October 4, 2016
Van Oss Writes about Wheaton Case for Harvard Law Review
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer Religious liberties are woven into the fabric of the United States.With deep admiration for that principle, a Harvard Law School student addressed concerns over the status of such freedoms when he penned an article for the Harvard Law Review exploring some of the key issues in the recent Wheaton College v. Burwell case.Given his concerns for government interference in the operations of faith-based entities, Trenton Van Oss took on the complex topic for an article that appeared in January.The Wheaton alumnus of 2013 is an active participant in Christian Union's ministry at Harvard Law School.October 4, 2016
Ministry Hosts Lecture by Christian Counseling Professional
by Eileen Scott, Senior WriterDepression is an unwanted intruder into the lives of millions of Americans, including students at top universities. Many of these young people attempt to hide their pain while coping with competing demands and lofty expectations.A recent lecture sponsored by Christian Union's ministry at Dartmouth took aim at this often-misunderstood malady, creating awareness and empowering one student to take a life-altering step.September 22, 2016
According to one major index of economic freedom, by country, the US has been in steady decline since the early 2000s. In the Economic Freedom of the World 2016 Annual Report, the US has dropped from second best in the world to sixteenth or eighteenth. How does this happen? Anne Bradley, a Christian economist, offered her insights into this phenomenon during an interview with Joe Connors:
September 21, 2016
At the beginning of the school year, Chicago University students received a peculiar welcome letter from the dean of students. As noted in The New York Times, instead of being solely an introductory letter, it addressed the issue of trigger warnings, and informed students that the University of Chicago would neither encourage nor tolerate educational conditions, including demands for safe spaces, that some claim are producing “coddled” students at US colleges and universities, and seriously undermining academic inquiry and growth.
September 20, 2016
In recent decades, American culture has so fetishized autonomy as a moral good that the once-beneficial idea, taken to excess, is now harming individuals and threatens to tear apart the fabric of society itself. Devotees of radical autonomy assert that individuals can define the relationships they have with others on their own terms, and cast aside traditional definitions of friendship, marriage, or parenthood.
September 19, 2016
We would like to express our thanks to FaithZette for featuring us on their website. While addressing the challenges facing Christian beliefs and ideology in academia, they highlighted Christian Union, talking about the ministry’s dedication to cultivating tomorrow’s Christian leaders at some of the nation’s most influential, but intensely secular, universities.
September 14, 2016
In today’s world, we need unabashed Christian leaders in the realms of intellectual pursuits. However, this is difficult because of the particular antagonism Christianity generates in secular academia.
September 13, 2016
Is American society in the process of utterly decimating First Amendment rights? Recently, Judge Ruth Neely was taken to court because of her personal religious beliefs. She had previously served twenty-one years as the municipal judge in Pinedale, Wyoming, and had carried out her duties faithfully and with no infraction.
September 12, 2016
A new, eye-opening report has surfaced on the sexuality and “gender” front. The report’s authors are Lawrence S. Mayer, MB, MS, PhD, a scholar in residence in the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a professor of statistics and biostatistics at Arizona State University, and Paul R. McHugh, former psychiatrist in chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, University Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
September 6, 2016
Christian Union Ministry Director Publishes Third Book
by Catherine Elvy, Staff WriterYouth ministry involves far more than staging fun-filled retreats and offering frightful warnings against teen vices.Rather, God calls youth pastors to develop students who will embrace missional purposes throughout their lifetimes.With such principles in mind, Jon Nielson co-edited and co-wrote Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry: A Practical Guide. Crossway, part of Good News Publishers, released the 224-page paperback in February, about seven months after the longtime youth and college minister became the director of Christian Union's ministry at Princeton University.September 6, 2016
New York City Salon Features Seth Ward
by Eileen Scott, Senior WriterAt a salon sponsored by Christian Union New York City, musician Seth Ward countered the philosophical notion that man's ability to think uniquely defines his existence. In his presentation, "The Mark of the Maker: The Musical Soul," Ward contended that humans have God's rhythmic signature engraved upon their souls, marking them as His beloved.The pianist's love of music and deep Christian faith were evident during a discussion that ranged from historical to whimsical. Ward, the music director at Central Presbyterian Church in New York, discussed the ancient chords and rhythms uncovered by archeologists and noted how these early songs and chants have been interwoven into timeless classical, contemporary, and iconic works.August 31, 2016
Why do we pray?Even those of us who pray regularly have sometimes wondered if we should not ask God for things in prayer because, since He is all-wise, doesn’t He know already what is best? And if He is all-good, won’t He do it whether we pray or not?
August 25, 2016
When former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli raised the price on the drug Daraprim by 5,000% earlier this year, he also raised the question of whether pharmaceutical should be held to higher ethical standards than companies in other industries.
August 23, 2016
Students Seek to Support Friends Who Are Struggling, Suffering
By Eileen Scott, Senior WriterStudents involved with Christian Union's ministry at the University of Pennsylvania devoted a chunk of their summer to a reading group aimed at prepping them on the basics of peer counseling."We want our students to know that they can help their friends," said John Cunningham, a Christian Union ministry fellow at Penn. "There are more people struggling than they think."August 23, 2016
Keys to Unlocking the Bible
Christian Union: The Magazine recently interviewed Rev. Colin Smith, the senior pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Smith, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, received his Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Master of Philosophy from London Bible College. He is the author of several books, including Unlocking the Bible Story, a four volume series. Through his teaching, daily radio program, and Web site (unlockingthebible.org), Smith challenges people to believe that their lives can be transformed by personal study of God's Word through "the power of the open book."Christian Union: When did your passion for the Word of God begin?Colin Smith: I was blessed to be brought upAugust 23, 2016
Hickman '16 Credits Christian Union Ministry for Turnaround
By Eileen Scott, Senior WriterWhen Peter Hickman '16 arrived at Harvard College four years ago from Bonne Terre, Missouri, he was barely hanging on to his Christianity.Today, as a recent alumnus, he has a firm understanding of the Bible and is living a life of overflowing faith and service. The applied mathematics major credits Christian Union's leadership development ministry at Harvard with helping him go from "almost agnostic to a Christian leader.""When I came to college, I knew I was not putting Jesus at the center of my life, and I was not sure Christianity was true," Hickman said. "Christian Union provided the intellectual resources to understand better the reasonableness of the Christian faith."August 19, 2016
Former Brown University student Rob Montz, who graduated in 2005 with a degree in philosophy, has released a 13 minute documentary film that voices his concerns about the suppression of free speech at his alma mater. The film has polarized students and faculty, some saying it uses hyperbole and shock value, while others say it is entirely accurate.
August 15, 2016
Thank you for joining me on this journey to draw near the Lord for these next 40 days. May He bless you in every way as you seek Him with your whole heart.And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place.
August 11, 2016
Although religious liberty has been one of the chief tenets of American society since the nation’s founding, the increasing hostility to Christian doctrines infiltrating law are putting it in serious jeopardy.
August 11, 2016
Prayer should be the visible engine that runs the way we live our entire lives. John Piper, writing for Desiring God, examines how the gospels call for us to more actively let prayer rule our lives.
