Bubbly and the bubble
November 24, 2005
Lauren Inrig
To drink, or not to drink; that is the question…for Trinity, at least. Despite classes on philosophy, poverty and bioethics, alcohol remains a TWU quandary. The dilemma has been especially interesting for LLC students working on Parliament Hill, where cocktail functions and Friday evening drinks are common. Trying to balance social propriety and networking opportunities with community standards is difficult and awkward. When we reveal that attending Trinity requires abstaining from alcohol, people inevitably ask why. Like a deer caught in headlights, our eyes grow wide, and we issue an excuse or search for an escape. Too often, we duck our heads and mutter a sheepish reply, sometimes even apologizing for the policy.
That a simple question can reduce intelligent, articulate young leaders to bumbling idiots is startling. We need a better response to the question. Dr. Don Buckingham recently noted an interesting distinction in the lives of Jesus and John the Baptist. While Jesus turned water to wine, John the Baptist refused to let alcohol pass his lips. Neither action was godlier than the other. We cannot rank these actions on some sort of holiness hierarchy; each was faithful to his call.
I cannot help but draw a parallel to TWU. When we discuss community standards, the debate often revolves around alcohol in relation to questions of inherent morality, cultural relevance and Christian freedom. Community standards, however, is not a discussion of right and wrong, cultural relevance or even of Christian freedom. It is a question of calling. When we chose to attend TWU, we did so with both eyes open. Whatever our personal views, we agreed to obey community standards while studying at Trinity. Even Jesus, who drank freely with sinners, announced a period of abstention from alcohol at the last supper. His decision was not a moral improvement on former liberality, but a time of sacrifice until God’s kingdom is fulfilled. For this period of our lives, we too have accepted a season of fasting from alcohol.
Students have argued that TWU’s no-alcohol policy keeps them from engaging with non-Christian friends for whom alcohol is requisite to social interaction. Though this may be true, removing a natural connection also forces greater reliance on the Holy Spirit. We are willing to risk discomfort on the streets of Vancouver, or on a Summer Missions trip, but when it comes to drinking, personal inconvenience underpins the debate. Some of us would gladly die in an African jungle, but shrink from the little deaths that define authentic discipleship. Obedience was never intended to be comfortable. Not drinking does not mean we assert righteous superiority over others. Rather, it means we humbly admit that we love Jesus more than we do our individual rights. In a culture of instant gratification, sacrifice speaks louder than assimilation. What if we viewed community standards as an opportunity instead of a burden? What if we spent as much time articulating a defense for our conviction as we did complaining about rules? What if we refused to give the Lord that which costs us nothing and dared to carry the little crosses that mark the road to Calvary? Even if it means a few splinters on the way.
Now you go...
10 Responses to “Bubbly and the bubble”
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Lauren makes some good points about alcohol, but misses out on the following:
1) “Community standards… is not a discussion of right and wrong”
Of course the discussion isn’t about right and wrong, but the way the Responsibilities of Membership is phrased, it sounds an awful lot like it.
For example, there are phrases that say the standards help the university “preserve its distinctly Christian character,” and paint the standards as “one aspect of a larger commitment… to live together as responsible citizens, to pursue biblical holiness, and to follow an ethic of mutual support.”
These phrases are moral phrases: they are saying, by implication, that if one does not follow the standards, one is not “distinctly Christian” and not pursuing “biblical holiness.” This then trickles down to student discussion, where the morally charged language is appropriated and becomes a useful tool by which to judge and alienate those who choose not to comply.
2) “When we chose to attend TWU, we did so with both eyes open”
This seems to be the common sentiment that “we chose to come here, so we’d better follow the rules.” Such a sentiment glosses over the fact that Trinity has many unique characteristics that make the question of “choice” a little more difficult.
One, the average age of a student here is something like 20 or 21, meaning that most students are at least somewhat still financially dependent on their parents (unless they have a good part time job that pays $20,000-$30,000 a year). Their parents have had some say in the choice of institution, and I often wonder how many students have been “strongly encouraged” to attend TWU.
