So, one thing you realize once you hit L.A. is that the culture isn’t exactly moral. But, then you get stuck in traffic (possibly for hours) and you start flipping around the radio stations. And, you come to 99.5 FM, a Christian radio station, where they play good Christian music and then mix in Christian talk. Well, on Wednesday as I was stuck in traffic driving into L.A. and then back out of L.A. out to Azusa, CA I heard some good intellectual discussion on the contemporary topic of “Intelligent Design.” Jonathan West (of Discovery Institute!) was giving a radio interview to the host of this Christian radio station about the intricacies of intelligent design theory. After that was over, the host then switched topics and went into why private vouchers would help the education system. I couldn’t agree more.
Finally, I arrived to my destination: Azusa Pacific University, an “evangelical” Christian school where a Catholic leads the ISI Group. Go figure. The group is led by an ISI Faculty Associate, who is getting his Ph.D. from nearby Claremont College, and (as an adjunct teacher) he is leading students in an ISI Group called “Faith and Culture.” They are taking on the issues of religion and the public square by bringing lectures to campus and discussing the “great books” they are already reading as part of their classwork.
Five students from APU joined me for dinner, as well 3 students from the College Republicans chapter at Cal State-San Bernardino. The leader of that group, Ryan Sorba, I have met before and been in touch with. Ryan’s a great guy and he dominated much of the discussion at dinner, including his interest in writing a book about the issue of homosexuality and the gay rights agenda. Obviously, Ryan is against their agenda and he gave us all some good insights that not too many people are talking about regarding this issue. A lot of it was historical as well as biological/psychological… as Ryan is a psychology major.
As I drove back into L.A., I was comforted in knowing that there were some good Christian students at both of these schools (one Christian, one a state school) that were doing their part to introduce faith-based ideas into the public square… being the counter-culture to a decadent culture. They have not only a lot of courage, but a lot of intellect. I was impressed and I think the dinner helped forge some good alliances between the students at the two schools, who seemed to have more in common than one would have originally thought.
As much as I think Christianity is more prevalent in “middle America”, I can see that Christians in the L.A. area are more vocal about their Christianity and trying to take on the popular culture with their faith. I’m hopeful that there are avenues for them to pursue and that these students are perhaps opening other avenues for those around them and those following in their footsteps.