Intellectual Engagement

Revival Fire Past and Present

By Dr. Michael L. Brown

In a certain sense, God’s presence fills the universe. Yet there are times in history when He manifests His presence in a particular place or in a particular way that is unique and distinct and powerful and transformative. We call those times “revival.”

CU Gloria Helps Host Online Event at Harvard

By Kelly Parks, Staff Writer

After a year of  online classes,  most college students have become well-acquainted with Zoom-fatigue, loneliness, and stress. Some claim that college is the best time of one’s life, based on the available myriad of activities and frequent social gatherings. To the extent that this adage is true, COVID-19 restrictions have certainly turned this saying on its head. Rather than doing homework in coffee shops surrounded by friends, students are relegated to their dorms, apartments, or houses, dealing with the stress of academia in solitude.

"Ex-vangelicalism" is Why Christian Union is So Valuable on Influential Campuses

Abraham Piper, the son of best-selling author and theologian John Piper, has recently risen to TikTok fame by posting content about walking away from the Christian faith. Piper creates minute-long videos critiquing everything from the idea of a literal hell to why certain Bible stories are ridiculous to why life has no ultimate meaning. Calling himself an ex-vangelical, Piper has found a fast audience of like-minded former believers who have been hurt by the church, cannot agree with conservative theology surrounding sexual ethics, or simply never got on board with their parents’ faith. 

But the overwhelming support and significant conversation that Piper’s account is garnering points to a very real movement of young people today: they are finding the church unpalatable and walking away for good. Though their reasons for leaving the faith may differ, the rise of the ex-vangelical reveals a change in the times in which the church no longer holds a moral position in the greater society. Though evangelical churches may want to maintain a position of influence within the culture, especially after a year of public Christian leaders falling from grace, many young people find the church hypocritical and an untrustworthy, archaic institution.

Ex-vangelicalism is why Christian Union is so valuable on influential campuses and in strategic cities. Studies show that most young people fall away from their faith in college or in the years shortly afterward, which makes biblical and theological instruction, discipleship, and Christian community a critical component of developing the next generation of mature believers. 

Read the full article here.

Despite COVID Restrictions, CU Lux Digs Deep into Scripture

By Kelly Parks, Staff Writer

Community has looked very different on college campuses these past few months than it has in years past. However, these changes have not stopped Christian Union Universities from ministering to students across the United States, in person and also through virtual connections.

Albert Mohler Discusses Morality and the Implications of a Biblical Worldview

Albert Mohler’s most recent book, The Gathering Storm, delves into the secularization of America over the past century and the implications unfolding for the church today. Though American evangelicalism is used to having a role of cultural influence in our nation, that influence is rapidly declining and being sidelined. Where the church once held the position of establishing morality for our country and much of the world, secularism has slowly antiquated theism as a whole. In order for a new moral system to be put in place, the old system must be dismantled. 

Vergerio ’22 Will Serve Internship with Samaritan’s Purse

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

In her sophomore year at Brown, Gabrielle Vergerio ’22 stepped out in faith and attended a Christian Union Libertas event, despite not knowing anyone in the ministry.

“On a whim, I decided to venture out to one of the meetings,” she said. “I was immediately met with such warm and sincere welcomes. CU Libertas at Brown was really my first home on campus.”

HLS Alumnus Discusses the Implications of Genesis 2:5

By Paul Michalski

“When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground. (Genesis 2:5)”

CU Caritas Students and Alumni Unite Online

By Kelly Parks, Staff Writer

For recently graduated college students, this year has proven an increasingly difficult time for establishing the rhythms of adulthood. The lack of job security and limitations on social gatherings have caused anxiety for many young adults as they struggle to navigate post-graduate life in isolation.

David Brooks Makes a Compelling Case  

In this deep dive into family life over the past century, David Brooks argues that families—both adults and children—thrive when they are deeply interconnected to either extended family or forged families like neighbors or church communities. Brooks explains how our nation's current battle against loneliness, overwork, economic struggles, and even mental illness can all be traced back to the disintegration of family and living in a support system. 

