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Harvard University Previous News Stories: |
Dick Keyes, Harvard ‘64 and Director of L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, MA, helps Christians integrate their faith and their lives. In order for Christians to impact the world, they must engage the culture. Yet, in order to deepen their faith, Christians often need to step away from the pressures of the world and spend time seeking God. And that’s precisely what Dick Keyes, Harvard ’64, has been helping people do for more than thirty years. As director of L’Abri Fellowship in Southborough, Massachusetts, Keyes helps seekers and Christians explore God’s presence in all areas of their lives, and helps visitors to L’Abri integrate the “so-called” secular aspects with the sacred. Keyes shared this message as a keynote speaker during Christian Union’s DOXA Conference this fall at the Hilton Rye Brook in Rye Brook, New York. L’Abri was founded fifty years ago by Christian evangelist, theologian, and philosopher Francis Schaeffer and his wife, Edith. Visitors experience intimate community at residential study centers where they focus on the deeper questions of faith and life. Open to believers and non-believers, L’Abri encourages contemplation, study, and exploration of scripture and what it means to be a Christian. Click Here for Full Story
Jordan Monge ’12 (right), is a regular blogger for the Harvard Icthus’ Fish Tank blog, which recently received the New Media Award from The Collegiate Network. In these days of Tweeting, status updates, Skype, and the thousands of other ways of communicating via the Internet, traditional print journalism faces numerous challenges. With readership and ad revenues down industry wide, publishers are seeking ways to increase their Web presence. Students at The Harvard Ichthus blog, The Fish Tank, have succeeded in their efforts to expand their relevancy, capturing attention with their insightful daily posts. The Fish Tank was recently awarded the New Media Award from The Collegiate Network, an independent non-profit organization that seeks to provide support and financial assistance to student publications around the country. The award recognizes excellence in innovative approaches to the barriers of print journalism – like turning to the Internet. Jordan Monge ’12, opinions editor for The Harvard Ichthus and a regular blogger for The Fish Tank, said the blog was recognized because of the regularity and insightful nature of its postings. “That’s what distinguished us from other publications who weren’t posting daily or who just posted shorter posts. Our posts are thought-provoking.” Monge started working for the Ichthus during the summer of 2009 and has been writing regularly since. She sees the blog as an important part of the Ichthus’ identity. Click Here for Full Story
Ziad Munson, Harvard PhD ’02, explores the motives of pro-life activists in his recent book. In his book, The Making of Pro-Life Activists, Ziad Munson, Harvard PhD ‘02, reveals some surprising findings about what inspires people to become activists in the pro-life movement; and those results have implications for college campuses. Despite common perceptions, pro-life advocates are quite often made, not born. That is, they often become strong advocates for life after becoming part of the movement. Additionally, Munson also found that pulpits are not necessarily the gateway for pro-life messages many assume them to be. Munson, who studied what makes some pro-life supporters active while others remain pro-life in name alone, concludes that many activists are not inspired by an innate passion for the cause. Rather, he states, they are introduced to the cause through social networks and continue to progress toward activism through a process of mobilization. “Only half of pro-life activists considered themselves pro-life before they got involved,” he writes. “Even among these activists, however, the ideas they held about abortion prior to becoming mobilized are what I call ‘thin beliefs.’ [Thin beliefs] are poorly thought out, often contradictory, and seldom related to a larger moral vision.” Click Here for Full Story
Keren Rohe, Harvard ’13, spent the summer boldly sharing the Gospel with beachgoers at the New Jersey shore. Seaside Heights, New Jersey has become a place of great interest of late for fans of the MTV reality show, Jersey Shore. Viewers and most of the pop media are captivated by the drunken escapades and hookup lifestyle of characters such as “Snooki” and “The Situation,” who converge on Seaside Heights in the summer to represent the worst in today’s young people. On the beach of Wildwood, NJ, however, Campus Crusade for Christ hosted a summer project with 43 college students who selflessly went against the flow of mainstream culture and offered their peers the “reality” of a relationship with Jesus Christ. The students worked fulltime jobs in the popular resort town in addition to sharing the Gospel on a regular basis. “Basically, we were there to grow in our own faith and to learn how to evangelize,” said Keren Rohe, Harvard ’13. Rohe is a member of Harvard College Faith and Action, a ministry supported and resourced by Christian Union. For the first half of the summer in Wildwood, twenty Campus Crusade for Christ staff members lived with the students in the house, helping to run the project and acting as mentors. They divided the students into “action groups,” each consisting of four to five students of the same gender. Click Here for Full Story
