was all too easy to become trapped, to see no other future than 2

A slang term for a single, or “loose,” cigarette (as opposed to a complete pack).

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what you’ve already seen. When all you can do is keep moving forward in the direction life carries you, you start to act as if you have absolutely no control over that direction. People said it to my face so many times: they just couldn’t see themselves breaking the mold and doing something different. It’s a heavy way to live. It’s sloppy.

It rides on assumptions. And any attempts to take some sort of control, to find some breathing room, to feel good about yourself, are ultimately ephemeral. When relied on for a sense of purpose, such attempts often lead to an endless cycle, one that continuously searches for something, but never truly finds it. Bright new Jordans, silky flowing weaves, shiny LED rims, and heavy drinking are just a few examples of attempts to “escape.”

The result is never complete satisfaction. Restlessness.

When all you can do is keep moving forward in the direction life carries you, you start to act as if you have absolutely no control over that direction. People said it to my face so many times: they just couldn’t see themselves breaking the mold and doing something different

At Columbia, I almost expected the new mentality, of doing what makes me “happy,” to be a welcome break.

Surely existing in an environment where everyone is encouraged to pursue their dreams could only motivate me. In theory, if I believe everything I do should serve to make me happier, I should become happier, right? Life should be more exciting, pleasurable, and satisfying.

Everything I want should be right at my fingertips.

That’s not what I found. Indeed, to me it seemed that Columbia students wanted to be happy, and thought they should be happy, but in reality seemed quite the opposite. Instead of a culture full of joy, I found myself in a culture of stress and anxiety. Everyone seemed so intent on making their own dreams come true that nothing else mattered. My happiness was the ultimate goal; everything else was secondary. Thus, anything that interfered with my happiness was bad, something to be removed. We often hear talk of the great “Columbia bubble,” yet, to me, Columbia became

countless small bubbles, each intent on being perfect, on getting the most out of everything. And when life invariably does present challenges to that happiness, or suggest that we cannot be perfect, our fragile little bubble can’t handle the pressure; it bursts. This mindset didn’t sit well with me. It felt unrealistic. It felt selfish.

Columbia students wanted to be happy, and thought they should be happy, but in reality seemed quite the opposite. Instead of a culture full of joy, I found myself in a culture of stress and anxiety.

It didn’t rub me the wrong way simply because it set an unreachable standard. What I realized was that the mentality I had learned in Philly also set a standard.

It persists when it shouldn’t, and the only way it can persist is if there is, somehow, someway, a purpose to it.

have a purpose, but it doesn’t revolve around happiness for happiness’ sake, around slogging through that syrup just to climb out. It revolves around something far greater.

At the same time, God does not promise that we will always feel satisfied. He does not promise that we will always understand where He directs us, or why life is the way it is. He does not promise that life will always “work out” the way we want it to. That was never part of the picture, at least on this earth. What we are given, however, is a promise beyond what we see. A vision that transcends immediate circumstance and our own limited minds.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… [Many before us have] died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar… Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.3

The Christian narrative is one of living in an imperfect present while simultaneously looking forward in hope to an uncertain future.

A purpose that makes it all worth it. The purpose itself is invisible, no one is certain it’s there, but it’s enough.

It doesn’t thrive off of happiness or positive results. It doesn’t thrive off of what’s right in front of it. It persists with a hope in things not seen. It’s really a beautiful thing.

Philly taught me to work without expecting reward. Philly taught me to do for the sake of doing.

Philly taught me not to anticipate any handouts. Philly taught me to keep slogging through that pool of syrup, in hopes of eventually slogging through the whole damn thing. But there was no way I could get through it all alone. Something was there pulling me along.

God had been there the whole time. I’d known He was there the whole time.

The Christian narrative is one of living in an imperfect present while simultaneously looking forward in hope to an uncertain future. God has given each of us a purpose, supplied every person with a calling, and promised His followers ultimate fulfillment only if we pursue that calling in Him and for Him. Thus, life does

When I first began learning about what it meant to follow Jesus, I had a hard time wrapping my head around this concept. How could I hope for something I didn’t see? Why was it relevant to me? What was I even hoping for in the first place? It just seemed so vague, empty and open-ended. Being at Columbia, however, has shown me that God was demonstrating to me what this meant all along, right back home. Even in the midst of the hardship and uncertainty of a messed up world, God has “prepared a city.” We are promised that we are here for a reason, to participate in God’s plan for making things right. We will often doubt that such a plan even exists, but we must trust that it’s already happening.

The point of this is not to trivialize the strugglea of daily life at Columbia. The situations we all face here are very real. Nor am I trying to suggest that Columbia students are simply a bunch of miserable, selfish people. Seeking joy in life is a beautiful thing. The issue, it seemed to me, was the that Columbia students believed that the outcome of their daily grind should be some vague, ephemeral feeling called “happiness.”

That’s how you knew you were doing things right.

This is not to say I also don’t desire a happy life. I do, and being at Columbia seems to have intensified that desire, creating a tangible internal tension. This conviction in things not seen, however, has worked 3

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Hebrews 11:1, 13, 16 ESV.

Hope (left) and Desperation (right) by Giotto di Bondone

to resolve the tension. The grind ceases to function as some narrow mindset we lock ourselves into. It becomes a means of trusting our daily lives, and our future, to God. We acknowledge that our own vision is limited, and allow ourselves to be guided along paths we cannot clearly see. Moreover, we trust that, in the end, our guide knows where He is going. It allows us to participate in the moment and anticipate the future. It releases us from the constraints of selfishly trying to control everything and allows us to authentically engage with others without worrying about losing that control. That is true freedom.

That is what has gotten me through my time at Columbia.

I’m not some expert on life or educated theologian.

All I can do is look to my experience, and see the ways in which God has worked in it. I believe He has provided me with tools for engaging with the world around me in a meaningful way, despite the hardships that I inevitably continue to face. I believe that He can do the same for us all. My hope is that we all may experience this true freedom, a freedom that looks beyond itself, a freedom not constrained by this world, a freedom that hopes in things not seen.

I’m not some expert on life or educated theologian. All I can do is look to my experience, and see the ways in which God has worked in it.

I believe He has provided me with tools for engaging with the world around me in a meaningful way.

Kai Tinsley (SEAS '20) was born and raised in Philadelphia.

You'll likely find him rocking Timbs, listening to good music, or trying to understand physics in the library. Though he still doesn't know how he got to Columbia or why he's here, he hopes to somehow use the experience to help others.

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The People's Pope

Mollie Bayer

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n the year 1808, The Most Reverend Richard Luke Concanen became the first Catholic bishop appointed to the Diocese of New York. Unable to even set foot on American soil due to embargo laws, Concanen spread the word of God to New York City from overseas through communication with missionary priests. At the time, Catholics were so despised and such a small minority of the population in New York City that magazines such as The Menace, which had over 1 million subscribers and ran up until the mid20th century, were solely dedicated to spreading lurid myths and fantastical lies about the alleged deviance of Catholicism.1 Left with no other options, the Catholic subculture in New York City organized to form its own schools, social welfare, and political infrastructure. 200 years later, these systems haven’t just prevailed—they have been adopted by the secular public. This year, selfidentifying Catholics make up approximately 40% of the population in New York City (as opposed to just 20% of the U.S. population), and the Catholic Church is the largest group of landowners in Manhattan.2 In addition, the Catholic Church is the largest non-government

provider of healthcare services in the world,3 as well as the largest non-government provider of human services and education in New York state.4

1 Library of Congress, "The Menace.," News about Chronicling America RSS. 2 "New York's Catholic Church - How We Serve," New York State Catholic Conference , 2017.

3 Agnew, John (12 February 2010). "Deus Vult: The Geopolitics of Catholic Church." Geopolitics. 15 (1): 39–61. doi:10.1080/1465004 903420388., 4 "New York's Catholic Church - How We Serve."

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200 years later, these systems haven’t just prevailed— they have become adopted by the secular public.

Catholicism has a great stake in Manhattan. The Catholic Church has impacted, and continues to impact, New York City in innumerable ways. From improved living conditions to higher education, the Catholic Church has left a marked impact on the city.

