I'm in college now, and recently I've been having some questions. It seems that the typical secular college has classes that promote false ideas (e.g. evolution, philosophy, and religion classes) and provides spaces for religious activities, including ones for false religions. I was wondering if it would be wrong to attend a secular college, since most students have a somewhat strong tie to their college, and I'm not sure if it would be good to have a strong connection to an organization that supports those things. However, it seems that almost all Christians I know are okay with attending secular colleges, so I'm guessing there are probably good reasons why it's okay, but right now I'm a little confused. Does anyone have input on this?
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Secular Colleges
- Thread starter MathGuy
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wren51
Member
It's been a few years since I have been in college, but personally, I do not think it is wrong for a Christian to attend a secular college and dependent on God's calling. I graduated from a secular college that promoted ideas contrary to the Bible. Nevertheless, during that time period and despite the student culture around me, I found myself drawing closer to God and developed a hunger for His Word. Although other religions/ideals were promoted, it gave us an opportunity to have a Christian club on campus, which then gave us an opportunity to share the Gospel. One I guess it depends on how closely connected you are to your college, which professors that influence you the most and what you choose to build your foundation upon. I guess it also depends on your relationship with God.
This really depends on the strength of your faith. There are thousands of cases where kids who grew up in a Christian home, but did not really have a strong foundation in their beliefs, went to a secular college and ended up walking away from the faith. There are ways to stay strong in your faith, but it is important to not get distracted, especially when having to attend philosophy classes where there are atheistic professors whose goal is to pull Christian children away.
Personally, I would look for a private, Christian, college/university that offers the same type of programs you are looking for in order to obtain the major(s) you want. There are plenty of them out there, you just have to look.
Personally, I would look for a private, Christian, college/university that offers the same type of programs you are looking for in order to obtain the major(s) you want. There are plenty of them out there, you just have to look.
Thank you very much for your responses. I'm at a school with a technical emphasis, and almost all my classes are in theoretical subjects like math where worldviews have pretty much no effect, so I'm not really worried about false ideas affecting me directly. However, I was wondering more if getting an education from a secular institution that does have some classes in philosophy/evolution/etc. would be sort of like being "unequally yoked." I'm not sure if going to a secular college is forming too strong of a connection to a place that, while for the most part just gives you a good education, to some extent also promotes and tolerates a liberal agenda of false philosophies and ideas. Basically, it boils down to not wanting to associate with false teaching. However, I also know that we are in the world, and as long as we're in the world, people will promote error, but I'm not sure of how much wrong a person/institution can promote before it's bad to associate with him/it.
It depends on who you are. A lot of secular colleges can actually be better for Christians to go to, because then the Christians you meet on campus (say in a Christian) are more likely to actually be Christians. At a Christian college, you might meet a lot of people who say they are Christians, but what they really should be saying is "I was born into a Christian family, so I assume I'm a Christian by default." Many of these false Christians won't necessarily have a problem with having sex with a girl (or guy depending) that they meet on campus, or have a problem with getting drunk, or getting into other sorts of mischief. At a secular college, you might find more people who openly challenge your beliefs (a lot of people don't care either way, as long as you aren't trying to shove your religion down their throat), and this could be problematic for some, but at the same time, never having your beliefs challenged and hanging around "yes men" all the time could put you at a disadvantage when it times to get a job in the world. Honestly, you might to figure out where is the best place for you to study for your major first (including factors like cost), and simply make sure they have a Christian presence on campus (like a Christian group), and then pray about it and go there if it seems good. If God can protect Noah for over a hundred years while building the ark, he can protect you. But at the same time, it needs to be a personal decision to some degree. You probably know yourself better than pretty much anyone else.
EDIT: And the associating stuff isn't an issue. I graduated from college and I have no real connection to it. You probably wear clothes made in china or shoes or have a computer made by people working for dirt cheap. I think it's just a matter of working on one thing at a time. If you feel called to do that kind of work, go where the training is, and you can always donate money and time to work against any wrong stuff the institution was teaching later if you really feel led to.
EDIT: And the associating stuff isn't an issue. I graduated from college and I have no real connection to it. You probably wear clothes made in china or shoes or have a computer made by people working for dirt cheap. I think it's just a matter of working on one thing at a time. If you feel called to do that kind of work, go where the training is, and you can always donate money and time to work against any wrong stuff the institution was teaching later if you really feel led to.
providence
Member
Some of my thoughts on this: http://www.christianforums.net/showthread.php?t=45807&p=704549#post704549
Although there are professors in philosophy, sciences, and religion who promote concepts that might challenge your beliefs, there are also professors who would promote ideals in accordance with your belief. Just because a college is secular does not necessarily mean it is anti-Christian, even if some of the professors are indeed anti-Christian. I personally believe it would be wise to take some classes that challenge your beliefs. I don't think one can truly know his own beliefs unless he has had his beliefs challenged. If your only qualm is about being associated with a secular institution, then I'd imagine you wouldn't be able to associate your self with our country either. Although our country may have been founded as a Christian nation, it'd be a stretch to call it one today. As a result, calling yourself an American would raise the same problems that calling yourself a graduate of this or that college would raise.
redemption79
Member
why would it be a problem?
seriouly, you are over analysing it.
yes, when you attend a secular college you will come across secular ideas, but then again, as a Christian, you have God's Spirit and His words to guide you and help you discern which is which.
as for having a strong connection to a secular college?
well, just because you attended a particular college does not mean you support all its ideas.
otherwise the only place we Chrisitans can work and study would be within Chrisitan organizations etc etc
seriouly, you are over analysing it.
yes, when you attend a secular college you will come across secular ideas, but then again, as a Christian, you have God's Spirit and His words to guide you and help you discern which is which.
as for having a strong connection to a secular college?
well, just because you attended a particular college does not mean you support all its ideas.
otherwise the only place we Chrisitans can work and study would be within Chrisitan organizations etc etc
evesforeva
Member
First of all, just to clarify one thing, secular =/= anti-Christian. It just means that no religion is supported or opposed.