Mary Cunningham Agee, Harvard MBA ’79, left the corporate world to establish a network where unwed mothers have real choices about continuing their pregnancies. College students and young working women who experience unplanned pregnancy really do have a choice. That’s the message of Nurturing Network, a national life-saving, non-profit organization founded by Mary Cunningham Agee, Harvard MBA ’79. Twice named one of the 25 Most Influential Women in America by World Almanac, Agee served as vice president of strategic planning for Bendix Corporation and Seagram & Sons, but left the corporate culture to better serve her family. “As much as it was fun to travel around the world, the intense top management lifestyle was not compatible with the kind of wife and mother I wanted to become,” Agee said in an interview with the National Catholic Register. Click Here for Full Story
Ivy League alumni are on both sides of the California Proposition 8 lawsuit regarding same-sex marriage, and not surprisingly, the rights of people who believe in the morality of traditional marriage have gotten caught in the crosshairs. Although the people of California voted in favor of Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment restricting marriage to heterosexual couples, two same-sex couples have filed a lawsuit contending the amendment is unconstitutional because it was based upon animus toward “homosexuals.” If overturned, the decision could have national implications for other states that voted to protect the sanctity of marriage. Click Here for Full Story
As a former congressional aide and Special Assistant to the President and Director of Policy and Projects for former First Lady Laura Bush, Cherie Harder, Harvard ’91, saw how leadership impacted culture. After leaving the White House in 2008, Harder became president of the Trinity Forum, a Washington, D.C.- based organization that is “contributing to the transformation and renewal of society through the transformation and renewal of leaders.” Click Here for Full Story
When True Love Revolution was founded at Harvard nearly three years ago to promote chastity and abstinence as a healthy alternative to promiscuous sex, it was met with some challenge and controversy. But this fall, when the organization broadened its platform to include the advocacy of the institution of marriage, the special role of the family, sexual integrity, and true feminism, that was too much for some on campus to take. As a result of the change in platform, True Love Revolution’s co-president Rachel Wagley ’11 has been the recipient of “hateful and hurtful” e-mails and Facebook entries and foul language from some with opposing views. Wagley said she first wanted to be involved in True Love Revolution (www.hcs.harvard.edu/tlr) because she felt strongly about socially conservative issues. “I thought it was an interesting forum to have a discussion about those issues on campus,” she said. Click Here for Full Story
In his recent book No One Sees God, The Dark Night of Atheists and Believers, author, theologian, and former US ambassador Michael Novak, Harvard ’66, takes on the claims of atheists Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Heather MacDonald, Yale ’78. He meets these opponents to faith on their own court of reason and delivers counterpoints with the respect and dignity of a seasoned diplomat and the confidence of a deeply rooted faith in Jesus Christ. “This book is for people who, like me, have spent long years in the dark and windswept open spaces between unbelief and belief,” said Novak.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - The Reverend Eugene Rivers, pastor of Azusa Christian Community in Boston and a leader among African-American preachers, took to the nation’s airways this spring to resolutely announce that controversial Chicago minister Jeremiah Wright does not speak for the country’s African-American religious community. Rivers, who attended Harvard University, said presidential contender Barack Obama’s former pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ is not the voice of the African-American church. “There are 65,000 black churches that represent 23 million people. They love Jesus, and they love America. They don’t trade in that kind of rhetoric.”
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - On October 17, The Roundtable on Science, Art & Religion and the Harvard University Committee on the Study of Religion, with partial funding from Christian Union, presented a dinner and discussion at the Harvard Faculty Club featuring Stephen Prothero. Prothero is the author of Religious Literacy—What Every American Needs to Know—and Doesn’t. He discussed his theory that Americans need to have knowledge of the world’s religions to have proper insight into the major issues of the day. “Though Prothero’s essential points . . . seem to me obvious and uncontroversial, it became clear from the discussion how potentially conflicted the interpretation and implementation of that idea might be,” said one participant.