But the growth of Catholicism has largely been stifled: in the late 20th century, the faith began experiencing a sharp decline in the United States. The last 50 years have seen the number of annual baptisms ebb and flow as population consistently grows. Mass attendance by Catholics has steadily decreased as well, peaking in 1965

at 55% and decreasing each year since. 1995 to 2000 saw the largest mass attendance drop, from 35% to 22%. Since 2005, mass attendance has slightly fluctuated around this number each year by a few percentage points.5 This data leaves us with the burning question: why? Living conditions for Catholics have significantly improved since the 1960s. In fact, John F. Kennedy dispelled the long-persistent concern that Catholic-Americans were more loyal to the Vatican than the United States with his election as the first and only Catholic president to date. This occurred just prior to the steady decrease in Catholic populations. What has caused this steady decline?

Catholics to visit the houses of Protestant worship and read Protestant Bibles, loosened clergy dress-codes, disavowed proselytism, and adapted liturgy.7 While these changes were extremely dramatic, it is important to recognize that many theologians support Vatican II as well. Finally, some theologians, like Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia, take a more abstract approach, claiming that it isn’t American Catholicism that’s in decline, but rather western civilization.8 These scholars argue that declined voter participation, economic failures, and political stand-stills point to an age of complacency in which Catholicism is decreasing, as part of an overarching mood of futility expressed through apathy toward larger religious institutions. Regardless of who is right or wrong, the 2013 papal enclave realized that mass attendance numbers and decreased participation in the sacraments pointed to an obvious truth: the Catholic Church needed a revitalization.

The Catholic population in the US is built on immigrants.

Some theologians, like those who compose the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, argue that the steady decline in the U.S. Catholic population is due to tightening immigration laws. The Catholic population in the United States is built on immigrants, and Catholics are more likely than any other demographic in the United States to be first or second generation immigrants.6 In fact, roughly half of all Catholics in the U.S. were either born outside of the country, or are the children of parents born outside of the country. While this is one theory for declining numbers, many others exist. Many local churches argue that the decline in American Catholicism can be accounted for by a decrease in orthodox practices under the Second Vatican Council of 1962-1965. Vatican II abandoned Latin as the universal language of mass, allowed 5 "Frequently Requested Church Statistics," Center for Applied Resarch in the Apostolate, 2016.

6 Michael Lipka, "A closer look at Catholic America," Pew Research Center, September 14, 2015.

As the first Jesuit Pope and the first Pope from the Americas, Pope Francis was the perfect man for this revitalization. Many news outlets report that he is the most admired Pope to ever exist, citing that he not only has a 90% favorability rating from U.S. Catholics, but also a 70% approval rating from all Americans, including secular individuals and atheists.9 Indeed, Pope Francis has been deemed “The Pope of the People.”

When he visited New York City in the fall of 2015, an unprecedented number of New Yorkers crowded Central Park, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the United Nations, and all the other places where the Pope made stops. He received standing ovations at every place he spoke, and when he took to the altar to deliver mass to 20,000 people in Madison Square Garden, he shared the message that “God is living in our cities."10.

Pope Francis has been deemed “The Pope of the People.”

Yet this was anything but a message of idealism and complacency. Pope Francis spoke to the marginalized and forgotten, declaring, “In big cities, beneath the roar 7 "Sacrosanctum Concilium," La Santa Sede, 2017.

8 "Frequently Requested Church Statistics," Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, 2016.

9 David Masci, "Pope Francis’ popularity extends beyond Catholics," Pew Research Center, March 13, 2015.

10 Jennifer Fermino et al., "Pope Francis closes out NYC visit with Mass at MSG," NY Daily News, September 25, 2015.

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of traffic, beneath the rapid pace of change, so many faces pass by unnoticed because they have no ‘right’ to be there, no right to be part of the city. … [We need] A hope which is unafraid of involvement, which acts as a leaven wherever we happen to live and work.”11 Under Pope Francis, the number of practicing Catholics has increased globally, specifically in China and central Africa—both of which represent areas currently experiencing a rapid boom in urban population growth.12 However, it should be noted that domestically, the rate of practicing Catholics has yet to return to its height in the 1960s. In the United States, Pope Francis has united Americans through his faith and social activism. In countries like the United States where the Catholic faith is no longer “new,” what may be most important is that Pope Francis has demonstrated how to lead as a person of faith by creating unification between different cultural backgrounds, and by spreading the word of God in a way which has reflected positively on the church and opened minds. The Catholic church, not long ago characterized as archaic and corrupt, is now at the forefront of speaking out on social justice issues. Under Pope Francis, the Catholic Church doesn’t condemn or even ignore social issues which often lead to tension between the religious and secular worlds but addresses these social justice issues and takes a stance which both upholds church doctrines and shows compassion, love, and understanding to an increasingly secular and urban population.

11 Jennifer Fermino et al., "Pope Francis closes out NYC visit with Mass at MSG," NY Daily News, September 25, 2015.

12 Francis X. Rocca, Yelin Hong, and Josh Ulick, "How the Catholic World Is Changing," The Wall Street Journal.

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In my mind, and in the minds of many, this exemplifies the true purpose of the church: to uphold the word of God, to share the word of God, to show compassion to those who struggle or have yet to accept the word of God, and finally, to forgive those who disobey the word of God. To be specific, Pope Francis has succeeded as a Christian leader and gained respect in the secular world because he practices this interpretation of the church’s role. In the four years of his papacy, Pope Francis has focused primarily on decreasing income inequality and aiding the poor. However, he has not strayed away from taking a stance on important political issues. Some of the major hot-topic decisions that Pope Francis has made have garnered support from a more diverse following of individuals than the typical mass-attending Catholics: the allowance of Priests to absolve women who have repented of the sin of abortion, the call for a welcoming of individuals who both identify as gay and seek the Lord, vocal acknowledgment of evolution and climate change, and his outspoken support of refugees.13 While these are just a few of the most reported statements made by the Vatican under Pope Francis, they speak to a greater trend in his leadership.

The Catholic church, not long ago characterized as archaic and corrupt, is now at the forefront of speaking out on social justice issues.

Pope Francis delivers a message of love and forgiveness. In the past, religious leaders like his predecessor turned a blind eye to these issues publicly to avoid political factioning within the church, alienating secular individuals and churchgoers who were earnestly wrestling with these issues. While Benedict XVI hid his opinions on polemical topics in letters to his bishops, Pope Francis proclaims them aloud on the streets of El Barrio. He focuses on practicing Jesus’ message of expressing God’s love by aiding those who are less privileged than himself. It is important to note as well that Pope Francis does not compromise the doctrine of the church in his statements. He upholds the teachings of the Lord delivered through the Holy Bible, yet recognizes that it is God’s role to ultimately judge the sins of others and not our own. In this way, the Pope realistically shares the Word of God with an increasingly urban and secular society which cannot and should not 13 Anthony Faiola, "8 of Pope Francis’s most liberal statements," The Washington Post, September 07, 2015.

be reached through threats of Hell and condemnation.

This is important, because it gives hope that the church may be seen as an inviting and accessible place for young adults newly beginning their walk with God, and many of which likely grew up outside of the church having not received a full understanding of the Lord’s plan for them and thus having made decisions without Him in mind.

In urban centers where Catholicism is currently experiencing its most rapid growth, this approach is essential to the continued growth of the church.

Catholic missionary work in Central Africa focuses on charitable work, as opposed to replacing important cultural traditions with Catholic practices. In China as well, Catholic missionary work is closely monitored by the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.

These growing urban populations are made up almost entirely of new converts to the faith, which is extremely significant on a global level. Though it is sometimes difficult to see statistical changes in Catholic church attendance domestically, it is clear that Pope Francis’ work has made an impact on an urban, international level.

If you, like me, are a Catholic who cares about social justice and hopes for peace between people of differing theological views, Pope Francis is an answer to

your prayers. If you follow another belief system, Pope Francis is an example of how religious leaders should work in an increasingly urban society. We can all learn a bit from the Pope about leading with faith. Like Pope Francis, we should adhere to our values, preach those values, and not attack those who have trouble accepting those values. To me, Pope Francis is a revolutionary. As I attempt to navigate both the religious and secular world in a city as busy as New York, his words and actions help me to see the hope which God gives each and every one of us through the midst of the smog.

