Jews for Jesus deserves respect like other groups
While sitting at the Jews for Jesus table, I had many students come up to tell me that what I was doing offended them. As one student pointed out, what I believe denies who she is. However, they are not concerned in the least that they are denying who I am. Yoni Cohen emphatically stated in his column, “You cannot be a Jew and believe that Jesus was the Messiah any more than you can be a vegetarian and regularly eat meat.” I disagree. I am Jewish and I believe Jesus is the Messiah. I do not stop being Jewish just because I follow a Jewish man who claims to be the fulfillment of Jewish messianic prophesies. When people make such blanket statements they are denying my identity, which is offensive to me.
However, I am not using this letter to evoke sympathy or cry injustice. I merely want people to discuss what they believe without having to insult the other viewpoint. If we disagree, that is fine, but let’s disagree about the issues. Is Jesus the Messiah or not? I believe that Jesus was sent by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Our sin separates us from God because He is holy and cannot be in the presence of sin. God requires that sacrifice so that our sins can be forgiven, washed away. By trusting in Jesus we can be reconciled with God and be with Him forever.
I will be the first to acknowledge that it is everyone’s right to decide what they believe. However, I do not see how sharing with others what God has revealed to me denies them that right to make their own decision. You can accept or reject the message of Jesus; it’s up to you. But let’s keep it to the issues instead of making personal attacks.
Jonathan Buchanan
Class of 2002
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Clarifying U College enrollment
To the editor:
Thanks for your Sept. 27 report on the recently enhanced tuition benefits for university employees and the related increase in University College enrollments. May I offer a couple of clarifications? Percentage gains were highest in the humanities overall but student interest was strong across the board: english composition has the largest number of new enrollments; math and anthropology were the next highest. Second, the enhanced benefit has been granted to employees not by University College but by the university as a whole, as part of the faculty/staff benefits package managed through Human Resources.
Dean Bob Wiltenburg
University College
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Response to “Friendly Fire”
On the topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I, a Jew, can see both sides. Israel has made mistakes in some of its aggressive attacks and equally aggressive settlement policies. The Palestinians, though understandablely frustrated, are fighting a morally repugnant terror campaign (I don’t think five-year-old children deserves to be murdered over their country’s military activity). Also, as an American, I kind of feel, in regards to Israel, that “ye among you without sin, cast the first stone.”
Regardless of my relatively moderate views, I find statements in Fak’s column extremely offensive. When talking about Jews who support Israel’s actions Fak writes, “This Judaism measures the gravity of any catastrophe by the number of Jewish last names on the list of casualties (and puzzles over ambiguities like Miller or Rose).” I am not sure how Fak can generalize like that or accuse people of being so unfeeling. Israel has mourned the death of Israel-Arabs, its own citizens killed in terrorist attacks. Israel was the first country to offer its condolences and unconditional aid to the United States on September 11. Let us remember, not only Jews were killed in the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Also, I doubt any American Jew who supports Sharon’s policy only cares about other Jews. In addition, Fak neglects to remember that there are also non-Jews who support Sharon’s policies, in Israel and abroad. The issue is not as clear-cut as it seems.
Also, I was offended by the statement about Jewish youth groups, “and has set up youth groups for the purpose, as some students have gleaned, of having young Jews date each other and not goyim (gentiles).” Excuse me? I believe Jewish youth groups are quite similar to Christian youth groups; groups were members of the same religion can do social, religious based activities together. If members date each other fine, they have something in common, it happens. Sometimes it is encouraged by parents, but is it so wrong to encourage your child to date people of the same values and interests of yourself? Should all special groups be chalked up as bigoted?
In short, Fak is right, “one need not be an anti-Semite to be concerned over Israel’s actions in Palestine,” however one would be deemed prejudice by making a broad, biased generalization over an entire group of people and ascribing them maniacal motives one cannot prove.
Hannah Grossman
Arts and Sciences
Class of 2003
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Ethics code does not censor
Last Tuesday’s Student Life staff editorial (“Religious Groups Should Not Censor Selves”) made two assertions about the Interfaith Campus Ministers Association concerning our recently revised code of ethics-that it constituted censorship and that members signed despite the fact they did not believe in it. Neither is true.
As the opposing column correctly stated, the voluntary code of ethics is not censorship. Rather, it is an exercise of free speech and religious freedom itself-a group of people who believe that all human beings are children of God and should be treated with the utmost love and care choosing freely to commit to act according to that belief.
All who signed the code did so voluntarily and because they believed in the principles behind it. To assert that some signers didn’t believe in it deeply disturbs and saddens us as it impugns our integrity and, by association, the integrity of all the faithful people who care for the spiritual lives of those at this university.
We regret that Student Life chose to print this editorial without first coming to us as an organization and getting the full story behind the code of ethics and the nature of our relationship as interfaith campus ministers. We would like to invite representatives of Student Life to come to a future meeting of the Interfaith Campus Ministers’ Association to see firsthand who we are and what we are about and so we can have an open dialogue about any issues that concern us.
Rev. Mike Kinman, Episcopal Campus Ministry
Sarah Stanage, Episcopal Campus Ministry
Rabbi Hyim Shafner, Hillel
Rev. John Lottes, Lutheran Campus Ministry
Amy Thoren, Lutheran Campus Ministry
Roger Jesperson, Wesley Fellowship
Leslie Limbaugh, Baptist Student Union
Sr. Linda Straub, Catholic Student Center