A Look at Today’s Secular College Campus
“On a secular college campus, the danger of spiritual failure is far greater than the danger of academic failure.”
Depending on the young person’s preferred field of study, I’d tend to opt for a secular college close to home than a Christian college far away. The existing support system of family and church tips the scales for me. And the careers that are most in demand today - nurses, data scientists, electrical engineers… how many Christian colleges offer quality training and degrees in these areas?
Most seem to think a Christian college is more spiritual nurturing and physically safer, and the rules will keep young people away from home in line. In my experience, this is not accurate. IMO if you don’t have a spiritual backbone by the time you are 18, you aren’t likely to grow one in college - unless your parents are Gomez and Morticia Adams and you’re better off anywhere but home.
IMO the purpose of college is to earn a degree which translates into a vocation. Period. It’s not a place to ‘grow up’ and have ‘life experiences’. As if. Our culture of extended adolescence is so stupid it makes my hair hurt.
By the way, we’ve got Cedarville in our backyard, but for many, it’s not nearly Christian enough. So I don’t even know what “Christian college” means.
It does and it is. Though as for majors, I’d look at www.mbu.edu to see if it fits your needs. With its current accreditation climb, in a few years BJU will have both the majors and the accreditation.
[Joeb]If MBU has few Majors outside of Bible and it’s fully accredited it may be in for a growth spurt.SNIP
Hoping to shed more light than heat..
I don’t think going to a secular university matters one whit to an actual believer. By that I mean a person who really is saved, who loves God, who attends church, fellowships with the saints, reads the word, prayers, etc.
The problem is most, dare I say it, kids who go to youth group aren’t that. They just go because mom and dad make them. They never had any faith to leave. Since there isn’t the social pressure to attend church as in decades past, most stop and never return.
As for the influence of evil humanist atheist professors… My experience is the “true believer” students ignore science. I try to do what I can as a Christian science professor, but most students are so guarded that I rarely develop a relationship with the Christian students. That fact is sad and it is the main thing that I hate about teaching.
Most Christian students answer what they have to to get a grade and move on. They don’t want to think about it or discuss it. When I do a lecture on the nature of science, I don’t think ANY OF THEM know that I am trying to give them tools to understand the limitation of science…they all assume I am an evil atheist pig since I am a science professor.
Gee, I wonder where they got that idea from???
The short of it is, students who are looking for a reason to reject God will do anything to do so. Students that love God will put up whatever shield they need to to survive.
I think the environment at a secular college has little ultimate influence on a student who is already a believer.
I’m sorry to hear that; it’s very disappointing.
Tyler is a pastor in Olympia, WA and works in State government.
What is the theological implication of claiming that born-again Christian young people can “lose their faith”, “become spiritual failures”, and/or turn their backs on the church and Christ by attending secular educational institutions?
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
I have visited all evangelical Christian campus groups. All but one are social hang out groups, and almost all are women. There is little discipleship. The mentoring is more about life in general or about career than about a real relationship with Christ.
….is the one with a Tyco exec as President.
Other notes; agreed that there’s a lot of debate over what constitutes a good Christian college. My view is closer to Grove City, New Saint Andrews, Hillsdale, or Cedarville—you don’t have to skip getting a trade to get a Christian education. Others may differ.
And regarding the only real service, my granddad would have agreed with Tyler—when John Glenn went into orbit, he commented that it took a Navy man to do it right. (he actually flew with Glenn once in training, according to his flight log…but eyes didn’t allow him to keep flying so he ended up on a concrete bathtub/Liberty Ship)
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
…..that I could argue with Mark about the nature of a lot of the parachurch organizations on campus, but the stats I’ve seen do not paint a pretty picture of what goes on. A large majority—I’ve seen estimates as high as 90%—of kids who are in IV/Cru/etc., but are not in a church do not continue in the faith after college. I have also seen a fair number of fundagelicals ripping on science in general—not only is it something of a knee jerk reaction as Mark describes, but at times I would argue that it often crosses a line between legitimate disagreement and being just plain uncharitable.
Which is a long way of saying that the church is due an incredible gut check in terms of discipleship.
(and of course, my routine disclaimer: I hope that I am wrong about the state of parachurch organizations on campus, but this is simply what I’ve seen)
Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.
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