Two, Trinity is, if not the only Canadian Christian university, at least the first, and a forerunner in the arena. It offers incredible programs that can be found nowhere else. It has world-class professors that all are working from a Christian perspective. If one wishes this sort of academic environment, they do not have a choice about where to attend. They have to come to TWU, regardless of where they stand on the issue of community standards.
3) “when it comes to drinking, personal inconvenience underpins the debate”
This debate is not about inconvenience, it is about how to address the most widespread social phenomenon in the world, for all time. Alcohol has been around since we learned how to write, and probably before then too. It can be found in every niche of society, every social group, every occasion. This is not about inconvenience, it is about learning how to interact with the rest of the world.
University is a place where your mind is shaped and transformed. Trinity has taken on the burden of shaping the rest of the person too. If they continue to refuse to even discuss alcohol, it is at the risk of shaping students into people who are not able to interact with one of the most fundamental social rituals of humankind.
Interesting thoughts RJ.
I must also emhpasize that, though my own personal views on the consumption of alcohol may not line-up exactly with the Trinity Western community standards, they are invalidated by the fact that every student at Trinity has signed into agreement with the community standards.
Thus, any personal views are also invalidated.
As someone who a) does not go to TWU, and b) drinks a lot, I have to say that I think the community standard of abstention is a good one. As a Christian at a secular university, I have to hold myself to a higher standard than my peers. How much of an even HIGHER standard then do Christians at a Christian university have to hold themselves to?
I just think that if you’re audacious enough to go to a school that sets itself apart specifically as a Christian school, than you have a responsibility to constantly justify your seperate-ness, because your seperate-ness makes you such an easy target for criticism. (Seperate-ness may or may not actually be a word. I couldn’t be fussed to look it up right now.)
Setting yourselves apart at a specifically Christian school is basically putting yourselves in the crosshairs of criticism from the world. In such a situation, Ephesians 5:3 becomes even more important than it already is.
1. I agree that in the discussions of students and staff alienating language can be used regarding drinking, however, I think that the language of the actual community standards of themselves are fairly clear on the fact that the school does not mean to equate teetotaling with Christianity. I think the rule concerning drinking probably falls more appropriately under the core value of “Community”: “Members of the community place the welfare of the community above their personal preferences…[students are to]Limit the exercise of their Christian liberty in accordance with the University’s mission and the best interest of other members of the community. ” than under the pursuit of Biblical holiness. The standards themselves connect the matter of drinking with the “exercise of personal freedom.” I think the community standards themselves do try and make clear that this isn’t necessarily a matter of how holy a person is, but a matter of what those that wrote the standards consider as good for the community. Whether it is good or not for the community is where the argument concerning drinking should be made.
2. The fact that Trinity is one of the few options as a leading Christian university in Canada does not make the choice of schools any less of a choice. The fact is that Trinity has the standards, it is part of what it is; if that is a problem one would be better choosing another school. It is part of the school’s identity - a big part apparently because every (and I mean every) single year this topic comes up in the student newspaper. Most of us attend here, however, choosing to make the sacrifice of certain personal freedoms because the Christian teaching we recieve is more important than our desire to be allowed to drink. If it is a really important thing to a person another choice should be made, however, just because one doesn’t want to make a certain concession to a community’s standards does not give one the right to flaunt those standards. This represents a sense of selfish individualism I think - that the community should conform to your desires. One should try and change them if one feels they are wrong, but until they are changed, I think one should abide by them - especially since you chose to come here. Change can be good, but breaking community standards rather than trying to get new ones is no change at all. I find it frustrating that many of my friends who think the ban on drinking is wrong in the community standards also go out and drink - only affirming the administration’s assumption that students lack the maturity to drink and act responsibly and seriously undermining any integrity they might have to discuss the issue. It is hard to take those people seriously. (I should mention I do not know what category RJ might fall into, and am only expressing my own frustration here, not an observation of his/her character.)