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - For six weeks this summer, Pat McLeod, Harvard chaplain with Campus Crusade for Christ, his family, and thirty CCC staff and students from Harvard and Yale worked to bring the Gospel in both words and deeds to the people in South Africa. It was part of an effort, McLeod explained, to take a more “holistic approach to evangelism that brings good words and good deeds together.” According to McLeod, the project sought to “upset the equilibrium by forging a dynamic partnership that …would move against the current by linking the enormous material, economic, intellectual, and technological resources and reserves of Boston with one of the most impoverished, undeveloped, under-resourced, and marginalized parts of the world.”
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - Jews for Jesus at Harvard and Boston Universities, with the partial support of Christian Union, sponsored “Oy Vey” forums in April with the goal of “making the Messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue.” The panelists for the events were an eclectic group consisting of an Israeli raised on a kibbutz, a young college woman from a conservative Jewish background, and Garrett Smith, of Jews for Jesus. According to Smith, one of the great challenges facing outreach to Jewish students is the perception that Jesus simply does not apply to Jewish people. “The advertising for the forums was very important … because all readers were confronted with the issue of Jesus and, particularly, to the fact that Jewish people can believe in Jesus,” he explained.
Posted February 7, 2007 Top left: Ryan Little ’06, basketball; middle row (left to right): Katie Shields ’06, soccer, team captain; Ali Boe ’06, ice hockey; Stephen Norberg ’06, swimming; John Scott ’06, football and track and field; John Hastrup ’06, swimming; Mike Baria ’06, wrestling, team captain; bottom row (left to right): Patrick Salisbury ’06, crew; Sarah Kennifer ’06, water polo, team captain; Jim Kenary ’06, crew. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - New Athletes in Action intern, Stephen Norberg, shares his passion for seeing Christ move in Harvard University’s athletic community. Being a Division I athlete at Harvard is no joke. Although not typically known for athletics, Harvard has more varsity teams than any other school in the nation. There is something else Harvard has a lot of: atheists. Being a Christian athlete in this environment is far more difficult than balancing Harvard’s academic load with an unrelenting training regimen. The athlete’s weekly schedule consists of up to 20 hours of arduous training, long weekends of travel and competition, a demanding course load, and, naturally, partying with teammates in the spare time that simply does not exist. For many athletes, the priority list does not allow for attending church or pursuing God. Athletes do virtually everything with their teammates, so unless there is a strong Christian contingent present, the team will not have an environment that encourages underclassmen to follow God. How is an athlete to maintain his faith or even grow spiritually in this atmosphere? Athletes in Action (AIA) is a ministry at Harvard that understands the challenges facing student-athletes and is dedicated to supporting and guiding them in their faith by creating a close community of Christian athletes. A recent graduate attests to this. “If it wasn’t for AIA, I would not have found other people on campus who are Christians,” said Ali Boe, former goaltender for the women’s ice hockey team. By taking advantage of the close-knit team culture that often has a negative spiritual influence on many athletes, AIA has been taking over teams for Christ. Athletes in Action facilitates a number of Bible studies and real-life discussion groups on various sports teams and holds weekly meetings with Biblical teachings, worship, and fellowship. As a community of Christian athletes, AIA is committed to connecting students with local churches, providing discipleship, and building a fun environment that encourages student-athletes to use their lives and athletics to glorify God. AIA has been making a name for itself among the athletes at Harvard. This often requires the implementation of various persuasive tools that tend to be a bit atypical for the school. Among these are the famous root beer keg parties, a heavy reliance on $1 scoop night at Baskin’ Robbins for post-AIA large group fun, and the annual Krispy Kreme Donut Eating contest. The Krispy Kreme Donut Eating contest is a popular event featuring two things that many athletes have a deeply profound love and respect for: Krispy Kreme donuts and competition. This thrilling event is an ideal way to expose athletes to both AIA and the gospel. The half-time show features an explanation of Athletes in Action, followed by an athlete’s personal testimony of finding faith in Jesus Christ. Last year one of the well-known weight room trainers attended and shared with all the athletes how and why he had become a Christian. This past year AIA also hosted an event where Don Davis, a