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CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE don't really know a whole lot of girls reflecting on their model of marriage," she says.
Despite all the searching, Westfall eventually found herself returning to a familiar place. After a solid year of uncertainty, it was still the Bible that rang the most true to her. "It came down to me that the faith that made sense was the faith I'd left behind," she says.
With her restored faith, Westfall studied the Bible with renewed focus, and from there, developed her conclusions about marriage and the roles of men and women. Though she admits the Bible leaves room for other interpretations, she likes this one the best because, in her mind, it is the most straightforwardly presented. It is also the model of her parents' marriage, which resembles what she someday hopes to get for herself, though not necessarily anytime soon.
And don't ever expect her to give up her dreams of being a pediatrician for any husband. Westfall says that's not part of the deal. "I believe God is calling me to be a doctor," she says.
***
There are some, like Campus Christians' Maddox, who claim that the University environment is somewhat hostile to Christian fundamentalism. This hostility, he says, takes the form of a general attitude on campus that undermines Christian values.
Probably few would be surprised at this claim, and fewer still would complain
about it. Maddox's beef is with the University's tolerant, "everything is OK" philosophy, which seems impossible to get around in a setting that doesn't lay claim to any specific faith. And beyond faith, the education-oriented nature of the University can also be construed as a threat to fundamentalist values, says Professor Paul Mirecki, chairman of religious studies department. "Time at the University is a time for learning rather than solidifying," he says.
She adds that Christians have brought some of it on themselves. From money- grubbing televangelists to hypocritical moralists, people claiming to represent Christ have "done some pretty horrible things."
things.
Evangelizing, or spreading the Gospel, is also a way Christian fundamentalists can arouse animosity against their religion - particularly when they get in peoples' faces and pursue aggressive confrontations about faith and being saved.
"Christianity is the un-cool religion," Westfall says, recalling instances where her philosophy has been called out in class, where people have called her brainwashed and a non-thinker. "As kids, we tend to be indoctrinated with 'don't offend Moslems, don't offend Hindus,' but it seems to be OK to just rip into Christianity."
But though the University does not endorse any specific faith, and should therefore theoretically treat them all equally, some still believe Christianity is viewed with more than its fair share of criticism.
Westfall doesn't participate in "street evangelism," which involves confronting random people, but Lee Bickerstaff does.
Bickerstaff, Emporia senior, is co-chairman of the Campus Crusade for Christ's evangelism committee, and frequently, he can be seen roaming the sidewalks of Wescoe Beach or some other campus locale, handing out spiritual surveys or just talking to people about Christ. Bickerstaff says he tries to minimize negative reactions by being as unimposing as possible, and for the most part, he finds people receptive to his message even if not necessarily in agreement with it.
Nevertheless, Bickerstaff has personally felt the backlash that evangelism sometimes inspires. His sophomore year, he was the centerpiece of a Christian campaign that involved a couple hundred students wearing red-tee shirts around campus that were emblazoned with yellow lettering that proclaimed, "I agree with Lee."
What did everyone agree with Lee on? That Jesus Christ is the son of God and he died for peoples' sins and everything else in the Christian mantra. The week-long campaign was a way for Christians on campus to show their solidarity and proclaim their faith, and also to stimulate University-wide dialogue on the subject which is a central idea behind their evangelical efforts.
Needless to say, there were those on campus who disparaged the campaign because they said it pushed faith on peo-
ple, and Bickerstaff,' as the mascot of the effort, attracted many personal attacks. He says he would walk around campus and see chalked-out messages that threatened him and even insulted his family, all because of the "I Agree with Lee" teeshirts.
But most negative reactions to evangelism, he asserts, are a good deal tamer. People usually don't go out of their way to heckle him. Most of the time, they prefer to simply ignore him.
King's experience with faith-based ostracism is similarly mild. The occasional weirdness he encounters with people on campus is no different or no more severe than when the Catholic kids used to make fun of him in good old Ness City.
But he's used to it, and as is his way, he accepts it His fundamentalist faith, though it sometimes pushes him into conflict, is as much a part of him as his love for writing or any other aspect of his personality, and he survives the occasional struggles it brings, much like he survived being the pastor's kid all those years growing up. He surrounds himself with some good friends, and now, his girlfriend of 18 months, and with them and his God to confide in, it's "survivable."
And it's not like people even make fun of him now. Mostly, it's just this underlying sense of awkwardness and a guilt that people sometimes feel around him, as if he's secretly judging every move they make, which he says is ridiculous.