The Pilgrim’s Protest

Hello everyone, welcome to the website of The Pilgrim’s Protest. Here you will find the articles from our most recent issue as well as additional articles and past issues. Please feel free to comment on and disscuss the articles. I hope that you enjoy the first issue of the semester. There will be two more issues this semester, one in October and one in December.

Keep in mind that The Pilgrim’s Protest is submissions based- you do not have to be on staff to write and submit an article. Please send any article submissions you have to thepilgrimsprotest@gmail.com.

Also, if you would like to be on staff there is an informational meeting this Friday, the 7th in the CIU cafeteria (in the back dinning room). Please come and learn more about the paper!

Thanks for reading our newspaper and discussing ideas!

-Elizabeth

Editor-in-Chief

TPP feels that it would be beneficial and informative to interview Dr. Jones in his new position as president of the school. On July 1st, Dr. Murray, the former, was named the Chancellor and Dr. Jones, then the provost, was made president. TPP Editor Elizabeth Castellow had interviewed Dr. Jones as the provost and was happy to interview him as the new president. We began with discussing the summer and Dr. Jones shared some of the things that he had done.

How was your summer?
On a personal level, I spent a lot of time trying to finish my book on the New Testament. Since Putting Together the Puzzle of the Old Testament came out this spring, I wanted to finish the New Testament sequel this summer but I had to start getting ready for convocation and other responsibilities. I have only two chapters remaining to write in order to finish the book. I also had the privilege of seeing a mid-50’s year-old man as well as an attorney and his wife pray to receive Christ. Good summer!
In terms of the school, I spent a lot of time on reorganizing student life though, of course, the student life staff did most of the work. The President’s Cabinet spent much time on CIU’s direction; I’m very excited about our future. We have presented it to the university’s faculty and will soon take it to the Board of Trustees. I think the students are going to love our direction, and TPP can do an article on that in October.

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Many apostates have numbered amongst CIU graduates; certainly our school’s students are no less immune to falling away from the faith than any other generation of Christians. The New Testament itself repeatedly exhorts believers to keep the faith, and the author of Hebrews addresses the issue directly. Hebrews 3:12-13 says: “Take care that there be not in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day…so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” How, according to these verses, may a Christian be preserved from descent into sin terminating in total unbelief? This passage instances mutual encouragement as the antidote. Which seems, at first sight, like a strangely anemic response; either the author or the translators must have envisioned a much more robust form of encouragement than that with which I am familiar between Christians: the author of Hebrews speaks here of an encouragement potent enough to combat sin and apostasy. Despite talk about confrontation and bearing each other’s burdens, few of us at CIU, I think, experience this mysterious and volatile encouragement, and almost none of us, as per Hebrews, on a “day after day” basis. Despite the fact that all of us sin day in and day out, only very rarely do any of us receive or minister invasive correction and help. And this is only one of the New Testament’s supposedly 58 “one another commands”—my point being, we are categorically failing to practice the corporate spirituality taught by the New Testament.

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If you go to the Wheaton College website and view the faculty of the Biblical and Theological Department you will see Douglas Moo, Blanchard Professor of New Testament (http://www.wheaton.edu/Theology/Faculty/moo/ ). Moo is widely known for his Introduction to the New Testament publication with Don Carson and Leon Morris, and his commentary on Romans in the New International Commentary series, among others. If you read his profile, on the faculty website of Wheaton, you will see “Personal and Professional Interests,” which, among many forthcoming commentaries, it reads “working on developing a theology of creation with special reference to environmental issues.” And sure enough, in the September edition of last year’s Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Moo wrote an article called Nature in the New Creation: New Testament Eschatology and the Environment. Here are some thoughts on Moo’s article.
While it is not plainly stated by Moo, one question he attempts to answer is ‘How should we, as Christians, care for the environment?’ or ‘How important is the environment?’ He attempts to answer these questions in light of the New Testament. For years Christians have been accused by secularists of destroying our environment because they care only for themselves and the salvation of their souls (Ludwig Feuerbach). Because Christians feel they have biblical warrant for having dominion over the earth and it exists only to meet our physical needs, they have been the culprits who are slowly laying the natural world to waste.

