Letter to the Editor: Hear My Voice – Erica Wade

128900This semester at Bryan College has been the hardest of my college career. But that is not what this is about.  I believe in the Bible not because anyone has told me to but because I believe it is true. To me it seems that truth is the real issue here. What has been missing from the biblical debate here at Bryan College has been the Bible.

In the Bible there are over forty-five references to importance of unity in the church. In 1st Peter 3:8 he says “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” Here he calls the church, which is the family of God, or Christians to act with unity, a humble mind, and a tender heart.  Again in Colossians 3:14 “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

However I know some people would say that there is not enough context in those verses so here are some weightier pieces. Ephesians 4:1-6 says “ I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism”  This calls us to honor other Christians. It calls us to be humble, being humble is typically defined as having modesty and a low estimate of one’s own importance, you do not see people with humanity firing one another over an argument. God calls us to use gentleness, we see the word gentleness associated with things like amiable, kind, and tender; not with actions like the firing of professors who are beloved by the students and have given up to twenty years to this school and the people in it.

What about love? 1st Corinthians 13 defines love for us” 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

So please explain where the patience is in giving professors a month to sign a new contract on an issue that has not been discussed on a school wide level. Where is the kindness in telling soon to be new fathers that they must sign a contract that violates their valid Christian stance, or lose their job and income. How do any of these actions promote protection, trust or hope?

What I could not find was any verses saying that we should split the family of Christ over disputes. No rather we are called “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel” Philippian 1:27 As well at “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” Romans 14:19. Please do not let us forget Romans 15:5 “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus”. As well as Romans 12:16 “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.” And Lastly “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

What I am not saying is that we should accept and random belief or philosophy. No. Jesus does not show mercy for all crimes. Some of his harshest words fall to the Pharisees. In Mathew 23 delivers a message of condemnation to such men, “2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” These are horrible crimes but it is not yet the worst of their sins Jesus continues in verse thirteen.  “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” “23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel… 29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous. 30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!”

I am not saying that this is what our school is but it is what it has the potential to become. I believe our school is full of good and Godly men. Many of whom have been mentors and guides to me in my time here. By them I have been eternally blessed. Among those professors is Dr. Turnner, and Dr.Barrnet who now stands to lose his job along with many others.

There is one last thing I wish to point out. Once of the ten commandments that were given to Mosses by God in Exodus states“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Or you shall not lie. Dr.Livesey stood in front of the students for two hours straight promising us that he had the full support of the faculty and staff behind him hours after the news of the vote of no confidence had reached him. He has also reported to the Board of trustees that the students have been used by the faculty, as well as telling the Chattanooga Times Free Press that we are happy. We have not happy, many of us are tired, worn down, and sad. We are not puppets our voices are our own.

In conclusion I believe that God wants us to spread the gospel. That Christ had come and died for our sins. I believe he wants us to do so in a way that sets aside our petty disagreements so we can learn, grow, and pressure the truth together. I believe that he does not want us to be hypocrites and fire intelligent, hardworking, loving professors, without cause or justification. I believe that Bryan College could be great again. If we pursue the truth, in love, together.

May Gods blessing be with you all,

Erica Wade

Below I have included many of the verse’s which I did not have room for in this editorial but would be helpful for Biblical perspective and understanding.

Romans 15:5-7 ESV

May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Colossians 3:15-17 ESV

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Romans 8:1-39 ESV

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

Philippians 2:1-8 ESV

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

Titus 3:10-11 ESV

As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Matthew 18:1-35 ESV

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,

1 Corinthians 12:12-31 ESV

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body.

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Matthew 5:1-48 ESV

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

John 17:21-26 ESV

That they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me.

1 Corinthians 3 18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. 19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; [a]20 and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”[b]21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: 22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. 23 And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

1 Corinthians 1 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks[b] foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1 Corinthians 13

New International Version (NIV)

13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.