Why Christian Higher Education?

If you are a high school student, are the parent(s) of a high school student, are related to a high school student, teach a high school student, or know a high school student, I hope you will read this editorial.

First of all, an education beyond high school is recommended for most high school students, but beware of the negative influences of secular higher education. For example, some schools have a hedonistic atmosphere and are antithetic to a Christian worldview.

For example, the Princeton Review lists The Top Ten Party Schools each year, and for 2006 the number one “party school” is the University of Texas at Austin. The Austin institution of higher education ranked number 2 in hard liquor, number 3 in beer drinking, and number 13 in pot smoking to qualify for the dubious number one ranking.

Unfortunately, such schools are often not only antagonistic toward the Christian worldview outside the classroom, but inside the classroom as well. There are three worldviews competing for the minds of students today: Christian theism, naturalism, and postmodernism.

Naturalism is the view that there is no god and that observable events in nature are explained only by natural causes or by the physical sciences.

Postmodernism, on the other hand, rejects all traditional authorities, believes that there is no such thing as objective, absolute truth, but that truth is subjective, always changing. The postmodernist believes in religious pluralism, that all religions offer an equally valid path to God, and that faith is based on feelings, imagination, mysticism, and group consensus.

Christian theism is the view that God exists and has revealed Himself decisively in Jesus Christ. This view is in the distinct minority on the secular college or university campus. There are consequences that must be faced when Christian theism is regarded as incidental rather than fundamental.

A recent article by Howard Kurtz in The Washington Post entitled “Study Finds College Faculties A Most Liberal Lot,” revealed that most faculty at non-Christian colleges disdain Christianity with 72% indicating they are liberal, 84% favoring abortion, and 67% accepting homosexuality. This is problematic because students often reflect the values of the college faculty they encounter in the course of their education.

Steve Henderson, who writes for Christian Consulting for Colleges and Ministries, comments, “Statistics show significant declines in religious attitudes, values, and behavior during college years and that 28.4 percent of those who called themselves born-again and attended secular colleges did not call themselves born-again four years later.”

Henderson continues, “Students who dropped away from the born-again faith were not likely to end up in a conservative church where born-again commitment is considered essential, but instead dropped out entirely from affiliation with a

religious group or moved to a liberal or moderate denomination where being born-again is not stressed.”

Henderson states, “The secular college or university is saying at best that God is irrelevant to the real business of living.”

Clearly, secular college/university environments are diametrically opposed to Christian growth (although there are some great Christians on the faculty, some great Baptist Campus Ministries faithfully ministering, and good Christians attending). Only a very few students actually increase their faith attending secular institutions. The odds are clearly against it.

Of course, some think that Christian schools should be theologically neutral. I am not an educator, but while it may be worthwhile for an institution of higher education to present all sides of an issue, it should unquestionably equip the student to “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (I Peter 3:15). We should not be afraid to tenaciously offer the apologetics for our faith in our Baptist college classrooms.

First of all, I believe the primary reason for considering a Christian college is to provide an education within the framework of a Christian worldview. As Christians we believe we live in a world that is “charged with the grandeur of God.” This belief impacts every facet of our lives and tempers how we look at all the disciplines of study, including the arts, humanities, and sciences.

Secondly, the Christian campus should be a haven from a hostile, secular world where one’s faith is strengthened and opportunities for worship, Christian fellowship, ministries, and missions abound.

Thirdly, the Christian college or university should be a place where the mind is renewed. Properly cultivated, the Christian mind is not limited to mere academic dimensions. Paul told us we are transformed by the renewing of our minds. Proverbs tells us that as a man thinks, so is he. To have a Christian mind is to have “the mind of Christ,” and to think His thoughts so that the process of being transformed into His image is a daily reality.

Fourthly, Christian education has the responsibility of equipping students to stand for historical Biblical values and thus change the culture. If we choose to resist the degeneracy of culture, we cannot afford to neglect the wisdom of people who have prepared themselves and banded together to teach new generations to transform the culture (Romans 12:1-2) The largest concentration of such teachers is to be found on Christian college campuses. Righteousness exalts a nation (Proverbs 14:34), and Christian colleges exalt righteousness in ways impossible in other educational settings.

Finally, in a time when scandals are common companies are returning to Christian college campuses to hire workers with integrity. While a person’s alma mater can provide no guarantee of high moral values, choosing a Christian education reflects an inclination to pursue guidance that will help a person be an admirable contributor to company success.

Georgia Baptists have three wonderful colleges – Brewton-Parker, Shorter and Truett-McConnell – that are distinctively committed to the Christian worldview.

Dr. Jerry Pounds, president of Truett-McConnell College in Cleveland, declares, “Our Georgia Baptist colleges are committed to teaching the difference between a secular worldview and a biblical worldview. The dramatic changes in American education over the last four decades should cause parents to think long and hard about whom they are allowing to shape and mold their young people. The best environment for a maturing young adult to prepare for his or her career or profession is one that is a partnership between home, church, and college.”

Dr. David Smith, president of Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, proclaims, “Georgia Baptist young people need to enter college with a Christian worldview. Only a small number of colleges today will try to intellectually develop such students from the perspective of that worldview. Fortunately for Georgia Baptists,we sponsor three of those institutions.”

When Dr. Harold Newman was inaugurated in September as president of Shorter College in Rome, he remarked, “A Christian college offers students a place where their intellectual growth can inform and enrich their spiritual experience, as well as a place where the campus ministry programs provide these opportunities through meaningful worship and Christian fellowship.

“A Christian college is a place where the mind and spirit intersect, integrating information and knowledge in a way that leads to wisdom, enlightenment, and sensitivity,” Newman added. “The outcome is the creation of scholars, artists, practitioners, and leaders whose faith demands commitment to excellence in all things, a desire for lifelong learning, and sacrificial service to those in need.”

I believe the Baptist colleges of Georgia deserve our prayers, our gratitude, our financial support, and our very best high school students.