A Yale Student’s Lenten Reflection

Editor’s note: The following article was reprinted with permission fromThe Yale Logos, a student-led Christian Journal.
 

By Raquel Sequeira, Yale ’21

“Die to live.”

The words had been running through my head since before Lent—since before I moved back to New Haven to finally start my senior year. After a gap semester spent living at home, I prayed for guidance into spring and tried to be genuinely open to whatever God might ask of me.

Princeton Alumnus Is Concerned by Decision 

Ryan T. Anderson knew his book would be controversial in some circles. When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Momentprovided a robust scientific, philosophical, medical, and legal examination of our nation’s rapidly changing understanding of transgenderism as soon as it was released a little over three years ago. A Princeton alumnus ('04) and speaker for Christian Union events, Anderson earned his Ph.D. in political philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. 

CU Ministry Fellow at Stanford Helps Shed Light on Crisis

By Kelly Parks, Staff Writer

Anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation are some of the mental health challenges that can plague college students during their academic careers. The stress of COVID-19 and growing academic pressures have left some students more depressed and anxious than ever before. As of today, one out of every four college students in the United States has contemplated ending their life.

Missing the Most Important One

By Dr. Chuck Hetzler

The revelations of Ravi Zacharias’ failures have invited a host of questions to discern how such destructive  sins could have occurred. Seeking answers, Christians have primarily probed RZIM from an organizational perspective.

Sternklar ’22 Has a Passion For Prayer, International Justice  

By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor

Athena Sternklar wants to change the world through a career focused on international policy and humanitarian aid.

The political science major, who transferred to Columbia University in the fall, took a hiatus from college a few years back to travel abroad and volunteer in refugee camps in Greece, Serbia, and Jordan. She came to Columbia via Montgomery Community College in her hometown of Rockville, Maryland.

How Can We Engage Them with the Good News? 

Who is Generation Z? Yes, they are the individuals who were born between the early ’90s and mid-2010s, but for Christian Union, they represent one of our primary mission fields.

Q and A with Andrew T. Walker

Andrew T. Walker is Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and the author of God and the Transgender Debate.

Virtual Women’s Bible Course at Brown Stays Connected   

By Anne Kerhoulas, Staff Writer

The women of Christian Union Libertas at Brown University are using this season to dig deep. Although the fall and spring semesters are very different than in previous years, with most students taking classes remotely, the women’s side of the ministry has found ways to deepen their connections with one another. 

Ministry Fellow Laurel Copp realized that things would need to look different this academic year in order to engage students well, so she took two of the Chrisitan Union foundations, Bible course and discipleship, and reimagined them. While much is the same, a lot is different, as Copp believes this year can be one of substantial growth. 

Christian Union Caritas Launches Small Groups  

By Anne Kerhoulas, Staff Writer 

In the midst of long-distance community and ministry, Christian Union Caritas has found an opportunity to launch a new initiative to help Stanford University students stay connected to one another and deepen relationships. Small groups have been something that Senior Ministry Fellow Justin Woyak, Princeton '07, has wanted to start for a few semesters, but the time never seemed right. But with students feeling disconnected from each other due to the COVID-19 pandemic, small groups have become a new focal point for the CU Caritas community.

Christian Union Bible Courses Are a Virtual Training Ground at Princeton

By Anne Kerhoulas, Staff Writer

Christian Union Nova, the student organization at Princeton University, was forced to get creative as it considered how to manage nearly twenty online Bible courses among only three ministry fellows this fall. Students wanted to stay in their regular Bible courses since they are places of growth, personal sharing, and deep spiritual friendship. In order to care for these students well, while also ensuring that they would receive high-quality instruction as they studied the Gospel of Mark, Christian Union Nova faculty created a new method of teaching. 

CU Bible Courses for Female Athletes Thrive at Cornell

By Anne Kerhoulas, Staff Writer

Athletes understand the concept of family; a group of people you might not have chosen becoming the ones with whom you share life. The team forms such a family where sacrifice and faith in one another drive these individuals towards a common goal. It’s no wonder that athletes share a particularly special bond when they come together around the Gospel. And the female athletes at Cornell have been doing just that.