Vol. XLVI — No. 1 2 Bethe l College, St. Paul, Minnesota
Board of Regents o discuss Bethel's
financial future
New Clarion staff will
be headed by Bob Miko
by Sharon
Bethel's financial condition, tui-tion
raises and campus relocation
were the three major topics of
discussion at the Board of Re-gents
meeting held last week in
Chicago.
It was reported to the board by
Burton Wessman, Vice President
of Business Affairs, that at the
current rate of expenditures over
income, Bethel can expect a deficit
of 30 thousand dollars at the end
of the 1970-71 school year.
While the seriousness of this
problem is not to be overlooked,
many of the board members noted
that there has never been a point
in Bethel's history when the school
has been absolutely sure of meet-in
its yearly budget. Also, the ma-jority
of colleges in the U. S. are
facing similar problems. President
Lundquist stated, "During my past
17 years at Bethel, the Lord has
blessed our school in many won-derful
and unexpected ways. I do
not doubt that He has sources we
aren't even aware of."
But what is the Board of Re-gents
suggesting to meet our
needs right now, with what God
has given us at this time? Specif-ically,
the board is now working
with these possibilities: 1) re-rais-ing
the issue of federal aid for
Bethel to the Conference; 2) broad-ening
Bethel's financial base by
extending it to other denomina-tions;
3) securing donations from
national foundations; 4) setting up
separate operations to run a profit-making
business for Bethel.
Harvey De Vries, Vice President
of Public Affairs, is also involved
in an all out campaign to offset
our deficit with more and greater
gifts from "friends of Bethel."
The board requested the admin-istration
to hold any increased
charges next year to no more than
the cost of living increase (which
is approximately 5%). When asked
the reasons behind this tuition in-crease,
President Lundquist stated,
"The board's decision was made in
order to meet the ever rising cost
of living and operating expenses
of Bethel. As one example, some
Joy Walters, "Greater Love"
cast member.
"Greater Love" is here. The
premiere performance at Bethel
Seminary Chapel is Friday night
at 8:00. The original drama was
taken from the best selling novel,
Tell No Man by Adela Rogers.
Swanson
of this money will go to essential
faculty salary increases." The
president went on to explain that
our faculty salaries do not yet
come up to the median salary of
all American private colleges un-der
5,000 students. Reaching this
median is a goal of the board.
In response to the faculty re-quest
to move part of the campus
to Arden Hills by 1972, the board
made this statement: "Resulting
from various studies, it is appar-ent
that there is insufficient evi-dence
of resource availability for
relocation of Bethel's campus at
this time. The relocation endeavor
will be deferred until sufficient
funds are available. These funds
are not in sight for this year."
In the meantime, the board has
commissioned the executive com-mittee:
1) to develop a stronger fi-nancial
base for annual and capital
funds for Bethel; 2) to find ways
of providing additional space here
on the old campus during the
transition time. Possibilities sug-gested
were a new building, re-modeling
of the old buildings, or
leasing near-by buildings (such as
the Conference headquarters buil-ding
on Pascal St.) 3) to explore
the possible use of other Twin
Cities colleges, church or civic fa-cilities.
4) To investigate the feas-ibility
of modifying the proposed
structure of the New Campus to
retain its educational advantages
at a lower cost.
The importance of student in-volvement
in Bethel's current
problems was stressed by Presi-dent
Lundquist and by student
body president and vice president
Elden Elseth and Hugh McLeod.
All three agreed that sincere and
consistent calling upon the Lord is
necessary to Bethel's future. Both
Elden and Hugh urge students to
bring these problems up before
their home churches during Christ-mas
vacation. "A good idea," sug-gested
High, "is to check to see
if Bethel is even on your church
budget. We each have a real re-sponsibility
to bring Bethel's needs
before the people who support our
school."
Greater Love is a combination of
religious drama and contempor-ary
music that promises a night of
entertainment and spiritual en-lightenment.
According to the play's author-director
and former Bethel stu-dent,
Steven Pederson, "the show
is going great and the cast is really
anxious for opening on Friday
night. Everyone is really working
hard to communicate the message
this play has to offer." It is Ped-erson's
goal to show the power of
sincere religious drama combined
with good music.
Tickets for the four perform-ances
are available from cast mem-bers
and at the door for all per-formances.
Shows will be present-ed
on December 11 and 12 at 8:00
and on December 13 at 7:00 and
9:00 in the new Seminary Chapel
on the Arden Hills Campus. Groups
and theater parties are welcome.
Don't miss this one—take a study
break and come—it's great!
The old year is passing, the new
year will soon be here—in more
ways than one. This issue of the
Clarion is the last for editor Pat
Faxon, copy editor Marjorie Rus-che,
and production editor Jack
Priggen. The new staff will begin
their term during interim in Janu-ary.
Filling the editorial positions
will be Bob Miko as editor in chief,
Toni Magnuson as copy editor and
Sharon Watson as production edi-tor.
They were appointed by the
student senate at the December 6
meeting after being interviewed
and re c e i vi ng recommendation
from the Communications Board.
Bob Miko, a freshman this year,
came to Bethel from California. He
has been in the service, served in
Vietnam and for about a year be-fore
coming to Bethel worked in
a Christian - orientated "under-ground
newspaper" in Berkeley,
California. Bob has served on the
Bob Miko, new Clarion editor
Clarion staff this past semester as
photo editor.
Both Sharon and Toni are soph-omores
this year and have written
for and worked on the Clarion
staff in various capacities for the
past year and one-half.
'Greater Love' will be
weekend performance
Urbana poses unique
opportunity for student
by Toni Magnuson
World Evangelism: Why? How? Who? is the theme of Urbana '70,
the ninth inter-varsity missionary convention held at the University of
Illinois, Urbana, Ill., December 27-31.
"Urbana '70 will be a unique opportunity for students to consider
their commitment to Jesus Christ," said Paul E. Little, Urbana '70 di-rector,
"and what this may mean in practical terms for world evangel-ism
in the last third of the twentieth century."
