In new podcast, former BJU students, staff air grievances

The interesting thing about this is that the author is a homosexual man, Andrew Pledger, who apparently went there without reading the application. I'm not a huge fan of BJU's rules myself, but I do remember getting mail from them when I was a young pup, and it took me about five seconds to get a good idea of what the place is about.

So either the gentleman is extraordinarily dense, and maybe BJU needs to review its admissions policies, or he's playing dumb for the sake of his documentary. I'm leaning towards the latter.

There are definitely things I'm concerned about with BJU, but this doesn't add much to my knowledge, to put it mildly.

Bert,

I concur with your analysis. Choosing to go to a fundamentalist college then complaining that the college was a fundamentalist institution receives no sympathy from me. I even like how the article says one student didn't have a choice to attend BJU because the student's parents wouldn't pay for another school. Like that is BJU's fault... grow up people.

Just a cursory reading of the student / staff handbook would tell you whether you're going to fit there.

I did attend there, and I agree with both of you. There were certainly things I didn’t care for, and a couple things that were truly wrong (and have now years later been changed), but I can’t say I didn’t know what I was getting into before I went there (and that was without the internet and the ability to research that people have these days).

Yes, the culture is (or at least was) a bit insular. Is that any surprise when true Christians are the minority they are, and fundamental Christians even a small subset of that? That didn’t prevent the school from giving me a great education in my field as well as preparing me spiritually. Looking back I definitely ate the meat and spat out the bones (some taking longer than others after years of chewing), but the older I get the more I realize that the ratio of meat to bones there was very good.

Anti-BJU blogs and podcasts are a dime a dozen, and the ones I’ve read/heard are mostly repetitive. I won’t listen to this one, but I’m seriously doubting I’d miss anything that’s worth knowing.

A few days ago The Greenville News” (online edition) ran an article very similar to this one but a bit more focused on the Pledger saga. My first thought when I read it was “what is this kid thinking”? So he renounces the faith, openly declares himself to be gay, throws it in the university’s face, and expects no repercussions. Really?

The same article included comments from Dr. Camille Lewis. Some will remember her for her long crusade to defame BJU at any opportunity, resulting (she hoped) in its ultimate demise. In describing the university’s take on the gospel she says, "It's not the fact that Jesus has saved us that makes us able to live the Christian life," Lewis said. "The message is 'You need to check all these boxes of righteousness in order for Jesus to save you,' which is a whole different kind (of Christianity). It's very human-centered, not Jesus-centered."

It is really hard for me to believe that anyone could hang around Bob Jones University more than a few days and actually believe her portrayal of how the school preaches/teaches the gospel. She knows better!

I haven’t listened to the podcast but the articles I have read about it are mostly rehearsing oft told stories from the past. I happen to know that some of it is extremely one-sided.

Hey! Do I think Bob Jones University is perfect or above/beyond criticism? We all know better than that. But I do fear that this type of “journalism” makes the exceptions appear to be the rule. I just don’t believe that to be the case.

This is such a joke. 19 people out of nearly 45,000 graduates and countless more students who didn't graduate. You can go to any college in the world and find 19 people aligned to a particular viewpoint. 10% of the young americans believe the earth is flat. This podcaster found 0.04% of graduates thought the school was insular. Big deal!