Editor:

While sitting at a table outside the Union on Tuesday, I was approached by an acquaintance I had not seen since high school. After the typical superficial pleasantries, he handed me a crumpled-up flyer and asked me to help him out by tearing down and throwing away any of them I saw around campus.

I responded by asking him why I would want to help him tear down flyers which I spent two hours the previous day hanging up. The flyer in question was in regard to the upcoming theological debate between a Presbyterian pastor and a popular Mormon author on the topic of whether Mormons worship the God of the Bible. Needless to say, he must have felt stupid, but he quickly tried to save face by justifying his actions.

After all, formal moderated debates are sure to be biased and inherently “anti-Mormon.” Furthermore, respectful debates are not a godly form of interaction (despite the fact that Jesus, Peter and Paul frequently engaged in them). He then accused me of trying to tear down his faith by supporting such an event. Besides the fact that he was the only one “tearing down” things (literally), I tried to explain that if someone is able to tear down your faith by discussing in a cordial setting a book which you claim to be true, that faith isn’t worth having in the first place.

He admitted to me that, although he had not read the flyer in its entirety and had no idea who either of the speakers were, he was sure that the event was designed to destroy his faith. With that, he tossed my flyer in the garbage and walked away.

For those of you-Protestant, LDS or what have you-who haven’t had a chance to see the ads for this debate due to my friend’s random act of ignorance, I-as president of Reformation Fellowship (the group sponsoring the event)-would like to personally invite you. The participants are Jason Wallace and Allen Richardson and the event will be held on Friday right here at the U in the OSH auditorium at 7 p.m. E-mail questions to me at [email protected].

Matt Weinstock

Senior, Biochemistry