The accent of the convention will be on realism in light of the cir-cumstances
in the 1970s. According to preliminary information, "the
program will blend unchanging biblical principles and the need for
commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord with the practical circumstances
and problems to be faced in working out that commitment in today's
world."
Issues such as: social action and world evangelism, race and world
evangelism, revolution and world evangelism, Is man really lost? How
do you know if you are called? Does the national church really want
us to come, or would we be better off staying home? will be part of the
five-day convention designed for both intellectual and spiritual stimu-lation.
The program at Urbana may be largely scheduled by the individual.
Large sessions will be held each morning and evening in the assembly
hall, with afternoons left open for personal conversation and inter-action
with missionary personnel from all over the world. Informal dis-cussions
addressing students questions will be periodically held by mis-sion
boards.
Each morning, The Rev. John Stott of All Souls Church, London,
England, will lead the Scripture exposition series. Dr. Leighton Ford
will give the keynote address: "Is Man Really Lost?"
Other program personnel include such individuals as: Dr. Myron
S. Augsburg, President, Eastern Mennonite College and Seminary, and
cited by TIME magazine as one of the ten most influential "preachers
of the active gospel" in America; Dr. Samuel Escobar, editor of CERTEZA
and all Spanish publishing for the International Fellowship of Evangel-ical
Students, Argentina; Dr. Leighton Ford of the Billy Graham Evan-elistic
Association; The Rev. Byang Kato, Kagoro, Nigeria; Paul E. Little;
The Rev. Tom Skinner, author of Black and Free; The Rev. Bill Yoder,
Overseas Director, Youth for Christ International, and many more.
Following the speakers each morning, a panel of students will
question the speakers in an unrehearsed way. Speakers will also be av-ailable
in the late afternoon for further conversation and discussion.
Those attending the convention will be able to participate in three
elective seminars on a wide range of more than 40 subjects ranging
from "university teaching overseas" to "church growth principles" to
"racial issues and world mission." Resource people from all over the
world will be available for personal interaction on these and other
matters.
The backbone of the convention, directors say, are the small groups.
Groups of ten will meet in the residences each morning for Bible study
and each evening for prayer and fellowship. As the information brochure
states, "This has been the most meaninful part of Urbana for many
people, enabling them to become intimately acquainted with a few stu-dents
from all over the country."
All college students, nursing school students, high school seniors,
those associated with the academic world, missionaries and pastors are
eligible to attend Urbana '70.
Total cost of the convention is $55 including the $20 registra-tion
fee. Students planning to attend Urbana '70 should mail their reg-istration
fee and card by December 15 in order to receive the pre-conven-tion
study book, Student Power and World Evangelism by David Howard,
director of missions, Inter-varsity Christian Fellowship.
Scholarship help is available for room, board and travel. Students
should apply through ICF, NCF, and SFMF staff members or write to
the Urbana '70 Coordinator. It might also be possible to get financial
'elp through your home church.
page 2 the CLARION Friday, December 11, 1970
What does Christianity mean to the Clarion editors?
Pat's view
by Pat Faxon
This being my last chance to write as editor of the Clarion and also
the Christmas season, I am going to (as you would say, give my "person-al
testimony") try to explain what being a Christian means to me.
It's something that's hard for me to do because I'm still in the
process of putting it into words for myself, and some times the more I
think about what being a Christian in today's world means, the less I
understand it. To me, at least right now, Christianity is more something
that I am by instinct than anything specific that I believe, or think about,
or plan for.
Instinct is probably the key word, though it wasn't always. I have
been a Christian in the traditional sense of the word since I went for-ward
in a revival tent meeting when I was seven. Although I understood
pretty much my main reason for doing what I did was that the man in
front said that this was their last meeting and there might never be
another chance.
The first 12 years of my life as a Christian were miserable. Because
I had become a Christian out of fear, I continued to live in fear—that
I would displease Him, or not live up to what was expected of me. As
far as anyone could see, I was a model Christian. My pastor even once
set me up as an example for his own daughter. I was not happy, but it
never really occurred to me that this might not be how the Christian
life was supposed to be.
I can't pinpoint the change. It started gradually a couple of years
ago, a gradual step of faith. Our family has always put great stock in
faith—we had to. One incident in particular stands out in my mind. It
was a Saturday a couple of months after we had moved to another
town. My mother and I were walking home for lunch from my dad's
office and she told me there wasn't anything to eat and no money, not
even enough for a loaf of bread. "Well," I thought, "Dad will get his
check on Monday. I guess I can go without eating until them. But it'll
seem kind of strange at meal time." When we got home, however, the
mail was waiting and in it was a refund check from a utilities company
in the town from which we had moved. That's just one example. I had
always prided myself in knowing what a life of faith was.
When it came right down to it, though, I did not know, for I had
never actually taken that initial step of faith. That step that says, "Jesus
is in my heart." I believed in my mind, it had been drilled in just through
repetition. But faith involves your whole being, not just your intellect.
A couple of years ago the meaning of the verse (loosely paraphras-ed)
"to those that believe in him, he gives the power to become the
sons of God" I began to think about that verse and others like it and
decided to stop worrying and just start using what I had.
Since then being a Christian has become being myself as fully as
possible—with Christ within me, being myself is being a part of Him.
Being a Christian is meeting life and the world head on and enjoying
the confrontation.
Jack's view
by Jack Priggen
Eleven hundred students at Bethel profess to be Christian. They
have a belief in an extraordinary man, a man named Jesus Christ. Eleven
hundred students at Bethel College follow this man. Along with this
belief in Jesus is a belief in a God. Their God takes eleven hundred
different forms, just as their image of Jesus takes as many different
forms.
Assuming that all eleven hundred students here have read a book
entitled The Bible, no students have exactly the same image of this man
Jesus or the being they call God.
I would like to tell you of my opinion of Jesus and of my God. Jesus
seemed to be without a doubt a most remarkable man. His decision to
die rather than change His story of who He was, what He had done, and
where He had been is proof enough to me that the stories which He
told and were told of Him were not outlandish lies, but in fact the truth.
