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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (April 10, 1992)
Friday, April 15 Opinion 10, 1992 The Battalion Page 7 The Battalion Editorial Board DOUGLAS PILS, Editor-in-Chief The Battalion BRIDGET HARROW, Managing Editor BRIAN BONEY, Opinion Editor JASON MORRIS, Night News Editor MORGAN JUDAY, Night News Editor MACK HARRISON, City Editor KARL STOLLEIS, Photo Editor SCOTT WUDEL, Sports Editor ROB NEWBERRY. Lifestyles Editor Collie White ibetrotters schedi rigorous than schedule, but!;; betrotters adapttj hrist's message ,'e to watch whil ^pTayS Christian's don’t always follow the Lord ) l/2 months wl es, v-go-luckydotJ oick up theCcliii »ht when theyl opponents then als. UgUSt ;allery streai pines and ove as he poundei chose only victo 'uring career cr: |\ national chs l-under parwte elevated tee or nd pulled outh good shot, lea way. But ould go in," Iks ace in pro com ut 20 feet bele»: e ridge, ran up: n ana went ini lutnan said. ‘d the ball, to: enderedittoa? lery - his motk 'I want it. Civet me now,'" Sim rally inning ^erM (AP) - Casj ed home the wj a'o outs in the lij douston Astros, j ■ four runs ini 1 eat the Cincin day night, ecame the lastti am to wint -1 in their sease e homestand. ill, making hisi] uston to fivei j innings and j hie struck out se one. aiti's three-n i Charlton's fi ir-run burst in| ie game into e*l aed the 13th"j first pitch hi L) andwasssl / Chris Jones. ! | osee walked t Fouled out,0| ingle toi aminiti beatt| v home. I pitched the 1| O ne of my buddies is fond of saying, "Experience Christ, not Christianity." I never really considered what that meant to me until recently. Now don't get me wrong. I'm very content with Christianity. But it's often the people who call themselves Christians and what society has done to Christ and Christianity with which I have a problem. The "Christians" to whom I refer are those who use the Lord and Savior as a way to make money. They really could not care less about who he is or if Michael Sullivan anyone else does either. They just want to see their profits grow. After all, religion is big business. Another group of "Christians" that get me riled are those who use Jesus to intimidate others. Christ never stood on a street corner and pointed his finger yelling, "You will burn in hell unless ..." Jesus is not judgmental. To him, everyone is the same. We are loved the same and wanted the same. He has offered his hand out to us, it is just a matter of taking it. When I see either one of the two kinds of "Christians" mentioned above, I remember a story I heard about Mohandas Gandhi. At one point in his life, he became interested in Christianity. He read the New Testament and other Christian writings. He was very influenced by what he read and one day decided to visit a Christian church while in South Africa. However, when he tried to go in, the church members would not let him enter because of his race and religion. He lost his interest in Christianity, saying something to the effect of "I like the man you call Christ and what he said. I may have even become a Christian, if it were not for the Christians I met." And so it is with many. Are you one of those people who has been turned off Christ and Christianity by Christians? I urge you to try again. Look around your dorm, fraternity, outfit, sorority, apartment or work, I guarantee someone you consider a friend is a Christian. They can point you in the right direction, if nothing else. If you can't find someone in your current group, give me a call. I see a big problem that has developed in Christianity, and that is our culture at large. Too many Christians and non-Christians see the focus of Christianity as being that day in December. In our society, Christmas has become what everyone associates with Christianity and Jesus. We make a big deal about celebrating the "birth of Jesus" (even though he was really born sometime in August). We give students anywhere from a week to a month off from school, the government shuts down, television specials run rampant and retail stores plan their year around it. Christmas is big business (see above). But Christmas is not important to Christianity. The birth of Jesus was a miraculous event. It heralded the coming of the King. But that is not what Christianity is about. Take a quick look at the Bible. Very little of the New Testament is spent talking about Jesus' birth. In the letter's of Paul and the other epistles, barely a mention is made of Jesus' birth. What then, you may ask, is written about? What is important to being Christian? In short, the focus of Christianity is the time of year we are entering, Easter. You see the birth of Jesus, as I mentioned, was miraculous and important. But big deal. His birth was important only in that it proved who he was and is. His teachings are important because they show us how to live our lives. But his birth and teachings, they are meaningless. Meaningless, that is, until they are put in perspective with who Jesus of Nazareth was and is. Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and the Son of Man. He was crucified, died, buried and then resurrected. He is the Christ, the Messiah. He is the only way to gain salvation from sin and achieve eternal life. He conquered death for us. He wiped away our sin with his own blood. Being a good person and living a moral life is nice, but it does not count. Belief in Jesus as the Messiah is the only thing that counts. "For God so loved the world he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him will have life everlasting," goes the passage from the Book of John. TTiat is the focus of Christianity, that is who Jesus Christ is. Whether you are a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, a Hindu, an atheist or you just don't know, I ask you to consider what I have said seriously. I ask you to reexamine the case for Jesus. I ask that you put behind you everything you have been taught or seen or heard or experienced in regards to Jesus Christ. I ask you to forget about the Christians you have known. I ask, in these weeks before Easter, that you try to know and experience Jesus Christ. He won't let you down, even if "Christians" have. Sullivan is a senior English major a e-B a e a a IDT is a meting = Frida^l -1515] WOMEN’S SMOKING MASgU-IES <S>W2 THE FBCOfV NEvAJ Jgfi/bEM Test question wasn't racist On March 27, a letter from a student in my Management 211 class (The Legal Environment of Business) appeared in Mail Call, alleging that a question on my second exam was racist. Because I am concerned about the student's misunderstanding of the question, and because I want to clarify what the importance of the question is to a student's understanding of the discrimination law, I am writing this response. The question involves a statement made by a white male manager to a black female employee in which the white male manager refers to the employee as a "black bitch" while terminating her in a manner that the question suggests is inappropriate. Yes, the statement by the manager is offensive and based on stereotypes of behaving in an unlawful, discriminatory manner. Students were supposed to have learned that the use