Talk:Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union
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For the May 2005 deletion debate on this page, see Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/Ciccu.
The CICCU's website can be found at http://www.ciccu.org.uk . The following is taken from the website (with permission)
Why have a Christian Union?
The Christian Union exists because of what Jesus has done for every Christian: he died on the cross to take the punishment that we deserve for our rebellion against God; and in rising to new life, he has given us a hope of eternal life with him in heaven. God has saved us, not because of anything that we have done, but because of his amazing love for us.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV)
As a free gift, we have been redeemed from our slavery to sin and the condemnation that we all deserve. Therefore, as we begin to understand what Jesus has done for us, it will be our longing, as Christians, to reach out to those around us who are in such great danger.
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:18-21 NIV)
So as Christians who are committed to the gospel, we will be seeking to tell those around us. In his sovereignty, God has placed us in colleges for 3 or more years, giving us great opportunities to witness. While we are at university, those around us are our friends, in college, in the faculty, in our sports teams, and on our staircases and corridors.
What is a Christian Union for?
At university we have unparalleled opportunities for evangelism, living among many friends, all the time, at a time of life when they are searching for answers. As a student group we are uniquely able to come alongside students and use university resources. As Christians in colleges, it is normal to meet together to pray and encourage and support each other as we seek to share our faith with others. As a group together, we can combine resources in order to put on events or meetings, and use each other's gifts.
Therefore, CICCU (anyone who sees the importance of these things) exists as a group of students to make Jesus Christ known in Cambridge and help each other as we do that.
So what does this mean?
Every member of the College Group is a member of CICCU, and so should be committed to serving and taking responsibility for CICCU. We need to be working together towards this aim and to be spending our time in what furthers it. We will be coming together from different Christian backgrounds - we need to be accessible. There may be some who don't agree with this and don't want to be involved. That is a shame, but we are not to let it keep us from going on with what we've become convinced is a great idea.
How can I be a part of this?
It is crucial that all people within CICCU and therefore, the College Groups, are aware of this, since it underpins everything we do, and answers many queries people may have with CICCU. So being a part of this will involve:
- Being active in witness themselves and using the resources provided by CICCU. - Praying towards the work of CICCU (crucial!). - Serving in one of many necessary roles. - Giving financially towards the work. - Providing encouragement to those in leadership and giving feedback. - Taking the initiative in working out the aim of CICCU themselves. - Passing on the vision of the CICCU to others! - It is important to remember that CICCU is not a church. We all benefit from belonging to one of the local churches where we can serve and be supported. We also encourage and support each other to be members of other societies where we can serve and witness to Christ simultaneously.
CICCU is a member of the UCCF (Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship) which is itself affiliated to the IFES (International Fellowship of Evangelical Students). With these groups we share a Doctrinal Basis which is an expression of the basic biblical truths which underlie all we do.
[edit] Allegations of homophobia - section deleted
I have deleted the edit by an unregistered user for the following reason:
1. It gave undue prominence to a possibly biased news report for which an entry in an encyclopedia is not the most appropriate forum.
2. The original paragraph was not written in a neutral voice. I tried to ameliorate the tone to make it more neutral, but I was still unsatisfied with the imbalanced impression it gave of the CICCU as an organisation.
3. Most evangelical organisations encounter controversy at some stage in their experience and history. It is not suprising that an evangelical student organisation such as the CICCU should find itself in similar battles faced by the wider church in today's society.
4. Ever since they were founded, the CICCU and the UCCF have taught the existence of hell and the doctrine of God's wrath against sin. They are after all taught in the Bible, which the CICCU avows to adhere to.
5. An encyclopedia is not a court-room. Not the place to make allegations.
I've restored the section. CICCU's evangelical attitude towards homosexuality is widely known and the events described were very widely reported amongst the student press in Cambridge (I'd give other links, but TCS don't have their full archive online and I don't think many college-based publications do either. Anyway, Varsity is meant to be the more conservative of the Cambridge newspapers!) Moreover, I think that the inclusion of this section is important in understanding the social views of the organisation, and leaving it out would mean excluding the CICCU attitudes and actions that are most known to the student body at large - it would be somewhat akin to writing an article about the Pope that doesn't mention that he's a Catholic. Modernway
For the sake of the reader, I'll make it clear from the start that I am a member of this organisation, but the following is by no means endorsed by CICCU.
The 'Controversy' section should be deleted because it gives a very narrow and biased view of the organisation. I fully recognise that CICCU is critised by some in Cambridge, but to focus in on the particular of homosexuality/bestiality is to miss the main critisism. The main critisism that I have come across is simply that of preaching the Christian message - be that through the form of talks, conversations or through distributions of sections of the New Testament. The controversy section should be replaced to give a more wholistic picture of the opposition to the society. If such an allegation is made, surely one should link to the original quote in context. The audio file can be found on the CICCU website under the media pages. The speaker in question was Philip Jensen at the Promise 2004 mission. His talk was entitled, "The Promise of... Sex".
