As I approached the commons area last Tuesday, I saw people congregating and heard the strong voice of one man rising above the noise. My heart immediately sank. He’s back.
My mind flashed back to Jan. 2007, when a man stood on the commons wearing a large sign and condemning the entire student body to Hell. Some students had been angered, others annoyed, but most just seemed to be enjoying the show.
It turns out that this time around the man was different, the message the same. Repent, SINNERS! You’re going to hell! Pot smokers! Fornicators! Don’t look at that hussy slut, look at me, sinner!
What an amazing contrast to the words and preaching style of Jesus, who this man purports to follow! John 3:16 is oft-quoted, but John 3:17 may be even more pertinent, where Jesus said, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Was “Brother” Micah Armstrong right to say that all of us sin? Of course. But while he harped on this truth, he failed to mention the very core of Jesus’ message: forgiveness and grace.
Jesus and Armstrong agree that we all need a savior, that we can all change for the better. But while Armstrong would have us fall on our faces in shame and try to change ourselves, Jesus would have us fall into his arms of love and allow ourselves to be changed by him. What a difference, and what a relief!
first person account by Stephen Hunt,
senior English major
in collaboration with Sarah DiDomenico,
junior kinesiology major
student leaders with Campus Crusade for Christ