Mollie Bayer (BC '19) is an Urban Studies and Sustainable Development major from Miami, FL. When she's not busy reading in Butler 209, you can find her testing out new recipes, scheming her next outfit, or making travel plans. Mollie loves both God and New York City, and hopes to share His love with all of her friends and family on campus.

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soul silence

Afua Addo

in the city i walk through subways and one-ways. in the city i see a path, countercurrent and quiet. but my soul sounds like this city i walk through and i can no longer tell the difference between it and me, me and it i can no longer hear a difference anymore and we sound the same. for the city has molded me into its busy streets and movement, has molded me to look like i know where i am going, and has molded its people to appear as though they are fulfilling their purposes. but in the stillness i find this is not the case. where can one go if their soul has yet to find a place without these busy streets, without movement. how can you recognize a silent soul when the world will not let it speak? what does it mean to look at your life, your soul and ask for stillness? because the moment you remove yourself in quiet time the still small voice becomes more clear, illuminated in the darkness that is chaos.

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you ask, how can one close their eyes and see more clearly? how can one cover their ears, and experience a silence that is louder than the city itself, one that is comforting and clarifying for those who believe? to be still and be at peace when buildings are falling and people are dying, when sirens are blaring and traffic is not merciful. and as you press on in faith, you will find that you are not in the city any more, because this kind of faith transcends every location, and in every place you can find soul silence.

this is a picture of faith in the city. it is one that hangs delicately on the wall and draws no attention to itself, it only waits to be seen.

Afua Addo (CC '20) is a Neuroscience Major with a passion for the outdoors and good music. In the future, she hopes to find ways of traveling around the world and learning many languages while also pursuing her work in the medical field. She was born in Massachusetts, and her love for God is something she hopes becomes clear in her writing and everyday life.

Volume 4 | Issue 1 16

Christianity is a Skyscraper.

W

hen Jesus said to Peter, “on this rock I will build my church,”1 He probably wasn't referring to 30 Rock in New York, New York.

But I digress. Regardless, 30 Rock has had a great deal of cultural significance throughout New York City and the world. The 84-year-old skyscraper hosts NBC studios, Saturday Night Live, and the never-ending carousel of Late Night talk show hosts. Although millions of Americans who get their news, information, or entertainment from this one source located in nearby Manhattan may be unaware of 30 Rock’s existence, it plays such a vital role that it is hard to say you have experienced New York City without going to the Top of the Rock.

Located on 50th St. and 6th Ave, the Top of the Rock offers unobstructed 360-degree views of New York City directly from the heart of the Manhattan. While one ticket might cost you a less-than-ideal $34, the views and experience are enough to merit your next Instagram post.

Due to its popularity, The Top of the Rock supplements the long wait for the elevators by including a small photo shoot, numerous historical facts and a 9-minute informative video on the significance and history behind 30 Rock. The photo shoot, historical facts, and video set the stage for the subsequent 70-story flight up more 1

Matthew 16:18 ESV.

17 Columbia Crown & Cross

Cal Falkenhayn

enjoyable. The excitement of seeing all of Manhattan is palpable before you ever reach the Top of the Rock.

Last spring, when I went to the Top of the Rock and stood in line waiting for the elevator, the fascinating tidbits of information provided gave insight to the building that I would not have known on my own, giving a sense of meaning to the whole trip. The essence of what I learned was that a huge amount of effort, sacrifice, faith, and vision helped give 30 Rock the immense legacy and value it has today.

Christianity works the same way. The more we learn about the effort, sacrifice, faith, and vision God has for humanity, the more value and fulfillment we have today.

As Christians, we don't want to walk through life with a surface-level sense of what God has done for us. The author of Proverbs writes, “Whatever you get, get insight.”2 He shows the pivotal importance of getting insight because, when we have the proper insight, we can live a more purposeful and satisfactory Christian life.

That Jesus saved us from our sins is the most important piece of our history to understand. As I grow to understand it more each day, the word “saved” itself has brought me more satisfaction and purpose in my Christian beliefs. Talking about salvation can be 2

Proverbs 4:7.

the Heavenly Gates with no problem because my name has been written in the book of life.3 However, the Greek word sozo contradicted this notion that being saved was all about arriving in Heaven. Now, of course, I am excited for eternal life, and I am thankful that God paid such a huge price by sending Jesus to redeem humanity, but the modern conception of being saved which I thought meant eventually going to Heaven one day once you die is not what Paul was trying to convey when he uses the word "saved" in Ephesians4 or “that you profess your faith and are saved" in Romans.5 It is more than just being rescued from a burning building: sozo means “deliver, protect, heal, preserve, do well, and be made whole,” all of which are attainable right now for Christians!

Once I came to the understanding that Jesus did more than just secure my eternal security but delivered, healed, preserved, and made me whole, the quality, satisfaction and purpose of my life radically changed. I wasn't waiting for the day I keeled over and Jesus came back to find purpose, meaning, or satisfaction in my Christian life. I was already a man who was made whole! Paul did say,“if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation," and once the real meaning of the word “saved” came into my vocabulary I realized that Jesus made me a new creation through faith.6 Suddenly, Jesus commanding us in the Lord’s Prayer to pray, "your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven” made more sense because sozo is something that is attainable now. Once I realized I had already been made whole, delivered, healed, preserved and saved, it has become easier to tackle the challenges of the Christian life.

like opening a can of worms in the Christian community, and I don't mean to meander into hermeneutics, but something changed once I learned about the Greek word sozo. The topic of salvation naturally brings up an array of questions like, “Who has it?” or “Can you lose it?” And it is not my desire to address any of these questions. My point is to show that when Paul uses the word “saved”, such as when, for example, in Ephesians 2:8, he writes, “For by grace you have been saved, through faith,” he probably means something different from what most Christians and myself may think. The word “saved” in English is translated from the original Greek word sozo. Sozo means, “to save, deliver, protect, heal, preserve, do well, and be made whole.”

When I used to think of being “saved,” I would have the idea that it meant when the trumpet blows, I’ll be on the first Greyhound Bus to Heaven and will walk through

More than just meaning being rescued from a burning building, sozo means "deliver, protect, heal, preserve, do well, and be made whole."

The lobby before the elevators up the 70 floors of 30 Rock in New York provided facts and minute details that enriched my satisfaction and understanding of 30 Rock as a historic building. Learning the word sozo changed my satisfaction and understanding of what it means to be a Christian and gave me new depth and purpose.

Cal Falkenhayn's (CC '19) favorite day of the school year is definitely Surf 'n' Turf . Other than being a huge LeBron fan, he's usually occupied playing football for the Columbia Lions.

Revelation 21:27.

Ephesians: 2:8.

5 Romans: 10:10.

6 2 Corinthians 5:17.

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Volume 4 | Issue 1 18

West Side Gospel

Redeemer Church and the World Around It

Crown & Cross Staff

C

Joseph Hooper, “Tim Keller Wants to Save Your Yuppie Soul,” New York Magazine, Nov 29, 2009.

2 The Vision,” RISE. 3 Hooper.

1

19 Columbia Crown & Cross

We discovered an impressivelyplanned, multi-front campaign to grow the gospel in every corner of the city, with astounding results.

Redeemer's home at 83rd & Amsterdam

ities are a unique nexus of human experience.

Every day on the island of Manhattan, some of the world’s most powerful people pass by mendicants, service workers with lengthy commutes, and other humble members of society. These realities of urban life shape Christian missions in big cities like New York. It’s not enough to appeal to a “lowest common denominator;” ministries must somehow serve these two poles—and everything in between.

Tim Keller began Redeemer Presbyterian Church in 1989 as part of a denominational mission to put the gospel in places of power. “The idea,” a New York Magazine profile of the church reads, “was that winning believers in New York would have an influence out of proportion to the group’s numbers.”1 At that time, the RISE campaign estimates that only about 1% of centercity New York belonged to the body of Christ. Since then, that number has grown to 5%, with Redeemer accounting for thousands of those new churchgoers.2 How did such a change happen in the “big bad Whore of Babylon?”3 More importantly, what can the story of Redeemer tell us about the future of the Gospel in New York City?

