George Washington University can host a seminar bashing Christians, but they shouldn’t be surprised when students fight back.
Yesterday, the campus seminar that’s grabbed headlines across the country, had a few unexpected guests. At least a dozen young people of faith turned up to take a turn at the session, which was meant to highlight so-called “Christian privilege” in America. The workshop promised to expose “how Christians in the U.S. experience life in an easier way than non-Christians,” a laughable concept, considering the attack on religion in America over the last several years.
Of the 30 or so in the crowd, almost half came to protest the idea, “challenging the moderator on a wide variety of topics.” One of the main arguments for Christian privilege, a student explained to Campus Reform, seemed to rely “on the assumption that non-Christians aren’t guaranteed safety on campus, as well as that Christians have more places where they can worship their religion.” All in all, she said, the point seemed to be that Christians somehow have an easier life than others.
Sophomore Emma Shindell couldn’t believe her ears. “I know a lot of Christians who’ve been persecuted because of their faith,” she told CBN. (This workshop, most people would tell you, is exhibit A!) Emma, like a lot of courageous young people on campus, is tired of being demonized for her beliefs. In the end, she says, “These conferences do more to divide the student population. [They’re too focused] on pointing out our differences rather than working together to try to make sure we’re a united student body, [where] everyone is respected.”
Although media wasn’t allowed into the event, several students seemed eager to talk about how off-base the seminar was. “I think there are a lot of perks that come along with being a Christian,” said Junior Kaleo Kinimaka-Ahkoi. “A lot of the tenets of Christianity are very helpful, I think, to people developing personally and spiritually. But at the end of the day, they’re equating Christianity essentially with immutable characteristics like race and color — which is not something that Christianity, or any religion for that matter, actually is. It’s something you can convert into.”
At the end of the day, the most powerful witness was the willingness of Christian students to show up and engage. “We didn’t protest the event,” Abigail Malone told “Fox & Friends.” “We didn’t demand it be cancelled. Instead we attended, we had open ears, and we were ready to engage in a dialogue and defend our beliefs.” And frankly, that’s more than many liberals would ever do!