Men who die for what they believe are rare. Many of these men
often have larger followings after they die than when they were living.
Certainly this is true of Jesus; I doubt that eleven hundred people fol-lowed
Jesus to the cross.
Oh yeah, Jesus claimed to be God's son and the Savior of the world.
Whether or not I believe that is irrelevant at this point. I also doubt
that I could convince you that he was or wasn't. Besides, I "know whom
I have believed."
If Jesus Christ was only a man he has my greatest respect. He did
what few men have ever done, He changed the world. I would place
Him in a category with other idealists such as Mahatma Gandhi, Adolph
Hitler, and Martin Luther King.
My God is different from your God. No matter what our God really
is, to each one of us, He is what we conceive Him to be. In my mind, God
is what gives me the desire to live. Once in a while I really feel close
to Him. Wow! I can't describe it, but you have probably also experienced
a closeness of some kind. Your feelings and experiences are not like
mine, and mine are not like yours. Mine are mine, and no one else's.
Whatever you perceive God to be, love Him, and be at peace with Him.
Most of us feel that we know that best form of religion for every-one.
I don't believe that. I believe that if you were born and indoctrin-ated
in Asia, Africa, or the Middle East you would also feel that you
knew the best form of religion for the whole world.
The roads to God are many, the names for God are also many, but
I believe that a God as great as mine will hear anybody anywhere who
calls Him by any name in any language.
If there is a heaven I will see the Asian, the African, and the person
from the Middle East. I will see the Moslem, the Buddhist, the Hindu
. I may even see you.
Peace.
Margie's view
by Marjorie M. Rusche
"I will extol thee, my God and
King, and bless thy name for ever
and ever.
Every day will I bless thee, and
praise Thy name for ever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to
be praised, and His greatness is
unsearchable.
The Lord is gracious and merci-ful,
slow to anger and abounding
in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all, and His
compassion is over all that He has
made.
The Lord upholds all who are
falling, and raises up all who are
bowed down.
The Lord is near to all who call
upon Him, to all who call upon
Him in truth.
The Lord preserves all who love
Him; but all the wicked He will
destroy."—verses from Psalms 145
I didn't always agree with these
verses as I do now. I'd like to relay
to you the development of my faith
in the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ,
and God.
I was raised in a Baptist Gener-al
Conference church. When I was
nine years old I asked Jesus to
forgive my sins and come into my
heart after a Daily Vacation School
Bible session. At the time, I didn't
really understand what I was do-ing,
but rather acted out of instinct
and guidance by the Holy Spirit.
I remember going home, telling
my mother that I was "saved," and
having a fight with one of my old-er
sisters almost immediately af-terwards.
I was an avid believer in Jesus
while growing up through grade
school and junior high. I was bap-tized
into the church and partici-pated
enthusiastically in church ac-tivities.
My future plans alternated
between wanting to be a minister,
a music teacher, or President of
the United States. I enthusiasti-cally
supported Barry Goldwater in
the 1964 election because I felt he
was a man of God, had a sound po-litical
philosophy, and would pro-vide
moral leadership to help turn
America back to Jesus.
As I grew older and gained more
knowledge and experiences, I be-gan
to doubt my faith and the ex-istence
of God. My senior year in
high school was full of misgivings
about my relationship to God. I
heard what the adults in church
were saying about Jesus and the
Christian life, but most of them
were doing very little of it. I thus
began to think that Christianity
was people getting together and
saying magic formulas so they
would be accepted by each other
and could reinforce their religious
egos without considering or caring
about what was happening in the
world as a whole or truly caring
about each other.
My freshman year of college was
spent at the University of Wiscon-sin
at Madison. At the beginning
of the year I went to a Baptist Gen-eral
Conference church a few times
because I felt very homesick. I
stopped going because I couldn't
stomach the trite phrases and reci-tation
of magic formulas and the
static repetitious service and ser-mons.
Attending church had no
meaning for me, and it only made
me despair because I felt the peo-ple
weren't being honest with
themselves.
The university was extremely
stimulating intellectually and ex-perientially,
but I felt very alien-ated
and lonely. I knew I was apart
from God, but I was angry at God
for allowing all the horrible things
that exist in the world that I was
becoming more and more aware of
through the process of my educa-tion.
I went through great spiritu-al,
intellectual, and emotional pain
and was afraid of what would hap-pen
to the world. Everything was
on the edge of continual catastro-phe.
In the middle of the year, I
decided I wanted to transfer to
Bethel. In retrospect I would say
this was the Holy Spirit influenc-ing
my head. I transfered because
I wanted to re-examine the roots
of my faith.
When I entered Bethel my soph-omore
year, I was an agnostic try-ing
to piece my faith back together.
I took Reformation History and Po-litical
Thought courses in an at-tempt
to come to an intellectual
understanding of God and religion
and society. I'm certain that I must
have been a difficult student for
my teachers to cope with at that
point and I thank them for their
patience and concern.
I had a difficult year. I didn't
feel I could relate to God in any
meaningful way. I was sure I did-n't
belong at Bethel and was se-riously
considering t r a n s f e r ing
back to the university. Then I went
on band tour. On tour Jesus re-established
me to a relationship of
faith with Him. I'm still not exact-ly
sure what happened, but what-ever
it was, I'm thankful that it
did.
We got back to Bethel and I im-mediately
told my roommates how
the Holy Spirit had communicated
with me. They were very happy
about it and the relationships in
our apartment, although good pre-viously,
improved considerably.
I went to school the next day
and the editor of the Clarion, Mar-gie
Whaley, told me that there was
a faculty member looking for me
that claimed he had been misquot-ed
in the Clarion by one of the ar-ticles
I had written. I thought, good
grief, what next, but went off to
see him.