To examine Redeemer more closely, Crown and Cross sent several members of its staff to people on the inside. We spoke with Pastor David Bisgrove, who will soon be the head of Redeemer’s West Side congregation, along with several other church members and frequent visitors. Our interactions with these individuals encouraged us to pursue more information on how the church has succeeded while remaining true to its theologically-traditional message. How is Redeemer effective in reaching out to the world around it? In our research, we discovered an impressively-planned, multi-front campaign to grow the gospel in every corner of the city, and to appeal to every demographic, with astounding results.

The Body of the Church

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n a typical Sunday morning at West 83rd and Amsterdam, hundreds of people crowd into the W83 Ministry Center, a five-story, multi-function community and cultural center owned by Redeemer Presbyterian Church.4 Once a parking garage, the Center was designed specifically to host classrooms, a fellowship hall, and a sanctuary space, with 450 orchestra seats and 275 on a balcony level.5 Described as “a space for the Upper West Side community to seek spiritual, social and cultural renewal for our city,” the Ministry Center 4 5

"W83 (new Building)." Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

“About W83 Ministry Center.” Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

The interior of Redeemer Presbyterian

Redeemer, as a church with the power to shape people’s lives through the Word, can create transformation by leading its entire congregation—filled with people in such influential vocations—to move away from negative influences and to become “more just and honest.”

is home to a variety of events and four Sunday services.6 The composition of the attendees at these services, along with services at Redeemer’s other locations in the Upper East Side, Downtown, and, most recently, Lincoln Square, is different from what might be expected of a church.7 The average age is young, a verdant 36. An attendee is more likely than not to be in a high-end professional field like finance, health care, the arts, education, or law.8 Even the music, performed by “Broadway-caliber singers and working jazz professionals,” defies the typical gospel- or hymnalmusic church choir presence.9 Within a few moments, an attendee knows that these musicians can play.

This demographic is reflective of the typical New York Yuppie, which includes “techies and entrepreneurs” who “claim they want to ‘change the world’ but instead have a goal of ‘making money and leveraging power.’”

Consumption, from social media to the newest technology, also defines Yuppie behavior, while religion typically has a weaker presence.10 Yet this reality is precisely what Redeemer aims to alter. Pastor Bisgrove explains: “The gospel transforms a person from the “Mission and Vision.” Redeemer Presbyterian Church Frank Newport, “Percentage of Christians in U.S. Drifting Down, but Still High,” Gallup.

8 “2015 Redeemer-wide census to be taken April 19,” Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

9 Hooper.

10 Teddy Wayne, “Tell-Tale Signs of the Modern-Day Yuppie.” New York Times, May 10, 2015.

6 7

inside out. … Our hope is that the gospel would lead people of power, whatever their position, to embody the gospel through word and deed and be agents for positive change in our culture.” Redeemer, as a church with the power to shape people’s lives through the Word, can create transformation by leading its entire congregation—filled with people in such influential vocations—to move away from negative influences and to become “more just and honest,” as Bisgrove puts it, in their areas of influence. In this way Redeemer expects its well-to-do congregants to become beacons of light for others.

The congregation also includes and caters to college students. Redeemer is affiliated with Reformed University Fellowship (RUF), the campus ministry organization of the Presbyterian Church of America, with chapters all across the country. “There are two RUF ‘chapters’ in NYC, namely Columbia and City Campus,” David Acevedo, a Columbia College sophomore and currently the Prayer Coordinator for RUF Columbia, notes. “Columbia is the only on-site location, and City Campus serves students that go to any other college in the city.”

RUF City Campus Ministry reaches New York City undergraduate students through weekly large group and small group gatherings that occur in various spaces and times throughout the city. These gatherings comprise students from universities such as CUNY, The New Volume 4 | Issue 1 20

"It is is attractive attractive for for college college students, students, "[Redeemer] particularly at a prestigious school particularly at a prestigious school like Columbia, to like Columbia, to encounter a level encounter a level of rigor in the exegetical teaching of rigor in the exegetical teaching they hear at church analogous what they theythat hearischurch that to is analogous will encounter in their classes at school.” to what they will encounter in their classes at school.”

School, NYU, Juilliard, Fordham, and various others.

Acevedo does not attend the large group meetings because of RUF Columbia’s own individualized service, but attends a session called Sunday Conversations, after the 5 pm Redeemer West Side Service. He describes it as at time in which students “eat dinner together and partake in discussion about important topics related to scripture, particularly topics... that are, quite frankly, very scary and uncomfortable to talk about sometimes.”

Dozens of other Columbia students are not a part of RUF but attend Redeemer services every Sunday, as the W83 Center is only a 30-minute walk or a 10-minute subway ride away. Lilian Chow, who graduated Columbia College in 2015, started attending Redeemer regularly as a freshman in fall 2011 and continued throughout her time at Columbia. “When I was in college and going to Redeemer, my community was still mainly my friends from college,” she says. “I loved my on-campus fellowship as well as the fellow Christians I interacted with daily at school. … I didn't feel like a ‘real’ member of the congregation—apart from my friends from school, I didn't really know anyone.”

Since she graduated Columbia two years ago, however, Chow has become more involved. She recently joined a Community Group, which she describes as giving her “a real glimpse of what at least a tiny percentage of other Redeemer-goers are like.” She explains further, “It's such a huge blessing to be able to talk about the sermons and Scripture together and just be present for one another. … It's so awesome to hear about all of our lives, how they intersect, as well as how 21 Columbia Crown & Cross

they diverge in such beautiful ways—makes me realise [sic] God's presence in our lives even more.” Chow also now sings with the Voices of Redeemer choir, allowing her to meet people outside of her Community Group and to feel more connected to the church.

Torrie Williams, who is part of Chow’s Community Group, echoes this sentiment about how CGs allow churchgoers to feel more connected and welcomed into the Redeemer community. Williams has been attending Redeemer since spring 2015, after a friend in her graduate school program invited her. The content of the sermons was important to her, and she emphasizes how she liked that they "related the Gospel to [the] modern day and living in New York.” This is a feeling shared by many Columbia undergraduates, including Acevedo, who says, “The style of teaching delivered by pastors like

Hope for New York

Saint Paul's Chapel, Columbia University

H

Tim Keller is significantly more intellectually focused or ‘heady’ than a lot of other churches.” He makes sure to clarify that he does not mean that this style is better, but continues, “It is attractive for college students, particularly at a prestigious school like Columbia, to encounter a level of rigor in the exegetical teaching they hear at church that is analogous to what they will encounter in their classes at school.”

The current demographics within Redeemer may suggest a focus upon people who fit a certain category, specifically those who are young, wealthy, and in professional vocations. But Redeemer does not ignore the other many residents of New York City. In fact, the church has attracted a wide range of members from all backgrounds, and is diverse, in terms of race, background, occupation, and spiritual walk. Redeemer also acknowledges the privileges that many members of the congregation have and emphasizes reaching out to those from low-income communities, in terms of sharing God’s word and inviting them to join the church, as well as through financial resources and a range of services.

ope for New York is a nonprofit with a mission of mobilizing volunteers and financial resources to support other nonprofits serving the poor and marginalized in New York City. Founded in 1992 with one full-time staff member, three affiliate organizations, and a small group of volunteers, HFNY today has over 40 affiliates and hundreds of volunteers. The name, as suggested, indicates a “hope for a New York City in which all people experience spiritual, social, and economic flourishing through the demonstration of Christ’s love.” 11 The values and motivation for HFNY are rooted in the gospel, which provides a unique perspective on mercy and justice. HFNY’s values can be seen through the parable of the unmerciful servant, about which the website explains, “Sacrificial service is motivated

by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, rather than out of a desire to earn favor with God. Our motivation for serving others is a response to the grace shown us by Jesus, not an attempt to earn God’s favor through moral behavior.”12 Additionally, New York City is in need; 28.6% of New York City children under 18 live in poverty, 60,000+ New Yorkers are homeless each night, and 1.4 million New Yorkers don’t have enough food for their families.

