Editorial
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A rave is no place for
Christian witnessing
We finally have the freedom to dance. And yet we apparently cannot handle the responsibility.
The Multnomah handbook states that students must "refrain from any form of dancing which involves or promotes immodestly or sensuality." In February, students violated this rule when they went to a rave.
Not only did they violate Multnomah's code, but they also acted irresponsibly and in a sinful manner.
The ravers' actions were detrimental to themselves. Satan is a roaring lion seeking souls to devour. These students marched themselves straight into the lion's den.
Honestly, what human -- man or woman, believer or unbeliever, mature or immature -- can thrust himself into a room filled with half-naked women, free-flowing drugs and pulsating music with far from orthodox lyrics and truly remain pure? This group caused themselves to stumble.
The ravers' actions were also a stumbling block to fellow believers. How many students looked on the actions of this group and now think going to raves is OK under any circumstance? These students will not consider the amount of prayer that went on before the group went to the rave. They will not care how focused the group was on Christ. They will see that this group went to a rave, and so can they. So they will go, unfocused and unarmed with the armor of God, and they will stumble. The ravers have set bad precedent for future ministry.
A rave is not exactly an ideal place to witness. It combines dancing of a pornographic nature, illegal substances that alter people's minds and music so loud you can barely hear your own voice.
Why not reach these people when they are free from deafening music and LSD hallucinations? Reach the raver as she rides the Max to the mall each Tuesday or hangs under the Burnside Bridge on Sunday or skateboards in the skate park downtown on Thursday.
Christians need to show unbelievers that they are Christians 24 hours a day. Instead, MBC students are showing the world that Christians are people who party on Fridays and go to church on Sundays.
The decision to go to a rave was to the detriment of all. It has caused strife among the Multnomah faculty and staff and arguments among Multnomah students. It has caused believers to sin and non-believers to have a skewed view of Christianity. Multnomah entrusted its students with the privilege and responsibility of the freedom to dance. Concerning dancing, the handbook states, "Please use discretion so that this does not become a divisive issue in the Multnomah community." Too Late.
Thou shalt not wear hats in class.
Thou shalt not dance.
Thou shalt not pierce thy nose.
Can't find these passages in the Bible? You won't. This list of rules, called institutional norms, exists in a slightly less inspired text known as the Multnomah student handbook. The norms, passed by faculty majority, are designed to regulate the atmosphere on Multnomah's large and diverse campus.
These institutional norms are at the forefront of many discussions on campus because of the recent group of students who went to a rave to share their faith. Were their actions wrong? Should they be disciplined?
According to the student handbook, both answers are yes. Students who register here agree to abide by Multnomah's rules whether they like them or not. The issue at hand, however, is not did the students break a handbook norm, but should the norm exist in the first place?
Although the rules are set up with good intentions, their poor results -- legalism and confusion -- far outweigh the intended benefits. Institutional norms have a disturbing way of promoting legalism among the body of believers.
Students waving their fingers at those who broke an institutional norm by witnessing at a rave are condemning their brothers and sisters based on cultural guidelines instead of true biblical commands.
Non-essential guidelines for Christian living that are set up as law on campus promote cultural abstinence as a yardstick for morality rather than a deep relationship with
Christ. A student who goes to a rave
to witness, someone with piercings and dreadlocks, or a student with short hair and Dockers can all be thriving Christians. Is Multnomah trying to make disciples or cultural Pharisees?
Look at the issue of alcohol. Many Christians think that consumption of any alcohol is wrong. In Europe that belief is a joke because of the culture gap. Rules rooted in culture rather than in God's Word should not be the foundation of spirituality.
The inconsistent application of the norms is another problem. Take the dress code, for example. Some students follow the code, while others break every aspect of the rule. Some professors enforce it, and others completely ignore it.
Multnomah should abolish the institutional norms and move to a policy of discipleship. Training
mature students in Christ is the main goal of this school. Blanket policies might be practical and cheap, but they do not teach maturity and wisdom.
Just as parents train their children to leave home, students at Multnomah must one day face the depraved world, including the people in it who go to raves. Who is better prepared: a student who can follow a list of norms, or one who has thought out his or her faith into daily application?
The handbook itself says it best: "Even though we enjoy a great freedom in Christ, we should seek appreciation from others for our character, not our appearance."
Exactly.
Multnomah's institutional norms must go.
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