I appreciated John Stackhouse’s review of Paul Bramadat’s book, The Church on the World’s Turf [November/December]. As the Inter-Varsity staff worker who was involved when Paul did his study of the McMaster University’s ivcf chapter, I wish to give an insider’s perspective. Paul produced a good academic work in his ethnographic study of our campus chapter—there was so much that I appreciated about it. And Paul himself is a very fine person. However, it was very challenging to have someone watching every move for two years, writing notes during every prayer, questions after every event. And for me, when the book finally came out, it provoked a host of emotional responses: fascination, pain, anger, joy, and relief. Fascination with such a thorough academic study of evangelicals; pain at watching a student’s faith be reduced to a joke; anger that the student ministry, which I love and am committed to, looked so foolish; and joy and relief that in many ways we held up so well under such scrutiny.
I do find it disturbing when students’ dismal answers in the apologetics and theology section are presented as the sum total of who they are. Doesn’t every student sound stupid at some point? Isn’t it easy to make a first-year student sound foolish under the pen of a ph.d. student? Many of the students who gave pathetic answers in the apologetics section have gone on in academic studies—some to seminary. (The first-year student who is mentioned as trying to lead Paul Bramadat to Christ is now a wonderful Christian teacher.) They have blossomed into thoughtful Christians who care deeply about good apologetics.
And this is my point, that the Christian life is a journey. The young students Paul described were at the beginning of their faith journey. His book is a helpful sociological study, but—as I’m sure he would agree—it doesn’t offer the last word on what these students are all about.
—Elizabeth (Buff) Cox, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada
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