OSU Socratic Club event brings out varying ideals on Christian faith<\/strong><\/p>\n By AARON HOUGIIAM A nearly full house turned out Monday evening to take part in a debate called \u2018Why I am a Christian \u2014 and why I am not.\u00a0 The event featured author and lecturer Bob Siegel and Oregon State University Philosophy Instructor Steven Brence, and was co-sponsored by the Oregon State University and Campus Ambassadors.\u00a0 The Socratic Club is a student led group to facilitate discussion between Christians and non\u00ad-Christians, especially as it relates to Christianity\u2019s validity\u201d said Joel Klein, 20, a chemistry major and also the vice-president of the club. \u201cThe Socratic club is largely made up of Christians, but you do not have to be a Christian to be a part of it,\u201d Klein said. \u201cWe\u2019d like to keep expanding and getting more people to come.\u201d\u00a0 The first Socratic Club was started in December 1941 at Oxford University and was presided over by famous author and theologian C.S. Lewis.\u00a0 The chapter at Oregon State University started three years ago, and plans on holding a similar open-to-the-public debate once a month.\u00a0 \u201cThis topic seems appropriate, related to our purpose as a club to discuss the reasons why one would become a Christian,\u201d Klein added.\u00a0 Presenters were given half an hour to discuss their understanding of Christianity and its significance to each of them personally.\u00a0 Both mentioned that they grew up in secular, Jewish families, but that was where their common ground ended.<\/p>\n Siegel explained his belief in Christianity using what he described as a \u201cthree-pronged argument\u201d to prove that Christianity made sense for him.\u00a0 Siegel argued that Christianity \u201cis based on historical evidence, makes sense rationally and can be personally experienced.\u201d<\/p>\n Brence, who is not a Christian, presented his discussion in a different light. He made it clear he did not with to convince those in attendance not to be Christian, but rather presented himself as someone who has never seen Christianity as a viable option.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t feel like my ability to make sense of things is nearly sufficient to impose (a Christian) understanding on something of a scale so different than ordinary beings,\u201d Brence said.<\/p>\n After each debater finished their segment, the two Sat down with one another to ask questions back and forth.\u00a0 Siegel took charge immediately, asking every question, and soon after Brence was visibly frustrated.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s insane to claim that I understand the nature of the universe,\u201d Brence quipped in an attempt to keep the conversation amicable. \u201cI don\u2019t even understand my girlfriend all the time.\u201d\u00a0 The event concluded with audience questions, engaging both speakers and giving those in attendance a chance to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Christianity discussed, debated and questioned OSU Socratic Club event brings out varying ideals on Christian faith By AARON HOUGIIAM The Daily Barometer Oregon State University Oct. 28, 2003 A nearly full house turned out Monday…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":4381,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4394","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobsiegel.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobsiegel.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobsiegel.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bobsiegel.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bobsiegel.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bobsiegel.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4394\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bobsiegel.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bobsiegel.net\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe Daily Barometer
\nOregon State University
\nOct. 28, 2003<\/p>\n