The six-person panel, all in a row, sat rather anxiously as they waited to field their first question from an audience of about 60 staring back at them. And then that discerning moment passed when it became obvious things were not going as planned.

The panel, decked out in matching kelly green T-shirts, continued waiting as the room located on the top floor of the Schine Student Center maintained its steady silence.

That’s when Mike McQuitty, chaplain of Baptist Campus Ministries at Hendricks Chapel, bucked the trend and told the audience to get bold. As moderator, one of his responsibilities was certainly to get the event to take off.

And then, with a raised hand in row five, it finally did.

So began the Wednesday evening discussion, distinctively named: ‘Are Christians Crazy?’ which seemed to fulfill at least one of the objectives of the ‘I agree with Craig’ campaign.

‘Our goal is to stir conversation on this campus,’ said Jonathan Han, campaign spokesman, ‘to get people thinking and out of their comfort zone. We hope people will start questioning what they believe. If they challenge what they believe, that’s great. If not, that’s great, too.’

Han is just one of about 150 students who have volunteered their time since Monday to share with the Syracuse University campus their devotion to one individual: Jesus Christ. Along with manning a table in Schine and Wednesday’s panel discussion, the campaign will end today with ‘Craig’s Story,’ at 5:30 p.m. in Hendricks.

The campaign started after a full-page advertisement ran in The Daily Orange on Monday, in which junior Craig Jones simply laid out what he believes, specifically in the realms of the Bible, heaven and hell, God’s love and how ‘Everyone can receive this totally undeserved gift of eternal life by placing his or her trust in Jesus.’

Those in agreement with him have literally been wearing it on their chests all week, and in the process, have become obvious targets of questioning students who are curious enough to opine.

‘What we did this week by any regard wasn’t imposing,’ said Han, international relations major. ‘It wasn’t invasive and wasn’t something that hasn’t been done by other groups before. Our desire was to provide students, whether with us or by themselves, to look into themselves and see what they really believe. If they agree with Craig, that’s fine. If they don’t, that’s OK, too.’

Even with a self-described carefree approach to teaching SU about their faith, some students – like junior Ben Stephens – fail to understand how someone could make his or her own beliefs count more than personal action.

So in a stunt mirroring that of Campus Crusade for Christ’s, Stephens printed two-dozen T-shirts of his own – these ones in blue – that read, ‘I agree with Ben.’

‘I really don’t want to, I don’t know, criticize the people who are taking part in the Craig campaign,’ said Stephens, a construction management major. ‘The T-shirts and panel discussion are great. I just think that the message of their beliefs being more important than actions really sets up judgment of people based on their beliefs. At a university, that isn’t what we should be about.’

Stephens, who considers himself atheist, said he attended Wednesday’s panel discussion – which he dubbed ‘really great’ – and probably would have contemplated attending ‘Craig’s Story’ today if it weren’t for a prior commitment.

‘It was a great discussion about the people’s beliefs,’ said Stephens, reflecting on his experience at the discussion. ‘How they rationalize certain elements of the Bible and account for all these other religions – really great answers. It was a good spiritual discussion for people, but really wasn’t, I guess, something that hooked me in. I don’t have that belief system.’

Surely plenty of people would shy away from publicly displaying their personal beliefs to an audience of more than 10,000. But for Craig Jones, signing up for the premier role in the ‘I agree with Craig’ campaign didn’t seem to be ‘a big deal,’ really.

‘Wearing the shirt and posting an article is an outward sign of what I believe,’ said Jones, an accounting and finance major. ‘And these have always been my thoughts and my beliefs – nothing really changed a whole lot.’

As for Stephens’ ‘I agree with Ben’ stunt earlier this week, Jones refused to comment on it specifically, but did care to address Stephens’ perspective that actions should be first and beliefs second.

‘I have personally always believed that beliefs dictate actions,’ he said. ‘And that, I have found true in my life.’

As of press time, Jones said he has not had the opportunity to speak to Stephens. Even so, when asked if he has faced personal criticism from the campus since his advertisement appeared in The D.O., Jones responded with a resounding ‘oh yeah.’

Jones detailed an encounter he had Thursday with an individual that didn’t agree with his beliefs. But it wasn’t the confrontation itself that Jones did not appreciate, rather, the way he was confronted.

‘It wasn’t a fact-finding mission,’ Jones said. ‘He basically wanted to tell me I was wrong. It’s funny that people have asked, ‘How can you be so close-minded?’ That’s a close-minded thing within itself.’

By the end of today, the Campus Crusade’s campaign will officially come to an end. However, before the kelly green T-shirts fade from the campus spotlight, one event – the campaign’s culminating event – has yet to even commence: ‘Craig’s Story.’

Jones said he invites anyone who considers themselves open-minded to attend his speech, because, ‘Why not hear what some kid has got to say?’

‘All week there’s been discussion of the thoughts and philosophy of Christianity, of what I’ve put in the paper,’ said Jones, referring to Monday’s advertisement. Today’s event in Hendricks ‘is an opportunity to hear how Christianity is played out in my life. Instead of conceptual ideas of Christianity, this is my experience with Christianity.’

Published on March 29, 2007 at 12:00 pm