THE POINT
FALL 2016 | VOL. 13 | ISSUE 1
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
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orry, I couldn’t tell if it was you or not,” my new friend mentioned, referring to a previous encounter earlier in the day. “I mean, all Asians look the same, right?” I chuckled, glancing at my feet. It was my first month at Biola and the first offhanded racist remark of many to come. I felt my face flush and grimaced as the comment played again through my head. He laughed, an attempt to communicate that his observation was obviously a joke, something to be taken lightly. I sighed and smiled back as I suppressed the urge to cry, to scream, to yell. ‘Did I just experience racism at Biola?’ I thought to myself as I walked away. ‘Why didn’t I have the courage to say something to him?’ Like the majority of students here, I felt a weight of cultural expectations the moment I stepped onto this campus. These expectations are not all inherently bad: it is good to interact with the girls that live on my dorm floor. It is good to be involved in my local church community. However, I continuously found myself in uncomfortable situations due to unwritten rules at Biola. I had no intentions of wanting to date during college but felt immense pressure to enter into a serious relationship. I began thinking that if I did not meet someone whom I could seriously date, I would never find anyone at all. I applied to Biola to get a degree in journalism, not to find a future spouse. Before freshman year started, I assumed this would be true of my peers as well. If so, why did it seem like people were focused on pursuing relationships over their studies? I also noticed that Biola appeared to be a safe haven in which everyone seemed to be perfect. As a student body, we strive to love God and the people around us to the best of our ability, but with this pursuit comes pressure to hide our flaws. I felt I could not question authority or cultural expectations — if I did, I feared others would judge me. However, with this implied expectation of perfection, I missed out on opportunities to grow. I grew quiet, too scared to speak up after I was marginalized because of my race. I succumbed to the pressure of wanting a boyfriend. I lost sight of Jesus’ heart for the church. I hope this semester’s issue of The Point can be a place for you to be vulnerable and free from judgement. I hope it spurs conversation and allows you open up to those
around you without fear. I encourage you to challenge the culture you are in instead of blindly letting it define you and your actions. I hope you gain the courage to speak out about gender roles, about the importance of representing all people, about acknowledging spiritual warfare. I hope you both question and embrace culture when necessary instead of letting it silence you.
Angelene Wong
EDITOR IN CHIEF
SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER
A ng e l e ne Wong
Ha nna Re i c hl
PRINT EDITOR
BUSINESS MANAGER
K a t hr y n Toombs
El i j a h Wa dl e y
WEB EDITOR
WRITERS
Mor g a n Mi t c he l l
Ta ma r a We l t e r
O l i vi a O ’B r i e n K a t i e Mor t on B r e a nna P e r ki n s Cl a i r e Za sso Ti m S e e be r g e r Le a h Lu K a e l y n Ti mmi ns
STORY EDITORS
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Jubi l e e P ha m Moni c a K oc ha n Gr a c e Ha nse n
El i a na P a r k A i l i A l c one -Chavez A na st a si a Wa l t s ch ew Ja ne l l e Me j i a
VISUAL DIRECTOR K a yl a Mc Ca be
FACULTY ADVISOR
FACT CHECKER Je hn K ubi a k
Fall 2016 We are a student publication of Biola University. Contact us at pointmag@biola.edu Instagram.com/pointmagazine Facebook.com/thepointmagazine Twitter.com/thepointmag California College Media Association: 1st Place General Excellence 2008, 2010 Columbia Scholastic Press Association: Gold Medalist 2009 Associated Collegiate Press: Magazine Pacemaker 2008 Associated Collegiate Press: Magazine Pacemaker Finalist 2013 California College Media Association: 1st Place Best Magazine Photo
01 Honest Doubt
Crystallizing our core beliefs
04 User Friendly Employing online presence in the hiring process 07 Common Creation
A call to increase diversity amongst Biola’s leadership
13 Spread Too Thin
Addressing apathy in a world gone numb
17 Thou Shalt LOL The integration of Christianity and comedy 19 The Invisible War Acknowledging spiritual warfare in Western culture 22 US vs. Them
How American individualism promotes a culture of fear and self-preservation
27 Manmade Masculinity Confronting societal gender roles
33 Sick of Assumptions Cultivating awareness for people with chronic illness 37 The Birds and the Bees How purity culture affects the church
CRYSTALLIZING OUR CORE BELIEFS By Claire Zasso
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hen prayers seem to ricochet off the ceiling, lyrics to worship songs feel empty, and all appears as though God has vanished, doubt sets in like a dust storm. Dry seasons of faith are stagnant, void of growth, empty of vitality, and lacking the peace of God’s presence.
Worshipping an invisible God proves to be more easily said than done. All other human relationships are visible, tangible, physical. Pursuing intimate relationship with the invisible, intangible God of the universe often seems near impossible. For many in the church today, doubt remains a prevalent struggle that no one wants to acknowledge. Emily Stevens, an alumni of Biola’s Christian Apologetics program, was raised in a Christian home but doubted her faith for a period of about 10 years. Faced with difficult questions she could not answer, she struggled to find confidence in her salvation. She discovered renowned Christian apologists William Lane Craig and Ravi Zacharias in high school, who aided in resolving many of her lingering questions. “Having apologetics in my life from that point kept me from giving up hope,” Stevens said. In 2012, she began studying in Biola’s apologetics program and her faith was fortified. She had numerous conversations with professors who helped her better comprehend the problem of evil and hell. Stevens encourages others who
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wrestle with doubting their faith: “Realize that doubt is something you can actually overcome. If you have the desire to overcome doubt, apologetics definitely helps.” Doubt should not be hidden or ashamed of in the church. Doubt indicates truth-seeking, and of desiring to love the Lord with all one’s mind. It refuses to accept anything blindly. In his contending with doubt, Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote these words: “...There lives more faith in honest doubt, Believe me, than in half the creeds. He fought his doubts and gather’d strength, He would not make his judgment blind, He faced the spectres of the mind And laid them: thus he came at length To find a stronger faith his own…” Doubt is not shameful or uncommon. It can be overcome by facing “the spectres of the mind,” as Tennyson calls them. Apologetics serves as a tool for facing spectres. At its core, the word “apologetics” means “to give a defense.” Sean Mc-
Smith to uncover more answers for his faith. Professors like Clay Jones make a career of researching answers to theological questions, such as the problem of evil in Biola’s Christian Apologetics program. “The challenges to Christianity are finite,” he says. “There’s not an infinite number of challenges to historic Christianity, there’s a limited number. The Church has been answering these questions for 2,000 years.”
Dowell, assistant professor in Biola’s Christian Apologetics program, defines apologetics as “the responsibility of all Christians to be prepared to offer a reason for the hope we have in Jesus Christ.” In seeking answers to hard questions and evidence for faith, Christians not only begin to explore richer depths of knowing God but they become more confident in the truth they already know. “There’s a big difference between knowing Christianity is true and knowing why you know Christianity is true,” said McDowell. “Our churches are filled with people who know the truth about Christianity, but when people learn why they know it’s true, there’s a deep conviction that comes with that.” Apologetics cannot be reserved to theology professors and pastors. All Christians are called to this endeavor. A few months after his conversion to Christianity, Scott Smith, a professor of ethics and Christian
apologetics at Biola, was discipled by a member of Campus Crusade at Cal State Hayward. He recalls a moment where he approached one of his most respected professors and told him of his conversion. “I remember the look on his face, and it was not one of approval or encouragement,” said Smith. “It said, ‘Why are you believing that?’ He did not put any reasons out there, but it was enough to make me go, ‘Whoa. I don’t have any answers for this guy.’” Smith endured a year of doubting his new faith, while continuing to be discipled in Campus Crusade. “I had no evidence for my faith and it really threw me,” said Smith. After sharing with a friend about the state of his faith, he was given a copy of “Evidence That Demands A Verdict” by Josh McDowell, a Christian apologist, evangelist and author. Reading McDowell’s book inspired
Christians often mistake apologetics for being argumentative and cold — trying to force others into belief. “When people have objections, apologetics is just clarifying the gospel, removing those roadblocks to draw people back to Christ,” said McDowell. “The most compelling apologetic is simply the power of the gospel itself. That’s first and foremost what our apologetics should be: clearly presenting the gospel, filled with the Holy Spirit, in a life that is living the way Jesus wants us to live.” Christianity remains unique to all other world religions solely based on its ability to be proven true. “By its very nature, Christianity invites intellectual, scientific, philosophical and historical investigation in a way that other religions do not,” McDowell observed. He states that Christianity is staked on a single, testable, historical event: the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:14-17 says, “And if Christ has not been raised, then our
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preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.” If Christ’s resurrection can be proven true, it follows that all of Christianity’s other claims regarding sin, salvation, heaven and hell become verified. Jones concludes, “No other major religion bases its truth or falsehood on a claim that is verifiable in history.” Apologetics offers the confidence necessary to boldly proclaim the truth of Christianity. However, facilitating spiritual conversations with family members, whether nominal Christians or non-Christians, can prove difficult. Discussions of faith and religion often become awkward and uncomfortable due to the complexities of familial relationships. “Look for strategic times with family members. Thanksgiving dinner is probably, almost certainly, not the time to talk about it and I’ve made those mistakes in my own life,” McDowell laughs. “But it doesn’t mean that there aren’t strategic times to just listen, engage in spiritual conver-
sation and pray for that person.” Additionally, McDowell encourages a long-term view. He recommends spending time working on a foundation for the relationship, without feeling pressured to have spiritual conversations every time. But, sometimes loving others well is choosing to share the truth. Through advances in technology, this generation has more access to the questions and challenges surrounding their faith than ever before.
“ Yo u c a n n o t l o v e t h e Lord with all your mind and secretly suspect that Christianity cannot answer the hard questions.”
