STUDENT PRESIDENT AT CHRISTIAN COLEGE “COMES OUT!”
A few days ago, TA published about the possible reality that Justice Breyer of the Supreme Court may have “admitted” that he is an atheist. Now Eric Fromm, student body president at Northwest Christian University, a faith-based college in Eugene, Ore., stunned his college community last week when he revealed through an op-ed published in a campus outlet that he’s an atheist.
Living in science, where believers are at best rare and certainly discreet about their beliefs, I find the animosity I sometimes get from the outside world chilling. Why do believers feel so strongly antagonistic about others who rely in human morality rather than on the messages from a deity? Given trhe evil done in the name of God, I see little comfort in prayer, but I am not a believer. Still, why should I care about believer? I see no difference between their prayers and a good glass of wine or the pleasure of holding a loved one. If it works, do not knock it!
Fromm shared his theological views and issued a clarion call for Christians to be more accepting of others who disagree with their worldview in the Beacon Bolt, an online publication.
“My name is Eric Fromm. I am Senior at NCU majoring in communications, and I am an atheist,” he wrote in an article titled “Lifting the Curtain.”
He continued, “Yes, you read that correctly, I am an atheist. For those of you who didn’t already know about my nonbelief, this news may be a bit shocking, but I was an atheist long before I came to NCU.” Fromm went on to explain that he was baptized a Lutheran and raised a Methodist, but that, over time, he began to develop the belief that “God wasn’t real.” … Fromm explained that he came to Northwest Christian University because he knew the school had a good communications program.
“I knew that the school catered to Christian thinking, so before I enrolled, I visited the campus to make sure that the chapel services were comfortable enough that I could fulfill the requirement,” he wrote. “No one was speaking in tongues or handling snakes, so I decided to stay.”
In his op-ed, Fromm described often struggling during university chapel services, as he found himself wanting to be a part of the excitement and energy, but he said he couldn’t force belief in God upon himself.
From there, Fromm took aim at some of the Christians on campus who have treated him differently since they found out he’s a non-believer. He called it ironic that these same people who now scoff at him would often complain about how they were treated in high school as a result of their Christian views. “When people found out that I was an atheist, they started treating me differently,” Fromm continued. “Sometimes they would verbally attack me, sometimes they would give me the cold shoulder, and sometimes they just gave me dirty looks.” He concluded by noting that he is “burdened” by the potential of rejection because of his non-belief. Fromm said he wrote the article so that he no longer has to keep his atheism a secret — and because he wanted to target his peers’ “inability to accept those who don’t fit their Christian pattern.”
In an interview with The Register Guard, Michael Fuller, vice president for enrollment and student development at Northwest Christian University, said that he has known about Fromm’s atheism for years and that it did not cause him to question his student body presidency. “He’s a man of very high character and respect. He’s a great advocate for our student body, which is exactly what he’s supposed to be and do,” Fuller said.
While Fuller added that the school wishes Eric would be a “strong Christian man,” he went on to say that he wants students like Fromm to be a part of the academic community — individuals “who are looking to explore their faith and willing to look hard and make their faith their own.”
Some critics, though, question Fromm’s presidency and charge that a Christian school’s mission cannot be fulfilled by having an atheist student leader at the helm.
“With an atheist president, it doesn’t make sense how this mission can be carried out,” one critic wrote in an e-mail to The Register Guard.
What do you think? Let us know.
Evangelical atheism? Narrowmindedness? Another shot acrsos my bow?I really do not understand why you would use those terms to describe Richard Dawkins or any of the other so-called horsemen. I have never seen people who are so open-minded. Evangelical is not a word I would associate with any of them.I do have my right to my opinion. In light of everything that I have read my analysis indicates that religion is dangerous. It very much resembles a reprogramming of the brain. When criticized in the least this programming lashes out in the same fight or flee as an instinct. Otherwise it resides within the individual shaping all of their thoughts. To even consider that they might be wrong sends chills through their body.Have you ever considered that these horsemen, like me, have researched religion to the nth degree and concluded that it is what it is, a scam? At that point having made these conclusions and then seeing the helplessness of the religious to respond with new information, why not act with confidence and try to dismantle the religion and thereby negating any further harm it might cause?I have stated that I agree that you have every right to believe whatever you like as long as it does not interfere with my rights in any way. When I see proselytizing in print or on the airwaves, or by means of some obviously religious display on government property, I will respond.There is the religious right, a group of fundamentalists, who have every intent to take this country and make it a Christian Nation, by force, if necessary. Presently their showman is Dave Barton. If they continue with their plans, which are in motion, I predict there will be a civil war in the United States within maybe a decade or two. They are presently infiltrating government. They deny the reality of the Separation between Church and State. I will be in the front lines, if I am still alive and able, to face them if need be.