By Corwin D. Smidt

Staff Writer

``Calvinists are feared all over the world.'' That is what one of my high school teachers said once (I think in jest, but I am not sure). I never thought much of the statement except for it being strange. I guess it does have some credence, though: Weber did sell a few books pushing theories of how Calvinism changed the world. Still, the statement did not really fly with my mom and dad. They would always bring that statement up in some sort of humorous way, commenting that most people in the world do not even know who Calvinists are. They are probably right, but I think maybe there should be some determination on our part to instill some fear in other cultures and beliefs.

What do I mean? Well, look at us! Our salvation is already guaranteed, but instead of slacking off and just waiting for kingdom come, we go off and work our butts to the bone. Other religions usually look at these facts and think we have to be a bunch of weirdoes. Compare us to some other religions. We do not go off and bomb buildings in order to earn some extra incentive for entrance into heaven. We do not have to perform penitent deeds or live an ascetic lifestyle in order for us to experience salvation. All that stuff is meaningless, because our life with God is already guaranteed. However, even with this guarantee of salvation we end up feeling this huge desire to prove our worth. Call it a Protestant work ethic, Calvinist guilt, or whatever you want, but there is this wickedly strange desire that results with such ``great'' success stories as Chicago Dutch Garbage Mafias and Amway cleaning products in Transylvanian kitchens. The only problem is that I fail to see this in a lot of students currently here at Calvin. It seems like such a let down that there is so much potential for stuff to happen starting here at Calvin, but it has yet to show itself.

OK, this article might seem a bit culturally insensitive. The CRC students here are in the minority and it is not like every student here believes in all this TULIP stuff. I will grant that. However, if one goes to this school, one should at least be willing to put up with some Calvin-speak. If not, I would say you should go off and find some other college that adheres to your own worldview. Seriously, as Christians we are taught not just to live in this world as it is, but to go out and change it. We could sit around with the satisfaction of eternal life in heaven, but that is not what we are supposed to do. Instead, we go out in the world to redeem it for the better. Not for any reward, but mainly because it is just out of who we are as Christians.

That being said, how does this relate to Calvinists ruling the world? I would say students at Calvin today do not take their role in life seriously. I think most of us, myself included, are slackers and superficial creations of the American culture we have come to love. We are too often concerned about meaningless stuff like parties, clothes, finding a nice job, having a pretty house and traveling to cool places. This is all insignificant in the end, because it does not matter when we are dead. That is, we should go out in our lives with a determination to do something better, transcend the common thoughts and practices of the world, and show everyone what's up. Too often people stress living a life that fulfills their needs. This is nonsense; your needs are only the creation of what society has told you are needs. Yes, there are such things like food and shelter that should be a concern, but that seems to be an unlikely problem for kids here. Do not concern yourself with the specifics; if you are working hard and reaching for something, there is no reason to doubt that you will be able to live a comfortable life and your needs will be fulfilled.

By saying ``ruling the world,'' it does not mean governmentally. So erase any images of some imperial theocracy centered in good ol' Grand Rapids; that obviously is nonsense. One should judge their lives by success and power, those goals are just as superficial as the other ones mentioned. Too often students at Calvin are aiming low. We have such a great opportunity to do something in this world and do it well, so let's do it. Go out and take on everything in this world. So the wasteful, hedonic and dogmatic sorts of cultures and societies we see in this world that structure society to their own beliefs of what is good and right should be in for a scare. If we go out and live in their worldbut not of it, we will be bound for success. We can go out, be successful, and change the world for the better because we are not constrained by these cultures' views of needs and wants.