If millennials are to exemplify the validity and truth of their faith, they must be prepared to face resistance from society. “It’s only going to be a lasting faith when they know it is true and have good reasons to believe that it is true,” McDowell comments. “That’s why the early church was willing to suffer and die for their beliefs. Not because it was their narrative, but because they really believed Jesus had risen from the grave and they had good reasons to believe it.” Among the millennial generation, relativism runs rampant. “I think, especially for Biola undergrads, they need to understand that when we say, “Christianity is true,” we don’t just mean, ‘It’s true for us,’ we mean it’s true, true,” says Jones. “You cannot love the Lord with all your mind and secretly suspect that Christianity cannot answer the hard questions.” Editor: Grace Hansen Designer: Sean Leone Photographer: Anna Warner
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EMPLOYING ONLINE PRESENCE IN THE HIRING PROCESS
By Breanna Perkins
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or most job applicants, the first meeting with a potential boss is not the interview: it is the last time they posted on Facebook. Though many believe their social media accounts to be solely for personal use, online presence has an increasingly significant impact on employers’ perceptions of job applicants. Some would argue that it can harm their chances of landing the job, but social media has the potential to show employers their best qualities. Social media has changed the way people network. Candidates can now be creative with how they connect and with whom they connect as they embark on their job search. In the digital world, this undoubtedly affects the hiring process. Anna Sinclair, professor of journalism at Biola, notes that the hiring process now looks different than before social media existed. Sinclair explains that before, it depended on what the individual could bring into the office. In the age of social media, an applicant has made an impression before they even walk through the door. Sinclair labels this online presence as the digital footprint.
Sinclair encourages young adults to identify their values and to take the time to represent them in their online profiles, so that who an applicant presents themselves to be online translates and magnifies who they are in person. Sinclair went on to say that the individual should make one’s online presence as rich as possible. When employers look at a person’s digital footprint, they should see who the applicant is and what their values are. Applicants should display qualities online that make them a great fit for the company. Credibility increases when the interviewee represents the same person on each social media platform. In addition to accuracy, make profiles both appealing and appropriate. Applicants should represent their personality while maintaining their integrity. Michael Longinow, professor of journalism at Biola, restates advice from a colleague. “Have a presence in multiple places that reinforces skills, experience,
identity as a unique person, and connections,” said Longinow. “[However], it cannot substitute for moral character, social maturity, trustworthiness, and commitment to the business.” In addition to showing this character, Longinow advises young adults to act older than their age on social media. “Immaturity has an odor about it that lingers,” said Longinow. “You have to show in your social media presence that you can act like an older adult in your professionalism, and even in your life pursuits. Show that you’re active doing things that the boss would want to see you doing if you worked for him or her,” Longinow said. For instance, if someone plans to be a teacher, it would be beneficial to display their pictures working with children; if one plans to apply for a media position of any sort, their social media profiles should reflect their creativity. For the person who is figuring out his or her preferred career, they have the opportunity to show their versatility, ambition and charisma in their lifestyle and
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sional image and put your best foot forward.” According to Susan Kaneshiro, Associate Director of the Human Resources Department at Biola, people who have LinkedIn profiles will be taken more seriously for the job they are applying for. “It all helps create a picture of who you are,” said Kaneshiro. “Most industries would be looking at [LinkedIn] … The networking is so important, so LinkedIn really does help.” hobbies. But regardless of how the individual portrays oneself online, it does not replace a kind attitude and dedication in the workplace. It is important to embody all that the company is expecting online and offline. This can be done using Facebook and LinkedIn to impress potential bosses with connections the applicant makes to others in the industry. Because LinkedIn is a social media site that focuses more on the professional side than the personal, Biola’s HR Department advises students that it is a great platform to display their skillsets. Jennyn Herrera, Biola’s Talent Management Administrator, said that LinkedIn profiles are essential. “That’s really the first impression and that might be the first time they actually see you,” said Herrera. “So you want to portray that profes-
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For those who are not embarking on a career yet, Herrera and Kaneshiro remarked that LinkedIn provides the opportunity to note skills, volunteer work, and school involvement on their profiles. This is all preparation for the time an applicant begins the professional job search. However, though a great investment, people should be cautious to live a uniform life on social media. Logan McDonald, freshman music major, talked about employers’ increasingly guaranteed search of their applicants on social media. He described how important it is to be the same person online and offline to best represent the desired company. “People need to represent themselves fully,” said McDonald. McDonald comments that a split life online and offline deceives employers and harms one’s potential job
offer. “In an interview, they should be representative of what’s on their social media links,” said McDonald. “If you are flippy-floppy, that leads to lies and deceit and [employers] won’t trust you with giving you the job.” Daryn Daniels, a recent Biola graduate, said that social media is like a first date. It is a chance to be honest about three or four values people want their followers to know right away. One should then ask themselves if these values align with the story the applicant is telling with an online profile. Daniels said that companies attract applicants that align with their values. Thus, people should develop the goal to achieve their personal brand, along with the brand of the company they are aspiring to work for. Not only looking the part, but being the part in person and online
in their daily life. Depending on the job someone is applying for, he or she should display skill and knowledge about the subject or career on their social media profiles. Employers also want to know that a person chooses words and actions wisely. Therefore, an applicant should choose statuses, captions, and pictures that represent them well.
multiplies the person’s chances to land the job. She went on to mention that employers look for genuine people who tell the truth about themselves through social media. In return, the individual receives credibility with their potential boss. When people tell the truth on social media about who they are in person, they maintain uniformity across their online profiles. Because employers utilize both the applicant’s social media profile and résumé when hiring, these applicants become dynamic to those whom they are applying for. Madison Berube, sophomore public relations major, warns that people should expect employers to search their online profiles. Berube believes social media advances one’s job opportunities depending on the applicant’s posts. Employers learn how someone handles themselves
Whitney Barnard, sophomore cinema and media arts major, said that hiding faces behind screens makes people bolder online. The individual, in essence, holds a microphone on a platform and engages their social media followers. The individual should be brave and intentional. Temptation lures people to impulsively speak from behind a screen when they are frustrated or stressed, but employers need to know that their employees weigh their words with wisdom and hold back from emotion-based decisions in the workplace. Without this wisdom, the employee could hurt his job status and the team itself.
the connection between a real and depicted person and will benefit applicants in the hiring process. Social media paves a brand new way of portraying skills, which people should utilize to its full potential. There is no denying the criticism from previous generations about cell phone and social media usage. However, social media is arguably the most innovative doorway into a new kind of self-representation. Social media platforms beg people to illustrate a captivating story for their followers. Applicants hold the key to keep employers listening as they brand themselves to pursue their dream job. May this challenge to create a cutting-edge social media identity evoke confidence and bravery in the hiring process. Editor: Monica Kochan Designer: Sean Leone Photographer: Janelle Mejia
Social media offers creativity and creates an opportunity for this age group to form habits with integrity in the workplace. Whatever setting people find themselves in, they need to play the part on and off the online stage. However, when they embody their true skills and personality both online and offline, there is no need to play two parts . Maintaining an accurate representation clarifies
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A CALL TO INCREASE DIVERSITY AMONGST BIOLA’S LEADERSHIP
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By Monica Kochan
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iversity. The word itself brings to mind a myriad of thoughts. Perhaps to some, this concept bears little significance. To some it may evoke feelings of discontent, hurt or anger regarding social inequity and injustice. Perhaps it has simply become a buzzword or a frequented topic at conferences. Perhaps it only consists of more words, severed from meaning or action. Or maybe it inspires, drives and motivates one’s pursuit of equality. Working to isolate the term ‘diversity’ from its complicated past and less than enlightened connections, implications and meanings can be difficult, but hold onto whatever truth diversity has communicated and any genuine action it has inspired. Regardless of one’s perspective and experiences with this topic, it remains essential to consider it anew. Diversity matters. And what’s more, unified diversity displays a departure from diversity existing as a measure of an external concept. Instead, it marks a reflection of the internal state of God: unity. Unified diversity marks the next step in the process of more accurately reflecting God. It bears the mark of something worked towards and truly earned, yet naturally held together by something whole and one. But what of this sense of unity and diversity specifically on Biola’s campus? Does it exist in Biola’s faculty? According to a pamphlet created by the Department of Faculty Advancement, the percentage of male to female full-time faculty is 66.67% to 33.33%. Essentially, women constitute one-third of Biola’s faculty, while the remaining two-thirds consists of men. As reported by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, the number of Biola faculty, including adjuncts, totals 449 and consists of 267 males and 182 females. In terms of ethnicity, the bare facts read like this: 344 of the faculty claim their ethnicity as white, and 105 consider themselves to be people of color.
These statistics provide a framework to measure the current diversity of women faculty and faculty of color, perhaps as a means to see where Biola currently resides and, in the future, to look back and measure how it has grown. In regards to racial inequality, Glen Kinoshita, director of Imago Dei initiatives, spoke on the way in which influencers spread their knowledge to people in their spheres. Kinoshita, in the unique role of seeking to enhance competency of diversity and inclusion on campus, works to accomplish this through discussions, student groups, written materials, social media and, eventually, documentary film. “The vision is to engage people of influence. Faculty are people of influence, staff … are people of influence: they make decisions, they manage budgets, they interact with people. And then student leaders are people of influence, and so the idea here is to engage people of influence, so they, in turn, will influence the people around them, and that we slowly see the awareness [of cultural competency and inclusion] growing,” said Kinoshita. In order to increase inclusivity in its leadership, Kinoshita suggested that Biola administration needs to address its blindspots. “Before decisions are made, do we have people around the table that speak to our blindspots? Are we aware of our blindspots? And if people are not around the table, do we seek the voices out?” said Kinoshita. “Because in order for us to implement … leadership that is inclusive, we need to have a big picture as far as all the factors involved in whatever decisions we make … how we program, how we teach classes. We can include people or we can isolate people in how we teach or how we do business or how we make decisions, and so it’s a matter of how do we have these discussions so that it enhances the awareness across the campus?” Though Kinoshita recognizes the persistent and growing need for more diversity in Biola faculty members,
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backgrounds and cultures, and be very intentional about that.” According to Kinoshita, change must first occur within the self. From there, the self practices this change with others in the area of leadership, which then leads the collective group of selves to consider its institutional effect.
he acknowledges that steps have been made in the right direction. “I think that we have been lacking in representation of diversity within the faculty for many years, but ... I think that improvement has definitely been made in … the past five years.” Kinoshita said. “But given how fast the demographics are changing … society around us, and the diversity that’s growing, we have much work to do and a long way to go.” Kinoshita noted that an important connection lies between having both faculty of diverse backgrounds and dynamically instructive curriculum for students. “This [diversity] definitely impacts the quality of education, [the] type of faculty that students need to relate to, as well as who they need to be exposed to,” said Kinoshita.
