I like our campus.

I like having the ACLU set up their tables near the sidewalk, side-by-side with the greeks, the socialists, the anti-abortion protesters, the Christians and the LGBT community.

Some members of the student body may belong to several of these organizations, while others may be vehemently opposed to them. But we all get along, and the diversity makes me feel pretty good.

I’m not sure how I feel, though, about having someone who comes from a movement labeled more than once as a dangerous and destructive cult speak on campus and present himself as Christian.

I’m talking, of course, about Tom Short.

A visitor to our campus from April 14 to April 16, Short spoke passionately in the free-speech zone south of Parks Library. There he discussed a broad array of topics, from dinosaurs on Noah’s ark to Sarah Palin’s backbone that, as Short put it, “turned him on.”

Still, Short wasn’t exactly forthcoming about everything, especially not his somewhat marred past with his church, which is part of Great Commission Churches. Formalized in 1970 as The Blitz Movement, this fundamentalist group swept Short up and ordained him sans-seminary education shortly before renaming themselves Great Commission International.

When asked if he could speak about Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center, a cult and abusive-religion recovery center, Short responded simply:

“No, let’s not talk about that.”

I’m not sure why. It’s not like the place was started by people who left Short’s movement.

Oh wait, yes it was.

To be fair, Short said it was Dr. Paul Martin, founder of Wellspring, who was abusive. Short claimed Martin’s actions forced the Great Commission’s hand, and so the doctor was forced out.

In other words, it’s Short’s words against Wellspring’s — a movement classified as an abusive and authoritarian cult against an abusive-religion recovery center.

Personally, I’m inclined to go with Wellspring on this one, considering how Short contradicted himself several times during his so-called “preaching” and his attempts at controlling information.

On his Web site, shortreport.com, Short’s notes from the “Frontlines” detail his travels. In one passage, he describes a “foul-mouthed fellow who is a comedian wannabe.”

“I heard no protest of his rudeness from the ‘intolerance’ crowd,” Short said, referring to the audience opposing him.

Either Short is hard of hearing or simply didn’t pay attention, as those who told the comedian to sit down and be respectful were split about 50/50 with regard to their support of Short himself. Short also fails to mention the comedian’s apology and quiet behavior the following day.

Likewise, Short omits certain facts about his own preaching.

“As usual, I was focusing my message on the existence of God, the reliability of the Bible and the claims of Jesus Christ. But the ‘silent protesters’ wanted to know what I believed about homosexuality,” his notes read.

Here, Short is suggesting that although he discusses homosexuality, he doesn’t bring it up, a statement he echoed in person on those days spent in the fresh ISU sun.

But let’s rewind.

Remember his talk about Palin? Short was certainly passionate about that.

“Did you hear about the hate crime at Sarah Palin’s church?” Short asked me.

“No,” I admitted after taking a wild guess at what he was talking about.

“Oh, I wonder why that didn’t make the news. Maybe if she was gay,” Short shot back with pointed emphasis.

I’m not sure what Palin had to do with homosexuality, but I’m at least fairly certain that nowhere in discussing her did I or anyone in the crowd mention homosexuality.

So, although “as usual” isn’t technically incorrect for Short to use since it leaves room for at least a few slips into gay talk on his part, the “Frontlines” notes paint a decidedly different picture than what actually transpired.

Short’s not perfect.

I understand that. But for him to profess imitating Christ and trying to walk a similar path one moment, and snapping a picture of me with his snazzy — and certainly not cheap — iPhone the other is a little fishy to me. Apparently, he wanted to take the picture because otherwise, his wife “just wouldn’t believe” him.

Glad to see I’m getting some exposure, I guess.

So why does Short make his way to our campus year after year?

What is his purpose?

What is his motivation?

I can’t say for certain, but it’s my opinion Short just likes to poke the hornet’s nest, prepping our generation for a “culture war” that need not even exist.

I don’t think Short is interested in converting people to Christianity. I think he wants Christians to get riled up and push forward an agenda they’re told is theirs while belittling those who believe differently.

It’s what I saw in his eyes as he announced to the crowd that he doesn’t “take pleasure when someone has a weakness” and that he “doesn’t judge people.” It’s what I saw in his teeth as he shouted, “You love the darkness” to students, or repeatedly called me by male pronouns when I specifically asked him not to, all with a smug smile slapped on his face.

As I walked away on Thursday and cried by the sidewalk, I admit I hated Short. I hated him, Christianity, God … all of it. But then, a great thing happened. A member of Salt Company, the local worship service I began attending earlier this semester, saw me.

He told me he respected me.

He told me that it wasn’t his place to say who or what I was.

He told me it wasn’t his place to judge, and he didn’t.

He only told me I was loved and gave me a hug.

That, to me, is real Christianity. That, to me, exemplifies God’s greatest gift: love.

I wiped my eyes as I pulled away from the hug and smiled. Suddenly, I wanted to be around Christians again. Real Christians like this man.

I came to the conclusion that Short is a spectacle and nothing more. I see him as a harmful, attention-seeking cultist who presents himself as Christian but behaves as anything but.

And what if there were a few less like Tom Short in the world?

Maybe there’d be more Christians.