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[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]By this time, I’m sure many students are aware that Westmont hosts a poster sale for two days of the week during the beginning of each year by an organization called Beyond The Wall. Last year I went through all of the posters for sale, and selected a couple of my favorite. The type of posters for sale shocked me. As a freshman in my second week of college, I figured that anything for sale on a Christian campus would be appropriate and in accordance with Westmont’s motto: Christus Primatum Tenens (Holding Christ Preeminent). Far from it.

The Beyond The Wall poster sale features multiple posters that portray extreme violence, inappropriate words, vulgar movies and sex-related themes. Such posters included multiple sexually provocative Marilyn Monroe images, a half-naked Megan Fox portrayal, sexually explicit vintage photos and half naked couples on the beach. Furthermore, there was a good deal of posters advertising dirty movies such as “Hangover 2,” which according to what I’ve heard, should break any Christian’s heart.

Now, it must be stated that the posters aren’t technically being sold by Westmont College, and therefore some may argue that Westmont isn’t responsible for what is sold. However, Westmont is responsible for what it allows on campus and as a private institution can decide what to allow and what to prohibit, and in this case we have allowed these inappropriate and counter-gospel depictions to be sold and posted on our walls.

Let me make clear that I do not write this in a spirit of hostility but of love and concern for the nature of our campus and its students and staff. It’s so important for us as Christians to be in this world without conforming to it (Romans 12:2). Scripture is clear that “among you there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people” (Ephesians 5:3) and that “the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does – comes not from the Father but form the world” (1 John 2:16b). Instead, let us dwell on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, and whatever is admirable…” (Philippians 4:8). My desire for this campus and myself is that we truly embrace and live out our motto, by focusing fully on Christ and putting Him above all else. But when we allow such worldly things to be sold on campus, we are living at peace with the very things Christ died for and set us free from.

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