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“They need to be exposed to people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds and different perspectives in order for critical thinking to be developed, and empathy and just awareness.” Kinoshita also touched on a potential conversation regarding Biola’s statement of faith, which may possibly only attract certain demographics of believers. “I think we need to distinguish that there is a core set of beliefs that we are committed to, but, at the same time, I think that there’s traditions that need to be evaluated, in the sense [of] that tradition that we have attracted, a predominantly, white, middle class, evangelical demographic,” said Kinoshita. “So I don’t believe that core beliefs should be compromised, but, at the same time, we do need to be welcoming people from different
Kinoshita also discussed the methodology of holistic change, which requires activity on three levels: head, heart, and hands, also categorized as the cognitive, affective, and behavioral levels. These levels exist in an intersection of the self and their individual commitment to affect change, in this case, in the area of diversity. This change matters because, in pursuing it, its workers seek to reflect God and his kingdom. Reflecting on his time as a member in an African American church, Kinoshita shared that he grew in the knowledge of the fullness of God’s kingdom and in the deep value of diversity, while simultaneously recognizing man’s tendency to remain in what he knows. “It’s the human tendency to gravitate towards your comfort zone, but as one of the students used to say, ‘When you step out of your comfort zone, you expand your comfort zone, and your concept of the kingdom of God grows,’” said Kinoshita. “And so, that’s the importance of diversity and why Biola needs to
always be increasing diversity.” Cody Brown, senior American history major, affirmed the need for increased diversity in faculty on Biola’s campus. “I would say … this is still predominantly a white faculty [and] that a little bit more diversity of ethnicity should definitely be within the faculty because . . . it’ll bring different viewpoints and cultures at the same time. That’s definitely needed,” said Brown. Early childhood education graduate student Kyra Martin echoed this, stating that once a more diverse campus atmosphere is established, students can begin to learn from one another’s different cultural experiences. “If we can get the people here first, then we can learn how to live with each other, be in close quarters, and learn to respect differences too . . . You have to go step by step of breaking down biases, stereotypical things that you got in your mind about others who are different than you,” said Martin. “And I’m really not saying that that’s a responsibility of the dominant white culture … that’s the responsibility of everybody.”
“Issues of race and ethnicity are complex, and we should always be suspicious when complex issues are oversimplified . . . We need to have open conversations about how a place like Biola is part of these systems. We have to ask the question: where are our blindspots?” Tamra Malone, Director of Student Enrichment & Intercultural Development explained that from her experience as a student until now, as a director, Biola has grown in its cultural sensitivity. Although her journey was marked by difficulty, she has seen Biola become a safer place to voice concerns regarding racial sensitivity. Her story may act as a qualitative measure of the University’s growth over the past 10 years. Biola has grown in several quantitatively measureable ways as well.
Malone cited the hiring of a female provost, Deborah Taylor, the creation of the Mosaic center, and even the introduction of her job as evidence of change in the areas she was burdened by during her time as a student. Elizabeth Hall, psychology professor at Biola, discussed the problematic nature of the imbalanced ratio of women to men faculty members. “Gender inequality isn’t just about justice for the women involved, but it has certain pragmatic implications too.” Hall said. “One of the most prominent of these is that our undergraduate student body is roughly two-thirds women and one-third men. And if you consider the importance that Biola places on mentoring relationships and on having input into students at a personal level, as well at an intellectual level, then the importance of this imbalance is clear.”
Expounding upon this idea, President Barry Corey warned against the dangers of oversimplifying the concepts of race and ethnicity in his talk, “A Presidential Conversation: Living Out Kingdom Diversity.”
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However, although this imbalance exists, Hall believes that Biola is on the right path, citing the gender climate study requested by the provost ten years ago. Biola took the findings of this study and formed the Committee on Women Faculty, which Hall chairs. Hall mentioned the various ways the Committee has helped to spur the growth of gender equality, such as the continued assessment of the university through projects like the Gender Climate study. The Committee also seeks to educate faculty about the issue of gender through visiting various faculty meetings and addressing areas of issue, such as reforming policy for maternity leave and increasing the availability of nursing rooms for female faculty. Hall cited one important illustration of their work in effect. “The promotion process for faculty is being revised by another committee right now, so what our committee did is we looked through all of the proposal to see if there would be any areas that would be disadvantageous to women,” said Hall. “That committee took into account our recommendations, revised that, so that now the promotion process is something equitable for men and women.” Hall went on to illustrate a way in which the arenas of ethnic and gender diversity worked together, which involved establishing neu-
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tral language. The Committee of Women Faculty and the Diversity Committee, at the time headed by Doretha O’Quinn and now led by Dr. Pamela Christian, formed a joint task force that worked to standardize a statement that was neutral in areas like gender, ethnicity and disability. Students can see proof of these combined efforts in the language that the University has since included in each class syllabi. Shelly Cunningham, Associate Provost for Faculty Advancement, also referenced one tangible way to increase ethnic equality: promotion. “One of the things we’ve brainstormed is ... with promotion, like I do with female faculty, [is] to have promotion mentors for our faculty of color, so we’re looking to say, ‘Are there ways we can also support their needs to move along?’ So that’s where my office would partner with resources,” said Cunningham. “How can I come and offer what my office has to support what you identify as needs, especially with our faculty, in terms of the ethnic diversity?” Cunningham referenced Christian’s intent to increase the faculty of color, citing, alongside Malone, the recent and continued breakfasts for faculty of color. These committees and departments’ commitment to work individually and collaborate have resulted in marked change amongst faculty,
whether that manifests itself in environmental, systemic, or relational shifts, and has set the tone for Biola’s campus and its various departments. Perhaps one still wonders why this matters. Malone offered that the crux of the matter revolves around the duty of living as a Christian. “We want, as Christians, to be an example to the world,” said Malone. “So what does that really look like? And … with some of the tensions that we have now, I pray, that would be my dream, not that they don’t exist, but [that] we work through them together.” Early childhood education graduate student, Kyra Martin, echoed Thompson in her concerns over the way diverse faculty affects how welcomed students feel on Biola’s campus. “I don’t want to say I’m pretty sure, but I really feel sure that if there’s more diversity in the faculty and the staff, you might just see more diversity in the students,” said Martin. “Because I know, maybe if more African Americans saw more people that looked like them in those positions ... and not just look like them, but relate to their experience, that might just up the ante on the African American population in the student body.” Sydney Thompson, sophomore bio-
the church, it is God who unites his people, in every arena. He does so in ethnicity, gender, orientation, perspective, disability, socioeconomic status, faith practice within the faith, and in differing upbringings and backgrounds. Despite and especially because of these differences, God wills to unite each person in His body. Here exists the point of connection. Corey further articulated this concept in his talk, “A Presidential Conversation: Living Out Kingdom Diversity.”
logical science major, recounts the stark difference between her major department and that of other areas of campus. “I guess overall it [faculty] is pretty diverse … I’m always in the science department and that’s not as diverse … I’ve always felt like … whenever I walk in, because I am black, I feel like they look down upon me in a way ... I think everywhere is pretty much diverse besides there,” said Thompson. “Even though they’re all nice, it’s just like that atmosphere feels as if there should only be a certain amount of race.” To discover the “why” or the “how” of unity in diversity, let each remember to consider their neighbor. Though it may be hard to hear, the truth remains: students and faculty have felt the effects of discrimina-
tion, whether it be based on their ethnicity or their gender. Blame, though easily applied, cannot solve these issues. The “how” behind diversity exists in actively supporting each member of the body of Christ and the “why” rests in the resulting unity. Be conscientious of cultural awareness and sensitivity. Let one’s work be genuinely marked by love. This loving means doing the hard self-work in order to identify areas of weakness, ignorance, racism or sexism in order to proceed forward in a healthy view of others and to make sure all are heard. Loving means inclusivity, not tolerance, unity, not coexistence, and the connection point of these efforts, as discussed through the lense of Biola’s faculty, rests in Christ.
“The goal of my talk tonight is not to elevate racial reconciliation as the heart of the Gospel, it is to elevate the Lordship of Christ as the heart of the Gospel. And if we are so focused on racial reconciliation, we might end up losing Jesus, the one in whom we all find our unity,” said Corey. If properly effected, reflecting Christ will be counter-cultural; it will increase the dynamics, gifts, ideas and experiences available, which would otherwise not exist in a mainly homogenous community. May a renewed look at the topic of diversity encourage each faculty member and student to step outside of his or her safe, static zone, step by intentional step, actively stretching it to include the body of Christ. Editor: Kathryn Toombs Designer: Sean Leone
At Biola, and more universally, in
Photographer: Eliana Park
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ADDRESSING APATHY IN A WORLD GONE NUMB
By Tim Seeberger
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crolling through the news section of the New York Times, a grim aura seems to emanate from the page. Violent acts of terrorism, harsh words exchanged between politicians and negative, news-worthy content fills the breaking news section. The gravity of the page could lead a person to cry. Readers are filled with apathy caused by oversaturation of violence in media. This leads to desensitization. People in this world seem be increasingly desensitized due to two major factors: the mass portrayal of violence in the media, and the speed at which the news moves. Grieving for these attacks has also taken on a new form. Social media utilizes hashtags such as #PrayForSandyHook to show solidarity with the victims. Although this seems like a nice gesture, in reality, it gives people a way to quickly grieve and move on in their lives. It may appear to help in the short term, but the story dies the next week because no one seems to care after the fact.
