Author of ""Jesus Without Religion"" Rick James spoke about the myths and truths of Jesus' life to a nearly full house at the Wisconsin Union Theater at an event sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ Thursday.
Many students expressed confusion and concern that the program's title, including the tagline ""No dogma. No Politics. No moral at the end,"" was misleading as the event focused on Jesus in an almost exclusively religious context.
""Because of the title, I thought it wouldn't be as religious…I thought it would be more informing for agnostics,"" Jenny Tong, a student attendee, said.
James, an ordained minister and former advertising writer, centered his presentation on making a case for Christian faith as well as examining the actions and intentions of the biblical Jesus. He made arguments for the Bible as historical document as well as incorporating other metaphors from art, pop culture and poetry.
Several students walked out during the first portion of the program as James continued with religious arguments and citations from the Bible.
""I thought it was going to be analyzing a history of Jesus without talking about religious aspects, but it was actually very theological,"" said Evan Malagren, a local high school student.
Other students were glad to hear James' perspective on the stories of Jesus' life and affirm their faith.
""I don't think it changed anything I thought, but it definitely reinforced what I thought,"" said Devin Shirley, student and member of Primetime, a Christian group on campus.
The main program ended with a group prayer led by James. Some were bothered by this conclusion, in which James encouraged willing students to say ""I do"" to Jesus and accept him as their savior.
""I thought the ending was in poor taste,"" Malangren said.
The talk was followed by an open Q&A session which elicited a wide range of questions for the speaker, from heated challenges to questions about spiritual advice.
