Yes, I went to Calvin College, among other institutions during my illustrious academic career. It is located at East Beltline & Burton in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My father attended Calvin, my grandfather attended Calvin, all my siblings attended Calvin, most of my uncles & aunts attended Calvin College. A large percentage of my highschool classmates attended Calvin College. Many of the pics I highlighted in this slideshow are of students who were both my highschool classmates (& a fair share were also my junior high & elementary classmates) as well as college classmates, given the highschool was just down the road from the college. It definitely was a unique situation... being amongst the same kids/classmates for so long... it has its pros & cons.. I actually wanted to "Get away" after my freshman year and managed to go to Hawaii for a semester...later I did a semester in Spain, still later I went on to graduate school.. also seminary.. I originally graduated from the college in '89, but got a second bachelors degree from '92-94... that's how much I loved Calvin.. and the cold weather ha ha.. YES, calvin is a "denominational college" ..that's what kept me there.. my dutch Christian Reformed roots & for a long time a very strong allegiance to Reformed theology & the reformed church, but later in life I found the Catholic church to be very spiritually helpful to me . Today, I consider myself "pro-tatholic" ...a combination of protestant & catholic.. which I think is very healthy and wish more people would become more open to the "other half" of the Christian kingdom. Too many protestants scoff at the Catholic church, and some Catholics are so devoted to Catholicism I don't think they've even been in a protestant church.. we need eachother.. we're supposed to be united. Anyways, here's a brief glimpse at my '87-88 year with the help of the "bod book" (the annual calvin college directory of faces & addresses) and a few google pics of the campus. I also put in a few pics of me from the highschool down the road (Grand Rapids Christian High, GRCH)... that's why I call myself an "Eagle-Knight" because it was the GRCH Eagles & the Calvin College Knights. I also snuck a pic of my dad in his basketball jacket alongside the late Don Vroon (one of his teammates & close friends from Calvin; they were basketball champions). I myself didn't play any formal sports at Calvin, just intramaural basketball. I still have some fond memories of Calvin but despite all my family legacy at Calvin I still feel there were some who controlled teh campus too much as if it was "their" campus (Mike Van Dennen comes to mind, Bob DeVries another, among a few others). My heart bled maroon (calvin's color) for many years but felt disillusioned at some point.. my manliness made people feel insecure and it got to the point I couldn't relax around the campus. My ultimate allegiance is to Jesus Christ and my devotion is to evangelism...telling the Great News of Jesus Christ. Calvin College was founded by the Christian Reformed Church, similar to some of the great ivy league schools that were founded by various denominations. Calvin is strong, academically, but not yet "elite." It is classified as a "liberal arts" college (ocassionally I have to tell people "liberal arts" does not necessarily mean liberal politics, as Calvin leans more towards the conservative side of the spectrum). There were those who may have tried to defame me at Calvin, God bless them, but also a lot of good people who have good hearts and do care about people. My first bachelors degree at Calvin was a psychology major. My second bachelors was English/education. Later, I did a year at Calvin Seminary ("up the hill") and then transferred to Fuller Seminary (Pasadena, CA). My dad also attended Calvin & the seminary and became a pastor for the CRC. My grandfather, likewise. I almost followed the same route but there were some people who drove me away from my beloved Calvin (God Bless Bob DeVries). My friend, & the friend of many, Doug Kosters, also attended Calvin for a while but tragically ended his own life around Nov-Dec of 1990. I pray constantly for my former classmates at Calvin and GRCH as well as the professors & administrators, et. al. I had some mostly good times at Calvin and am thankful for the love & concern of the mostly good people ar & around Calvin. I also enjoyed living for a year in Beets dormitory when I was a freshman. While Calvin has a reputation as one of the "most sober" colleges (in contrast to MSU the "party school" 30 miles away in Lansing) we still managed to have some good times .. I also remember fondly being a DJ for Calvin's radio station... i would play the tunes for the dorms for a few hours every week and take requests over the phone. Who is our most famous alumnus ? Maybe Paul Schrader, who I thought either dropped out , or was kicked out, of Calvin College (albeit Wikipedia says he got a BA from Calvin.. is that true? did he go back later in life? Or is it fiction? There's a fairly well-known story about him & a controversy that arose when he was editor of the school newspaper & an issue about the chaplain & a professor & Paul writing about it.. maybe you can find it if you google around) & came to Hollywood and may be best known as the screenwriter for "Taxi Driver" (also associated with "Raging Bull", "Last Temptation of Christ", "Mosquito Coast" , among others & of course "Hardcore" part of which was actually filmed in Grand Rapids) ...Paul's early films integrated his Calvinist theology (or rejection of).. it's notable that Paul didn't see any movies until he was 18 years old (Calvinists of his day, or the parents, didn't believe in movies, dancing, or playing cards, among other things). In fact, I remember that