Campus Freethought Alliance

When I first thought of that word, I thought it could mean only two things:
1. Evangelism with a katana
2. Evangelism when you least expect it

To date, I have seen no examples of the former, but I have seen many examples of the latter. One prime example is Scientology's "free stress test," which uses a process almost like cold reading to make people curious about Scientology. (For a more complete explanation of the stress test and what follows, check out this report by Channel 5 in my home town, Cincinnati.)

Another example just occurred on campus, and was reported by Dan S. An event called "Jesus Among Other Gods" had been advertised all over campus for about a week, and the only thing that could identify a sponsoring organization was the mysterious, nonsensical three-letter word "Cru." Some quick web searching told me that Cru is actually Campus Crusade for Christ.

I wasn't able to attend the event, but according to his recap and commentary about it, it wasn't too preachy. However, it did portray Jesus in a decidedly better light...at least, it tried to. Dan had a different response, which I agree with. I recommend reading it for yourself.

This is the second time this year that I have been aware of Campus Crusade putting on an event and not admitting who is behind it at a glance. The first time was a Valentine's Day event, which was supposed to be a "discussion about love and relationships." I was approached by a friendly young gentleman who gave me no more information than that until I asked him what group he was with. The card he handed me had nothing but the time and location of the event.

Why do some religious groups think they need to take you by surprise? If they hold the key to ultimate truth, why do they need to neglect the truth in order to give it to you? If Jesus or Scientology really is the key to salvation or happiness, shouldn't it be obvious? Truth has nothing to fear from investigation, and if someone honestly seeks to learn the truth, then he or she should be able to arrive at it using freely available information.

Fortunately, not all religious groups act in this way. One example is InterVarsity here at Case. If IV is putting on an event, you know who is behind it. Although they are misled in my opinion, they also appear to ultimately seek truth.

Another example is the church I used to go to in Cincinnati. (May it never be said that I left Christianity due to bad experiences or a dislike of its followers.) The members go out into the community every week or so and hand things out, or do charity-like things, but they don't preach at people. They're just generally nice and thoughtful, and make sure people know where they came from. It's been working. They added another service a few weeks ago to accommodate all the new people.

The tactic used by my old church can work for anyone, including atheist groups. If every religious or nonreligious group used it, the world would be a better place. Instead of giant money-wasting organizations like Campus Crusade, we would spend our weekends helping each other and being positive to help a cause that we believed in.

(I'm running for Secretary. More on that later.)
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