“Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-11. This passage is representative of the issues which caused the Stevens Christian Fellowship (SCF) to not advance in the New Organization Process this past Friday.
As part of its “Alignment Requirement,” their constitution cited four Bible passages โ 1 Peter 5:1-7, 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Galatians 5:19-26, and 1 Corinthians 6: 7-11 โ as guidelines future e-board members would be required to agree to in order to be eligible for candidacy. Prospective leaders would have also been required to sign an eight-point statement of faith in order to apply, which stated:
“1. There is one eternal God, Creator and Lord of the universe, existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who governs all things according to the purpose of His will.
2. The Bible is the inspired Word of God in whole and in part, without error in the original documents in all that it affirms, and the only infallible rule of faith and practice.
3. The value and dignity of all people: created in God’s image to live in love and holiness but alienated from God and each other because of our sin and guilt, and justly subject to God’s wrath.
4. The Lord Jesus Christ is God, who became Incarnate, through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth, lived a sinless life, voluntarily died on the cross, and rose to pay the penalty of the sins of mankind.
5. He ascended bodily into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father, where He, the only mediator between God and mankind, continually makes intercession for His own.
6. If anyone believes in Jesus Christ and receives Him as Lord and Savior, he will be forgiven of sin, declared righteous, and adopted as a son or daughter of God.
7. The Holy Spirit is at work in the world, performing in people the work of redemption, and empowering Christians to live Holy lives.
8. At the close of the age, Christ will return to judge the world and to establish the eternal Kingdom of His people.”
Concerns were raised about the Alignment Requirement at the most recent Committee of Student Interests (CSI) Meeting, as the above segments appeared to violate Undergraduate Student Life’s nondiscrimination membership policies. The line about homosexuality stuck out as the most glaring example, but the statement of faith could also be interpreted as religious discrimination under a strict reading of the policy. The Student Government Association’s Vice President of Student Interests, Dakota Van Deursen, said that the cited verses could potentially be interpreted as “exclusive, isolationist, and/or pejorative.” Van Deursen also expressed large amounts of confidence in the committee’s decision-making, saying, “I very much applaud the CSI for […] how professional everything remained; no one’s feeling got in the way of anything.”
Later on, Van Deursen said that the SCF representatives who attended Sunday’s SGA Senate meeting were very receptive to all points that the Senate raised, and planned on “making it clear that some of the Bible verses they cite are merely suggestions for further reading and not mandatory ‘you need to believe this.'” The club is eligible to present again at the next CSI meeting in mid-November, but if they are denied again, they will be ousted from the New Organization Process and will need to restart at the beginning of next semester.
The Stevens Christian Fellowship did not respond to requests for comments.
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