As far as parents limiting their children’s choices as far as school, I feel bad for those students. However, I also think that drinking is an adult activity requiring adult maturity, judgment and indpendence - if a student depends on their parents for money to attend, they should respect their parents’ rules - and if they send you to this school I assume they like this school’s rules. If you don’t like the rules get out of the house (or so my parents said to me…and they weren’t joking), and stop taking the money. As one of the many students who attends this school without any financial assistance from my parents I think it is possible option.
3. If you need alcohol to interact socially I think this represents socially dysfunctional behavior. This is a problem, and I’m pretty sure people who depend on alcohol in this way could be called alcoholics. In my personal experience with friends who drink most people do not care when I do not drink at events where they happen to be drinking. I have found myself more than able to interact with others who are drinking and have only very seldom felt like I was alienated because of my refusal to drink at certain times (these times of alienation happened mostly in high school but most people get over these sorts of immature acts of alienation in high school - although I will admit that I have found this sort of behavior disturbingly and dissapointingly common at Trinity). Generally I have found, in fact, that drinking often serves as an impediment to social interaction - however, I will admit that this is probably due to the fact that my drinking friends often end up having a hard time controlling how much they drink - and drunk people are kind of annoying. If RJ could explain to me how drinking helps socially, I would genuinely appreciate it because in my social experience I have found alcohol to be either a negative or neutral factor. Regardless, I think the claim that you need to drink in order to be able interact in a social context, is, to put it bluntly, ridiculous.
I think good arguments can be made for and against the community standard of drinking. I just feel like the argument that RJ made in the his/her letter to the Mars Hill was a poor one - I would be happy if he/she responded with some sort of rebuttal to what I’ve said here so we can start up some sort of a dialogue. Although…I think there are better things to be discussing and I find our community’s continuous obsession with this particular subject kind of annoying sometimes…but, I seriously would love to hear from RJ - or anyone else who is angered by my comments and wants to come to RJ’s aid - or bring something new into the discussion. Peace and love,
Thomas Cairns
I love twu, and I am glad that I didn’t drink while there. If nothing else, I probably saved a bunch of money. I couldn’t really afford it anyways. right.
I go to a church where drinking beer, wine, and scotch (in moderation) and even smoking a pipe once in a while are a part of a life that honours God for everything that he has provided. I don’t think we should set ourselves apart by the things we do or don’t do, but why we do things and how we do them. I think the community standard that says alchohol is a moral wrong gives a message to everyone outside our community, and the church in general, that Christ wanted us to define ourselves by what we do. He didn’t. they will know us by our love, not by our moral standards.
TWU offers a community much like home. The standards of this society are much similar to those one would find in a typical home. With this in mind, students will continue to be sheltered from drinking, dancing, sex… If drinking was allowed the advantages to students would be out of hand. There are students who cannot control themselves to drink responsibly. On the other hand it is unfortunate that those who can destinguish where their personal limits are still must maintain the same rules as those who cannot. I believe that it is resonable to have a few drinks, but giving students this option would have similar effects as a hurricane.
I think David P. makes a really strong point. I think the strongest case that can be made against the community standard of drinking is that often the fact that we don’t drink is the most distinct trait of evangelical Christianity. I’ve talked with with a few people in Langley and I mention that I go to Trinity, one of the first things they mention is, “oh, they have all those rules there, don’t they?” (I have to admit that I’ve talked to other people and they have no idea that Trinity has any rules at all - but generally they know very little about the school to begin with).
I think, like Dave, that we want people to know Trinity is a Christian school by the way we love another, rather than the fact we do not (or aren’t supposed to) drink.
I guess, the real argument is - is the community standard standing in the way of our ability to love the world? Or is our love able to transcend this rule? Obviously the big difficulty I can see in losing the standard is that there would be other barriers our love would be forced to transcend - it’s questionable how seriously the world is going to take a group of students who have a kegger on campus one night and go to church the next morning, and given the attitude already demonstrated by many of us in regard to drinking in that we can’t or won’t stop even when we say we will, I think it could be an issue.