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In CCM Magazine over the last few months, there has been a rehashing of an old controversy in the Contemporary Christian Music industry. Though CIU is far removed from Nash Vegas, home of the CCM industry, I think this issue directly bears upon our lives. “But I don’t listen to Christian music and I’ve never even heard of CCM Magazine,” I hear someone saying. Well, as the wise man once said: ignorance is bliss. You go right back to listening to your Switchfoot and Mutemath, none the wiser and all the better for your lack of intimate knowledge of the inner workings of Nashville. But first, hear me out.
Our story begins in 1991 with the release of Carman’s Addicted To Jesus record. No, don’t go turn off the lights—it’s not a scary ghost story. Well, not that kind, anyway. John Styll, then editor and publisher of CCM Magazine and now president of the Gospel Music Association, picked up the assignment to review the album since no one else wanted to do it. He gave what I consider to be a very fair and balanced review—essentially, he said that it sucked. Carman took this as a personal attack, and it was a few years before he and CCM Magazine worked out their differences. This was not the first controversy over album reviews. In 1986 an open letter calling for Christian periodicals to abandon album reviews and music charts was signed by 66 well-known Christian artists and producers. What was their reasoning? “To attempt to judge a work that is born of the Spirit by the standards of the flesh and the world can only breed confusion and damage the hearts and the work of the people of God.” 1 In a letter to the editor published in the March issue of CCM Magazine, the reasoning was as follows: “I don’t believe anyone—even those very familiar with the Christian music industry—should judge the work of fellow Christians. I have to believe that Christian artists who dedicate their lives to bringing others to God through music do so in response to an intimate calling.”

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At the end of the spring semester, Courtney Kilgore, staff writer and treasurer for TPP, wrote a letter to Dean Swift addressing a few issues that concerned her. She specifically addressed the CIU disciplinary process as it is presented in the standards and as it is carried out. Dean Swift’s reply helped to clarify these concerns and provided information on some of the changes in Student Life and the disciplinary process. Therefore, with Dean Swift’s permission, and a desire to keep students informed of these changes, TPP is printing his response.

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“The movies are great medicine. / Thank you, Thomas Edison, / for giving us the best years of our lives!” So goes the refrain of the old Statler Brother song called simply, “The Movies.” Indeed, Edison’s gift exerts, for good or ill, tremendous force and influence in our contemporary culture. Some say cinematic productions have usurped the creative and cultural role that the novel of yesteryear once occupied.
The Christian community has always had a somewhat rocky relationship with the world of cinema, especially Hollywood. The staff of The Pilgrim’s Protest thought it would be interesting to survey our undergrad faculty to learn what kinds of movies have impressed them. Before we present the list, let’s make some observations.

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Changes since last May that impact the College…
Joining the College Faculty:
- Gretchen Wilhelm, Teacher Education
- Ken Rife, Communications
- Helen Boen, Teacher Education
- Andre Melvin, Ministry Skills Development
- Carrie Caudill, Psychology
- Michael James, Business (not yet on campus)
- Search Underway for Music Program Director

Ministry Skill Development Changes (formerly Field Ed):
- Streamlined paper flow (less bureaucracy)
- Renewed emphasis on ministry
- Lab leaders have become ministry coaches
- Teaching Field Eds linked to Principles of Teaching Course
- Evangelism Field Eds linked to Evangelism Course
Administrative or Organizational Changes
- Dr. Murray becomes Chancellor
- Dr. Jones becomes President
- Newly formed Presidents Cabinet with variety of administrators at the table working together for the common good
- Completion of the Fitness Center
- New Organization within Student Life (see Rick Swift for details)
- New Freshman resident hall format
Faculty on Sabbatical
- David Olshine (college)
- Bryon Beyers (seminary)
- Bill Larkin (seminary)
- Mike Barnett (seminary)
- Jim Watson (grad school)
Visiting Professor at the Seminary:
- Helmutt EngleKraut

Other Changes Around Campus:
- Improvement of ResNet wireless
- Repainting of CIU cafeteria

This article first appeared in The State newspaper on May 29th 2007.

William “Bill” Jones has a vision for the students who come to his 400-acre Bible university and seminary tucked off Monticello Road. The newly appointed president of Columbia International University wants to turn out “velvet covered bricks” — graduates able to explain and defend their faith without alienating those who are skeptical or disagree. “We want to produce people, graduates, that are not obnoxious or adversarial but that are advocates for truth and moral attitudes,” Jones said. “We want them to be confident in their beliefs but compassionate in how they communicate.” The energetic Jones, an insider with a maverick streak, hopes to raise the profile of CIU, a resolutely evangelical institution more widely known on foreign continents than at home. “I think there is a sense of anticipation that is growing on campus,” Jones said last week. “We are starting to see some really good signs that we may be in for a great adventure.”

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By Elizabeth Castellow
As another school year begins let us fight ignorance… no really. As believers we have a God-given intellect and creative nature. Learning, reading, and interacting in this world is a form of worship. As editor of The Pilgrim’s Protest I believe that publishing the highest quality, most informative publication that this staff can produce is a part of our service to this community and to God. Therefore, I would like to invite everyone to be a part of this project. You can be involved by reading and thinking about articles. We publish letters to the editor and sound off’s about articles. An important part of how the paper works is student submissions; students and professors are welcome to write and submit articles for publication. Another way to be a part of TPP is to join the staff. We are always looking for writers and those interested in working on a newspaper. We can also use people with graphics, photographic, and layout experience. There will be an informational meeting in the near future, for those who are interested, and I encourage you to come and get an idea of what it is like to work with The Pilgrim’s Protest.