Christian linebacker for the New England Patriots, spoke to an auditorium full of Harvard athletes about several life-changing moments that God had used to make an impact on his life. Earlier that semester, the chaplain for the Patriots and Red Sox addressed the AIA group. Next year promises to be a remarkable time, as AIA is the largest it has ever been, and a growing number of athletes at Harvard are becoming energized about what God is doing in their lives and in the lives of their teammates. Participating in AIA has not only energized but given clarity to Brian Cusworth, center for the men’s basketball team. “I look at my life as an athlete as an opportunity to make the most out of a gift God has given me,” he said, “and having a strong sense of spirituality also helps me keep in mind that God has a lot more in store for me than just my athletic performances.” By Morning And By Night: Twice-A-Day Prayer Groups Take Shape at Harvard BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTES - In the spring of 2005, two undergraduate students had the same thought of having daily prayer on Harvard’s campus. After praying over the summer, they returned to school in the fall, found that many more students were excited about prayer, and started a daily prayer group. Faith Sadar, one of this group’s founders, reports that though the group initially struggled with finding both meeting times and places, God provided both. After an initially small number of participants, the group left its size to God too, and He brought more people. Now, Morning and Evening Prayer Groups meet daily. On weekday mornings, a mix of upperclassmen, freshmen, and graduate students gather at 9:30 a.m. for the Morning Prayer Group in Annenberg Dining Hall. An Evening Prayer Group meets at 10:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 11:30 p.m. on Friday through Sunday, in Harvard’s Eliot House. This group has regular participants from Harvard Radcliffe Christian Fellowship, Christian Impact, Asian American Christian Fellowship, the Law School Christian Fellowship, and several of Harvard’s graduate schools. Individuals from Athletes in Action, Soul Food, Gracestreet Church, and the Catholic Students Association have also been involved. Evening Prayer meetings have lasted so long that the group has taken to breaking after two hours, just to provide time for exits, and for new arrivals to share prayer requests. Sadar estimated that the prayer group is usually about 8, with as many as 30 students crowding the common room on other evenings. Sadar is encouraged by what God has done in and through the individuals present, “many of us who come regularly have felt that it has grown us closer to God and given us a stronger sense of community with Christians at Harvard.” She does not link the group’s size with its productivity: “It’s not something that I think should be thought of in terms of numbers or successful necessarily because of growth,” she says, explaining that the group’s value lies in the community and its spiritual strength. In past months, the prayer groups have seen their prayers answered by many signs of spiritual revival at Harvard. “We’ve seen an increased interest in God’s Word and the Bible through both classes on campus and also random conversations,” says Sadar, and “friends of people in the group who have been very resistant or even antagonistic to Christianity before are now more open and even interested.” Sadar also reports an increase in the number of Bible studies on campus, and that “most of the Christian groups on campus have independently decided to have increased focus on evangelism.” Sadar’s words express the incredible outward focus of these prayer groups. Members pray for their friends, but also unknown classmates and Harvard as a whole; they have extended invitations to leaders from different Christian ministries, to come and receive prayer from the group. Their desire to share God’s word and for His will to be done in the lives of students has been an incredible force for good, certainly indicated, but hardly plumbed by Sadar’s reports of God’s work on the Harvard campus. “But certainly God has heard; He has given heed to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer Nor His lovingkindness from me.” Psalm 66:19-20 Cambridge Roundtable on Science, Art, Religion BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTES - Seven minutes into the evening’s final hour-long plenary discussion session, participants began to realize that although everyone had questions, only the special guest presenter Dr. William Lane Craig seemed to have any answers. Forty-eight Harvard faculty and other faculty participants were registered to participate in the March 29 three-hour Roundtable dedicated to the topic of God, Time, and Relativity Theory, where Bill Craig had privately expressed that his ambition was, “To show the importance of theology for science without getting into the emotionally-charged issue of biological evolution. I hope to show that God’s existence makes a fundamental difference in how we understand Einstein’s theory and therefore