Related to this is the fact that Trinty comes from a very strong evangelical foundation. The truth of the matter is that this is probably a bigger issue for the evangelical community than the world that surrounds us. If Trinity moved in a more liberal direction regarding drinking, we definitely risk alienating a good portion of that community. I think there is potential for Trinity to take a lead in perhaps altering false perceptions in the evangelical community regarding drinking and other cultural sticking points, but division that occurs in the body is always a bad thing - the move should be made with regard to changing perceptions and renewing the body of Christ, not destroying relationships.
I guess, rather than focus on the negative aspects, I would like to hear more about how those who are in favor of getting rid of the drinking ban would protect the campus community as an educational community from the potential problems that drinking can bring; work with the larger (evangelical) church to help change perceptions of things like drinking; and most of all how even as we do this (drinking all the way or not), how is our love as a community of Christ being shown and extended to the community? What are we doing that really does make us different, and how can we share that with the world? I’d love to hear more from the angry ones out there who would really like to see change happening,
Thomas Cairns
Reading in the print edition of the Mars Hill I was struck by my own line “division in the body is always a bad thing” - which is silly and untrue. Although it would be a bad thing with an issue as trivial as drinking (and I do believe that unity is to be desired before division, even if division sometimes happens). Basically the only place I’ve heard drinking discussed more than at Trinity was when I was hanging out in the cafeteria as a high school sophomore…now I don’t know what this says about Trinity (or me, since I’ve obviously spent some time discussing it) - but there are bigger issues at stake people, things that are actually worth thinking and talking about. Check out the current issue of the MH and come out to the forum.
Thomas Cairns
I guess i’m not sure what to think of this discussion. I’m a prospective transfer student. I am currently attending a Liberal Arts college in Chicago, IL. The school has a Christian focus, but we aren’t required to sign a faith statement to attend, in other words it isn’t a big Christian bubble. That is the reason why I’m attending this school, I love the diversity and the ‘real world’ atmosphere. I have to say that it does call the students to make personal lifestyle commitments, you learn your lessons on your own- whether you choose the hard way or the easy way is up to you.
Last year I attended a one year Bible College in Alberta, where we had to sign a lifestyle statement. I think that there are positive and negative aspects to both communities. I personally believe that drinking in moderation is acceptable. I didn’t grow up in the church and lived a very alternative lifestyle before giving my life to Christ. From personal experience it does sometimes feel like Christians put themselves above non-Christians in the way they refuse to drink. After becoming a Christian and making some lifestyle changes I am completely able to go out and”party” with my friends without drinking and without making my friends feel like I think I’m better than them.
Most of my friends would not consider themselves Christians, and they know that I am, but they see my limited drinking as a responsibility thing- not a Christian thing. I guess my point is that it’s all in the way you deliver the message. I also believe that if you choose to be in a community and have signed a lifestyle aggreement you do so willingly. Respect is the issue more than anything else. Respect your community and respect you friends.
As I stated I’m considering transfering to TWU in september, is there anyway that a current student would like to chat with me about the school and give me honest and truthful answers to my questions?
Cramping down on my innocent desire to have an alchoholic beverage or two every now and then has been a less-than-ideal experience. In those moments when a stein would fit my hand so well as I watch a hockey game, I’m called back to the pledge of commitment I made to this university and the people who ultimately form the foundation of this place. We reside in this together. The struggle with ‘outlawed leisure options’ is something that a lot of students never really bother themselves with. And yet it’s crucial that we do. Because it defines the body that exists currently. My peers benefit from my non-drunken behaviour, my lifestyle choices and recreation choices and from the commitment I’ve made to seeking spiritual growth. What does that mean? A lot of things for a lot of people. Abide within the bounds of this university and find constructive ways to build into it.
And for anyone who wants a truthful (and engaged) view on TWU, you can contact me at normvep@hotmail.com. I would definitely suggest transferring to TWU if you have an interest in what it offers!