Questions for the Christians

On November 14th at 7:00 pm, inquiring students, faculty, and community members filed into Schwartz, ready to watch a panel discussion on the relationship between Christianity and other religions. The event was organized by the StFX Department of Religious Studies and was hosted by Dr. Darwish. Ensuring a diversity of perspectives, the panel included Protestants, Catholics, historians, as well as students.

Reverend Peter Smith, from the local St. James Church on Main St., opened the event by discussing whether or not the church is exclusive. He described a beautiful story of how the church hosted the Antigonish Muslim community until they were able to open a Mosque. “Homophobia, misogyny, racism, that’s where we have to part ways,” Rev. Smith states. “Otherwise, we have no problem discussing the beauty in other religions.”

In answering the question of whether their relationship with Christianity had in any way evolved, Michelle Vava brought her experience as an international student into the discussion. “In Zimbabwe, most of the country is Christian. In Canada, there is much more religious diversity, and it is eye-opening to talk to other people and talk about their experiences.” Dr. Barry MacKenzie, a self-described “cradle catholic” and history professor at StFX, spoke about how technology heightens exposure to others, whether we leave the house or not. He stressed that while engaging with people holding opposite views is useful, there is a pressing need to recognize the “common denominators” amongst people.

As a Catholic historian, Dr. MacKenzie had an insightful background on whether he would erase parts of Christianity’s historical impact. According to the historian: Absolutely. Although, Dr. MacKenzie makes a distinction that people corrupt the goodness of the Christian message with greed and feelings of superiority. In cases where the Christian faith is spread truthfully, “there’s a thread of beauty.”

While there’s no question that StFX has a strong Catholic history, our school is relatively secular today. The question is, what can we expect for the future of Christianity on campus? There is nobody better suited to answer this question than Emily Risdon. As president of the Catholics @ X, she describes university as a unique chance for people to deepen their faith, and it can be as simple as just “eating pizza, talking, and asking questions.”

Each panellist expressed a misconception regarding Christianity they hoped to clear up.

Dr. MacKenzie: “We’re all very judgy.”

Emily: “Christianity is about anything other than love.”

Michelle: “All Christians are the same.”

Rev. Smith: “You can’t find a community within Christianity.”

An engaging Q&A period ensued, moderated by Dr. Darwish. As the audience shuffled into the hallway, many to continue their conversation, it was clear that topics surrounding Christianity remain an ongoing discussion on the StFX campus, hopefully, for a long time to come.