I sat down in his office and he
proceeded to yell and scream at
me. I started to cry. I left his
office and went someplace where
I could be alone. I cried and cried
until I couldn't anymore and felt
a dull kind of pain. I couldn't un-derstand
how a mature Christian
that I had respected could act in
such a belligerent manner.
After my fresh experience with
Christ, I felt his actions were some
kind of betrayal. The beautiful
thing about the whole experience
(and there is beauty even in the,
worst of situations) was that Jesus
gave me the grace to feel close to
Him although a mature Christian
had acted in such an un-Christian
manner. This, previously, had been
my biggest barrier in relating to
Jesus—seeing professing Christians
act like non-Christians.
The year ended and I went home
for the summer. One of my close
relatives attempted suicide and I
felt bitter over that because he had
been raised in a church and should
have had a life of joy and fulfill-ment
instead of despair and lone-liness.
I was going to my old home
church. The same problems exist-ed
as did before but my renewed
relationship with God helped me
cope with them better than before.
I missed my friends at school ter-ribly.
Next fall came and I was ec-static
to be back at Bethel. I was
excited about pursuing my new
major, music. Then something
came up with the Clarion. There
weren't any returning staff mem-bers
from the previous year. One
of my close friends, Pat Faxon, ac-cepted
the responsibility of being
editor. Circumstances worked out
so that I ended up being one of the
assistant editors, although at the
time I didn't really want to be.
I didn't have enough time for
everything I was doing. As a result,
my body was being punished ter-ribly
because I was getting for
from enough sleep and not eating
a balanced diet. My soul also suf-fered
due to neglect. I wasn't tak-ing
enough time to be alone with
God. All my external commitments
kept me from concentrating on the
most important internal one. Sub-sequently
I switched my major
back to political science because
there was a lot more I wanted to
learn in the field, I would have
more time to work on the Clarion
and I could graduate on schedule.
Later on in the semester the
Clarion had a dispute with a few
members of the music department.
This was another difficult period,
for although I felt that our ideas
were sound and valid, I knew we
had personally wounded the par-ties
involved and I didn't enjojy'
the feeling of having hurt some-one.
I would like to now publical-ly
(although somewhat belatedly)
ask these people for their forgive-ness.
I was relieved when first sem-ester
was over. Interim was great
because there was more time and
I started communicating with God
more frequently. Second semester
went fairly smoothly. I had a new
roommate that I learned many
things from spiritually. I was en-joying
my studies and working for
the Clarion.
All this time I had not been at-tending
an institutional church be-cause
I felt bored by the service
and didn't want to worship in a
de facto segregated institution. I
felt close to Jesus, however. Sum-mer
came and I stayed in the Cit-ies,
worked, went to summer
school. I was within walking dis-tance
of a church whose minister
I really respect and learn a lot
from, Rev. O'Neill. Although the
first part of the service still alien-1
ated me, I went pretty regularly
and my understanding of God and
spiritual matters increased a little
bit.
Now it is the end of my first
semester of my senior year. I still
feel close to Jesus and God but
struggle a lot with God because
I'm very strong-willed and like to
do things my own way. I find it
difficult to grasp that God would
have a specific plan for everyone
of our lives, even though I can see
various ways in which God has in-fluenced
my life.
I struggle with loving people I
disagree with and whom I feel are
doing harm to other people. I
struggle with relating how I feel
about Jesus to the kids that share
the same political views I do but
that are completely alienated by
the institutional church. I praise
God for the patience and love He
has for me and for giving me such
beautiful friends that help me
through my troubles and rejoice
with me when I am happy.
For those of you that don't know
where you stand in relationship to
Christ right now, don't be afraid
to ask questions and doubt every-thing
you have ever learned. A very
essential aspect of any Christian
life is honesty. Being honest with
yourself and other people is often
painful, but it is always necessary
for an authentic relationship with
God. I believe that a person can
never truly have faith until he
has been without it.
"We too often forget that Chris-tian
faith is a principle of ques-tioning
and struggle before it be-comes
a principle of certitude and
of peace. One has to doubt and re-ject
firmly in Christ, and after
one has begun to believe, one's
faith itself must be tested and pur-ified."—
Thomas Merton, a Trap-pist
monk.
"opposed to war, and in favor of
every sincere effort for the pro-motion
of peace."
The resolution adopted by the
Conference in 1934 leaves little
doubt as to where the majority
of Conference Baptists stood on
the war issue: "We therefore ex-press
as our firm conviction that
all Christians should absolutely
refuse to take up arms against fel-lowmen,
and that we should teach
this principle in our churches."
(emphasis added). If that's not out-right
pacifism, I don't know what
is.
And remember that the state-ment
came from the Baptist Gen-eral
Conference—not the Mennon-ites
or Quakers. Unfortunately few
people today realize that such pac-ifism
is part of the historic Con-ference
Baptist Faith.
In 1935 Conference delegates
earnestly directed the continued
teaching of this theological and
ethical position. "We urge upon
our denominational agencies—the
publications department and our
schools (Bethel) as well as the Sun-day
schools, churches and pastors
—to devote more earnest attention
and effort to the enlightening of
our constituency of the un-Chris-tian
aspects of war, with the view
of crystallizing a sentiment that
would make possible a united
stand against it in the near fu-ture,"
they said. (How many ser-mons
or lectures on the un-Chris-tian
aspects of war have you heard
recently?)
The 1938 resolution declared
that wars are "born and bred in
the spirit and atmosphere of greed
and selfishness" and that "the
whole matter of war is opposed
to the spirit of Christianity and to
the teaching of the Christian
faith."
The only difference that shows
up in 1938 is that eventually the
resolution focuses its highest
wrath on wars "of aggression,' ra-ther
than on wars in general. It
concludes, however, by calling on
the people of the world to again
hear the words of Christ, "Blessed
are the peacemakers."
As the 40's came, with increas-ing
world strife, the statements on
war became longer and more qual-ified.
Yet even in June of 1940 the
continued on page 5
Friday, December 11, 1970 the CLARION page 3
about churches, racism, and hypocrisy
Color is good, Lord.
it's full of life.
black people are good
white people are good
red people are good
and purple people are good
there aren't many purple people
around anymore
the people-eaters
have almost destroyed them.