Juan Galloway, Executive Director of New York City Relief, one of HFNY’s affiliates, recently put it this way: “We aspire to not just feed the homeless but eat with them, talk with them and do life to them. Our goal is to enter a journey with the poor where we aren’t seen as above them, but alongside them.” Sara Miller, Executive Director of A House on Beckman, added, “My hope for what our neighbors would experience when they walk through our doors is the love of Christ. That’s why we do this.”13

"We aspire to not just feed the homeless but eat with them, talk with them and do life to them. Our goal is to enter a journey with the poor where we aren’t seen as above them, but alongside them."

Hope for New York aims to achieve its mission primarily through supporting its nonprofit affiliates, which involves mobilizing volunteers, making grants “About.” Hope For New York.

“About.”

13 Hope for New York FY16 Annual Report, Dec. 4, 2016.

11 12

Volume 4 | Issue 1 22

to fund programs, and training and consulting. Each of the steps for affiliate support is taken carefully and for a purpose. Volunteers invest their time and talent in HFNY’s affiliate programs, such as teaching an ESL class, or helping with administrative tasks. Through these partners, HFNY invests over $1 million in grants every year, to “meet the real, felt needs of New Yorkers through life-transforming programs.” HFNY emphasizes a comprehensive process, which promises to steward its donors' dollars “by ensuring the most strategic deployment of their investment possible.” The organization also encourages its affiliates to become the strongest and most effective, working to promote organizational growth and facilitating leadership development.14 Each of these affiliates is a microcosm of HFNY’s larger tripartite mission. One affiliate, His Toy Store, provides toys to families in financial need during the Christmas season.15 The entire store is volunteer-run, and HFNY partners with local churches that are committed to ministry, in both word and deed. Bisgrove states, “All three Redeemer churches and Lincoln Square partner with HFNY,” making it a Redeemer-wide organization.

Additionally, with Redeemer’s transition to four independent churches, Redeemer and HFNY are better positioned to reach out and serve, particularly to the neighborhoods surrounding the church. Says Bisgrove: “there was a fire recently in our neighborhood that displaced many residents. We reached out to those neighbors with financial, legal and counseling support.

That is just one example of what we hope to continue to do as a church community, where our congregation is known for loving and serving our neighbors and caring about the community, regardless of whether they believe like we do or not.”

Planting New Churches

Y

et Redeemer’s greatest outreach success may be its expansion into other new churches. Planting and growing different congregations has been Redeemer’s calling card for decades. “In 1997,” Keller remarked recently, “the leaders [at Redeemer] said, ‘We do not want to end up as one single megachurch—we want to become a family of churches that meets all throughout the neighborhoods of the city.’ … In 1999, we sent people from our old campus at Hunter College to the West Side.”16 New York is not a single enormous city whose needs would be best met by a single enormous church; “How.” Hope For New York.

“His Toy Store.” Hope For New York.

16 From a church announcement given by Dr. Keller on February 26, 2017.

14 15

23 Columbia Crown & Cross

"Our congregation is known for loving and serving our neighbors and caring about the community, regardless of whether they believe like we do or not.”

Redeemer is reestablishing its church-planting roots.

Tim Keller

instead, like a cosmopolitan family reunion, New York comprises dozens of distinct neighborhoods. Although each claims the surname of the Greatest City in the World, they also each have their own idiosyncrasies and individualities that make it difficult for a single church to meet all of their needs at once. Keller and his team realized this two decades ago and were moved to action: they sought to build an extensive network, one that would eventually extend all over the New York and beyond.

Twenty years later, Redeemer is reestablishing its church-planting roots. Its City to City ministry has breathed life into churches in some of the world’s largest cities—thanks to the co-opting of the ministry, in 2016, 11 theologically conservative churches opened their doors in the New York City metro area, and another 19 around the world in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Cumulatively, City to City has created 423 churches and established a training program that has equipped 13,000 young men and women to serve as leaders in their own congregations.17 These churches and leaders come Redeemer-approved, but not necessarily bearing the “Redeemer” title. Redeemer may “elevate their brand” more effectively if they had churches all over the world called “Redeemer Queens” or “Redeemer Kuala Lumpur.” Why don’t they follow this strategy?

You’ve probably heard it said that, if you want to know what people value, you should “Follow the money.” A great sum of the money in Redeemer’s coffers goes to projects and developments that will bear only very loose ties to the church—any group with half the church’s braintrust would consider this a waste of funds if branding was their primary goal.

Leaders at Redeemer know that they are sacrificing their own wealth on enterprises that will rarely help their own congregation’s reputation. But it seems incredibly clear that their leaders see the forest for the trees. “We believe that the best thing for the impact of Christianity in the long run is increasing the number of churches,” Bisgrove notes. “This of course means not just Presbyterian churches (like Redeemer), but all kinds of Gospel-affirming churches.” Name recognition—even denomination recognition—does not matter nearly as much as supporting the word of Jesus anywhere it can be preached. The message trumps the medium. “That’s the Gospel,” says Keller. “The way up is to go down.”18

Replacing Dr. Keller

A

s Redeemer expands, it will do so without its founding father. Its four sister churches (East Side, West Side, Downtown, and a new plant in Lincoln Square) will each become independent congregations in the coming months as Dr. Keller, a man nearing 70, steps down from his role in overseeing all four. Bisgrove, who will take over as senior pastor of the West Side congregation, feels comfortable with the transition process. “Anyone attending Redeemer over the last 5-6 years has never experienced Tim Keller as their primary preacher, so the seeds of this transition were sown years ago,” he says. Yet again, Redeemer is following through on a projectrt that was meticulously planned years in advance.

Though Bisgrove’s elevation may have been expected, he has enormous shoes to fill as Keller’s successor. The founder of Redeemer has built an extensive legacy of promoting winsome conservative theology, both in his work as pastor and in his role as a public voice on behalf of traditional Christian values. Aside from his multiple bestselling books, which have been read by millions all over the world, he continues to dialogue with some of the city’s most prominent intellectuals.19 In a recent interview with New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, for example, he was asked about the nature of Christian orthodoxy. “I deeply admire Jesus and his message, but am also skeptical of themes that have been integral to Christianity—the virgin birth, the Resurrection, the miracles and so on,” Kristof said. “[Are those] essential belief[s], or can I mix and match?”20 Some Christian authorities would have struggled to respond to this question properly. Many ministers, “Bio—Timothy Keller.” Redeemer City to City, 2016.

Nicholas Kristof, “Am I a Christian, Pastor Timothy Keller?” The New York Times, Decemer 23, 2016.

19

2016: A Gospel Movment. Redeemer City to City, 2017.

18 From the aforementioned announcement.

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Volume 4 | Issue 1 24

especially in the ardently secular, skeptical New York culture, may have affirmed that Kristof could believe anything he wanted to while wearing the moniker of Christianity, while many conservative pastors would have vindictively told the questioning journalist that his beliefs would lead him to an eternity in Hell. Keller opts for neither extreme, instead ornamenting orthodox theology in language that makes sense for pluralistic readers.

If something is truly integral to a body of thought, you can’t remove it without destabilizing the whole thing. A religion can’t be whatever we desire it to be. If I’m a member of the board of Greenpeace and I come out and say climate change is a hoax, they will ask me to resign. I could call them narrowminded, but they would rightly say that there have to be some boundaries for dissent or you couldn’t have a cohesive, integrated organization. And they’d be right. It’s the same with any religious faith.21 Kristof bristled at this answer, but he couldn’t accuse his theological foil of problematic language or poor argumentation. He tried to deflect because he knew Keller was right.

So much was made even clearer recently as Princeton Theological Seminary, a long-time affiliate of the Presbyterian Church, revoked an award it had planned to give to Dr. Keller, perhaps the most famous Presbyterian in the United States, on the basis of his Kristof.

Columbia students enjoying Christian fellowship together.