cannot be ignored.” Cambridge Roundtable on Science, Art & Religion coordinator and moderator Dave Thom spoke up at that moment and said, “As the umpire for this discussion, you know that we prefer that our presenters contribute to the discussion as if he or she were a batter in a baseball line-up: speaking up about once in every nine turns. But as umpire I’m taking the bat out of Bill’s hands and handing him the ball and I’m letting him pitch.” Bill absorbed the adjustment in stride and went on to pitch a perfect game. In the end, Bill was humble, godly, and brilliant. William Lane Craig is a premier Christian apologist who has enjoyed engaging in hundreds of lectures and debates the world-over, but Bill admits that this particular evening was the fulfillment of a life-long dream to proclaim the glory of God in the new Athens of the Ages. It was like a teacher/student session, with satisfaction on both sides of the equation. Like all Roundtable presenters, Dr. Craig was limited to just a 15 minute presentation short enough to cap off electronic reading assignments for all who registered and potent enough to whet appetites for thoughtful discussion designed to “explore the intersection of current academic thought and Christian thought” the stated focus of the Roundtable evenings. After the featured presentation, participants discuss the evening’s topic by dinner tables while enjoying faculty club fare provided by Roundtable sponsors such as Christian Union. For Dr. Craig to be involved in every exchange during the final hour of discussion was a risky break from Roundtable practice: in only the fourth Cambridge Roundtable, would participants appreciate and accept the change? Check out some of the comments registered by participants: “[T]hese events are quite unique to me, and even though I’m an academic I have absolutely no other occasions in which to interact with the same range of thoughtful people from so many backgrounds. In my opinion you have it down perfectly. The format, the timing, size, and the sequencing is just right.” “The discussion over dinner at our table was very dynamic and I think folks were ready to get more clarification from the speaker. I was particularly glad when you asked my table-mate what he believed on the subject. I felt it was important for him to practice stating his position out loud. So three cheers and thanks.” Roundtable invitees are referred to as participants because after an hour of refreshments and introductions and a brief presentation, they are actively engaged in the give and take of two hours’ discussion from nineteen inches, rather than to an hour of passively listening to a lecture with perhaps the chance to raise one question at the end. Earlier in the semester, every participant seemed to have something to say when Harvard faculty from the arts & sciences, business, law, divinity and medical schools outnumbered all others at a 62-person Roundtable in the largest dining room at Harvard’s faculty club. The third Cambridge Roundtable featured Dr. Michael Behe addressing the topic: Should “Intelligent Design” be taught as Science in the Secular University? Scholars were treated to brief presentations from Lehigh University’s Professor of Biology Dr. Michael J. Behe, and Harvard’s Professor of Philosophy Edward J. “Ned” Hall, a regular participant of the Roundtable. Though equal numbers of faculty who identify as Christians were present with those who do not identify publicly as Christians, not one professor was known as an Intelligent Design advocate in the straight-forward sense that Behe is. You can imagine that the potential for “strained” conversation was a clear and present danger. The last hour’s discussion gave everyone a chance to pass the subject matter around as if it was a soccer match. Are participants pleased with this approach? Absolutely. Mr. Thom always collects written evaluations after the events, here are some highlights from just a few participants: “The Roundtable itself is of immense value, bringing together a range from conservative to liberal, scientific to theological perspectives. For the future, I am very interested in anything that brings this group together; I’d like to come whenever possible.” “Thanks for organizing such a successful evening. I thought the discussion went really well despite the dangerous topic. It was great to have a frank, open discussion about ID, it is such a charged issue that it is tough to have serious discussion about it during casual conversation, especially in an academic setting.” “I was initially skeptical about a session featuring ID, fearing it might be inflammatory and/or polarizing, but I found the exchange quite reasoned, and the presentations, especially Michael Behe’s, helpfully clarifying. Thanks for your good-spirited leadership.” Sponsors of The Roundtable understand the delicate nature of fostering dialogue on Christian thought among scholars of diverse religious and non-religious backgrounds. Christian Union looks forward to continued partnership with Mr. Thom’s Leadership Connection and The Cambridge Roundtable on Science, Art & Religion.
