Education Guides

If you are going to college, don’t read this book. It will only tell you how to stagnate, how to live in fear of the unknown, how to close your mind, and refuse to learn and grow.

I overheard my husband watching TV a couple of weeks ago. A group of teenagers were discussing their education. “Don’t go for a masters degree,” one student advised another, “Getting a bachelors is okay; but if you get too much of an education, you will lose your faith.” What a sad state of affairs. Are our beliefs and ideas are so fragile that learning about different points of view will destroy them? Are so sure of ourselves and our opinions that we do not feel the need to learn anything else? As students, we need open minds and open hearts.

Please have an open mind when you go to college. If your faith is truly worthwhile, learning will not destroy it, but rather strengthen it. College is a place where you should be learning to think for yourself. Don’t let this book talk you into wearing blinders and only reading what you already agree with. Expand your mind and you will grow intellectually AND spiritually.

Over the past ten years pastors in fundamentalist congregations have become increasingly alarmed over the dwindling attendance and participation in church activities by people age 18 – 30. Many of these people were `raised in the church’, which is a term used by fundamentalists to indicate that they participated from a very young age in church-sponsored groups for religious instruction and socializing as children, pre-teens, and teenagers. Such young people were exposed to the church on a regular, continuous basis, not just at Sunday services, but at weeknight Bible Study, choral or music group practices, various retreats and `fellowship’ sessions, as well as church-sponsored outings and sports activities.

It is thus with considerable consternation that pastors and parents find that when these young people go off to college (in other words, secular colleges and universities), they soon stop attending church. They also pick up what are considered immoral habits, such as consuming alcohol, engaging in premarital sex, listening to rock n’ roll music, and jettisoning fundamentalist doctrine in favor of secular humanism. A proportion of these young adults eventually return to fundamentalist congregations when they reach their late 20s and early 30s and get married and have kids. But sufficient numbers fail to reconnect with the church culture they grew up with, so as to present a major dilemma for evangelical pastors and ministers.

The `college crisis’ has generated a number of books from various ministers and advisors seeking to address the damage, and `University of Destruction’ is one such entry. As far as author David Wheaton is concerned, one way to forestall this crisis is to urge young adults intent on attending a secular college to maintain their fundamentalist ideology. ‘Destruction’ is essentially a book-length sermon delivered with this goal ever in mind. Wheaton urges fundamentalist youth to avoid engaging in those actions that would compromise their religious upbringing, and to remain ever-vigilant against sliding into immorality.

The main problem I have with Wheaton’s philosophy is that it envisions college as a Smorgasbord of Temptation, and a vehicle expertly suited for the downfall of Bible-Believing Youth.

But is this really true ?

Don’t get me wrong; with so many incoming college students either already infected with genital warts and genital herpes, or destined to acquire these diseases during their college years, prudence in sexual matters is good advice. And as for alcohol, yes, too many students binge-drink and wind up with their stomachs pumped, or worse yet, suffering permanent or fatal injuries in booze-triggered accidents.

However, college is no more nor no less likely a place to go astray than any other location or habitat. Just ask “Pastor Ted” Haggard, formerly leader of the evangelical New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 2006 it was revealed by Mike Jones, a gay hustler, that Haggard had been having a sexual relationship with him, and later engaging in methamphetamine abuse, over a three-year period. Pastor Ted initially denied the accusations (James Dobson staunchly defended him), but eventually confessed, resigned from New Life Church, and underwent a Christian counseling-based `restoration’ procedure. Ted is now a dedicated heterosexual, according to Tim Ralph, one of the restoration process coordinators.

I’m sure if Pastor Ted had been attending a meeting of the Campus Socialists Club every now and then, he may have been able to avoid an inappropriate rendezvous with Mike Jones.

And how about Baptist pastor Coy Privette ? In 2007 he resigned from North Carolina’s Christian Action League after it was revealed he had been charged on six counts of aiding and abetting prostitution.

Maybe if Coy had been at the Homecoming dance – even if it meant exposure to rock n’ roll – he would not have had idle time for mischief.

And what about W. David Hager, MD, author of several books addressing health and spirituality issues for Christian women ? When serving on an FDA advisory panel in 2003, Hager acted to restrict approval of birth control, reflecting his belief in fundamentalist doctrine. But then, in a 2005 article in `The Nation’, his ex-wife revealed that throughout their marriage, Hager had insisted in practicing – without her consent – a form of birth control that many women find physically painful and repugnant.

Perhaps if Dave had going to the campus pub a few nights a week for a few cold ones, his ardor for improper marital relations would have been sublimated.

And finally, let’s not forget South Tulsa Baptist Church senior pastor and Southern Baptist Convention executive committee member Lonnie Latham. In 2006 he was arrested for propositioning a male undercover police officer, while cruising in an area with a reputation for fostering gay sex hookups. Lonnie eventually was acquitted of the charge, but it was revealed that he had been a visitor to the `cruising’ area at least one time prior to his arrest.

I have to wonder, if Lonnie had been in Biology class- even one that taught Evolution – he would not have had the time to go visiting certain questionable neighborhoods of Tulsa.

So I would argue to David Wheaton that being a reliable congregant at a fundamentalist church is just as likely to lead to the pursuit of Bad Behavior as going off to college. Let Ted, Coy, Dave, and Lonnie serve as reminders of what Christian Youth are NOT to do. You don’t need to be at a ‘University of Destruction’ to understand this fact.