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With the death of the story dies the memory of the tragedy. It seems that few but the victims themselves felt the gravity of the situation. “Everything is truncated and because of this, our emotions are truncated,” said Bill Simon, public relations professor at Biola. “It’s trimmed back because as soon as we grieve, something else happens and we are thrust into something else.” News moves at a blinding rate. It becomes hard to focus on so many social justice issues when news is created every second of every day. What was once a breaking story on the front page of every newsstand and website is now archived. “Ever since we went to 24/7 news and moved away from the three great networks [ABC, CBS and NBC,] it’s been a challenge for people to keep up,” says Simon. “It’s problematic. It’s hundreds, if not thousands, of different mediums in which people get information and it’s 24/7. It’s non stop.” In response, people become weary
of the news, as it continually comes in fast rates and massive quantities. These factors push us away from hard news. Instead, Simon observes that viewers tend to turn toward entertainment news. “It’s a form of escape,” says Simon. “If we are numb to the torrent of misinformation and information, which is the push away from news, then the pull away from news is entertainment news, which gives us an opportunity to disengage and live in our own surrealistic worlds. I think that’s part of the reason why you see the rise of online gaming and pseudo-news programs like ‘The Colbert Report.’ That’s all a reflection of people yearning for entertainment, aspects that are lighter in nature. It just adds on to the disengagement of regular news.” Essentially, Simon believes that people do not want to face the music and listen to what is going on in the world today. It makes them grow weary. Human nature shies away from a constant onslaught of violence. Unfortunately, this is somewhat unavoidable.
“In the past, there were a small number of gatekeepers,” says Simon. “If you didn’t like what they had to say, you could actually turn it off. Today, we can’t turn it off. You can turn something off on your television, only to see it reappear on your smartphone. We cannot escape the fact of so much chatter of what we consider news today is all over the place.”
“I feel proud of the work, but it was difficult,” said Wolfson. “These are not subjects I write about every day, and I’m not sure I could. It’s important that someone does, but I think perhaps the healthiest thing is to be able to work on these difficult topics, then take time off, then reengage.”
“Reporters do truly suffer trauma from reporting on traumatic events. Luckily, there is plenty of support for those of us who have the good fortune to work in the U.S.,” said Wolfson. “I wish that the resources I had were available to those I reported on in these cases.”
Wolfson also referenced the trauma that reporters face.
Christians may face similar struggles in a religious context.
For example, finding news on the Joseph Kony movements may be difficult because of the constant stream of bigger events in the world. The Kony 2012 movement came out of non-profit organization Invisible Children. In the prime of the movement, virtually every news source covered the search for Kony. People rallied behind the video released about the movement and sympathized for the hostages in the situation. Now, the movement has little to no traction within the constant stream of news. If the problem is not on the front page of the news, the ability to detach from it can be much easier. Although the NGO still exists, it has gained significantly less attention since the release of the video on Joseph Kony. If it remains difficult for readers to see what is happening, it may also be difficult for the reporters who cover these topics. Elijah Wolfson, a deputy editor at Quartz Magazine, has reported on events like the Tibetan Earthquakes and systematic abuse within the Hasidic Jewish community.
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How are individuals supposed to focus on Boko Haram, the refugee crisis and gun violence at the same time? They seem to be desensitized in a moral sense. Christians often care so deeply about so many problems that it goes beyond their moral capacities to comprehend, and makes them incapable of caring about any issue at all. The bubble of comfort in a place of religious freedom can further usher in this mindset.
The media and the church show Christians the grave existence of poverty throughout the world, both in the monetary and spiritual sense. This message becomes mundane and overbearing after time, giving it a numbing effect. Detachment from issues like poverty becomes evident; some American Christians marvel at the atrocity of the situation for a moment, but then move on as if it never happened.
Other issues that are always present, such as poverty, have a similar effect. Scripture and sermons teach Christians to help those who are less fortunate.
Global poverty, according to Biola Intercultural Studies Prof. Marla Campbell, Christians should worry about this issue. “Poverty is rip-your-heart-out real
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to me,” said Campbell. “Real means going to Cambodia and seeing that life is lived all the time on little ramshackled wooden boats and the children – they don’t run and play on the ground because there is no place to run and play because they’re on boats all the time.” It is difficult though, for some American Christians to understand poverty as a tangible entity that exists in the world if they have never seen it in person. “We get real comfortable here and we have the means to make our lives comfortable,” said Campbell. “For the minority that don’t have that opportunity here, there are
mechanisms in place to help them. In Europe, they’re globally aware. Here, we tend to be numbed by the media and it becomes a background.” How do Christians, as citizens of the world, respond to apathy? There may be no direct answer to this question. Breaking out of the bubble of comfort takes time. The realization that the moral boundaries of Christianity cannot touch every corner of the Earth all at once can be hard to face. In reality, this mindset can be detrimental when applied in the macrocosm of the world. The moral threshold of Christianity seems so high that it them spreads too thin which Christians no longer strive to reach it.
focusing on different efforts will help solve many issues of the world today in a more efficient manner. At a Biola chapel on September 7, 2016, guest speaker and President of Fresno Pacific University Peter Menjares made an incisive point about the duty of Christians with the use of a peculiar analogy: pancakes and waffles.
This seems like a major problem of evangelism. The moral implications of spreading the gospel stretches Christians too thin because they feel they are called to serve others in all situations. There is a solution to this problem, though. “The other alternative is to envision the world in need as a waffle and in each of the crevasses of the waffle represents a divot that becomes a need that you then step into,” said Menjares. “So your service for God becomes strategic. Your focus for God becomes very focused and pointed so that you’re not saving the entire world. Rather, you have discerned very clearly, ‘what is that place I can step into and actually have an impact and be effective?’“
“Biblically speaking, you and I can’t do everything, but we can all do something,” says Campbell. “By making it bite-sized enough, I have influence over those who will listen to what I’m saying. I’d love to change the world, but I’m not Jesus.” Instead, Christians should be diverting their efforts to issues that they deeply care about. Focusing on too many problems at once will spread the people of the community thin. It becomes physically impossible for just one person to solve all the problems on Earth. If Christians try to focus on solving all the world’s problems, the church will end up doing a halfhearted job and break committed promises to help one another. Instead of trying to fix the world in one, clean sweep, different people
become a mile wide and an inch deep. In the end, we really become more tired as a result of our efforts to serve then we would have had we not engaged.”
“Often times, we look at the world as if it’s a pancake and that the butter and the syrup begin to melt and it drips over this pancake,” says Menjares. “The illustration is that there are times when the needs of the world are so great that they begin and end – we don’t know where. Sometimes we find ourselves stretched so thin that we
Acting as a light for the world is vital to the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. Christians must keep one another accountable to both care for current issues and to allocate resources strategically in order to have the greatest impact in the world. Just like pancakes and waffles.
Editor: Jubilee Pham Photographer: Eliana Park Designer: Micayla Jones
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THE INTEGRATION OF CHRISTIANITY AND COMEDY
By Olivia O’Brien
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he light from the office window pours down on his desk with a hue of afternoon blue. Dr. Erik Thoennes, leaning back in his chair, looks out onto Talbot East’s third floor garden. A man passes by. Thoennes chuckles at a thought he has just had, the laugh lines creasing on his face. “If you fell walking out of here, and it was completely obvious that you didn’t get hurt, I’d probably laugh.” Humor stands as a distinctly human quality in our world. As an incredibly intellectual trait, it also requires a deeper understanding of social commonalities. “From a different angle,” Thoennes continued, “the comedian has the ability to see what everybody else is seeing. And when they show us life from that different angle, we all laugh. A big part of that laughter is the discovery of something that has been there all along…. Normal life is where the best comedy happens.” Laughter communicates crossculturally, and the ability to make others laugh remains a coveted characteristic. Because of this, humor holds a sort of importance and weight in society. “Humor is disarming…. It drops our defenses,” Thoennes commented.
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“Humor is powerfully influential.” Comedians inherently carry a responsibility with their words. When an audience has become disarmed by laughter, influence can be imparted. This truth goes as far back as Plato’s Republic and Aristotle’s Poetics, where they both discuss how tragedy and comedy touch so close to our inner humanity that the performance of it becomes extremely influential, possibly even dangerous. However, comedy can look different depending on the culture; what one person finds funny does not necessarily translate as funny to another. Yet humor remains, as both Dr. Thoennes and the philosophers have said, powerful, no matter what culture a person is in. Christian culture does not separate from this reality. But figuring out what should be funny within it can at times be difficult to determine. Former Vice President of Biola’s student-run improv team, Rich Kids Comedy, Jordan McKinney explains a bit of the rough inbetween when dealing with an all-Christian audience. Being funny, for McKinney and for the Rich Kids, was not seen as an opportunity to spread the gospel necessarily, but rather to simply make people laugh.
“Yes, we’re being funny for Biola, but if someone who didn’t go to Biola should come to our show, they would still be able to laugh.” However, clean comedy stands as essential to the team because they know that much of their audience would not laugh at anything other than clean comedy. But McKinney also emphasizes the importance of not limiting the team to only ‘Christian’ comedy. “I wanted there to be an outlet for people to come and think, ‘Oh, I can laugh with these people and I can laugh at something that doesn’t exclude me from anything else in the world.’ And I feel like when people are trying to make ‘Christian’ comedy, they’re excluding a whole lot of people in the world.” Even while not making ‘Christian’ comedy, there continues to be a very faith-based drive behind the group. “We all pray for each other,” McKinney explains. “We hang out with each other outside of practice, we talk about each other’s lives, we make sure we’re all alright; we’re growing together spiritually.” And thus the execution of the show becomes a place that allows not only the team to be vulnerable
with one another, but also invites the audience into the open and light-hearted environment that Rich Kids builds.
“Improv is a great bonding experience. You’re being really vulnerable with people and there’s no judgment there. You’re creating stories with somebody and you’re validating what they’re saying.” And while comedy can indeed be open and light-hearted, there still seems to be a fuzzy, unspoken line between the ‘okay’ and the ‘not okay’ of humor. For the performer, in any sort of stage work, it comes down to the attitude and motivation behind the craft that defines that line a little further.
Mckenzie Hathaway, a senior communications major at Biola, was once heavily involved in theater. Looking back, she states, “You first have to understand your worth and why, really, are you cracking jokes in the middle of a sermon? Or why are you doing these ridiculous things on stage? And who are you doing it for? Are doing it to please yourself? Is it about you? If the answer is, ‘Yeah, it’s about me,’ then you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.”
Brady Lee, recent Biola graduate and illusionist extraordinaire, commented on the issue as well, saying, “I think you can strive to be the best comedian that there is for the pleasure of doing that and to the glory of God without ever having to preach from the stage. I do think, though, as you build relationships with the people that you’re with, you can bring up Jesus and be a redemptive voice in a culture that is very dark.”
