Kvetching Christianity: Why do Christians believe that stuff anyway?

Kvetch: /k(ə)veCH/   |   verb   |   to complain

Christianity: /ˌkrisCHēˈanitē/   |   noun   |   The religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices

For three days we had a large board set-up on campus in the Pit asking students to write and share their complaints towards, questions about, and issues with Christianity. Many students were quick to share their thoughts on all kinds of topics relating to Christianity. From the value of the Bible to the person of Jesus to sexual ethics to the problem of suffering to the doctrine of Hell to even more, there was a great response with a wide range of subjects. So last night we hosted our event, “Kvetching Christianity: Why do Christians believe that stuff anyway?” Dr. J.D. Greear, a local pastor and author, came in to share about his faith journey, describe the essence of Christianity, and offer responses to the popular questions and complaints brought up by students. Following his talk, there was a time of Q&A for students to directly dialogue with Dr. Greear. Some great questions were asked by students, and we hope those that didn’t get a chance at the mic will not let their questions go unanswered. Hopefully this 2-hour event leads both Christians and non-Christians to wrestle with these tough but meaningful issues, and dialogue about them. And if you attended last night’s event and have any thoughts, questions, or suggestions, please share them in the comments section below.

We’ve uploaded the audio recording of the event, which you can listen to and/or download below. Unfortunately, there was a recording error, so not all of the Q&A time was recorded. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Play Download

Welcome New Students

Hey, we are looking forward to your arrival this coming fall.  We hope that you will come to one of the many large events that we have planned, or if smaller is an easier intro for you, come to a small group Bible Study.  All of these opportunities will be listed in detail in the weeks preceding the first day of classes but if you are really eager to hear what will happen, here is a brief list:

Fall Fest- Sunday eve on South Street
New Student Picnic- Monday August 22nd 5:30 at Ram’s Head
Fall Retreat- September 23-25 Camp Dixie
Hoe Down- Friday August 26th, 5:30 Carrboro Town Commons
Weekly Meeting- Thursday August 25th, The Great Hall
Small Group Bible Studies- In most every living area
equip 1320- Leadership and Ministry Training, Monday Sept 26th

See you soon!  Miles and the Cornerstone Staff and Students

Welcome – Fall ’10

Welcome to all you new students arriving soon at UNC!  We are so glad that you are coming to UNC this fall.  We are a group of people on a journey to know God better as we live in community with one another.  We hope you will check us out.  We have a bunch of different opportunities for you to meet the staff leaders of Cornerstone and the other students involved as well.  Here’s what’s happening the first week of classes:

Sunday, August 22- Come find our table at Fall Fest
Tuesday, August 24- Survey Tables all over campus
Tuesday, August 24- Freshmen Picnic, 5:30 at Ram’s Head Plaza
Thursday, August 26- Weekly Meeting, 7:30 in Carroll 111
Saturday, August 28- Pig Pickin/Hoe Down, 6:00 Carrboro Town Commons

On behalf of the staff and students leaders of Cornerstone, we all look forward to meeting you soon!

- Miles O’Neill

Kvetching Christianity: Why I’m Not A Christian

This past Tuesday and Wednesday we set up a kvetching board on campus in the Pit. We wanted UNC students to kvetch about Christianity, specifically ‘Why I’m Not a Christian’. Many students stopped at the board for a few minutes, read what others had written, and then wrote their own thoughts. By Wednesday afternoon, objections, issues, complaints, and questions covered the board – all ranging from witty humor to insults to vulnerable, personal experiences. When you allow students freedom to express their opinions on something as significant as Christianity, their responses can be brutally honest, to say the least. The wall of the Facebook Event had more and more discussions as the event continued.

In light of all the feedback we received from students, Dr. J.D. Greear, pastor of the Summit Church, came to campus to continue the discussion and respond to students’ most common objections. He briefly shared some of his own story of why he is a Christian. J.D. then opened the floor to students for a time of Q&A. Some tough, yet great questions were asked about Christianity. You can read J.D.’s thoughts on the night in his blog post.

Below are a few of the students’ questions…

- “Doesn’t Christianity oppress women?”
- “How do you explain the differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament?”
- “Is it permissible to pick-and-choose which passages to follow within the Bible?”
- “Why do we need to believe in God?”
- “How can you trust the validity of the Bible?”
- “What happens to people who have never heard of Jesus or the Christian God?”

Here are some excerpts from the kvetching board on why UNC students are not Christians…

- “Altruistic ideas have not passed down from the Bible, but those of inequality and hierarchy.”
- “I’m a firm believer in my own religion.”
- “I don’t need to be.”
- “Organized religion only leads to wars and persecution.”
- “Because I read the Bible.”
- “My mom is Jewish.”
- “I don’t believe in God.”
- “I struggle with truly believing that I need God.”
- “I can have a community of love without having a religion or depending on a god.”

Click here to view pictures

Everytarheel.com Feedback

If you were around Cornerstone at all this past month, you probably heard about everytarheel.com. Many of you bought and wore t-shirts, told your friends about the site, and even dressed up as mascots in the Pit. Thank you for the hard work and effort you put into spreading the word about the site.

The purpose of everytarheel.com is to be a safe place for UNC students to explore issues about college, life, and what it might be like to know God. There was a great response and interest from students about the site. Our mascots got some public exposure in the Daily Tar Heel newspaper and a professor in a Global Evangelism class asked all of his students to visit the site as a great example of using the media for evangelism.

Below is one of numerous emails we received from students:
Hey my name is ________, somebody gave me a flier for this site today; just wanted to say as a non-Christian, this is a great site. I have spent quite a bit of time on here today. Do you guys do personal meetings or anything of the sort? Don’t worry, I am not some militant atheist looking to pick a fight. I just have some questions. Thank you.

Through the website, an interest was sparked for this student that has led to an opportunity for us to personally meet with him and have a conversation that otherwise may not have happened. Know that God has worked and still is working through everytarheel.com.

Although our week of pubbing the site is over, please continue to refer other students to the site, and check it out yourself if you haven’t already. And share any other cool stories, responses, or feedback from everytarheel.com in the comments section below. Thanks!

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