Spring Break
Preaching to a campus full of questions
Rev. Shawn David Holes of New York preached the 'power of Christ' for over four hours on campus yesterday
Candice Ruud
Issue date: 12/2/08 Section: News
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Holes brought along his wife and seven children who sat nearby with bags of McDonald's, watching as he gave his informal sermon and was rebutted publicly by several students and members of the community.
"Who are you to judge us based on your beliefs in a country that is free?" shouted one woman.
According to a few students, who stayed from the beginning of the sermon, Holes' church has given him a motor home to enable him to travel the country and preach the word of God.
Throughout the session, much of the crowd became upset and even outraged, shouting out contradictions and challenging the reverend. Those who may have been in favor of the sermon remained mostly quiet and reserved and did not make their voices heard, though many showed support for the man's courage.
"I think he's a part of the corporate Christianity," said Brandon Smith, a senior in math.
"That's not good. I have a faith, but it's not this. This is not how you get to know God."
Smith grew up with an evangelical Christian background, attended a youth group weekly and was raised by Christian parents. He said that the thing that turned him away from being a devout Christian was meeting his girlfriend, who, in his words, "is one of the best and most giving people I have ever met," but is not a Christian.
Smith confessed to a period of agnostic feelings and ambiguity towards religion, but said that he has now made his peace with God and his relationship with religion.
"God is something personal, and you can't put that into a specific box," Smith said. "It's sad when you need religion to have morals."
Erica Curry, a sophomore in biology with a minor in writing, said that Holes was a fish out of water on what she believed to be OSU's fairly liberal college campus.
Note: writers will not reply to comments.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 4
hollyplace
Renee
posted 12/03/08 @ 4:32 PM PST
For a campus that is supposedly "tolerant" and "open-minded" many sure seem to be intolerant of one person's opinions - especially if the opinion differs from their own. (Continued…)
talkSOFT
Kyle
posted 12/05/08 @ 11:41 PM PST
If you looked at the reply to Renee's post, you'll see that I just posted this comment. But I did not want this comment to be hidden (because I'm interested to see how people respond) so I'm re-posting it as a general comment. (Continued…)
wayne
posted 12/30/08 @ 5:14 PM PST
well, it has been written in the past that "youth is wasted by the young". Not sure about that but I have come to realize that some of my "youthful" thoughts and ideals have evolved over the years, and quite sure will continue to do so as each year passes by. (Continued…)
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