Posted March 15, 2006 Although an anti-Christian bias persists, some Harvard courses demonstrate an open mind toward Christianity. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTES - Kirsten Nyborg, a recent graduate from Harvard, reflects on her surprising encounters with Christianity in the classroom. Investigative Evangelism: Alpha Course Raising Questions at Harvard BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTES - For the last six years, a different mix of atheist, questioning, and Christian students have spent their Monday nights discussing the basics of Christian faith. Each week, after enjoying a catered dinner together, students watch a video-talk that outlines a key aspect of the Christian faith, and spend their last hour in discussion, responding to the talk’s main points. This is the Alpha Course, a 10 week introduction to the basic precepts of Christianity, centering on topics like “Christianity: Boring, Untrue and Irrelevant?” and “Who is Jesus?” Half way through the course, students are given the opportunity to participate in praise music, and to attend a “Holy Spirit Retreat” weekend, where they get to know one another further as they work through a three-talk series on the Holy Spirit. Nearly every semester the course has been at Harvard, students have come to faith in Christ, including the author of this article. Junior Lisa Wiese, one of the leaders for the Spring 2006 Alpha course, explains how important Alpha is as a safe forum for students to both question and learn about Christianity. “Alpha is a place where really you can talk about anything. If you’re having doubts about your faith, even if you consider yourself Christian, you’re free to express them. You don’t have to be a model ‘person of faith’ to talk about what compels you to Christianity. If you’re completely turned off by Christianity, then you’re free to express why it turns you off. If you came because someone dragged you there or you just wanted free food, you’re free to express that too. The goal of Alpha is for people to have a place where they can engage parts of Jesus’ teachings that may seem troubling or confusing, and it’s about doing that without expecting people to come prepared to do so.” Alpha at Harvard began six years ago, in the fall of 2000. Founder Ben Grizzle says that the course gained its first outward-reaching momentum after leaders had a chance to bond over the material. “It was actually a pretty typical start in the sense of having a very small group of people - mostly Christians - who developed confidence in the content and sensitivity of the course and started inviting their friends.” Wiese is among a group of new leaders this semester, and her sharing that “mostly believers have come,” and that “God has been doing a lot in terms of building relationships among the leaders,” indicates a pattern similar to the one Grizzle noted in the course’s beginning. Grizzle was quick to note, “at least one person came to the Lord through each Alpha course, even from the very first course.” Even at the half-way stage of this semester’s course, Wiese celebrates significant growth in at least one participant, “one attendee previously viewed the Christian faith as something ‘you can be good at.’ Alpha is helping her understand that it’s not about what we do, but about the fact that God accepts us as we are.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK and BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - The core mission of Christian Union (CU) is to bring the message of Jesus Christ to the Ivy League campuses. One of the methods of fulfilling this mission is to help fund some of the outreaches on these campuses. During the month of February, CU was able to fund a portion of the Veritas Forum at Columbia (February 7-10) and Harvard (February 10-13). The Veritas Forum was held over four days on each of the campuses with the intent of engaging the entire university in discussions concerning some of life’s hardest questions and the relevance of Jesus Christ to all of life. An event of this magnitude requires more than the resources of one campus ministry. Thus, one of the highlights of the forums was to see the diversity in each of the campus ministries and to see them using their strengths for a common purpose. At Harvard, all of the groups participated in this year’s forum, and at the forum on Columbia's campus over 100 students helped with planning and executing the event. Both campuses were pleased with the immediate feedback after the forums and many discussions were generated on both campuses in the weeks that followed as a result of these outreaches. |
IN THE SHELTER OF THE ALMIGHTY
LIFE IN A FISH TANK
WHAT SPURS PRO-LIFERS TO ACTION?
A POSITIVE SITUATION AT THE JERSEY SHORE
NURTURING NETWORK LIBERATES, EMPOWERS WOMEN
THE PEOPLE HAVE SPOKEN; BUT COURT WILL DECIDE
LEADING AT THE CONFLUENCE OF FAITH AND WISDOM
LEADING A ‘TRUE LOVE REVOLUTION’
