Holy War

When the idea came up for Christian Impact (CI) and the Harvard Secular Society (HSS) to combine theological debate with simulated violence in a trip to Paintball Heaven in nearby Bridgewater, both groups jumped at the chance to create a Harvard version of the Crusades. “Philosophical combat with Christians is too easy. In the proverbial battle of wits, they’re unarmed” said HSS President Ram C. Gowda ’02. “Paintball was much cooler; we got to savor the primal joy that comes from dodging your enemy’s shots and plugging him in the chest.”

As e-mail bulletins about the paintball excursion went out to solicit participants, CI members were asked to help “light up the forces of darkness with bright pink paint” while HSS members were invited to “a full day of religiously motivated, simulated violence because we can’t all live in Northern Ireland or India.” These slightly underhanded bulletins, though in good fun, reveal an underlying tension bound to exist between groups with such different approaches to faith. “It’s going to be fun, but this definitely has to do with spite,” Gowda said before the fighting started.

WAR IN

(PAINTBALL) HEAVEN

This past Saturday, seventeen male members of the two organizations (and one intrepid FM reporter) took the Commuter Rail and one overcrowded van to reach their paintball holy land. The CI and HSS members were able to put their philosophical discussions to the side for a few hours once little balls of liquid began whizzing past their heads and the adrenaline started flowing. “Nothing like ducking crossfire to foster male bonding,” said Gowda.

For enthusiasts of the souped-up, aggressive version of tag the Bridgewater complex and its upbeat staff were worth every penny. The excursion was priced at $60 per person, including transportation, but both CI and HSS subsidized half the cost for everyone on the trip. Pre-game rituals did not include prayer; instead, the train ride was full of the gratuitous swearing and off-color jokes of the HSS men. CI sources report they were not thrown off in the least by the irreverence.

Once armed and informed of the rules by a drill sergeant-esque worker, the men engaged in several intense battles that each lasted about 20 minutes. (The war over theism was not the only one raging that afternoon in Paintball Heaven. The course is constantly in use by other groups. Allegedly in the name of bonding, fathers suited up with top-of-the-line guns and shot the hell out of their children.)

Team CI initially seemed to have a slight edge in paintball ability and was victorious in the first two contests by a noticeable margin. Yet the tide swung dramatically when battle was moved to the Ghost Town stage, an Old West recreation featuring actual two-story buildings. HSS dominated this scenario. “We didn’t need to assert our obvious moral superiority,” said Gowda. “We just wanted to kick some Christian ass. Think of it as payback for the Inquisition.”

The final battle ended with most combatants having exhausted their ammunition, and HSS member Jason M. Bussey, a Harvard Law School student, getting shot in his face mask at point blank range. “When Jeff [E. Heck ’03, a CI member] plastered Jason in the face from three feet away when he tried to make him surrender—I’d have to say that was a memorable moment,” said CI member Benjamin T. Littauer ’02.

Although some went home with battle scars—such as the quarter-sized welt on the neck of Patrick T. Smith ’03—the men were not seething with contempt or full of revenge for the other team. “I think it was a good chance to interact with each other in a normal, non-academic setting,” said Heck, “and realize that despite our almost polar differences, we can still have a good time together.”

HEAVIER THAN

(PAINTBALL) HEAVEN

It is the very fact that these two groups can agree to disagree that brings them together. Apart from physical assaults, they have exchanged numerous philosophical shots in intense debates. The theological glasnost began when a few CI members joined a discussion list on the HSS website.

The HSS discussion list was created by Nicholas C. Murphy ’01 three years ago in an attempt to address religious questions and more practical issues pertaining to faith. “I wanted to get people talking about these issues,” Murphy said, “so that even if there were disagreements, even visceral disagreements, both sides might at least begin to see the humanity in the other side.”

Pat McLeod, the advisor to CI from Campus Crusade for Christ—a national evangelical organization with which CI is affiliated—believes that Christianity has its greatest chance of winning over some of the brightest Harvard minds if carried out in a “healthy, pluralistic environment,” which he sees the discussion list to be. “I respect the CI guys for their courage to move their beliefs in Jesus Christ out of the intellectual backwaters of the academy into the mainstream of ideas,” McLeod said. “And I really respect HSS for accepting these guys into the group.”

Yet, opinion on the use and usefulness of the discussion list is divided. The discussions were intended to bring the two groups closer together in finding common ground. But the debates, which at times have degenerated into flaming, are seen by some as a means of promoting entrenched views rather than as an opportunity to be truly open to the other side’s position. “We are looking to sharpen our own argument,” said Gowda. “If you are in an open philosophical forum, people would have to arrive without assumptions and, with reasoned debate, would arrive at some truth. Our discussion is not truth-seeking because we come to it with preconceptions about what faith means or doesn’t mean.”

On the other hand, Richard T. Halvorson ’03, the “resident sage” of HSS and a member of CI, sees the discussions as an opportunity for students to move one step closer to truth. “Anyone who is seeking truth with intellectual honesty will have doubts because they will see the force of the other side’s position. Doubt is a sign of honest reflection. I participated in the discussions to continue learning and thinking.”

Kerry J. Dingle ’05 is skeptical about the discussion list as a potential eye-opener. “As a member of HSS,” Dingle said, “I think it’s comforting to be with people who share my view of the world.”

But this kind of self-segregation is what the leadership of HSS and CI want to avoid and why they are trying to open up discussion more in the future. Paintball is just a small step in bringing the groups together in a fun environment. “If you are going to believe something, then make it a challenge, expend some energy, because beliefs are some of the most important things,” Smith said. “Once they see we are not godless heathens and once we see they are not out to put us on the rack, discussions are going to go much further.”

Paintball Heaven was not an attempt to bring the men of HSS into the light of God. Said Smith, “We did settle one thing: belief in God will not help you in paintball, especially in the Ghost Town.”