- February 19th, 2007, 11:15 am
#61734
A writer for the Champion got his article stripped out of the paper because people in high places didn't like it. Here is the article, and after that is the explanation that the writer gives for why it was censored.
They'll Know Us By The T-shirts We Wear
As children, we are conditioned to live by means of Pavlovian responses. Modern psychology espouses ideas about rewarding “good” behavior with positive reinforcement and “bad” behavior with a slap on the wrist — or worse. What does that do? It causes people to live in fear and pushes them into the closet, stripping them of their humanity.
If to err is human, then why do we ostracize those who do? As bearers of God’s image, we are called to be “the salt of the earth.” We are to behave as salt — not in the way a gardener kills a slug, but in an enriching manner, as salt would with food.
It seems to me that a lot of the time we try to be “the sugar of the earth,” presenting things in cute little spoons to make the medicine go down easier. But the sugar has been replacing the medicine for years. Some churches are “dumbing-down” the gospel message in order to get a larger head count, we turn divine Scripture into multi-colored bumper stickers and call it evangelism, and we market music in such a way that it will give teenagers “Christian” alternatives to their favorite bands.
We need to, however, use positive reinforcement, and do so when people lay out their struggles for everyone to see. Be salt, not sugar. Salt will encourage other believers and give hope to the lost. Sugar will engorge the already saved and/or give them a little rush — the sensation of being “on fire” only lasts so long, and you end up feeling more weary than before.
This is why, when we are presented with the idea of wearing white T-shirts, on Valentine’s Day, which has been given an alias the Day of Purity, I tend to get a little nervous. As stated on www.lc.org/dayofpurity.htm, the reason for wearing white on Feb. 14 is to “stand up for sexual purity,” and I have concerns with purity being epitomized by our clothing.
As far as I know, odious coalitions of people who meet in low-lit office buildings, clad in black T-shirts, whose primary endeavor in life is plotting purity’s demise have yet to be found. There very well may be, however, individuals wearing green, sharing a pot of coffee and discussing what they think it means to love or be loved. These people do not have a vendetta against purity. They may be confused over what it means to show love, but they are not in a position of direct opposition that would warrant an “us vs. them” mentality.
Jesus died for them too. We have those WWJD bracelets that are supposed to give us “Jesus powers.” Should we not behave towards non-Christians in the same way he would? If he had owned a house, He would have invited them over for dinner, or even simply said a few loving words.
Instead of pointing a heavy finger at people who have been seduced by Lucifer’s deceitful promises, we should show them how we care. Doing otherwise divides — it does not save.
In Luke 19:10 (NASB), Jesus says that he came “ to seek and to save what was lost.” Therefore, as His disciples, why are we seeing that which is lost and run in the opposite direction?
Wearing a T-shirt as “a public demonstration of (a) commitment to remain sexually pure” isn’t inherently bad, but there are better ways to go about presenting things. Many times, it is just another brick in the dividing wall. It is not, as the Web site claims, a way to “be a part of the ‘counter-culture.’” If anything, it separates us further into our subculture. Because where a counter-culture would be actively engaging in the culture, a subculture is off to the side doing its own thing.
And in our attempt to “stand up” for purity, it is too easy that it can become a competition — a way to stand taller than one other. We must fight against these prideful tenancies. We already tried it with platform shoes, but now we are on stilts, just waiting for them to be kicked out from underneath us.
By no means am I saying that endeavors in favor of chastity are bad. However, our “public demonstration” to sexual purity should not be noticed solely because we are all wearing the same shirt. Live in such a way that displays your allegiance to King Jesus. Love and have compassion for those who have issues with sexual purity so much so that they ask “Why?”
Actively engage with those around you. It’s not that “I have already obtained these things,” in fact I am among the worse when it comes to failing with my heart, attitude and actions.
But let’s stop finding more ways to disassociate ourselves and ignore the lost and start taking deliberate steps towards mending lives and replenishing souls.
A day of purity? How about a life of obedience?
I would really like to thank everyone who has taken time to read what I have to say and left comments for me. Thankfully, I received a few messages on Facebook that qued me in on my failure to provide context for readers who are not familiar with everything that goes on Liberty, or maybe have never even heard of the school.
The newspaper I work for is The Liberty Champion, a "student-led" newspaper that serves the Liberty University family. I am the editor for the Life! section (features) and at the beginning of the fall semester, I was told that I could have a column that addressed things of my choice. The title of the column is "Thoughts Outside the Bubble," and it generally appears every-other issue in the Champion.
I wrote my most recent article this past Sunday night. On Monday morning, I arrived at the school to be verbally assaulted by someone involved with the paper who is not a student. This person claimed that I was being "judgmental and preachy," and told me that my column could not be included in my page layout. Biting the bullet, I made a few corrections and changed some sentence structure, and eventually got this person to agree to my article being published. But the fun didn't stop there.
Soon after, my editor in chief received an email from the university's Vice President, who stated that in no way would my article be approved for inclusion.
Upon hearing this, I called her office and I was told that the article is "contrary to a university sponsored event." My response was that it is not necessarily in opposition of the event, but an exhortation to take this "stand for purity" a bit further. Obedience should not begin or end with a T-shirt.
The VP sent me to Liberty's Campus Pastor's Office to get an approval from them. If they thought it was safe, then she might reconsider. Without hesitation, I jumped in my van and drove to the other side of campus, with a freshly-printed version of my column in hand. I handed it to one of the pastors and drove back to my office to wait for a reply.
About an hour later, the phone rang and I was again instructed not to publish my piece. The next morning, the campus pastor and I met and conversed for a half-hour about why the decision was made to not print my work. The reasoning, for the most part, dealt with the belief that what I wrote holds the potential for dividing the student body and the The Liberty Champion isn't the proper forum for "internally-controversial" materials.
Well, if anyone else has more question in regards to what I've been writing, feel free to shoot me more questions. Thanks again for reading.
- By ECC29
- By Purple Haize