By Dave Brewer
Several years ago I knew a distinguished medical doctor who was asked if his home could be shown for an open house to the community because it was so beautiful. He agreed to the request as long as his gorgeous oriental rugs would be protected. They assured him they would, all he needed to do was to vacate his home, and give them a few hours to cover them with plastic. When the doctor and his family returned to their home, he was pleased to see the plastic covering, but then outraged to discover that they had tacked it down with nails through his priceless rugs, and also damaged his hardwood floors. It was impossible to repair the damage. He had trusted to strangers what was of great value to him, only to be shattered with the results. How would you feel if this had been your home?
The Bible teaches us in Psalm 127 that children are a gift from God: “Sons are a heritage from the
Lord, children a gift from him.” When our children are little we love them to pieces, take care of them when they are sick, protect them from danger, read them stories, and tuck them into bed at night. We teach them to read, send them to school, get them involved in church, Little League, soccer, music lessons, and all kinds of activities. As they get older we cheer at their events, run them all over the place, encourage them to study hard, and teach them to drive. Finally we stand teary eyed as they graduate, and we launch them into the world and away from our supervision, many who go on to college. Family members are the most precious treasure in life.
Unfortunately many college students today are coming home with a whole new world view, which is a shock to their parents. Since only 2% of students get involved in a Christian campus ministry, or go to church while at college, their faith often drifts away, sometimes completely, and they no longer want to go to church. While in class, they hear atheist professors scoff at Christianity and traditional values, because moral relativity is the norm – “different strokes for different folks.” They distain moral absolutes and promote multi-culturalism and diversity. Students are taught that socialism is compassionate because it helps the poor, while free-market capitalism has made America greedy and exploitive of other nations. The Leftists ignore the fact that Marxists like Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Castro all together were responsible for the deaths of approximately 100 million people. Leftist professors teach that America is a racist nation because the Founding Fathers had slaves, and that even today we are oppressive to women and minorities. At the same time they ignore the true oppression that exists to women in many parts of the world. God warned us about the dangers of false world views through Paul’s writing in Colossians: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)
Critical thinking is no longer taught on most campuses, and Christianity is portrayed as intolerant and evil because of the exclusive claims of Jesus Christ. The only god on many campuses is the Greek god Dionysus—the god of wine and revelry as students indulge themselves in binge drinking and their annual spring break madness. These godless professors go unchallenged because many universities do not allow conservatives to speak on campus as guest lecturers, they only permit Leftists. They even claim that the Constitution itself is rigid and archaic, so federal judges can legislate from the bench, and are not responsible to uphold the Constitution.
William Bennett, the former U. S. Secretary of Education wrote In America the Strong:
“Overall the majority of public and private universities are ruled by leftist
thought. Just about every liberal cause you can think of has strong support
among college faculties, from promoting abortion rights to saving the
world from climate change. Surveys confirm that liberal professors
dominate college faculties. (60% Liberal, 12% Conservative, 27.4%
Middle of the Road) 2013-2014 UCLA Higher Education Research Institute
Dr. Everett Piper, president of Oklahoma Wesleyan University, asks parents this question in his earth-shaking book Not A Day Care: “Why in the world would you leave your child at a school that takes great pride in tearing the heart, mind, and soul out of your kid in the first few seconds as you’re driving away? It makes no sense.”
It is only in Christian colleges like Geneva, Grove City, Calvin, Wheaton, Messiah, Gordon, Covenant, etc. that students are taught the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and the Bible as the context for seeking all wisdom and knowledge. They are taught the evil history of Marxism and its crimes, and that socialism has never worked anywhere. In contrast to this, free-market capitalism has made America tremendously prosperous with a high standard of living, and has enabled us to be the most generous nation on earth to other nations in need. And be aware that there is a huge difference between church-related colleges, and truly Christian colleges which are faithful to the Bible and who hold their professors to a statement of faith.
Christian colleges teach American Exceptionalism–our glorious Constitution, our religious freedom, our melting pot of people from all races, nations, and socio-economic levels who have equal justice under the law, our freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of public assembly, and trial by jury. In contrast to this, secular colleges teach multi-culturalism that tries to deconstruct the very idea of the uniqueness of America.
At Christian colleges kids are taught that the Bible has had a huge impact on Western Civilization– our development of science, technology, medicine, law, the arts, democracy, business, literature, and education; our advocacy of human rights, the elevation of women, protection of children, humane treatment of animals, etc.
Christian colleges teach objective journalism rather than biased reporting, accurate historical research instead of revisionism, open and free debate rather than repressing conservative thought and speech, critical thinking rather than indoctrination, authentic heroes rather than white-washed anti-heroes, and how to use your gifts and career to glorify God and make the world a better place.
Your son or daughter will make wonderful friends at a Christian college, and perhaps get involved in campus ministries and mission projects. They will be mentored by professors with character, they will avoid much of the binge drinking and partying scene on secular campuses, and they might even meet a wonderful, mature Christian who might become a future life partner.
Let’s be honest. Not everyone can afford a private Christian college, so one alternative is for students to go to a college close to home, and get involved in the great college ministry at Christ Church at Grove Farm led by Brenda Roethlisberger. For example, many students go to Robert Morris and are involved in the college ministry. This wonderful ministry reinforces their faith, encourages them as they go through these challenging years, and inspires them to live their lives for others and for God. If your son or daughter is very strong in their faith, and they go to a secular college, make sure that they get involved in a Christian ministry on campus.
Just like the doctor who was shocked at his discovery of the damage to his oriental rugs and hardwood floors, so we parents can be shocked at the results of a college experience for our irreplaceable children. Jesus warned us about the danger of improper priorities: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet loses his soul?” Matt. 16:26 It is vital to put a lot of thought and prayer into the choice of higher education for your kids.