Lord, there won't be many
black, brown, white, red or yellow
people
if we let the people-eaters
have their way
and make us all a dirty gray.
We'll all be little robots
or Xerox people
copied from some master copy
prepared by a cold calculating
computer.
I have a hunch
that Adam was black
Eve was white
Cain was yellow
and you were all the colors
of the rainbow, then.
Bethel Forum
William Hill writes
To the editor:
"God, I hate to go in those pagan temples of hyp-ocisy.
I swear to the Lord, I still can't see,
Why Democracy means everybody but me."
—Langston Hughes
I know that some religionists would consider
"black power" as the work of the Antichrist. Others
would suggest that such a concept should be tolerat-ed
as an expression of "Christian love to the mis-guided
black brother. Unless the empirical denomin-ational
church makes a determined effort to recap-ture
the man Jesus through a total identification with
the suffering poor, that church will become exactly
what Christ is not.
Most churches see an irreconcilable conflict be-tween
Christianity and black power. This is evidenced
not only by the de facto segregated structure of their
community, but by their typical response to riots:
"I depore the violence but sympathize with the rea-sons
for the violence."
Churchmen, laymen and ministers alike appar-ently
fail to recognize their contribution to the ghet-to
condition through permissive silence—except for
a few resolutions which they usually pass once a year
or immediately following a riot—and through their
co-tenancy of a de-humanizing social structure whose
existence depends on the continued enslavement of
black people. If the church is to remain faithful to
the Lord, it must make a decisive break with the
structure of this society by launching a vehement
attack on the evils of racism in all forms. It must
become prophetic, demanding a radical change in
the interlocking structures of this society.
Any psychologist could tell you that the urban
white has a very inflated but insecure ego. The
church has taught him that his soul was washed "pure-white"
with the waters of baptism, placed before him
the image of a white Aryan Christ, helped nurture
him from poverty to wealth, aided him to political
power and domination of police and fire departments.
For the most part his political structure, his union
structures, and his corporate structures are as white
as the structure of his church. It is true that racism
is a king of religion, and perhaps it is the church
which has to come up with the programs to get at it.
Whites are church-going people and we are facing
a white schism.
Color is Good, Lord
God, some people are saying
that you are color-blind
that you don't care
whether a person is black or white
or any other color
and so we shouldn't care either.
Well I can't accept that.
People are important
their eyes are important
their names are important
their race is important
and their color is important
because white means something
black means something
yellow means something
and red means something.
Whither orthodoxy?
by Mark Olson
Reprinted with permission of
the author from DIAKRISIS, Octo-ber
1970.
If heresy is a departure from
the orthodoxy of the past, then
there might be some heresy in the
Baptist General Conference.
A casual look through some of
the old Baptist General Conference
Annuals easily reveals that the
Conference of today has signifi-cantly
changed its stance in at
least one ethical-theological area,
namely its expressed attitude to-ward
war.
An examination of the record
(available in the seminary library)
shows that the Baptist Conference,
just 30 years ago, was regularly
and consistently taking firm anti-war
positions, year after year. To-day,
in contrast, the Conference
seems afraid to even mention the
issue, let alone admit its highly
pacifistic past.
In 1933, for example, the Con-ference
adopted, by majority vote,
a resolution that simply described
war as "contrary to the teachings
of Jesus." From there it went on
to flatly declare the Conference
Christians have been
deceived about the
use of violence
by Dave Shupe
We have been deceived. We (that is, the Christians of America, 1970)
are not alone in this deception, but remain as blinded to reality as pre-vious
generations. The deception is double, it's one aspect derived from
the other. First, we have accepted a social and moral system which con-dones
and at times thrives on violence for the national good. Second,
we are unable to see the inherent contradiction between that system
and the life, teachings, and gospel of our Lord.
Some have seen and understood. One, Leo Tolstoy, wrote near the
turn of the last century that:
"the only means to free people from their many miseries lies in
freeing them from the false faith instilled in them by govern-ment,
and in their imbibing the true Christian teaching which is
hidden by this false teaching. The true Christian teaching is very
simple, clear, and obvious to all, as Christ said. But it is simple
and accessible only when men is freed from that falsehood in
which we were all educated and which is passed off upon us
as God's truth." (Letter to a Non-Commissioned Officer)
Tolstoy was very optimistic. He believed that the contradiction
between nationalism and war, on the one hand, and Christ's teaching
and humane ideals, on the other hand, was so readily apparent that,
once clearly stated and proclaimed, Christians would abandon war as
readily as they had abandoned slavery earlier. He pointed out as evi-dence
Christian groups who were already rejecting the idolatrous na-tionalism
and violence: "in Russia among the Dukhobors and Molokans,
in in Austria the Nazarenes, and in Sweden, Switzerland, and Germany
among members of the Evangelical sects." (Letter . . .)
Evangelical? (Sweden?) If only Tolstoy had understood that Chris-tians,
though once having seen the truth, could still reject it again. (See
"Whither Orthodoxy" elsewhere in Clarion).
But evangelical American Christians are not to be condemned as
evil; for our problem is not deceit, greed, or hatred. (Modern warfare
no longer seems to require hatred.) It is (merely?) blindness—or my-opia,
as Thomas Merton, the Trappist contemplative, has recently called
it:
"Modern technological murder is not directly visible, like indiv-idual
murder. It is abstract, corporate, businesslike, cool, free of
guilt-feelings, and therefore a thousand times more deadly and
effective than the eruption of violence out of individual hate.
It is this polite, massively organized white-collar murder ma-chine
that threatens the world with destruction, not the violence
of a few desperate teen-agers in a slum. But our antiquated the-ology
myopically focused on individual violence alone fails to
see this. It shudders at the phantasm of muggings and killings
where a mess is made on our own doorstep, but blesses and can-onizes
the antiseptic violence of corporately organized murder
because it is respectable, efficient, clean, and above all profit-able."