The conversations that are built from the ability to laugh ignite a vulnerability for both the comedian and the audience. But these exchanges are not limited to those on a platform; jokes and laughter for anyone at all can open them up to weightier discussions. “People can be uncomfortable laughing or making jokes and then talking about serious issues or things about the Lord, because they’re just not used to those things being combined. So, people need to be sensitive and winsome, speaking the truth with grace,” said Lee. Biola graduate Chris Rasmussen also explained how tough conversations and humor can be beneficial relationally. “I think that jokes point out the inconsistencies in life and even the painful things in life and help set you free from them,” said Rasmussen. “I could use that same thesis statement for the gospel....
You’re able to confront the pain of something so tragic and be set free from it. You’re no longer tied to the pain of it and you can laugh.” Humor brings out ultimate joy despite the difficulties of life. It brings out the commonality of fallenness, yet the hope in a future full of grace and life. It bonds us and brings us closer together in the midst of trials. It helps us recognize our “already-not yet” state of being, but causes us also to look ahead at what beauty is to come. And while Dr. Thoennes would certainly laugh at someone who has clumsily fallen down in front of him, it would be with a laughter that lifts both back on their feet to keep going.
“When the comedian includes himself in the folly of it all, he is doing it in a Christianly way. And, in Christ, falling down doesn’t define you; it isn’t the end of the story. Being picked up is the end of the story. So Christian humor clearly recognizes the common folly of it and the fallenness of it all. But that’s not the end of the story.”
Editor: Jubilee Pham Illustrator: Leah Lu Designer: Micayla Jones
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A C K N O W L E D G I N G S P I R I T U A L W A R F A R E I N W E S T E R N C U LT U R E
By Kaelyn Timmins For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph. 6:12 NIV). Christians often push spiritual warfare, like the controversial gift of tongues, into the margins and in the category of crazy charismatics. According to Tristan Mahan, junior intercultural studies major and Revive ministry director, often when people hear about spiritual warfare, they either try to ignore it and forget about it or they focus on it too much and become obsessed. This obsession can lead some Christians to “overspiritualize” earthly incidents. They focus on the spiritual to the extent that they forget about the physical. Mahan points out, “People are holistic people, they’re not just vessels of spiritual influence.” Thomas Sappington, associate professor of intercultural studies and the chair of the Department of Missions and Intercultural Studies at Biola’s Talbot School of Theology, promotes a balanced biblical approach when dealing with spiritual warfare. It’s important not to attribute every malady to Satan and only Satan, because at the end of the day, Christians live in a fallen world. “Sometimes our bodies don’t work right, sometimes bad things
happen, sometimes disasters, horrible diseases, sometimes death. You can’t see everything as a direct demonic attack, though ultimately it traces back to the enemy, the tempting and the fall,” Sappington said.
Christians are often unaware of the amount of spiritual oppression they experience, especially during evangelism. The enemy’s main goal, according to Sappington, is to keep people out of the kingdom.
that we’re enlightened, intellectual people, and so Satan…. will go after us in our minds. In other places that are more emotion-focused or animistic...he can be more upfront,” Williams said.
Incidentally, the fall ultimately leads back to the devil tempting Eve in the garden, and according to scripture, trials on earth contain a spiritual element. While some may learn about spiritual warfare and become obsessed, a vast majority will simply let it roll off their shoulders. They will dramatically “underspiritualize” the world, partly out of fear.
Spiritual Warfare in Other Countries Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings (1 Pet. 5:9 NIV). In the minds of westerners, seeing is believing. Westerners experience reality in the physical things and they dismiss the things they cannot see, according to Williams. This creates a disconnect between the physical and spiritual realms.
In the U.S., spiritual oppression may manifest itself in more subtle ways.
Matt Williams, professor of Biblical and Theological studies at Biola and the chair of Talbot’s Biblical and Theological studies New Testament department, believes that underspiritualization is normal in Western cultures. “[Spiritual warfare] becomes scary very quickly, and we don’t want to be scared so we just ignore it,” Williams said. Scary as it may be, spiritual warfare is a reality. Sappington defines spiritual warfare as the opposition Christians face from the enemy when they follow Jesus. “There’s opposition that we experience to growth, to fruitfulness to evangelism to prayer to experiencing a real depth of fellowship,” Sappington said.
In Indonesia and Africa, people see a spiritual connection in everything. Sappington contends that there is nothing wrong with seeing a doctor when one is sick or going to counseling when one is feeling down, but he or she ought to consider that there may be spiritual elements in play. Sappington says that westerners’ worldview can inhibit their awareness of spiritual warfare, whereas in Africa, Christians are more aware.Williams agrees that Satan works differently in different parts of the world, shaping his strategies to fit the culture.
The Devil’s Schemes For we are not unaware of his schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11b NIV). A core tenet of Christianity is the belief that the schemes of Satan are ultimately futile because of Jesus’ victory on the cross. This puts spiritual warfare into perspective. “[Satan] is defeated at the cross, the empty tomb. And now there’s this period of tension but it will come to an end, and at that point he’s headed for the lake of fire, according to Revelation. And so he’s really in a weak position but he often manages that position… leverages that position through the use of lies,” Sappington said. Sappington likens the enemy to a puffer fish that deceives predators into thinking it is bigger than it actually is. The enemy’s lies are just a mirage, a defense mechanism. A few signs that the devil may be working, according to one of Sappington’s oft-used quotations, are deception, discouragement, division, distraction and distortion of the truth.
“In the United States, we like to think
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Spiritual attack in the form of distraction can happen in the broader context of the “Biola Bubble,” where Christian community flourishes. Christian students can tend to turn their focus inward to their own problems and problems amongst the community, while forgetting about the unbelievers just a few blocks down the street.
the Biola community. “I think it’s necessary because it’s real and extremely helpful for the Christian life. Spiritual warfare is real, and when you know more about it and understand it more, it changes the way you look at the world. It empowers you to set people free and to recognize oppression in your own life so that you yourself can find freedom,” Mahan said.
“We become so involved with our community issues and our differences … that we forget about the role that the Lord gives us to bring the gospel and to help Christians really grow and become effective,” Sappington said. It Happens Here Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Tim. 3:12 ESV). Sappington believes that some Biola students, like other Christians, fall prey to spiritual attack by believing the devil’s lies. Satan often draws on the lies people have been raised to believe as well. For instance, some Christians may have grown up with the idea that love is based on being good and doing the right thing. Satan can twist that into shaming Christians when they inevitably sin. Satan’s lies can distract us from God’s truths, one of which is grace. Mahan seeks to educate Biola students about spiritual warfare in his role at Revive. He sees Revive’s position on the reality of spiritual warfare to be essential to
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Williams said, referring to John 20:21. “So if we’re sent by Jesus, then we have the authority of Jesus, right? So if Jesus had authority over demonic forces because he was sent by the Father, so do we. . .There’s no magic formula. It’s just claiming who we are in Jesus.” It is also important not to fall prey to blissful ignorance or let spiritual warfare become an obsession. As Christians grow in their walk with God, they develop discernment and awareness of the spiritual realm, according to Mahan. Part of this balance comes with recognizing the positive spiritual forces in the world as well, according to Williams. If there are potentially demons on Biola’s campus, in every class, every chapel, every mealtime, Williams believes there are certainly angels in every class, chapel and mealtime as well. Mahan puts it simply: “You want to focus on the light but be aware of the dark.”
Responding to Spiritual Warfare Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path (Ps. 119:105 KJV). In the midst of spiritual battle, Biola students can take comfort knowing they have all of the tools they need, one of those being authority in Christ. “As the Father has sent me, so I send you. That’s what Jesus says,”
Editor: Grace Hansen Photographer: Anastasia Waltschew Designer: Allie Orth
HOW AMERICAN INDIVIDUALISM PROMOTES A C U LT U R E O F F E A R A N D S E L F - P R E S E R V A T I O N
By Claire Zasso
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he sits with him as he talks, the curly-haired blonde girl with an American accent and glasses. He tells of his journey from Iraq across the Turkish border, his eyes glazed with pain. Gillian McCuistion, a senior intercultural studies major, lived in Turkey for the fall semester of 2015, serving refugees with World Horizons. They partnered with a church in Ankara, which facilitates various weekly ministries to help refugees in the neighborhood. “There was one refugee who was fluent in English who offered his help. He wanted to serve alongside us. He said he wanted to serve his fellow countrymen,” McCuistion said. Every Wednesday, the man came to translate for the refugees. Listening to him in the empty church sanctuary after a day’s work, McCuistion heard his story and witnessed the trauma he was still wrestling with. “That’s the thing about stories,” she
shared. “They make what people are experiencing a reality. It’s easy to reduce what we hear in the news to this floating concept that isn’t grounded in anything. When we hear a specific story, it becomes grounded for us in a way that we can become emotionally invested in.” Monica Cure, an assistant professor in Biola’s Torrey Honors Institute, was born in Romania. When she was two and a half, her family left communist Romania and came to the United States. “The language I would use to describe myself when I would talk to other Americans would be ‘immigrant.’” Cure said. That was the story she always told about herself. When Cure’s Fulbright scholarship was extended for a second year in Romania, some friends suggested that she look into whether she was still legally considered a Romanian citizen. In the summer between those two years, Cure returned to the United States to collect the necessary paperwork.
