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When I heard that Soul Force was coming to Cedarville, I was very glad. I graduated from Cedarville in 1992 and currently teach at another Christian College, Malone College, across the state in Canton, Ohio.
In the years after I attended Cedarville, one part of my spiritual journey included a deepening awareness of the role of culture in understanding scripture and my faith. As I started to read and think and wrestle with finding a home in Christendom, I became increasingly aware that some of the "bedrock truths" that I had held to at Cedarville may well have been cultural constructs that shaped a particular kind of reading of the scripture that had lost much of their meaning.
I was particularly distressed as I realized the ways that some of those cultural constructs had worked to oppress and marginalize women and GBLT persons. Since that time I have been trying to practice a kind of Christianity rooted in grace, hospitality and peace. Part of that practice means embracing a theological framework that is "welcoming" to people and ways of reading scripture that have traditionally been rejected by the evangelical church. I am an advocate for the full inclusion of GLBT persons in the life and mission of the church. I can no longer claim the certitude about the Bible's teaching that characterized Cedarville's position while I was there, but I do still find meaning, direction and hope in the Gospel of Christ and the gospel of God.
I'm prayerful that the time Soul Force spends on Cedarville's campus will be like that day in Emmaus -- where Christ's followers can experience a revelatory moment that demonstrate's Jesus' presence in places where they least expected.
Andrew E. Rudd Ph.D.
Cedarville Alum '92
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