Secular College: Keeping Your Christian Faith Secure

Having attended a secular university, having attended a Bible college, having been in the military, having worked for different secular companies, I can say that there are difficult challenges which will confront a Christian young person. Are you ready for these challenges?

The Failure Rate Is High!

It has been determined in polls that the number of students who abandon their church and their faith may be as high as two out of three. This abandonment has nothing to do with the truth of the Bible. It has to do with the volume of secular literature which confronts the believer in public schools filled with secular publication, naturalist teachers, pagan films, rewritten historical accounts, marginalized texts of our historical documents and cultural background. Darwinism is taught as truth when scientifically, its presumptions are not at all backed up by experiential evidence. Prejudice and indoctrination take place by the refusal to examine the whole realm of God’s evidence and context. How can truth be determined when a major portion of knowledge is eliminated from one’s world view?

Learn To Think Critically

Critical thinking involves carefully examining all the evidence. Don’t limit yourself to the evidence of a professor, a textbook, or supplemental resources offered by the college. Go to the internet. Compare the sources to the truths of the Bible. When you see a difference of opinions, study to determine the reasons why two different opinions are held.

You need to understand that differences of opinions likely result from differences in world views. World views are basic presumptions people hold regarding where everything comes from.  A world view includes what type of information one will consider reasonable. A world view also considers the issues of eternity and whether it exists. There are two basic world views. There is the Christian world view and then the non Christian world view.

The non Christian world view has many subcategories. These include: atheism, secularism, naturalism, humanism, Darwinism, and various forms of idolatry. All of these include the denial of the Creator and the history and revelatory information sourced in the Creator.

A Christian College Student Needs To Learn To Think Biblically

It is best that a college student should have begun his training in critical Biblical thinking all through his childhood years. He needs to be trained to examine evidences. He needs to develop a discerning talent whereby he may be able to sort out the reasons for different perspectives of thinking. He needs to understand why different patterns of thinking produce different results. By this he may be able to make reasoned decisions for his personal conduct. This is a big difference from those who are told to do things because Dad or Mom says so. This needs to be developed as soon as he turns to his teen years. This is a transfer from a rote obedience to a reasoned obedience. To some degree this can be learned even earlier.

Concepts Used In Choosing A College

Many people say that a Christian college education should be your only option. It is true that there are some options available for getting good training at Christian colleges. Some are accredited in a number of disciplines.

There are also some problems in choosing Christian colleges. Not all disciplines are available in Christian colleges. Medicine, physics, geology, astronomy, and such options are very limited or non-existent.

Many presume that Christian colleges are all equal. Some colleges call themselves Christian but express their curriculum no different from a secular college. Others distinguish themselves to have little difference culturally from secular colleges. It is much more seductive to go to a “Christian” college which is not clearly dedicated to a Biblical world view than to go to a secular college which is blatantly atheistic.

To Survive In Any College Environment

• The student must consistently read and study in the Word of God. Study means exactly that. Not only learn the information, know it well, and learn its reasonable application. This means a daily discipline must be established. This discipline should be, in the least, of equal priority with his studies.
• This means that he needs to love the Lord with all his heart, his soul, his strength, and his mind (Mark 12:30).
• The student must be consistently abiding in Christ (John 15:1-17). The term fruitfulness does not mean what many evangelicals claim. Study this one out and use the knowledge wisely.
• The student needs to be in fellowship with the Lord in prayer at every moment of remembrance.
• The student needs to walk remembering that the Holy Spirit abides and dwells in him at all times.
• The student needs to find other students who are of “like mind” as believers and spend time in fellowship and prayer with them. Remember, many student “Christian” groups are not much more than secular social clubs. Others do not hold to fundamental doctrines of Scriptures. Few groups study the Bible believing it should be literally interpreted from cover to cover.
• The student needs to attend the regular meetings of a Bible believing, preaching, fundamental, separatist local church every time such meetings are held.
• It is never appropriate to substitute campus Christian activities for local church participation.
• Because of the often intense hostility of atheistic and secular personages on campus, it is best to hold silence of your Christianity in classes until you know whether professors will try to expel you, or purposefully demote your grade because of your beliefs. There are some department heads who may act to prevent you from moving into graduate schools because of your beliefs in a literal Genesis and a literal understanding of the Bible  (Proverbs 11:12; 17:27-28; Mark 8:29-30; 14:61).  It also may be wise in many cases to keep your Christian profile low on campus. This does not mean you do not witness. It means use wisdom. It means that you are not to cast your pearls before swine or before those who will not receive it.
• Questions have arisen about how the Christian student should answer tests and do assignments. Remember, you are there to learn what the school teaches. When it comes to tests, you should put answers which are relevant to what was taught in the classroom. Testing seeks to know if you heard and learned what they publish. Papers are the same. You can write in your papers “what is generally accepted….” Such a reply is a true statement for that circumstance and does not cause an ethical conflict.

The Windup

Whether one goes to college, finds work, or establishes his own employment, these principles should apply to every person. We are to be workmen who need not to be ashamed. Our work is to fear God and to keep His commandments. If we do not strive to intimately know God and make sure that we are doing His will, we are living in disobedience. Such kind of living will bear a fruit which will be to our distress and shame. Stay close to God. We are to be his ambassadors to show forth his glory.

Share this college orientation concept with your friends.