“One of the things I needed was a copy of a certain page in my parents’ passport because we, as children, were in our parents’ passport,” Cure said. “So for the first time ever in my life, I was 21 at the time, I saw my parents’ passport. I thumbed through it and when I saw our status, that’s when I saw the word, ‘refugee.’ We were refugees.” She had never thought of herself as a refugee because no one ever identified her that way. “It really rocked my world, in a good way, to understand I’m actually no different, in terms of our legal status, from anybody coming from the Middle East,” said Cure. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees published a 2015 year-end review of global refugee statistics, which states that the number of individuals “forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations” has reached a record high of 65.3 million. This is the highest number of displaced people since the period of World War II, when an estimated 60 million Europeans became
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refugees. A culture of fear currently surrounds the topic of the refugee crisis in America. Todd Thompson, assistant professor of history in the Torrey Honors Institute, comments: “The media and social media often take people to a place of fear and self-protection, and I think that’s absolutely the wrong place to start. Because you’re starting people off, not with ideas, but with the wrong sort of emotion that’s going to be productive of nothing.” Thompson believes the assumption that America has to protect its own interests first often frames the refugee debate, while self-preservation remains a luxury that 65 million people do not have. Americans commonly fear the potential admittance of the one Muslim terrorist, forgetting that many refugees are Christian brothers and sisters. “To think we can actually cordon ourselves off from suffering, because we don’t want to suffer an attack here, to not pay attention to those stories…Refugees are people who don’t have the luxury to do that,” says Thompson. “Recognizing their suffering, and recognizing the privileges that we have, hopefully will help folks think about what a luxury it is to even have a debate about refugees.” The fear Americans experience regarding incoming refugees cripples any compassion they have to help others. “We are made to bear each
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other’s burdens,” Cure said. “There’s that saying: ‘No one is an island.’ We all need each other, and if we think we don’t, that’s also going to contribute to us not wanting to help other people, and that’s false. It’s a false sense of security. It’s a false sense of self-sufficiency.” Cure argued for the necessity of courage, as America’s atmosphere of fear perpetuates selfishness and desperation for control. “Fear is what says, ‘I need be okay first. I need to be comfortable,’” Cure said. “But it’s courage that is self-sacrificial. Jesus embodies this so well. Because he loved us, he didn’t count the cost. He became us.” America functions under a mentality of individualism, which manifests itself when people use language such as, “We need to help them.” The tendency to separate into “us” and “them” becomes far too easy when fear rages. “Friendship is just so important when you’re an ally. When you’re friends with someone, there is some difference, sometimes a lot of difference. But at the same time, you don’t say, ‘us’ and ‘them,’ when you’re talking with a friend,” Cure said. “It’s always ‘us.’ And then it becomes a lot easier to humanize people because it’s already ‘us.’” Discussing the refugee crisis without humanizing the people groups in question remains a common mistake. “These people are not policies, they’re just people,” Thomp-
“Recognizing the privileges that we have, hopefully will help folks think about what a luxury it is to even have a debate about refugees.�
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son says. “A lot of the people concerned are Christian brother and sisters, and even if they aren’t, what sort of Christians would we be if we drew the line at compassion for people who share the same beliefs?” In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus breaks down the walls of prejudice between Jews and Samaritans to communicate that everyone is a neighbor. “We can’t let religious difference be a criteria that we use to decide who gets our compassion and who doesn’t,” Thompson said.
whom we welcomed, their first Fourth of July ever. That was so exciting. You celebrate the good things, and you also commiserate in hard things,” Cure said. “It’s an opportunity to become better as a nation.”
Hospitality looks different in different cultures. Cure expresses the difference between Romanian hospitality and that of American culture: “There’s just a very different mentality of how to use resources and what resources are for,” she said. “If you knew that someone from your family needed something and you had it, you would think, ‘I’m so glad I can give you this thing. Because you’re family.’” This year, Cure’s church began facilitating welcome teams for incoming refugee families. “I loved being able to celebrate with this family
“As I was welcoming them, I became more and more understanding of the stress they were still dealing with,” she said. “This isn’t home, they don’t speak the language, they have this underlying anxiety that is always present, feeling always lost and uncertain.” McCuistion herself experienced the emotional exhaustion of adjusting to a new culture. She always second-guessed her accent or word choice when she spoke in Turkish. Even trips to the grocery store were taxing.
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In seeking to assist refugees in their adjustment process, empathy is crucial. While McCuistion worked in Turkey, she arrived at the sanctuary early on Wednesday mornings to register hundreds of refugee families into the church’s food program.
Through her own cross-cultural adjustment, McCuistion gained a clearer understanding of the issues refugees face on arrival. “Humans are similar in the way that they experience trauma and process things,” she said. McCuistion’s newfound empathy caused her to start pursuing a career in working with refugees and international students. “I want to do what I can to help people who are struggling with those same things,” McCuistion said. Empathy must be earned—through personal experience, or witnessing the experiences of another. Cure affirmed that when one can look at their own suffering, and, while acknowledging its impact, say, ‘It does not define me,’ they will be able to do the same for others. She continued, “When we have done that for ourselves, I think it will be easier to understand that about other people, to affirm experiences of injustice that they have suffered, and at the same time to say, ‘And of course, you’re more than that.’”
The question becomes: how can Biola students foster empathy and ally with refugees? Thompson suggests, “Some of them, if they were able to fight through indifference and really work to be informed on the issue, they could pray about it well.” He adds that when misconceptions of the refugee crisis run rampant, informed students might be able to reframe the conversation for others. “Then people may be more apt to listen to stories, and maybe even engage themselves,” Thompson says. “Not everyone is going to be able to take a trip abroad,” McCuistion acknowledged. There are thousands of relief organizations abroad, but they require financial support to sustain their work. “I am guilty of reasoning the “broke college kid” excuse, but it really comes down to where your heart is,” she said. “And if your heart is in the right place, you will feel motivated and joyful to give your money or your time in places here. And there are countless opportunities locally and in the L.A. area.” Choosing to stay informed about world events remains a challenge for McCuistion, but she does her best. “If you’re not informed, that’s not going to inspire any action. Facing the reality of what is going on in the world, instead of running from it, and creating space among friends and family to talk about it, can do a lot of good,” said McCuistion.
“...what sort of Christians would we be if we drew the line at compassion for people who share the same beliefs?”
appears irreparable, there are many ways to advocate for refugees and offer assistance. Donating financially and volunteering with local organizations, like Voice of the Refugees located in Anaheim, are only a few of the possibilities. Never underestimate the power of empathy. Sometimes loving one’s neighbor means helping refugees settle into a new country, listening to a story in a church sanctuary or even simply watching fireworks among new friends. Editor: Jubilee Pham Designer: Sean Leone
Though the refugee crisis often
Photographer: Anna Warner
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CONFRONTING SOCIETAL GENDER ROLES By Tim Seeberger
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y perception of gender roles was different growing up from what it is now. Gender roles were never something I considered. I knew what sex I was, but I never actively thought about what it meant to be a boy. I lived a dynamic childhood and went to a private middle school that taught me to think creatively and originally. I have distinct memories of my teachers instilling confidence in me that has left an imprint to this day. I grew up in a multi-generational family full of music, the arts and overall creative thinking. Given my parents’ experience as social workers, they often handled situations with my sister and I much differently than other parents I knew.
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I have an older sister who I looked up to when I was young, and I bonded a lot with my mom during my high school years; Thus, I felt very in touch with the masculine and feminine sides of my life. I was raised equally by my parents and my sister, so I knew how to act when talking to anybody I encountered. Society’s definition of how to act as a young man never affected the way I composed myself. I simply acted how I wanted without pushing my parents’ boundaries. When high school began and I was less regulated by them, I chose to act within my Christian moral boundaries. When I entered college, though, that perception abruptly ended. Just when I had gained confidence in who I was, college made me feel like I had to shed it once again and adopt a new perspective. I realized I did not understand the concept of “being a man” according to Biola’s standards. When I was younger, I was taught to simply act as a good Christian. I was never pushed to act like a young Christian man. If I was, I never noticed or cared. I acted in a way that benefitted the most people. Acting kindly towards other people was a staple in my household. I grew up in a home where I was with my mom and sister a lot because my father was at work often. Some of my best friends from home are girls. I found that although I could connect to guys and girls as friends, I connected to girls better
in the platonic state. I could act more freely around girls without having to worry about if they would criticize me for how I acted. I wouldn’t dare commit such a high crime in the gender courts of Biola’s culture.
the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America and American Baptist Church of America have women as their top leaders. This information seems to imply that a majority of churches are male-operated. This means they also have an influence on gender roles within the church for males. Consequently, the view of who a man of God is might change based on what sex is leading the church.
When I came to Biola, I acted naturally. I tried befriending both women and men when I arrived. Making friends that are girls on this campus was not as simple as making them at home. Instead, I encountered phrases like “DTR.” If I became too close to a girl, even as friends, people began to talk. I also faced the idea of what it means to become a Christian man. This idea is peculiar to me. What does this archetypal Christian man look like? As I struggled with this question, stereotypical answers came flying back at me: “Be a godly man,” “Be a leader of the household” and other implicit implications like finding a wife as fast as humanly possible. But what if I do not want to have kids? What if being a man looks different than what others around me say? This idea of being a man of God and its social implications may not have stemmed from biblical principles, but from church leadership. A Pew Research study found that historically, women holding high leadership positions in churches is rare. In the past, only two churches, the Episcopal and United Methodist Church, have had women leaders. Currently, only
I have become weary of pursuing this idea of becoming a “man of God.” Acting as a quality “man’s man” in the eyes of God has a lot of unnecessary, societal influences attached to it. I struggle with becoming a godly man because I fear the godly man I see in Christian society. I want to treat women with respect. I want to love everyone in every society equally. I want to make my way to finding a spouse on God’s terms. Most of all, I want the focus of my life to be on God. I do not want to conform to any notion of being a man if it does not involve being a better Christian. The dating culture at Biola perplexes me. It is far from an organic process. It is a cookie-cutter system. There are implicit rules in the system, none of which I know. I think I missed out on a seminar that explained how to date on a Christian campus. This dating culture confuses others within the Biola community as well. “For Biola, it [relationships] depends. It’s hard because of the
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whole ‘Ring by Spring’ thing,” said senior elementary education major Katie Pearn. “I think people are walking on eggshells with relationships in general because of the idea that you have to leave Biola married.”
system. As someone who does not understand Biola’s dating culture, it is hard to be taken seriously. I feel as if this system constantly pushes me away.
