By Cathy Guiles

Perspectives Co-editor

To seem the stranger lies my lot, my life

Among strangers. Father and mother dear,

Brothers and sisters are in Christ not near

And he my peace/ my parting, sword and strife.

-Gerard Manley Hopkins

Hopkins, a Jesuit priest living in predominantly Anglican England, wrote these words sometime between 1876 and 1889, yet I still sense their relevance today as I look at the painful divisions within the denomination I grew up in and belong to: the Presbyterian Church (USA).

The situation would be ironically funny were it not so serious: not only can't we agree on whether or not non-celibate gays should be allowed to marry or serve in ordained positions of leadership (the latest in a long line of dichotomous controversies), but we are divided as to how divided we should be. In other words, a recent survey showed that most people in the PCUSA can't decide if they want to split into two denominations or stay together with liberals and conservatives continuing to fight it out.

What's perhaps even more sad is that Hopkins' words ring true outside of my own church. At Calvin, I hear divisive terms almost every day, and they sting. I overhear students who ought to know better mock ``evangelicals,'' ``charismatics'' and ``fundamentalists,'' not even understanding what those terms mean. I watch Protestant students make blanket assumptions about Catholics, falsely thinking that no Catholics attend this school, let alone live down the hall in the dorm. I know I'm guilty of judging others myself, writing off those I disagree with as ``crazy liberals,'' ``Godless heathen'' or ``anti-intellectual nuts.'' Too often, what passes for religious discussion between students at Calvin focuses on what church we were brought up in, rather than what we are currently learning from God.

Don't get me wrong: I realize that Christians will never agree on every point of doctrine. Some diversity is good, and denominations can be beneficial in that they allow us to practice our faith in an atmosphere where we will be most receptive to it, rather than get distracted by the discomfort we may feel about a certain practice. More importantly, when part of the church strays from God's word, as I feel the more liberal wing of my denomination has, sometimes a split is inevitable in order to maintain our integrity.

My problem is when we insist on insulting those we have a complaint against, or beating each other over the head with issues we've already more or less agreed to disagree about, rather than putting them aside in order to show love and focus on more pressing concerns. At my public high school, the committed Christians were few and far between. We didn't have time to argue over whether it was ``better'' to be Presbyterian or Assemblies of God, Catholic or non-denominational or Greek Orthodox. We had to stick together and support each other if we were to flourish or present any sort of consistent witness to our classmates and teachers.

At the Festival of Faith and Writing this past weekend, I was struck by the harmony and respect that participants were able to show each other, regardless of their religious affiliation (or lack thereof). Catholics, Orthodox Christians, all kinds of Protestants, Jews, and at least one Buddhist, one Unitarian and one skeptic, listened and learned from each other's words and experiences. If only Calvin could be like that every day, and not just when we happen to have a lot of visitors on campus.

As the religious diversity at Calvin increases, let's look at it as a chance to learn, rather than respond with a knee-jerk fear that our school is somehow going to hell in a handbasket because the ``right'' kinds of students aren't going here anymore. Believe it or not, outside of our lovely campus live people who have rejected organized religion because of the divisiveness and pain they saw, and have instead chosen their own vague spirituality in order to satisfy their deepest longings. Like Hopkins, they were made to feel like strangers, rather than friends of whom it could be said, ``How good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters live together in unity!'' (Ps. 133:1, NIV)

To reach them, we must present Christianity as Jesus wanted it to be: full of life, love and variety, but ultimately united and centered around him, not focused on us and our own prejudices. We need not be uniform, but we should be united, as Jesus pleaded on our behalf: ``I pray also for those who will believe in me through [the apostles'] message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me'' (Jn. 17:20-21).