(Toward a Theology of Resistance).
And
"Each of us has to get rid of a systematic moral myopia which
excuses acts of barbarism when justified by appeals to patriot-ism,
freedom, and so on." (Peace and Protest).
We have surely been deceived, and have, therefore, assented all
too readily to the false teaching and violence Tolstoy and Merton des-cribe.
Have we not?
the CLARION nation periods, by the students of Bethel
Published weekly during the academic College, St. Paul, Minn. 55101. Sub-year,
except during vacation and exami- scription rate $4 per year.
Editor in chief Pat Faxon
Copy Editor Marge Rusche
Production Editor Jack Priggen
Fine Arts Editor Sam Griffith
Sports Editor Rich Zaderaka
Photo Editor Bob Miko
Reporters .... Dave Healy, Wendell Whalin, Joey Healy, Peter Varros,
Bill Ankerberg, Cindy Rostollan, Dave Greener,
Marge Anderson, Rick Johnson, Cris Pincombe,
John Larson, Sam Griffith, Sharon Watson
Opinions expressed in the CLARION do not necessarily reflect the position of
the college or seminary.
Lord, don't let me ever forget
the importance of every little difference
between me and my brother
me and my parents
me and my maker
and teach me to honor them
just the way they are
then I'll be proud to be
the way you made me.
from Interrobang, by Norman Habel
"The demands that I make of you are these:
that you love one another. If you find the world hates
you—remember that it hated me before it learned
to hate you."—Gospel of John
". . . Those who kill you will claim to be serving
God." America has hid behind the guise of religious
racists who call themselves Christians. A race that
knows no piety, a treacherous and cruel foe that calls
itself Christian.
A racist who hides in "pagan temples of hypoc-risy"
on Sundays, afterwards proceeds to persecute
under the so-called civil rights act . .. racism. Who
will be racisms next victims? Who will be the next
"pagan temples of hypocrisy" meet again on Sunday.
to die physically from a bullet or a club until the
"pagan temples of hypocracy" meet again on Sunday.
"More, the hour is now coming when those who
kill you will claim to be serving God." If the white
man waits too long . . . He will be responsible for
letting a condition develop in this country which will
create a sea of blood. Oppressed people will no longer
choose to die for an unknown cause, but will die for
the cause of freedom.
Power to the people,
William Hill '74
Page 4
the CLARION
Friday, December 11, 1970
Festival Choir members congregate to sing 'Joy to the
World' after traditional 'candle march.'
Art students added to the Festival spirit with a sale of
their work.
Festival of Christmas 1970 . .
featured a slide show with the music.
1 "And it came to pass in those days, that
there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus,
that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when
Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into
his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee,
out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the
city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because
he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,
being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there,
the days were accomplished that she should be
delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid
him in a manger; because there was no room for
them in the inn.
8 And there were in the same country shep-herds
abiding in the field, keeping watch over
their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around
about them; and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not:
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city
of David a Saviour, which shall be Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye
shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and
saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace, good will toward men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were
gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds
said one to another, Let us now go even unto
Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to
pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found
Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made
known abroad the saying which was told them
concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at
those things which were told them by the shep-herds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pon-dered
them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying
and praising God for all the things that they had
heard and seen, as it was told unto them."
—Luke 2: 1-20
This unusual sculpture was among those
works of art at the sale last week end.
Lone harpist added to Festival music
Henry W. Longfellow
Andantino Ebo E dim.
2
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Arr. By John W. Schaum
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2. I thought how, as the day had come, 4. Then pealed the bells more loud and deep
The belfries of all Christendom "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
Had rolled along the'unbroken song The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
Of peace on earth, good will to men. With peace on earth, good will to men."
3. And in despair I bowed my head: 5. Till, ringing, singing on its way,
"There is no peace on earth," I said, The world revolv'd from night to day,
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men."
Of peace on earth, good will to men!
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2
Whither orthodoxy .. .
What should I ask for, Mom-my?
Animated store windows are
part of Christmas too.
from page 3
Conference went on record as "un-alterably
and unequivocally op-posed
to any and every move on
the part of the President and the
Congress of these United States,
and other national, state, and lo-cal
legislative bodies, that will in
any way tend to draw us or drive
us into a war of aggression on oth-er
shores, and on other soil than
our own."
Again in 1941 the Conference
"renounced war as a means of set-tling
international difficulties" and
"urge(d) our people to maintain,
with the help of God, the spirit of
forgiveness toward all enemies."
Finally the delegates urged all
members of the Conference to seek
the guidance of God so that "no
propaganda" might sway them
from this path.
The sad thing is that they were
swayed. The group that had said
it "unalterably and unequivocally"
opposed the war in Europe, had
seen war as wholly and totally con-trary
to the teachings of Christ,
and had called on all Christians to
"absolutely" refuse military ser-vice,
fell silent in 1942. No longer
was war condemned.
From World War II to the pres-ent
only twice has the Conference
adopted any sort of resolution that
even mentions war and peace. A
vague 1964 resolution suggested
that peace is a worth goal—but im-possible
until the "Prince of Peace"
returns.
A nebulous "standing resolu-tion"
adopted in 1968 begins with
a brief admission that war is "de-structive"
and goes on to conclude
at great length that there really
will never be any peace until the
"Prince of Peace" returns, and
that, therefore, all we can do about
war in increase our missionary ef-forts
and continue in prayer. There
is no mention of the rightness or
wrongness of the Christian's par-ticipation
in war.
Similarly, a resolution on Viet
Nam, also adopted in 1968 ex-presses
"grateful concern for the
servicemen who are serving their
country," and blatantly states that
"we do not believe in peace at any
price." One wonders what scrip-tural
justification anyone could
find for that last position.
Never, since 1942, has there
been the slightest official hint that
there might be anything un-Chris-tian
about war—in direct contrast
to the repeated pre-war assertions.
Silently the ethical issues have
been swept under the rug of con-venience.