my highschool class of '85 was one of the first classes to be allowed to have school dances. Another famous Calvin alumnus is novelist Peter Devries (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_De_Vries ). There is also the late Paul Henry, a congressman. Then there's Rich DeVos (co-founder of Amway) who attended, but did not graduate from Calvin. I believe Wayne Huizenga attended Calvin for a little while (he founded Blockbuster movies, and later was the owner of a few pro sports teams). My late grandfather, the notorious Leo Peters, was known for his involvement in the controversy concerning evolution versus creation (grandpa was adamant about creation and took a position against Howard Van Til's "The 4th Day"). Grandpa Peters was also the founder of Butterball, which is still in business today, thriving on their McDonalds contract (the little butter patties you get with McDonalds hotcakes are from my grandpa's factory, "Butterball Farms" now run by his son from his second marriage, my half-uncle Mark Peters). Then there are the many fine alumni you don't hear about every day--the businessman, teachers, scientists, preachers, et. al. God bless them--the salt of the earth. Calvin being founded on the principles of Calvinism (ie the writings & teachings of John Calvin, one of the founding fathers of the Reformation), it has a range of personalities, not all of them (us) are the same... we're not made by a cookie-cutter. There are those who are more liberal and those more conservative and everything in between. And of course, there are those who come to Calvin College & write a "letter of personal Christian faith" (required for admissions) simply to get into the school but who are not Christians (it took me by sad surprise later on in my college career to find out that there were even some secret homosexuals amongst us at Calvin). I myself stand strong & proud for "traditional marriage" as the only real marriage & am also adamantly pro-life. I am also more evangelical than many of my Calvinist classmates. IN fact, there are those who believe that because there is nothing we can do to gain or earn salvation (based on Calvin's "tulip" acronym...the "p" standing for "predestination" nor can we change the potential salvation (or lack of others) by evangelism. I disagree and don't think too much about the so-called principles of Calvinism that people at Fuller Seminary mock so much (I found out later). I believe strongly in reaching out to others with the great news of Jesus Christ and believe it is not only our obligation but a privilege. Today, I produce audio Bible CD's in various languages and also post them online, glory be to God !
INFREQUENTLY UPDATED (mostly for historical purposes): This is ALL about the CHRISTIAN FAITH, with daily news & other items mixed in ! We cannot ignore what's happening in the world around us:the good, the bad, & the ugly, but we CAN try to respond to it thru the LENS of FAITH ! I keep running the race of faith in the name of the Father-Son-&-Holy-Spirit ! Join me
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
DESCRIPTION for the CALVIN COLLEGE SLIDE-VID
Yes, I went to Calvin College, among other institutions during my illustrious academic career. It is located at East Beltline & Burton in Grand Rapids, Michigan. My father attended Calvin, my grandfather attended Calvin, all my siblings attended Calvin, most of my uncles & aunts attended Calvin College. A large percentage of my highschool classmates attended Calvin College. Many of the pics I highlighted in this slideshow are of students who were both my highschool classmates (& a fair share were also my junior high & elementary classmates) as well as college classmates, given the highschool was just down the road from the college. It definitely was a unique situation... being amongst the same kids/classmates for so long... it has its pros & cons.. I actually wanted to "Get away" after my freshman year and managed to go to Hawaii for a semester...later I did a semester in Spain, still later I went on to graduate school.. also seminary.. I originally graduated from the college in '89, but got a second bachelors degree from '92-94... that's how much I loved Calvin.. and the cold weather ha ha.. YES, calvin is a "denominational college" ..that's what kept me there.. my dutch Christian Reformed roots & for a long time a very strong allegiance to Reformed theology & the reformed church, but later in life I found the Catholic church to be very spiritually helpful to me . Today, I consider myself "pro-tatholic" ...a combination of protestant & catholic.. which I think is very healthy and wish more people would become more open to the "other half" of the Christian kingdom. Too many protestants scoff at the Catholic church, and some Catholics are so devoted to Catholicism I don't think they've even been in a protestant church.. we need eachother.. we're supposed to be united. Anyways, here's a brief glimpse at my '87-88 year with the help of the "bod book" (the annual calvin college directory of faces & addresses) and a few google pics of the campus. I also put in a few pics of me from the highschool down the road (Grand Rapids Christian High, GRCH)... that's why I call myself an "Eagle-Knight" because it was the GRCH Eagles & the Calvin College Knights. I also snuck a pic of my dad in his basketball jacket alongside the late Don Vroon (one of his teammates & close friends from Calvin; they were basketball champions). I myself didn't play any formal sports at Calvin, just intramaural basketball. I still have some fond memories of Calvin but despite all my family legacy at Calvin I still feel there were some who controlled teh campus too much as if it was "their" campus (Mike Van Dennen comes to mind, Bob DeVries another, among