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25 Columbia Crown & Cross

biblical views. “Many regard awarding the Kuyper Prize as an affirmation of Reverend Keller’s belief that women and LGBTQ+ persons should not be ordained,” PTS President Craig Barnes announced to his students.22 Barnes and his seminary’s liberal brand of Presbyterianism strongly support LGBTQ+ persons and women in ministry, so Keller’s stances posed a problem. Outcries of so-called “toxic theology” from the Theological Left led Barnes to rescind the prize, and Keller did not complain. As he had said to Kristof, a church’s doctrinal positions are not meant to be allinclusive. Beliefs and boundaries exist, and Keller’s church has steadily grown despite the fact that most of his city ardently disagrees with him about what those beliefs and boundaries are.

"If something is turly integral to a body of thought, you can't remove it without destabilizing the whole thing. A religion can't be whatever we desire it to be."

Keller’s stance on the role of LGBTQ+ persons and women in ministry is clear. Redeemer, he wrote in a piece about women in ministry, has a commitment to “the authority of the Bible” as well as “the liberation M. Craig Barnes, “Update on the 2017 Kuyper Lecture and Prize.”

Princeton Theological Seminary, 2017.

22

of all Christians to use their gifts in ministry.” He concluded by emphasizing his and Redeemer’s goal: “to create a community that even non-believing feminists recognize as not oppressive, yet one that honors the Biblical distinction between the genders.”23 The founding documents of Gospel Coalition, a network of churches founded by Keller and D. A. Carson, also state that “both men and women are encouraged to serve Christ and to be developed to their full potential in the manifold ministries of the people of God. The distinctive leadership role within the church given to qualified men is grounded in creation, fall, and redemption and must not be sidelined by appeals to cultural developments”—an affirmation of Redeemer’s commitment to biblical authority despite its existence in the middle of Manhattan.24 Let us be honest with ourselves: biblical interpretation on topics such as these is often more about personal worldview than scriptural exegesis. Keller values the way that the Bible has been interpreted for thousands of years, while Barnes and other liberal Presbyterians choose to provide “appeals to cultural developments" instead.

A casual observer might consider these worldview differences to be the greatest challenge Redeemer has in a place like New York, but Bisgrove believes the church has built a sound model for handling people’s questions when they arise. “Anonymity is important,” he says.

“Redeemer’s size has made it possible for many people over the years to process the Gospel, either for the first time or as part of a spiritual journey in which they are returning to God.” Because of its sizable attendance base, skeptics and truth-seekers can sit in the pews on a weekly basis and never get those judgmental glances Timothy Keller, “Women in Ministry,” The Gospel Coalition, August 14, 2008.

24 D. A. Carson and Timothy J. Keller, The Gospel as Center: Renewing Our Faith and Reforming Our Ministry Practices (Illinois: Crossway 2012), 275.

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that they may have grown up with in their smalltown congregation. Redeemer regularly caters to these wondering souls: on each communion Sunday, for example, they place a personal “prayer for those seeking truth” on their order-of-worship pamphlet. In this way, Redeemer can challenge the cultural liturgies of the city while not making folks who are genuinely seeking the truth uncomfortable. They endorse a different set of values than most New Yorkers live with, but they do it with a hortatory pat on the shoulder, not a driving whip.

"Anonymity is important.

Redeemer’s size has made it possible for many people over the years to process the Gospel, either for the first time or as part of a spiritual journey in which they are returning to God." Even still, the church’s size is a two-edged sword.

For each individual who enjoys the license to spend their Sundays trying to understand new beliefs, there are others who feel alone and unreached amid the multitudes. “Community at Redeemer can be difficult at times because it's a big church and it's really up to you to reach out and get involved,” Chow said. Bisgrove agrees: “It is very easy at a large church for individuals to slip in and out and never deepen their engagement with the church or those sitting around them.” Redeemer’s greatest challenge going forward, outside of replacing the massive impact left by Pastor Keller, may be maintaining the community feel to which most churches aspire. The new breakdown into four distinct churches certainly took place with that goal in mind.

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Conclusion

M

egachurches are not uncommon in American cities—Rick Warren preaches to tens of thousands every Sunday in Los Angeles; Matt Chandler spent his thirties building a multi-campus empire in Dallas; and even New York’s four-year-old Hillsong plant draws massive numbers. Considered against these congregations, Redeemer is hardly anything special. However, Redeemer is unique among these (and almost any other church its size in the United States) in that it maintains a traditional theology in the Big Apple, where concepts like original sin and biblical inerrancy are often laughed out of the room.

Chandler’s church proclaims similar doctrines, but it meets far less resistance in less-secular Dallas. Hillsong appeases its Manhattan base by typically ducking doctrinal conflicts.25 Warren’s Orange County-based location is a bit bolder than Hillsong, but its immediate surroundings are a bit less hostile. Redeemer stands strong for their message in a city that largely dismisses Christian columnist Jonathan Merritt tried to characterize Pastor Carl Lentz’s unwillingness to say anything definitive in a piece he wrote for Religion News Service in 2015. To access online, go to http://religionnews.com/2015/08/10/carl-lentz-on-how-hillsongchurch-is-becoming-gay-welcoming-without-compromising-theirconvictions/.

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it, and has for almost thirty years, with great success.

“We affirm the Apostle’s Creed; the authority of Scripture; [and] the bodily resurrection and deity of Jesus in a culture that is increasingly skeptical and distant from that story,” Bisgrove says. This is Redeemer’s unique impact on Christian outreach in the secular city: they have proven that it can be done without compromising beliefs or re-packaging the salvific message of Jesus.

From the RUF events hosted on college campuses to the work Hope for New York does on the streets of Queens to Dr. Keller’s decades of sermons on the West Side, the church has adhered to the gospel above all else. Pastor Bisgrove concluded our interview by reaffirming the Redeemer mission. “The New Testament is clear,” he says, “that proclaiming the good news of Jesus, primarily His sacrificial and substitutionary death on the cross, is transculturally powerful. That remains our core focus regardless of how the culture around us changes.” For Redeemer to continue to reach the world around it in this time of transition, they will undoubtedly stick with what got them here. Bisgrove—and thousands of other New Yorkers who love to attend on a weekly basis— seem up to the challenge.

This piece was researched, drafted, and revised by several of the journal’s editors, including Nathan Barlow, Chris Bolton, Tiffany Li, Lina Tian, and Titus Willis.

"We affirm the Apostle’s Creed; the authority of Scripture; and the bodily resurrection and deity of Jesus in a culture that is increasingly skeptical and distant from that story."

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Build Your City Kyra Dawkins

Lord, Build Your city.

Break down the towers of our pride.

Apart from You, we take poisonous bites out of the Big Apple, slip into Sin City’s seduction, curse each other in the City of Brotherly Love, become drunk on the laziness of the Big Easy, pretend not to hear You over roar of the Windy City, and summon demons in the City of Angels.

And we do it all because our sinful hearts would rather be lost than admit that they need You. We do it all to make a name for ourselves, rejecting the one that You have given us.

You call us Yours.

It is by Your grace and justice That our empires crumble with the ages.

Your reign is eternal.

Lord, Break down the towers of our pride.

Humble us, dear God. Teach us to submit to Your will because even the cracks in the sidewalk long to be filled with Your glory.

Instill in our redeemed hearts the desire to be Yours.

Build Your city, the New Jerusalem.

Kyra Dawkins (CC '20) is from Cleveland, Ohio, something made very apparent by the vast amount of Cleveland Cavaliers gear in her wardrobe. She is very interested in neurology, psychology, education, and Christian theology. She is known as the Queen of Veggietales Karaoke in her family and tends to spontaneously burst into song.

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Life in the Past Tense...

I

t was at 8:56 p.m. that I experienced the alltoo-familiar frustration known by anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant: having to serve someone who’s coming in four minutes before closing.

I was sixteen years old and had only been working at Panera Bread for three months or so, but I was already accustomed to feeling the sincerest passive aggression possible toward customers that had not planned to eat at an earlier time than 8:56 p.m.

The couple that had come in was loud and oblivious, the two most common traits in customers that would typically make me mumble curses at the sage who decided that the customer was always right. This time, however, there came a strange and complex feeling.

After the customers took their time finishing their food, they apologized profusely for coming in late and thanked us for serving them. I felt something in that moment that I have not felt since. It was something like pity at their obliviousness, but also envy at how carefree they were, all while I was simultaneously annoyed and touched by their behavior. It was truly odd, and when I recounted this experience to my mother later that evening, she gave me a piece of wisdom that I doubt I’ll ever forget.

