COMMENTARY

‘Eric’ is not out to persecute
or force beliefs

April Klaassen

Do you agree with Eric? Perhaps you’ve seen the yellow fliers and T-shirts flooding the campus and you might be wondering who on earth Eric is and what the hype is all about.

Eric is a junior on campus who experienced a radical life change. He is a Christian, meaning he believes in one God, the God of the Bible. He also believes Jesus is both God and man and that He died in our place because we are sinful and separated from God.

Eric also believes a person must individually put his or her trust in Jesus to be saved from that eternal separation.

You might be asking yourself, “Why should I care what Eric believes?” Or maybe you are thinking, “I don’t want to listen to another stupid Christian spiel.” Perhaps if you listened first, before attacking the Christian faith, you would learn something you never expected.

I am not ashamed to admit that I too am a Christian, and I do agree with Eric. I realize not everyone agrees with him, but some of the closed-minded responses that some of my fellow shirt-wearers and I have received are rather disappointing.

Probably the most common negative reaction is, “I don’t want you shoving your beliefs down my throat!” The truth is, most Christians do not try to force their beliefs on anybody. A huge part of the Christian faith is sharing Christ with others in love, not by force.

The First Amendment gives every citizen the freedoms of speech and religion. Those involved with “I Agree With Eric” are using those freedoms to make a statement of their faith, not to force their faith on someone else.

The goal is to start fair spiritual discussion among Christians and non-Christians. In fact, those who do not agree have the opportunity, along with those who do agree, to write their comments at the booth outside the student union. We are not being hateful but are attempting to share the greatest love that we have ever been given. It is sad that individuals believe preconceived notions about Christians and assume we were attempting to attack them.

The other common negative reaction is the accusation that Christians are closed-minded because we believe in only one God and, therefore, reject other religions.

Just because Christians believe there is one God does not necessarily mean we are closed-minded.
Personally, I grew up in a Christian family, but there was a time in my life when I had to decide on my own whether I believed the Bible was true or false.

In doing so, I explored other religions and learned the points of view of other faiths, but decided I believed the Bible. Most Christians are willing to listen to others’ ideas and are genuinely interested in others’ beliefs.

It is common courtesy that if we want others to listen to what we believe, then we will also listen to their beliefs. Is it not hypocritical for individuals to claim Christians are closed-minded when they refuse to listen to what we have to say?

Everyone has the right to express his or her opinion; that is what makes this country great. However, one’s opinion becomes foolish and inconsiderate when he or she refuses to listen to the other side.

COMMENTARY

Without protests, we would
suffer in silence

Janelle Silverman

In response to Kristina Egger’s commentary in the Nov. 1 edition of The Appalachian, I would like to approach the topic of protesting and war from a different point of view.

Even though our country must stand up to the violence of terrorism, a violent war with this third-world country may not be the answer. Recently I received a chain e-mail from a friend, expressing the idea that instead of violent fighting, the United States should clear our country’s landfills and garbage dumps by flying over terrorist countries and bombarding them with tons of garbage and debris. I thought this was a very creative plan of attack.

For a lot of people our age, the thought of what happened to our country nearly two months ago and the idea of fighting and war are very confusing ideas to ponder.

The authority of the United States, the people we elected to run this great country, are doing their job to handle this awful situation as best they can.

However, it is our job to stand up for what we believe in, even if it means protesting against the decisions our country’s leaders are making. Isn’t that the right of a United State’s citizen?

The right to protest is the freedom we have to make a stand and let people know when we think something is very wrong. Why take this freedom for granted?

For the average young adult, the only way our voices and opinions will be heard is by standing up and pushing for what we think is right, whether it’s about laws, policies, war or other issues that could have great repercussions on our lives.

Without protest, we will have to suffer in silence, wishing we had said something sooner.

I think we all want peace for the world; therefore, we should do everything in our power to make those dreams a reality.

I feel, in opposition to Egger’s opinion, that many of us have been threatened by violence in our lives one way or another. Many of us have been deprived of simple things in life that many others take for granted.

Many of us do not follow our parent’s examples—in fact, we have begun to take our own road, further and further from what our parents can offer us.

I agree that many of us are confused and do not know how to express how we are feeling. But the only way to attempt to express ourselves is to stand up and let others hear what we have to say.

Do not back in a corner, afraid to express your feelings and ideas about the world you live in, and about the issues that directly affect you and your country today.

The true cowards are not the ones that march around campuses, in front of federal buildings or outside the White House. The cowards are those who just stand by, letting others run the show, never letting their opinions and ideas come to the surface.

Therefore, I commend those who stand up for what they believe in, even if they are slightly confused about what should be done. We may be in certain ways “a lost generation” as Egger described, but that does not mean we do not understand what is happening to our country. The stronger our voices are, the more of a mark we can make on our world.

Our Perspective ...

Support your Apps

Energy and motivation are two important components of any victory.

With four regular season home football games behind us and two to come, we have to ask if we, as spectators, have given 100 percent support to our Mountaineers.

Sometimes, intensity originates from the outside factors like the crowd or a fiery halftime speech from a team’s coach.

The Mountaineers host conference and state rival, Western Carolina University (WCU) Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

As spectators, we need to support the Mountaineers by raising our level of noise and enthusiasm to overcome the Catamounts for the 16th time in 17 meetings.

Saturday’s match up means not only extending Appalachian’s dominance of the Catamounts, but The Old Mountain Jug, as well.
The Jug has been in the High Country 13 years. If the Catamounts were to acquire it Saturday, it would almost overshadow a winning season for them.

WCU is currently having one of the best campaigns they have had in many seasons and is riding its own recent streak of domination, having outscored its last three foes 128-20.

We should not give them the victory for which they thirst.

Besides the reward of taking keeping the Old Mountain Jug in Boone, a Mountaineer win Saturday is crucial for Appalachian’s NCAA Division I-AA playoff hopes. After a win over WCU, all that would stand between the Mountaineers and a playoff berth is a Nov. 17 home tilt with Division II West Virginia Tech.

Appalachian junior quarterback Joe Burchette is one of the Southern Conference’s most prominent passers and has been extremely sharp during the Mountaineers’ current three-game winning streak as Appalachian’s core of talented receivers settle in. There is no reason Kidd Brewer should not host our fourth win in a row.

Student groups such as The Marching Mountaineer Band, the ASU Cheerleaders and the Dance Team are always willing to give their support, but alone they are only a small crowd. Students, faculty and staff make up a large majority of the crowd at Kidd Brewer Stadium, along with alumni and members of the local community. This is your team, right now, this year. Be a part of the victory.

Currently, the Mountaineers are ranked 11th in NCAA Division I-AA football. We call on all members of the university community to come out to Kidd Brewer Stadium and do your part Saturday to create a hostile environment as the Mountaineers attempt to throttle the Catamounts and take one step closer to the playoffs.