According to Josh Tey, senior communications major, the dating culture comes down to a man’s character. “I think it’s sort of a two part thing,” said Tey. “I think masculine men are encouraged or expected to take the initiative and pursue people. I also think masculine men are supposed to be respectful in Biola’s context. They are people who are willing to consider the other person.” It is sad, but as someone who has only been at Biola a year and a half, I already have my heart set on meeting someone outside of the
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It is bewildering to think that dating within Biola does not operate the same way it does in the outside world. This is not real life. There is
no “ring by spring” outside of the boundaries of this campus. “GYRADs” do not exist. I would never be pressured into wondering if the girl I am talking to is “the one.” I would not be under constant watch by the rest of my community in relation to my interactions with the opposite sex. I receive looks of horror and laughs from my friends from home when I explain how relationships at Christian campuses work. When I zoom out and look at the institution of dating on-campus, I cannot help but laugh. Dating does not work this way. Life does not work this way. This backwards mindset of dating within Biola’s campus is not confined to Southern California, either. Many other Christian campuses across the nation face the same problems with their dating culture.
“It’s ‘ring by fall’, ‘ring by Christmas’, ‘ring by spring’, ‘ring by graduation.’ I go on Facebook and Instagram constantly to see engagements,” said Dana Gangitano, an Assistant Resident Director at Messiah College in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. “I think it’s a huge problem because people don’t know themselves well enough to be a wife or a husband. I’m not against engagements of marriage, but if you don’t know yourself well, you can’t be in a relationship with other people. If your relationship with God isn’t right, how you can you have relations with other people?” Many of the implications I stated, though, may not emerge from the values of Biola’s culture. They may instead be emerging due to the world outside of Biola affecting its internal culture.
“You do gender. You live gender. You perform it,” said humanities professor Dr. Shelley Garcia, an expert in gender studies. “You’re disciplined by it and as resistant as you might want to be, you’re still going to face the consequences of disobeying the society they’ve set forward.” Many Biolans find this perspective true as well. “If you want to be a man in the U.S., it’s hard because the U.S. is a masculine culture, versus other countries which encourage more softness and gentleness,” said sophomore studio art major Rachel Ji. “I guess being a man in the U.S. is tough because if they want to be in dance or music or theater, they have societal pressures.”
play an integral part in the shaping of an archetypal man. “Society plays a huge role in what I think of myself as a man,” said Ron Pierce, biblical studies professor and member of Talbot. “I just need to be careful that it’s not playing the wrong kind of role.” Am I more resistive of society or do I question more of the social implications it places on Biola’s campus? I question why men have a difficult time discussing the topic of homosexuality. I wonder why I observe men revert to hypermasculinity when the topic arises. According to Pierce and Garcia, there are many reasons for this. “This rigid idea of masculinity and femininity peaked on-campus in the 1950s,” said Pierce. “I think we still have it with us.”
Pressures from the outside world
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Non-conforming in the world of gender also has many implications for students on this campus. “Gender and sexuality are so interrelated that they’re going to revert to hypermasculinity to prevent any assumptions about their sexuality,” said Garcia. “And this is a subculture in which there’s a lot more potential cost for non-majority sexuality. The stakes are high.” In regards to dating, imposed gender roles prevail in this situation. They can be misleading because sexuality can sometimes link itself to gender roles. “We are called to be gendered. We are not called to play gender roles,” said Garcia. “This concept of courtship and dating on campus – nothing is stated about this in the Bible.” The implications of being a man stems from this idea of non-conformity. Inter-policing within males happens because they fear someone will challenge their personal concept of sexuality. “Most of us don’t understand how someone else’s different choice or different expression [of gender] is their own, it feels like a commentary on your own,” said Garcia. “For some people, they look at someone who’s gender non-conforming, and it threatens their own understanding of the world. In order to strengthen their own sense of security, they want to impose that on other people.” This problem of keeping other males in line with societal norms also comes
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from groupthink. “It’s old fashioned peer pressure,” said Pierce. “We see a certain person act a certain way and, naturally we want to fit in. I think we need to be careful to not simply conform to the group we’re in.” I am trying to understand how to adapt to this culture, while also retaining my identity amidst groupthink. This plan of action, though, fails me time and time again. I cannot be on the fence with my identity as a male. I feel out of place, as if no one else shares in my experience. I think I am misunderstood by many. Yes, there is no reason for me, a straight white male, to feel marginalized, yet somehow that has managed to happen. I feel like I am on the outside of a huge inside joke of how I am supposed to be a man on this campus. As a result, knowing what it actually means to be a man eludes me. “When you’re in a new gender context, you’ll need to learn the rules of that gender context and there’s a learning curve,” said Garcia. Biola, though, has moved forward in leaps and bounds in moving past the rigid gender roles that once defined the culture. “We have grown gradually,” said Pierce. “It’s been three steps forwards and one step backwards. We’ve grown slowly. I think we are going to grow in relation to gender
roles and gender hierarchies. It’s the gender hierarchies that trouble me.” The inequality gap between men and women also closes with each passing year.
It is like trickle-down economics. Society dictates what the archetypal male should look like. These rigid guidelines trickle down to the Christian subculture, creating the idea of what it means
Christians,” said Pierce. “I’m not so concerned about them being better men.” “It comes down to me looking at the fruits of the Spirit and thinking ‘Are only half of these appropriate for me as a woman and only half of these appropriate for men?’” said Garcia. “I think we’re called to humanity and there’s a lot more in common of what that looks like. How we live that out would not be different just because of chromosomes.” I consider many subjects in life differently due to how I grew up. Perhaps Biola’s culture has challenged my views on being a man with the notion that this identity rests on being a man that is a Christian. This view seems wrong to me. Instead, perhaps I should focus on living for Christ more fully. Perhaps then God’s plan for my life will inform my idea of manhood.
“I think we’re working hard on gender equality, and we’re erasing what it means to be a man and working on making women feel equal,” said Pierce. “We’re erasing the focus.” In the end, though, my focus may be in the wrong place. I may be focusing too closely on the societal pressures of manliness rather than on my own faith. The gender roles I am faced with at Biola come from a bigger, more systematic institution.
to become a Christian man. At the lowest tier, this affects Biola’s campus and how men interact with each other. It also affects how men interact with women on campus. This convoluted scheme leads me to question the bigger picture: Do I really want to follow the ways of this broken world by pursuing masculinity according to its standards?
I do not want to be a better Christian man. I just want to be a better Christian.
Editor: Monica Kochan Photographer: Janelle Mejia Designer: Allie Orth
“I want men to be better
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C U LT I V A T I N G A W A R E N E S S F O R By Katie Morton
PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC ILLNESSES
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undreds of students walk across Biola’s campus everyday. A minority – students with chronic illnesses – often blend into the crowd, their conditions inconspicuou s to their peers. With so many students on campus and so much going on, it is far too easy be unaware of the students who face physical battles everyday. But what would it look like if students made more of an effort to understand? For freshman film major Sara Hemraz, waking up and going through each day is a battle, a test of the will requiring courage to grit through pain and mental heaviness. Sara suffers from chronic fatigue, a condition that causes her to be constantly tired. Looking at her, however, one would never know that she is experiencing such a condition. “When disabilities are obvious, it’s easier for people to start to understand or gain awareness,” she said. “But when it’s something like diabetes or chronic illness that you don’t see when you just look at a person, people tend to dismiss it.” Hamraz is one of the many students on campus who battles a physical condition every day. Fortunately, students at Biola who struggle with illnesses have access to helpful resources through Biola’s on-campus Learning Center. Jennifer Fanning, the Center’s director, details its relationship with students who have chronic illnesses. “The Learning Center works regularly with students diagnosed with chronic illnesses, tailoring individual care plans to a particular student’s condition as appropriate,” said Fanning. These plans can include modified deadlines and
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extensions, lenience on class attendance, housing needs and modifications, and medical withdrawals, to name a few. Complying with state laws and drawing from the California Education Code, Title 5, Biola seeks to protect students from discrimination, accommodate their needs and provide the means for them to thrive in Biola’s environment. While junior sociology major Claire Walker had a positive experience with the Learning Center, senior theater major Danielle Kobelin erred more on the
negative side. While her experience was a mix of personal issues as well as negative elements from the Center, she notes that her conditions - Cushing disease, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, depression and anxiety - require more from the Learning Center. “They should be checking in on me more than once a semester and saying, ‘How are you? How’s it going? Let’s make sure we’re taking care of this,’” said Kobelin. These students face challenges everyday. Sophomore elementary education major Anna Archer struggles with Type 1 diabetes, which results in fluctuating blood sugar levels that can cause lightheadedness and difficulty focusing. “Sometimes it can be scary having high and low blood sugars,” said Archer. “It does feel really hindering sometimes.”
For instance, Archer shares that she does not think that most people know of her diabetes. For Walker, however, her condition is on display through her service dog, Lily. The dog is always with Walker and senses when she is about to pass out. A challenge that comes with having a visible condition like Claire’s is the onrush of questions pointed at her. However, attention is usually centered on Lily, causing people to sometimes miss seeing Claire and instead focus on the novelty of the dog. The result can feel disingenuous and uncaring. “You have to see past a person’s appearance and situation,” she said. “You have to see to the heart of an individual.” She offered insight into how she would want herself and others like her to be treated.
Junior Sociology major Claire Walker has been diagnosed with Pots syndrome, a condition which reverses her fight-or-flight responses, causing her to either pass out or speed up in heart rate.
“Treat me like your sibling or a friend. You don’t have to ask questions. We’re so used to Google that you have to assume you can ask anyone a question. You don’t have to know right away what my situation is. Get to know me. Say hello. It all comes down to courtesy and love.”
“Not everyone you meet understands what a medical condition is,” said Walker. “They forget that you can’t do certain th ings and it gets frustrating.”
Her call to love can be displayed through various ways: Be a good friend. Seek to understand. Respect privacy when it is desired.
In her experience with chronic fatigue, Hamraz said, “You’re in this perpetual state of tiredness. It drags on you like it’s something heavy. You wake up and you don’t know how you’re going to be that day.”
Today, a heightened focus on diversity and awareness exists in our country, yet despite this, there remains a tendency to miss a group that needs just as much attention and awareness: those silently struggling with difficult physical conditions every day of their lives. Perhaps it is time to realize this loss of focus.
Many students admit they aren’t aware of the students across campus who, like Hamraz, Archer and Walker, face physical struggles everyday. Many students who face physical conditions feel there is usually not full understanding. “I feel like it’s important to make people more aware of it, because it’s things that people struggle with and we can better understand,” said Hamraz. “We need to address other disabilities that are more obvious when you look at someone, but then there are the invisible disabilities that people may not surface.”