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Nathaniel Wyatt

She said, “Knowing the subtleties of our own emotions is a huge step toward becoming well-rounded human beings.” Just how mothers are able to know the exact location of that thing you’ve been searching for for hours, every once in awhile they’ll say exactly what needs to be said. Looking back upon a moment like this reminds me that so many of my experiences and memories that seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things have actually had the most profound impact on who I am today.

Knowing the subtleties of our own emotions is the first step toward becoming a well-rounded human being.

In truth, I often find myself thinking more about my parents than of them. And while I suppose that this happens to everyone who moves out of their house, I can’t help but feel that the distinction between “thinking about” and “thinking of ” is an important one. When I lived at home, I thought of my parents a lot: I was afraid they would reprimand me for coming home past curfew. I was worried about their day was

like when I was at school. Now, I think about how certain experiences with my parents have shaped me; or what parts of their parenting I want to make my own; or, by extension, what parts I will leave out.

I was speaking recently with a good friend of mine about our lives before Columbia, and when we came to the subject of our parents he said, “There are some people you don’t really get along with, and I just never got along with my father.” The way he said it was so matter-of-fact and earnest that I felt deeply moved and decided to try and attempt to dissect the subtleties of my reaction.

What I have come to realize is that self-reflection is a luxury that few Columbia students can afford themselves. One Psalmist insists upon the importance of taking time to understand this life when he writes: “Teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.”1 If there’s one thing I’ve learned since coming to Columbia, it's that life events are more complex than they may first seem. The world in general is complex, and Columbia students often are expected to know so much about these complexities. In fact, the life of a Columbia student is more about understanding the logic and intricacies of the world around them than about understanding themselves as human beings.

But self-reflection is important because it allows us to 1

Psalm 90:12 ESV.

situate ourselves in the story of our lives. Paul illustrates this importance in 1 Corinthians 15 where he defines and describes the Gospel, and he doesn’t stop until he includes his own place in the overarching metanarrative of the story of God: “Last of all, as to one abnormally born, He appeared also to me.”2 It is not enough for us to just reflect on our own stories. In order for us to “number our days” and gain wisdom, we need to see how our individual life story fits into the larger narrative God has written for us. If we can look back through the literary lens of the bible—the biggest and most important story of all—then we are well on our way to looking forward, with an eye toward our own purpose and our own place in the world. I don’t think the part we are playing in the Big Story can ever be fully known and understood until we are with God in eternity, but we occasionally get the privilege of confirmation along our journey— the unmistakable feeling that we are in the exact place doing the exact thing that we were designed to do.

It is important to understand the limitations that are a natural part of self-reflection.

2

1 Corinthians 15:8.

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As a Christian, I possess an eternal perspective that keeps me from despairing over the futility of life.

Since leaving home, I have begun to make time to think about my parents more often. So much of my past really does revolve around them, so I feel that I owe them a reserved spot in my thoughts. Just as my mother helped me to sort and validate the complexities and confliction of my feelings about those late arrivals at Panera a few years back, she continues to give me perspectives on myself that I can’t always see right away. She knows my whole life, and even though she’s 1 Corinthians 13:12.

4 Phillipians 4:7.

5 2 Corinthians 4:8.

3

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Conversion on the Way to Damascus - by Caravaggio

While it is important to try to understand ourselves and the part we are playing in the greater narrative, it is equally important to understand the limitations that are a natural part of self-reflection. Paul discusses this in 1 Corinthians, writing, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”3 Although in this life we can get some view of ourselves as we are, we cannot know ourselves as fully as we are known by God. I personally find great comfort in the fact that God always knows me so much better than I could know myself; it means that He still loves us after knowing those dark parts of ourselves that we cannot see. God’s knowledge of us is truly a component of the “peace that passes all understanding."4 Some speak of the “peace that passes all understanding” with the attitude that we should just give up on even trying because some things are unknowable. This verse, however, is less of God’s version of "Because I said so" and more of a reassurance that when the world seems too complex, the peace of God surpasses our need to understand.

As a Christian, I possess an eternal perspective that keeps me from despairing over the futility of life. As the Apostle Paul also writes, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair.”5 The word “perplexed” simply means “without answer,” (similar to those “puzzling reflections in the mirror” he refers to in 1 Corinthians) which is a state that sends many people into despair. Paul knew what it was like not to be in the position of a non-believer, but he continued to find hope and strength in the goodness of God. There will always be times when we are “without answer” as we reflect on our lives, but our knowledge of God’s love and purpose for us can keep us afloat, with our heads above the wa`ves of despair.

over 1,000 miles away, she loves and cares for me deeply.

How much greater than can the Eternal God help you know who you are? In seeking the “what” and “why” and “who” of our own complex hearts, we can find no greater advocate and teacher than God Himself.

Like David begins, “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me,”6 in trying to understand ourselves, we ultimately have to seek the One who knows us best.

Jesus says that He is “the Good Shepherd" and that He knows His sheep.7 He knows our own complexities— both those that we can understand or have explained and those that we cannot. And the end result is a peace in our hearts that goes beyond our understanding.

We are known fully and loved fully. The gospel points towards this realization, and being able to develop the wisdom to know ourselves and understand what it is to be known is a necessity for a fulfilling life.

6 7

Psalm 139:1.

John 10:14.

Nathaniel Wyatt (CC '20), a native of southern Alabama, is majoring in Film Studies. He wishes he knew how to ride a bike and his personal hacky-sack record is 30.

A Word About Hope Chris Bolton

T

he cries of a single voice are seldom heard in a city full of tumult. Countless peddlers of hope are passed by in the streets, carelessly dismissed, and their exhortations—“repent, and believe in the gospel!”—are easily brushed aside.1 What use, after all, have the wicked for the wares of the righteous? For until the weight of sin is felt fully upon their shoulders, most nonbelievers see no reason to repent; surely if they cannot find fault in themselves, they have no need of salvation. They do not see because they do not wish to see, as it is written: “If our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.”2 Although our present age is markedly more secular than the world was 500 years ago, this willful ignorance is by no means a modern phenomenon; in fact, man has been turning his back on God since The Fall.

But as many times as God’s people have disobeyed Him, God has anointed prophets to pull His people back from the brink of destruction, great men—like Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Jonah—all called to charge the wicked with their crimes in order that they might seek forgiveness and make things right with God. 1 Mark 1:15 ESV. 2 2 Corinthians 4:3.

Especially amidst the recent surge in suicides at Columbia, as well as subsequent talk about stress culture and mental health, the desperate anxiety among students is palpable. Daily we are tempted by both the (very real) agents of Satan and other demonic forces—ambition, pride, jealousy, loneliness, and the like. Although we long for reprieve, for release, we do so in ways that are bound to fail, bowing down to other gods with the false hope that they will deliver us. Many seek comfort in a lover’s arms; others bury themselves in schoolbooks; while others still try to dull their pain with drugs and alcohol. All of this is in vain, for without a healthy relationship with the Lord, man is utterly hopeless, restless, and incomplete. Sensing the weight of their hopelessness, some even give in to the wiles of the Deceiver and tragically end their own lives. Perhaps more than ever before, we desperately need someone to call us to repentance; we need the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

For now, let us consider Jonah, the reluctant prophet, who has much to teach us, believers and nonbelievers alike, about disobedience, despair, hope, and redemption. The Scriptures tell us that Jonah heard the word of the Lord, telling him, “arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it, for their evil has come up Volume 4 | Issue 1 32

before me.”3 Rather than obey God, Jonah boards a ship to Tarshish and sets sail “away from the presence of the Lord.”4 Though the Bible says little about Jonah, he seems to me a devout man, enough so that our Lord Jesus saw fit, a thousand years later, to invoke him before the Pharisees.5 He was a man to whom and through whom God had spoken, by any account a “good and faithful servant.” 6

Whatever inspired his disobedience, Jonah proved himself to be utterly hopeless; after all, it is only those without hope who defy God’s will.