In the light of this development,
several important questions arise.
First, what led to the change in
position on this issue? Was it a
new, improved understanding of
Scripture, or was it a matter of
yielding to popular, secular prop-aganda?
If it was the latter, what does
that say about the authority of the
continued on page 6
Friday, December 11, 1970 the CLARION Page 5
Oh Christmas Tree . .
Christmas vacation
provides thinking time
by Dave Healy
Christmas (Webster): "the yearly celebration, December 25, of the
birth of Jesus Christ."
That's what Christmas is all about. It's Jesus' birthday, and we
should certainly celebrate it. But we can and should do other things
over the holiday period. Just as Jesus isn't seasonal but should occupy
our thoughts all year round, so we should take advantage of everything
this seasonal vacation time has to offer.
What else can the holidays afford us? A much needed respite from
the rigors of the educational process. Maybe an opportunity to indulge
in a little home cooking, or in the little woman you left behind.
But there's more. Christmas vacation can give us time to think,
not about papers and tests, but about other things. Some of those other
things are pretty important, like just exactly what we're doing at Bethel,
what we're putting in and getting out.
It's hard sometimes to focus on things like that with schoolwork
hanging over your head. It's easy for a person to get so bogged down in
the academic part of learning that he mechanizes the other elements
of education. The spiritual element, for example.
Oh, but the spiritual life (or lack of same) of a Christian campus
such as ours isn't mechanical? Of course it shouldn't be, but it can be.
With the background and exposure most of us have had, it's easy to
say the right thing without thinking about it. A few students at Bethel
haven't had our background, so we tell them that they're saying the
wrong thing. But at least they're thinking about what they say. Can we
make the same claim?
Being away from Bethel for a couple of weeks can give us the chance
to think. It can give us a chance to analyze our motives, priorities, and
beliefs in a way we might not be able to while in school.
Also, being at home for Christmas will give many students a chance
to talk to parents and other church members about Bethel. Such stu-dents
will have opportunity to point out that Bethel is in bad financial
shape, that there just isn't enough money for the new campus. God is
working but He needs some help.
Many times, for one reason or another, our constituency gets a dis-torted
picture of what the situation is really like at Bethel. And what
better way to make that picture clear than through the honest statements
of interested students?
As official spokesman, then, for the Ghost of Christmas Present,
here is how to spend your vacation:
1. Remember that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and reflect on your
own relationship with Him.
2. Eat well.
3. Have fun. Do something you haven't had time to do during school.
4. Do some serious, non-academic thinking.
5. Talk to some people about Bethel. Be honest.
Then, if after all that, you still want to come back, come back re-freshed,
full, with a clear mind, and with money in your pockets .
With Christmas comes the ring of the Salvation Army bell.
Jesus Christ Immanuel Christ Jesus—Christ Jesus! Immanuel
God as man has come to us, has come to earth to dwell.
Sing ye people, let your hearts' voices swell
And glorify our God and His Immanuel.
Jesus, Jesus, God's Holy Christ, Holy Christ,
You have come to us to be as we
In flesh encumbered, but yet a while
And you will die that we need die no more.
Jesus, Jesus, Holy God, now man, 0 Christ,
We know you came to be sacrificed.
We killed you, 0 God crucified,
And you rose for us, God glorified.
Christ Jesus Christ Jesus! Immanuel
God as man has come to us, has come in us to dwell.
Sing ye people, let your hearts' voices swell
And glorify our God and His Immanuel.
—Betty Eckstrom 1971
by Harold C.
I wrote an article last week but it was lost so I'm going to try
again. It's too bad, too—because last week's article was probably my
finest work—it dealt with music. I gave you a list of "greats" for a record
collection—Al Jolson, Everly Brothers, Hank Williams, Elvis (singing
hymns), any jug band record (when you feel blue), Bob Dylan, Bobbie
Vee, Mert Sadakor, and Dwayne Hickman's first album. Also, since
Christmas is coming up, this week's feature album is "Christmas Favor-ites"
by Bing Crosby. On this album Bing will sing a little thing that is
the king of record sales—yes—"White Christmas."
Now the song has nothing to do with a white backlash on social
problems—it's just a story about a guy who is dreaming of a Christmas
with snow (snow happens to be white). Anyway, the song is great but
if you see it in the movie (the White Christmas movie) all the better.
This movie (which is on every year) hopefully will be on this year again
—check your local TV listings for time and channel (I hope it's on).
For this week's article I've decided to write on music. Music is one
of the greatest gifts to man. It's inexpensive—all you have to do is hum.
However, if you need some cheering up during a class or in a church
service, just hum a sweet melody—however, plug your ears with your
fingers so you can hum very softly and hear yourself and not disturb
others around you.
This is probably my last article for this column. It's rather sad
for me to leave all of you "fans" but I guess I can continue telling you
things at the dinner table.
S■ on: tow SArov40,2,•....k , Mu, L, ,, t ctc,
Gicortie Troutw•sn • Assoclutt• Conductor
Minnesota
Onchestra .
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 4:00 P.M.
NORTHROP AUDITORIUM
CLARK TERRY, trumpet soloist
FRANK BENCRISCUTTO, saxophone
GEORGE TRAUTWEIN, conducting
WOMEN'S VOICES OF THE MINNEAPOLIS
MADRIGAL SINGERS, Frederic Hilary, conducting
Orchestra Ticket Office/373-2331
106 Northrop Auditorium
Dayton's Ticket Office
RUSH SEATS!
AVAILABLE 30 MINUTES BEFORE CONCERT TIME
TO STUDENTS
Only $1.95 Each
Must show student I.D.
AVAILABLE FOR ALL
SUNDAY CONCERTS AT NORTHROP
Hertz Student
Vacation Special
Going home for the holidays?
Or maybe you're going skiing
with the gang.
Whatever the case may be,
if your holiday plans include
travel, be sure to check up on
the special holiday rates to
qualified students now offered
by the St. Paul Hertz Rent-A-Car
Office.