I think college is a great way to gain knowledge. As long as you're not against learning, you'll do fine in college. If what you believe is really true, it will hold and even be supported with the additional knowledge you gain. Be critical, demand evidence, and no one will be able to lead you into false beliefs.
Your beliefs will be challenged many times, but not necessarily your spiritual beliefs. You can leave college just as strong a Christian as you are with nobody telling you to stop, yet still have a completely different outlook on life.
I'm not sure about every school, but at my school there's no requirement to take any classes on evolution, philosophy, or religion. I don't think evolution or philosophy are bad things to take a class on. Like I said, if your beliefs are really true and you use critical thinking to approach new ideas, they will stand up to any untrue thing anyone else says. I think it's valuable to learn what other people believe about things, especially when they believe something very different from what you think.
As for the religion classes, they're a bit of a crapshoot. I took an intro to humanities class that had some education on different religions. We had guest professors teaching, and all but one was really good and respectful of people's beliefs. The crappy teacher basically spent the whole class telling us Christianity was stupid. It was offensive and had no educational value in the slightest. Many of my classmates complained (including me), and he no longer is a guest lecturer in that class.
If you can handle the possibility of a teacher hating on Christianity, I think religious studies classes are useful. When done correctly, there is no intent to convert you to or from a religion. They just want to give you information on different religious beliefs and practices and how they relate to various topics, so you can have better knowledge about the world. Usually, they want to expand how you think about the nonreligious topics they talk about by teaching how other people understand them. They DO NOT endorse pluralism, only tolerance. Pluralism is the belief that all religions are correct. Tolerance is the belief that all religious beliefs can be respected, even if you don't agree.
religioustolerance.org is a good site that does not support or oppose any religion, including pluralism, but does provide information on different religious beliefs. It is not anti-Christian. (One of the creators is a Christian.) If you're interested in learning about other religious beliefs without having to worry about the possibility of someone denouncing yours, I would recommend visiting that site. I like learning about religions in a non-coercive way (hence why I'm here) and I find the site very informative.
This may not be true for every school, but at mine there are a myriad of groups that cater to Christians of many denominations. If someone sees that they are not represented by any of those groups, they can start their own with little difficulty. If that's not the case for your school, you should still be able to start a group that's not affiliated specifically as a school club.
One thing that's rarely addressed is the issue of church. Many college students go to church less frequently when they're in school. If there are no churches in your area of your denomination, you might be able to start a bible study with like-minded Christian as a sort of temporary replacement. I think most schools have plenty of churches in the area though. (Mine even has one on-campus.)
I think college is a great way to gain knowledge. As long as you're not against learning, you'll do fine in college. If what you believe is really true, it will hold and even be supported with the additional knowledge you gain. Be critical, demand evidence, and no one will be able to lead you into false beliefs.
Your beliefs will be challenged many times, but not necessarily your spiritual beliefs. You can leave college just as strong a Christian as you are with nobody telling you to stop, yet still have a completely different outlook on life.
I'm not sure about every school, but at my school there's no requirement to take any classes on evolution, philosophy, or religion. I don't think evolution or philosophy are bad things to take a class on. Like I said, if your beliefs are really true and you use critical thinking to approach new ideas, they will stand up to any untrue thing anyone else says. I think it's valuable to learn what other people believe about things, especially when they believe something very different from what you think.
As for the religion classes, they're a bit of a crapshoot. I took an intro to humanities class that had some education on different religions. We had guest professors teaching, and all but one was really good and respectful of people's beliefs. The crappy teacher basically spent the whole class telling us Christianity was stupid. It was offensive and had no educational value in the slightest. Many of my classmates complained (including me), and he no longer is a guest lecturer in that class.
If you can handle the possibility of a teacher hating on Christianity, I think religious studies classes are useful. When done correctly, there is no intent to convert you to or from a religion. They just want to give you information on different religious beliefs and practices and how they relate to various topics, so you can have better knowledge about the world. Usually, they want to expand how you think about the nonreligious topics they talk about by teaching how other people understand them. They DO NOT endorse pluralism, only tolerance. Pluralism is the belief that all religions are correct. Tolerance is the belief that all religious beliefs can be respected, even if you don't agree.
religioustolerance.org is a good site that does not support or oppose any religion, including pluralism, but does provide information on different religious beliefs. It is not anti-Christian. (One of the creators is a Christian.) If you're interested in learning about other religious beliefs without having to worry about the possibility of someone denouncing yours, I would recommend visiting that site. I like learning about religions in a non-coercive way (hence why I'm here) and I find the site very informative.
This may not be true for every school, but at mine there are a myriad of groups that cater to Christians of many denominations. If someone sees that they are not represented by any of those groups, they can start their own with little difficulty. If that's not the case for your school, you should still be able to start a group that's not affiliated specifically as a school club.
One thing that's rarely addressed is the issue of church. Many college students go to church less frequently when they're in school. If there are no churches in your area of your denomination, you might be able to start a bible study with like-minded Christian as a sort of temporary replacement. I think most schools have plenty of churches in the area though. (Mine even has one on-campus.)