So why would he flee? A truly righteous man would be convicted if the voice of the Lord spoke to him about an evil as great as that which had come upon Nineveh.

Just as any pious Christian should be moved to call out against corruption, poverty, violence, and prostitution—and, of course, to go make baptized disciples of the nations—so too should Jonah have been eager to go to Nineveh and carry out the mission God gave him.

3

Jonah 1:2.

Jonah 1:3.

5 Matthew 12:38-41.

6 Matthew 25:21.

4

But alas, something told Jonah to ignore God’s voice, and give heed instead to the voice that called him to Tarshish, the voice of fear, of despair, of selfish impulse.

He let his heart become so perturbed by the Enemy that he sought the impossible: to leave God’s very presence.

Jonah’s soul was raging as fiercely as the winds and the waves, no matter how soundly he appeared to be sleeping.

Now, Jonah certainly had reason to fear for his own life and rightly dreaded bringing destruction upon Nineveh. The task set before him was quite immense. Indeed, to purge the sin from a city “three days’ journey in breadth”7 is not an easy thing for one man to do. Did he not know, then, that God would be with him, guiding him as He did Abraham, Moses, and those who came before?

Did he forget the promise God made countless times: “do not fear, for I am with you”?8 Maybe he felt ill-equipped, or thought he might bring dishonor to the name of the Lord. For if he went to Nineveh and delivered his proclamation, "yet 40 days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown," at which the people repented and God in His mercy allowed them to live, God might have lost His credibility, and people would have started to murmur that God does not keep His promises.9 Though he may have been well-intentioned, Jonah’s betrayal cannot be justified. At the very least, he doubted the Lord’s power and faithful7 8 9

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Jonah 3:3.

Isaiah 41:10.

Jonah 3:4.

ness, or perhaps he did not think Nineveh worthy of redemption, and so put his own will above the will of God.

Like Jonah—and like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane—we would rather sleep than carry out the mission to which our Lord has called us.

Whatever inspired his disobedience, Jonah proved himself to be utterly hopeless; after all, it is only those without hope who defy God’s will. But Jonah was not alone in his despair. Immediately after his ship left Joppa, “the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened to break up. Then the mariners were afraid, and each cried out to his god.”10 Though their prayers were empty, these Gentiles’ devotion put Jonah, in his indifference, to shame, this man called by God, who instead “had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep.” To sleep through such a storm and a din as that—the sounds of cargo being thrown overboard and men wailing to false gods, the fury of the sea—was certainly no unremarkable feat. I must note, too, that this was no ordinary storm; for it was fierce enough to put the fear of God into the hearts of men whose lives had been spent at sea. As a matter of fact, the sheer power of the storm bears witness to the kind of chaos and terror that characterize a life without God. Jonah knew nothing about, and cared nothing for, the souls of the Gentile sailors on whose ship he slept, nor did he care for the souls of the wicked people of Nineveh, for his conscience had become hardened by his willful ignorance; therefore, sleep easily embraced him when he ought to have been focused and alarmed.

10

Wearied by his rebellion, and exhausted from seeking his own evil way, Jonah wished to rid himself of the very thought of God, and having been called to be the Lord’s witness, he could not bear to think at all; his only recourse was to sleep. He must have been filled with such guilt and hopelessness and an overwhelming sense of futility—he could not hide from the Lord. His sleeping, his complete inaction, represents the height of disobedience and corruption, and so I must conclude that Jonah’s soul was raging as fiercely as the winds and the waves, no matter how soundly he appeared to be sleeping.

Our brethren are crying out to false gods for the salvation that only Jesus can give them. Their hope is in false prophets—in pundits and politicians—and in the lies of Satan, materialism and atheism.

While Jonah, in his wild hopelessness, slept, the sailors called upon their false gods until at last the ship’s captain came and rebuked Jonah, saying, “‘what do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call out to your god!

Perhaps the god will give a thought to us that we may not perish.’”11 That it took a Gentile to rouse Jonah from his slumber is detestable, for he ought to have been the 11

Jonah 1:6.

Jonah 1:4-5.

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one praying most earnestly to the Lord, bearing witness to God’s goodness through his faith. Every single man aboard that ship was in imminent danger, yet Jonah did nothing. He had hope for neither those wailing sailors nor for the people of Nineveh, to whom he was called to prophesy. In the same way, many Christians today lack hope for the faithless. Like Jonah—and like the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane— we would rather sleep than carry out the mission to which our Lord has called us. Our brethren are crying out to false gods for the salvation that only Jesus can give them.

Their hope is in false prophets—in pundits and politicians—and in the lies of Satan, materialism and atheism. Are we, then, to go and hide? Shall we kindle God’s ire against our own sinfulness before descending below deck, abandoning our hopeless neighbors to their doom?

Are we, then, to go and hide? Shall we kindle God’s ire against our own sinfulness before descending below deck, abandoning our hopeless neighbors to their doom?

But if we do speak out, as Jonah assuredly should have, we must be prepared to suffer, to sacrifice, to lose our friends and be cast out of various social circles. Jonah recognized this and, once awake, saw how he had deceived himself. In order to save the innocent mariners from perdition, he accepted responsibility for his evil deeds, and bid the men, “pick me up and hurl me into the sea.”12 Yet again, they tried as hard as they could to resist God’s will, rowing instead toward dry land as the sea grew even more tempestuous. Realizing, as so 12

Jonah 1:12.

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many often do, that their resistance was futile, “they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.”13 Would that I only be given an opportunity to cast myself overboard in order that even one man be saved. And this, I say, is God’s will for all of us: that we submit ourselves to Him, even lay down our lives for our friends, for, truly, “greater love has no one than this.”14 We should moreover be encouraged, for if the Lord can appoint a fish to swallow up and protect Jonah from the sea, he can surely deliver us from any trials or temptations we might face, so long as we do the work He has called us to do.

In the belly of the fish, Jonah repented, calling upon the Lord in his distress: “the waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountains. I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God.”15 At last, Jonah allowed himself to be completely vulnerable before God, pouring out his hopelessness at having been cast into the deep. How often do we find ourselves in a similar situation—the waters engulf us, our sins and fears wrap themselves around our heads, and we are dragged down into the pit, where we can no longer sense God’s love for us? We forget that it is God alone who can pull us up from the depths of our despair. But God saved Jonah, a man who rejected Him, a man who deserted Him, a man who lost hope in Him, a man who thought he was going to die at sea for his own disobedience. He saved Jonah from the pit of sinfulness that Jonah dug for himself. God saves. Jesus 13

Jonah 1:12.

John 15:13.

15 Jonah 2:5-6.

14

saves. After He saved Jonah, he restored in him a pure heart, a hopeful heart willing to submit to God’s will.

God loved Jonah so much that he sent a massive fish to swallow and protect him; He sent his Son Jesus to die on a cross for our sins that we might be saved; and He has, countless times, heard the cries of the afflicted and taken away their pain, wiped away their tears. At our weakest moments, when we lose hope and turn aside from God to the things of this world, God is all the time pursuing us. When He calls us to action, the wisest thing we can do is obey, lest He pursue us with storm clouds and rouse us from our selfish slumber. When we feel as though our suffering is going to overwhelm us, we need only re-

member Jonah; if we need it, God will send each one of us our own fish. He is merciful and loving, redeeming us even when we turn our backs on Him, as He did Jonah, and even as He did the people of Nineveh. All He asks is that we repent and trust in Jesus, who is our hope.16 16

1 Timothy 1:1.

Chris Bolton (CC '19) is a proud Virginia gentleman. He loves his friends, family, and Jesus. He studies Mathematics and Philosophy by day, but by night plumbs the depths of his soul for complex emotions that he can spew onto a page, hoping something beautiful manifests itself out of the madness. He writes poetry, fiction, and libretto, hoping one day to watch one of his operas performed live.

We see that the two cities were created with two kinds of love: the earthly city was created by self-love reaching the point of contempt for God, the Heavenly City by the love of God carried as far as contempt of self. In fact, the earthly city glories in itself, the Heavenly City glories in the Lord. The former looks for glory from men, the latter finds its highest glory in God. – Book XIV, Chapter 28 Augustine's City of God

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