Call 224-1313
for more information about our
special student rate.
ATTENTION!
All students interested in reporting for the Clarion
during interim and second semester, should plan to attend
a "meeting of the minds" at 7:00 P.M. January 15, 1971, in
the President's dining room. This will be a chance for the
new staff to get to know the reporters and for the report-ers
to get a gimpse of the vision that the new staff has for
the Clarion.
If you can't make it, but would like to work on the staff,
notify us through PO 91.
Bob Miko, incoming editor-in-chief
YOU ARE WELCOME AT
ealoatv Evaide ekete%
2120 N. Lexington, St. Paul
PASTORS — Robert Frykholm
Leroy Nelson
—Services at 8:30, 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.
—`Faith Lab' class at 9:45 a.m. —3 discussion choices
The Spirit and the Christian
Jesus and the future
Famine and plenty: Amos
— Bill Youngblood & Fred Sweet - leaders
—Bible discussion on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. —small groups
—Transportation leaves Campus Sundays at 9:30 a.m.
Page 6 the CLARION
Bethel falls to
Carleton, Sioux Falls
by Rich Zaderaka
Grounded by Carleton's full
court press, the Bethel Royals fell
behind 10-0 and eventually lost to
the Carls 70-56.
Early scoring by Mack Wheeler
and guard Tom Ferguson carried
Carleton to a 12 point halftime
lead. Forward John Opboug was
the key man in the second period
with 15 of his total of 19.
Bethel guard Steve Scroggins
carried the bulk of the scoring load
tallying 26. Gordy Nordmark was
the only other Royal in the double
figures, with 10.
On Saturday night the Royals
bowed to the Sioux Falls Braves
by the score of 80-73. Inability to
connect from the foul line cost
Bethel the game as they converted
only 13 of 29 attempts.
Bentley Odom and Craig Hooge-straat
accounted for almost half of
the Brave points with 21 and 16
respectively. Odom scored from the
outside on 15 and 20 foot jumpers,
while Hoogestraat got all his bas-kets
on rebounds.
Steve Scroggins, who has scored
over 20 in the last four games, led
Bethel with 23. Other Royals in
double figures were Doug Fargo
with 14, Dan Larson with 12 and
Gordy Nordmark with 10.
Bethel's schedule for the rest of
the semester is limited with only
three games left: Mt. Marty on Sat-urday,
and Lakehead on December
18th and 19th.
the bibelot shop
... the straight head shop
... near the Fairgrounds
... non-gifts under $5
2276 como st. paul
646-5651
Friday, December 11, 1970
Bethel grapplers meet St. Thomas for first home meet.
Point total mounts as Bethel grappler conquers his opponent.
The Hot Corner
by Rich Zaderaka
The Royals lost to Sioux Falls Saturday but the team did look good
���a complete reversal of form from the previous night when they lost
to Carleton by 14 points.
This is not to say that the team played flawlessly at Sioux Falls.
They had several fast breaks they couldn't convert into points, and they
couldn't buy a free throw.
But you have to be impressed with the way the team keeps coming
back. They were down by 14 and could have fallen completely apart.
But they gave Sioux Falls a battle and actually held the lead at one point.
To be honest, I was somewhat surprised that the Royals were even
able to stay close to the Braves after their performance against Carle-ton
on Friday. The Braves have a well-balanced team and the Royals
had to be tired from the long trip up, and somewhat discouraged by the
the loss to Carelton.
The schedule of games left before Christmas break as almost com-pleted,
but I'm looking forward to seeing the team in action second
semester.
Ron Troxel and I had an enjoyable time broadcasting the games
last weekend from Northfield, Minn., and Sioux Falls, S.D. I hope that
WBCS will be able to continue away games broadcasts during interim
and second semester, for those who can't get to the games in person.
Much thanks to Ken "Bart" Ullman who drove to Carleton and
served as statistician and to John Larson who rented his car to us for
our trip to Sioux Falls.
JC
Muhammad Ali notched another knockout in his comeback bid,
this time over Oscar Bonavena. In comparing Ali with Frazier, Bonavena
rates Muhammad as the best. The tough Argentine was decisioned by
Frazier in each of their two fights.
*
GRID PIX
The Bears came close but didn't quite pull it off. Nevertheless, I
had my most successful week with 12 right and 1 wrong. Total stands
at 79-41-8. I'll hope for two good weeks in a row with
St. Louis over New York Giants
Dallas over Cleveland
Kansas City over Oakland
Minnesota over Boston
Baltimore over Buffalo
Chicago over Green Bay
Miami over New York Jets
San Diego over Denver
Atlanta over Pittsburgh
San Francisco over New Orleans
Detroit over Los Angeles
Philadelphia over Washington
Cincinnati over Houston
Pacifism
from page 5
Bible? Who's directing us, God or
the world? What are the chances
that Conference Baptists are now
preaching heresy in regard to the
Christian's involvement in war?
How important have the social in-fluences
been?
Furthermore, if the old position
was wrong, how were such saints
of the faith misled? And if they
were misled, what are the chances
that we too are misled in one or
more significant theological areas?
Which areas might they be?
On the other hand, if the paci-fism
of the pre-1942 era was biblic-ally
sound and theologically true,
then are we not today surely living
in error? And if we are in error
in this matter, are we not likely
in error in one or more other ar-eas?
And if so, what should be
done to speed our return to ortho-doxy?
I have no absolute answers to
any of these questions, but I would
suggest that in light of the Con-ference's
radical reversal of posi-tion
on this crucial ethical-theo-logical
issue, any time spent dis-cussing
and analyzing the nature
and motives of this shift will be
well spent. We ought to seriously
consider whether such a major
change in theological teaching was
the leading of Christ, the devil, or
both.
To this end, Conference Baptists
across the country should be made
more aware of their anti-war heri-tage,
encouraged to think about the
issue, and prodded into consider-ing
the pacifist position as, at least,
a live option within the historical
context of our denomination.
The time may have come to re-turn
to orthodoxy.