of offensive stereotypes directed at racial or other protected groups can be illegal in the work environment. Whatever the manager said to the woman had to make the entire scenario clearly illegal. If the manager had said something less offensive and based on identifiable stereotypes to make the entire scenario clearly illegal, or if the manager had said something less offensive, there would have been less of a chance that he had illegally discriminated against her. There is simply no polite way for this type of illegal discrimination to occur. Unfortunately, the situation depicted in the test question occurs in many actual discrimination cases. In order to teach students about discrimination law and to help them to know the law, it is important for the professor to be able to create or use realistic situations and to have students identify whether discrimination law applies. The very point of this particular question was for the student to recognize that the combination of circumstances and language surrounding the discharge was potentially racially discriminatory in a way that the law would recognize — i.e., the conduct was not only racist; it was also illegal. I, too, am saddened that the circumstances described in the test question can and do arise in the workplace. In my research on discrimination, I am repeatedly horrified and offended at the groups, women and disabled employees among others, who fall victim. In my capacity as a professor of discrimination law, however, it is my obligation both to make students aware of the racism, sexism, and other malicious and subtle forms of intolerance that can exist in the workplace and to help students understand the extent to which the law can help individuals to redress these situations. Consequently, exam questions must deal with a variety of realistic situations that are often uncomfortable for many students. Other questions on the same exam dealt with scenarios involving sexual harassment, religious practice accommodation, etc. I play an active role in working to attain a campus free from racism by helping all students in Management 211 (and in my Employment Discrimination Law course) to become more aware of the prevalence of racial slurs and stereotypes and to understand the legal ramifications associated with their use in the work environment. Dr Ramona L. Paetzold, J.D. Assistant Professor of Management Return signs to Hobby Hall Hobby Hall, in their attempt to save their lawn, recently made two wonderful stop signs. These signs were placed on the ugly path which cuts our lawn into two unequal halves. The purpose of the signs was to encourage fellow Aggies and visitors to use the sidewalks provided. When the signs were placed in the pathway on the evening of the 24th, one was stolen. I hate to use the word stolen, Ags, but that's the only word for it. Perhaps it was a joke. If someone knows who took it, please encourage them to return it to Hobby hall. No questions will be asked, but I hope whoever did it has a guilty conscience. We are only trying to improve the outlook of the campus. Meredith Gillum Class of'93 accompanied by three other signatures Bible stands against gays God "does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man that he should change his mind" (1 Sam 15 : 29). "I the Lord do not change" (Malachi 3 : 6). And, again, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13 : 8). It would be impossible for Jesus to disagree with the father or his laws. Jesus said about the biblical law, "Do not think that I have come to abolish them. I tell the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stoke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the law" (Matthew 5 : 18-20). The bible states that homosexuality is an abomination (Duet 18 : 22). "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable, they must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads" (Leviticus 20 : 13). Romans 1 : 29 says about homosexuality, "We know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death." This isn't popular, but it's bible. Nothing turns my stomach more than a hypocrite who proclaims to believe the bible preaching of what the bible condemns."Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral . . . nor homosexual offenders . . . will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6 : 9-10). "Sodom and Gomorrah . . . gave themselves up to sexual immortality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire" (Jude 7). Jesus talked about the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah (Luke 17 : 26- 28). He said to the adulterous women "go and sin no more." He does not accept sin nor excuse it but, he forgives it. But you must repent and turn from it (1 John 1 : 9). Unless they repent, homosexuals will go to hell (Rev 21 : 8). The Bible says that Satan's "servants masquerade as servants of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11 : 13). Just because someone calls himself a "Christian" does not mean he is one. Jesus said you know a tree by it's fruit. The fruit of a Christian isn't going to be making an abomination acceptable in the church. Christians won't openly defy the Bible. Jesus commanded us to "walk in love." Second John six says "this is love, that we walk in obedience to his commands." Homosexuality has always been an abomination to him and always will be. We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3 : 23). But, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6 : 23). I don't believe in harassing homosexuals. However, God cannot lie and doesn't change. We can't rewrite the Bible or comprise the truth. These preachers are hypocrites.'" Dale Legar Class of '92 Gays, lesbians have it right I can't believe some "people" here at A&M. Rob Sherrard, you have a problem. You say that people who are homosexual have a problem. You're definitely right - they have to deal with jerks like you. You say that gays and lesbians are not normal, but what is "normal?" As far as I can tell, "normal" is that which comes naturally to a person. And if that means a man loves another man, or a woman loves another woman, then that's normal for them. How many times have you griped to your buddies, "I just don't understand women!" And how many women have lamented, "Men equate romance with sex!" Women know what they like, and men know how men think, so it seems to me that gays and lesbians have it right. We heterosexuals are the ones who are confused! If you need to hate someone, hate people who are cruel, dishonest or criminal, not those people who don't share your lifestyle. Get out of your cave Sherrard! The Neanderthal days are gone! Kris Baldwin Class of'95 Have an opinion? Express it! The Battalion is interested in hearing from its readers. All letters are welcome. Letters must be signed and must include classification, address and a daytime phone number for verification purposes. They should be 250 words or less. Anonymous letters will not be published. The Battalion reserves the right to edit all letters for length, style and accuracy. There is no guarantee the letters will appear. Letters may be brought to 013 Reed McDonald, sent to Campus Mail Stop 1111 or can be faxed to 845-2647.