246 WHERE IS EVANGELICAL FEMINISM TAKING US?
maintains a clear Christian commitment. No one claimed the quotes in
the article were inaccurate, but some claimed they did not give a bal-
anced view. Some letters from current and recent students confirmed the
essential accuracy of the World article, such as this one:
I commend Lynn Vincent for writing “Shifting sand?” (May 10). As
a sophomore at Calvin, I have been exposed firsthand to the chang-
ing of Calvin’s foundation. Being a transfer student, I was not fully
aware of the special events like “Ribbon Week.” I asked a classmate
what her purple ribbon meant and she said it’s a sign of acceptance
of all people. I later found out that “all people” meant gays, lesbians,
and bisexuals. I have been appalled by posters advertising a support
group for GLBs (as they are called) around campus. God condemned
the practice, so why cannot God’s judgment against GLB be pro-
claimed at Calvin? I am glad Calvin’s lack of the morals it was
founded on is being made known to the Christian community out-
side of Calvin. Much prayer and action is needed if a change is to take
place.—Katie Wagenmaker, Coopersville, Mich.^27Then in June 2004, the Christian Reformed Church named as the
editor of Banner, its denominational magazine, the Rev. Robert De
nation’s Synod (the Christian Reformed Church’s highest ruling body) which in 1999 said the
entire denomination is ‘called as a Church to repent for our failures’ in this area. ‘Ribbon Week’
is one way of reaching out with love and compassion to Calvin students who are gay... .” He
goes on to affirm that homosexual conduct is wrong. Interested persons may read the letter
themselves and notice both what he says and what he does not say about the positions that are
advocated on the campus. In another letter responding to the World article, professor Quentin
Schultze says, “The fact is that the Christian Reformed Church, which ‘owns and operates’
Calvin College, has encouraged the entire denomination to love gays and lesbians even while
not accepting the sinful practices of some of them” (quoted from http://www.calvin.edu/news/
releases/2002_03/schultze_letter.htm, accessed 10-24-03).
His expression “the sinful practices of some of them” seems consistent with the picture of
Calvin College indicated by the other quotations in the article: The repeated theme is that there
are some people who just “are” gays and lesbians, and if they refrain from putting their same-
sex inclinations into practice, our attitude toward them should be one of love and acceptance.
Hence, the campus-wide week-long emphasis on raising student awareness of gays’ and les-
bians’ need for acceptance and support.
At one level, who can object to showing love and support for any other human being?
However, at another level, one suspects a larger agenda here on the part of homosexual rights
advocates, an agenda of gaining acceptance by degrees. What would we think of a Christian
campus, for example, that sponsored a week-long campaign to show acceptance and support
of people who had lustful and adulterous desires, or were alcoholics, or were addicted to gam-
bling, or were always tempted to lie or curse, or who struggled with constant greed or envy?
It seems from reading these comments from Calvin faculty, administrators, and students, that
homosexuality is being made into a special cause at Calvin.
(^27) “Mailbag,” World, June 7, 2003 (www.worldmag.com, accessed 10-23-03).