“People are looking for diversity with the current respect issues of today. It should be applied to more than just one thing,” said Walker. If diversity entails awareness and understanding, then those qualities should be extended to groups like those who face physical conditions. Often times, an issue that is present in everyday life is easiest to miss. Awareness of this topic does not simply entail highlighting students and their physical conditions;
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rather, this awareness can produce a consciousness, which can then turn an individual’s focus into support and care. People become closer when they understandeach other, and when they understand is when they can truly walk alongside and build each other up.
an interesting theme: God is indeed near, and working through the pain.
“Be willing to make sacrifices for your friend because of what’s going on, and ask them about it and learn about it,” said Hamraz.
For Bortot, God has continually demonstrated His steadfastness.
Communication studies and theater professor, Zachary Bortot, who deals with Crohn’s disease, spoke to the need to lean on each other.
“The Lord has led each way,” said Walker. “He’s taught me that it’s OK not to have the strength, that you don’t have to be all set – it’s OK to be weak and broken. He can still use you.”
“Know that He’s there, He’s there on the other side of it, and be relational with God. If you keep searching, keep fighting, God’s going to be there with you through it,” said Bortot. Archer shared how even when life’s opportunities seem daunting, having an illness does not limit God. “Trust in the Lord, because He will provide, and He really does care,” she said.
“Let people know what you’re dealing with,” said Bortot. “You don’t have to go into great detail, but that open and honest communication always encourages understanding. You never know what connection God is going to put in your life.”
Let Biola strive to foster an environment where those who have chronic illnesses feel safe to voice their struggles. When God seems silent, lean on those nearby, and look to his truth: “We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). In the silence, God is still there, and his love and faithfulness will not fail through hardships. In any struggle that arises, whether it’s a chronic illness or otherwise, support can be found in the people God has put in each person’s life. Seek to lift up others as brothers and sisters in Christ through looking to understand, support and love.
Hamraz echoes his words, “Don’t be afraid to struggle, at least in this environment for sure. It’s not easy, but everyone is going through their own struggle … regardless of whether it’s a chronic illness, something that’s going on in your life or a mental illness,” said Hamraz. In the struggles that come with having difficult physical conditions, it can seem that God is absent. Some may even feel he is silent with his back turned. However, the presented stories highlighted
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Editor: Monica Kochan Designer: Micayla Jones Photographer: Aili Acone-Chavez
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H O W P U R I T Y C U LT U R E A F F E C T S T H E C H U R C H By Leah Lu
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or those acquainted with evangelical circles, purity culture is a familiar phrase and ideology, one that has been deeply ingrained in the minds of adolescents. In fact, there is an entire industry built on it – from books, to conferences, to purity balls, to bands worn on ring fingers, it is injected into the subconscious that sex should be avoided at all costs. These values play into the minds of young people, with church-bred metaphors promoting abstinence and dictating the manner in which girls grow up viewing their worth. Some compare women’s virginities to “a picture taped to the wall that’s been removed and put back up until it’s lost it’s ‘stickiness’”, as sophomore Stephania Santana was told. Images of chewed up pieces of gum, unpetalled flowers and dirty candy are heeded, all expounding on the same message: a woman’s identity is jointly tethered to her sexual purity. “Waiting until marriage for me wasn’t so much a matter to honor God, but of feeling terrified to act on anything out of fear of being exiled by the church,” Santana said. “It wasn’t necessarily out of respect for myself but the idea that without my virginity I’m not as appealing.” When internalized attitudes condemn and write off all sexual activity as a “do not enter” zone, those who have had sex outside of marriage, despite the circumstance, are left with a sweeping gray space interspersed with humiliation and guilt. The effects of this humiliation, guilt and shame are not only emotionally present, but psychologically as well. Purity culture has long-lasting and extremely harmful effects on developing minds. Scholar Jane Middelton-Moz writes in her book Shame and Guilt: Masters of Disguise: “Adults shamed as children feel they must do things perfectly or not at all. This internalized belief frequently leads to performance anxiety and procrastination. Adults shamed as children feel that, ‘No matter what I do, it won’t make a difference; I am and always will be worthless and unlovable.’” Junior public relations major Joshua Marsh agrees with Middelton-Moz and believes these messages translate within the church as well. “There are some people that emphasize that [sexual purity] is the most important thing in Christian culture and if you are not pure sexually, then you’re not fit for anything else. You basically ruin any relationship with others or any relationship with God,” said Marsh. Multiple books and studies have been published on syndromes that result from shame. Michael Cleary, professor of public health and social work and department chair at Slippery Rock University, wrote in a 1992 study titled Shame and shame-based syndromes: Implications for health education published in Health Values: The Journal of Health Behavior, Education & Promotion that excessive internalized shame is related to a variety of dysfunctional behaviors and behavioral disorders. Shame is also highly correlated with anger arousal, suspicion, resentment, irritability, blame and hostility, according to a 1992 study done by June P. Tangney and colleagues titled Shamed into anger? The relation of shame and guilt to anger and self-reported aggression published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. This means that people who are more prone to shame (i.e. living within purity culture) will have other negative emotions resulting from that shame. The ramifications of shame within purity culture are different depending on gender. Men are commonly assumed to be sexually-wired beings void of feeling while women are notoriously emotionally-charged, as if the two are mutually exclusive, stated Talbot School of Theology student Sarah Schwartz during a 2014 AfterDark chapel named “Rethinking the Metaphors: Deeper Conversations on Purity.”
“I’m particularly heartbroken for the dark implications of this logic for young men, because from the moment you hit puberty, you are bombarded with these messages of, ‘You are nothing but a slave to your desires,’” Schwartz said.
Elizabeth Hall believes purity has been misconstrued from its original biblical origin towards both men and women. “The way it has been translated into our Christian subculture has unfortunately taken on some of the double standards that we find in culture at large,” said Hall.
Schwartz impassionedly encouraged the rejection of the accustomed “boys will be boys” pretext as a nullifier of honest struggle and invalidator of universal relational needs.
Christian spheres have inordinately marketed purity by instilling the idea that an untainted body is the best gift a woman can offer her husband, and that sex before marriage automatically deems that offering as soiled and of less desirability. Because of this, it is inevitable that women’s bodies are consequently reduced to mere objects to keep clean. This implies that a woman’s value does not lie in her inherent being, but in a strict, unforgiving system that tends to see only black and white.
“Men and women are different, but we’re both human, which means both men and women have a need and a capacity for relationships, community, and emotional health and expression. And both men and women are wired with a desire for sexual intimacy,” said Schwartz. A recent study done by Terri Fisher, associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University, and Michele Alexander, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Maine, published in The Journal of Sex Research showed that women often lie when asked about sexuality to conform to societal norms, even in scientific studies. In Fisher and Alexander’s study, women’s answers on their sexuality and desire for sex were closer to men’s in some areas of sexual behavior when they thought lies could be detected. In general, the researchers found that women who thought their answers might be seen by others tended to give answers that were more socially acceptable than did women who thought they were connected to a lie detector. Men’s answers did not change as much as women’s under different testing conditions. The church perpetuates this by writing off female sexuality as an issue to be suppressed rather than normalized. The prohibitive tactics of discussing sex paint almost an idolatrous view of it, turning purity culture into something not only physically restrictive, but emotionally as well. When Christians begin longing for the human desire for intimacy that the church has craftily rebutted, feelings of dirtiness and confusion arise, often leading to internalized shame. When addressing sexual conduct, psychology professor
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Acknowledging that purity is indeed an important biblically-grounded truth, Hall stated, “I think we do people a disservice when we make [sexuality] exclusively a holiness and purity issue.” Hall defines justice as “giving people what is their due” – which encompasses respect and intrinsic esteem, attributes that are shortchanged when accusatory attitudes replace redemptive responses. Reiterating that the purity approach to sexuality is biblical and not to be lessened, Hall said that like all metaphors, the one regarding purity has disadvantages; its primary downfall being that it paints itself as an all-or-nothing ordeal. “It’s based on what we might call the ‘psychology of disgust’,” stated Hall. Purity on its own, out of the context of sexuality, is connected to ideas of cleanliness, hygiene and health. The purity metaphor, then, when regarded in terms of sexuality, triggers a reaction of initial revulsion towards anything that might contaminate its slate. Though some of these responses of repulsiveness are biological, “the interesting thing about the psychology of disgust is that there are also things we learn to be disgusted by,” said Hall. A study by the National Center for Biotechnology Information on moral emotions and moral behavior
reported that feelings of shame evoke a shrinking sense of worthlessness and links shame to long-term psychological symptoms, such as low self-esteem, depression and anxiety. The study stated that shame
towards holiness, but punctuate that voyage with a gracefilled, communal bearing of one another’s stories. This striving is not as much of a pass or fail test of legalism, but a process of sanctification spurred by a deep love for Christ.
causes people to feel exposed: “Although shame does not necessarily involve an actual observing audience present to witness one’s shortcomings, there is often the imagery of how one’s defective self would appear to others.”
“Regard sexual intimacy as something to be shared in a covenant relationship of marriage, but don’t do it because you’re terrified of becoming damaged goods,” Schwartz said. “Do it out of love for Christ and so that the Spirit can have his way in your heart and produce everything you need in you for life and for godliness.”
With this impression of unwarranted exposure, the typical response is to recede into hiding and isolation. The phenomenon of shame plays into a lower view of self in relation to others, perpetuating a disconnect between people and a full knowledge and understanding of God’s grace, the kind that covers every sin - sexual or otherwise. Intimacy and approachability becomes skewed when shame seeps into the spaces left unhealed. How, then, should the church respond? How can the approach to sexual sin be redeemed so that it is instead rooted from a place unbridled by motivations of guilt? One corrective, Hall says, is “to not ditch the purity culture, it’s to make sure it’s not the only metaphor we’re using or the only way we’re addressing sexuality.” The church must understand the biblical call to strive
Editor: Grace Hansen Photographer: Kayla McCabe Designer: Allie Orth Grace Hansen, Morgan Mitchell and Angelene Wong helped in the reporting of this story.
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