a few others). My heart bled maroon (calvin's color) for many years but felt disillusioned at some point.. my manliness made people feel insecure and it got to the point I couldn't relax around the campus. My ultimate allegiance is to Jesus Christ and my devotion is to evangelism...telling the Great News of Jesus Christ. Calvin College was founded by the Christian Reformed Church, similar to some of the great ivy league schools that were founded by various denominations. Calvin is strong, academically, but not yet "elite." It is classified as a "liberal arts" college (ocassionally I have to tell people "liberal arts" does not necessarily mean liberal politics, as Calvin leans more towards the conservative side of the spectrum). There were those who may have tried to defame me at Calvin, God bless them, but also a lot of good people who have good hearts and do care about people. My first bachelors degree at Calvin was a psychology major. My second bachelors was English/education. Later, I did a year at Calvin Seminary ("up the hill") and then transferred to Fuller Seminary (Pasadena, CA). My dad also attended Calvin & the seminary and became a pastor for the CRC. My grandfather, likewise. I almost followed the same route but there were some people who drove me away from my beloved Calvin (God Bless Bob DeVries). My friend, & the friend of many, Doug Kosters, also attended Calvin for a while but tragically ended his own life around Nov-Dec of 1990. I pray constantly for my former classmates at Calvin and GRCH as well as the professors & administrators, et. al. I had some mostly good times at Calvin and am thankful for the love & concern of the mostly good people ar & around Calvin. I also enjoyed living for a year in Beets dormitory when I was a freshman. While Calvin has a reputation as one of the "most sober" colleges (in contrast to MSU the "party school" 30 miles away in Lansing) we still managed to have some good times .. I also remember fondly being a DJ for Calvin's radio station... i would play the tunes for the dorms for a few hours every week and take requests over the phone. Who is our most famous alumnus ? Maybe Paul Schrader, who I thought either dropped out , or was kicked out, of Calvin College (albeit Wikipedia says he got a BA from Calvin.. is that true? did he go back later in life? Or is it fiction? There's a fairly well-known story about him & a controversy that arose when he was editor of the school newspaper & an issue about the chaplain & a professor & Paul writing about it.. maybe you can find it if you google around) & came to Hollywood and may be best known as the screenwriter for "Taxi Driver" (also associated with "Raging Bull", "Last Temptation of Christ", "Mosquito Coast" , among others & of course "Hardcore" part of which was actually filmed in Grand Rapids) ...Paul's early films integrated his Calvinist theology (or rejection of).. it's notable that Paul didn't see any movies until he was 18 years old (Calvinists of his day, or the parents, didn't believe in movies, dancing, or playing cards, among other things). In fact, I remember that my highschool class of '85 was one of the first classes to be allowed to have school dances. Another famous Calvin alumnus is novelist Peter Devries (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_De_Vries ). There is also the late Paul Henry, a congressman. Then there's Rich DeVos (co-founder of Amway) who attended, but did not graduate from Calvin. I believe Wayne Huizenga attended Calvin for a little while (he founded Blockbuster movies, and later was the owner of a few pro sports teams). My late grandfather, the notorious Leo Peters, was known for his involvement in the controversy concerning evolution versus creation (grandpa was adamant about creation and took a position against Howard Van Til's "The 4th Day"). Grandpa Peters was also the founder of Butterball, which is still in business today, thriving on their McDonalds contract (the little butter patties you get with McDonalds hotcakes are from my grandpa's factory, "Butterball Farms" now run by his son from his second marriage, my half-uncle Mark Peters). Then there are the many fine alumni you don't hear about every day--the businessman, teachers, scientists, preachers, et. al. God bless them--the salt of the earth. Calvin being founded on the principles of Calvinism (ie the writings & teachings of John Calvin, one of the founding fathers of the Reformation), it has a range of personalities, not all of them (us) are the same... we're not made by a cookie-cutter. There are those who are more liberal and those more conservative and everything in between. And of course, there are those who come to Calvin College & write a "letter of personal Christian faith" (required for admissions) simply to get into the school but who are not Christians (it took me by sad surprise later on in my college career to find out that there were even some secret homosexuals amongst us at Calvin). I myself stand strong & proud for "traditional marriage" as the only real marriage & am also adamantly pro-life. I am also more evangelical than many of my Calvinist classmates. IN fact, there are those who believe that because there is nothing we can do to gain or earn salvation (based on Calvin's "tulip" acronym...the "p" standing for "predestination" nor can we change the potential salvation (or lack of others) by evangelism. I disagree and don't think too much about the so-called principles of Calvinism that people at Fuller Seminary mock so much (I found out later). I believe strongly in reaching out to others with the great news of Jesus Christ and believe it is not only our obligation but a privilege. Today, I produce audio Bible CD's in various languages and also post them online, glory be to God !
