Where the lust lies
Bethel University students ignite campus-wide conversations of struggles with lust and purity.
By Godfrey Mpetey | Royal Report
Posters paint the stairways throughout Bethel University’s campus. The wall illustrates the campus engagement throughout the school. A conversation arises at Bethel. The personal and open discussions of lust, purity and human sexuality finds its way into the bubble.
Seniors Andrew O’Reilly, Philip Peterson, Alex Hunter and Jake Thompson administered a new topic by inviting male students to join in conversation about the struggles of lust in the Underground May 4. The four men created the event with hopes of enlightening others of their own personal struggles. All of the men agreed that lust led them to believe lies that kept them trapped towards sinful nature.
“I believed in the lie that it is normal to lust. It was meant to see women as objects.” Hunter said.
Constant struggles with pornography and relationships lead them into the deep end. The event led to a conversation reflecting on how they defeated their sin. The group of men sought to destroy the lies that held them from freedom of lust. The men found their new identity of what as Christians should be the proper response, thus finding their identity in Christ.
“The Devil wants to keep you in the dark,” Peterson said. “But once I was exposed to the truth, I no longer wanted it.”
The men ignited a conversation that they haven’t seen in their four years at Bethel. With less than weeks before they walk across stage and receive their diplomas, they strive to make an impact the lives of students.
“There were a lot of young leaders there,” Thompson said. “We want to be able to inspire them to continue to legacy and share the gospel and the spirit.”
While the men strived to start a conversation about their own struggles with lust to a men only crowd, others sought to respond. Less than a week after the men’s discussion, Bethel students Sydney Graham and Cindy Turner created a response forum.
The two showed Give Me Sex Jesus, a documentary by director Matt Barber. The film details the Purity movement in the 1990’s when large amounts of young Christians took oaths to remain abstinent until marriage. Throughout the film, individuals from different races, genders, marriage, single, heterosexual and homosexual appeared and highlighted their own struggles with lust and purity. The premise of the event engaged the audience with wider perspectives of the issues of lust, sexuality and purity in the church setting.
“We thought this is a conversation that needs to be happening on campus,” senior Cindy Turner said. “that needs to expand to have new and different voices on it.”
“Lust is a common thing between men and women. It’s a big issue on campus, we can either be quiet or as Christians, we can overcome it together. It’s important to have role models that open up about their struggles and taking the sinful lies out of lust.” — Connor Blasing, sophomore
Following the film, audiences members engaged in a discussion facilitated by Bethel’s own psychology professors. Throughout the discussion, many students expressed their issues with lust being seen as only a male problem, and women at fault for creating lust. Graham expressed her motive of creating the event was to deconstruct stereotypes on how gender ties into lust.
“I get frustrated when people only highlight male sexual needs instead of women’s,” Graham said. “It should be brought to the forefront that women struggle with lust as well.”
Both events view Bethel as fertile ground to enable the conversation of lust. Bethel University states in its own core values “we are truth-seekers, recognizing that all truth-scientific, artistic, philosophical, or theological-has its source in God.” Bethel students, such as sophomore Connor Blasing, find the importance in this topic among community members who strive to be truth-seekers.
“Lust is a common thing between men and women. It’s a big issue on campus, we can either be quiet or as Christians, we can overcome it together,” Blasing said. “It’s important to have role models that open up about their struggles and taking the sinful lies out of lust.”
