Posted on 05/14/2007 9:56:38 PM PDT by Mr. Silverback
Note: This commentary was delivered by Prison Fellowship President Mark Earley.
Last weekend, the Washington Post reported on a new survey by the Institute for Jewish and Community Research. The survey found that “53 percent of its sample of 1,200 college and university faculty members said they have ‘unfavorable’ feelings toward evangelical Christians.” That’s far higher than the unfavorable ratings for any other religious group—the next highest was Mormons at 33 percent, followed by Muslims at 22 percent.
The American Association of University Professors tries to explain away the statistic as a result of how professors feel about Christian political engagement or Christian views on science. But as pollster Gary Tobin counters, “If a majority of faculty said they did not feel warmly about Muslims or Jews or Latinos or African Americans, there would be an outcry. . . . No one would say, ‘The reason they feel this way is because they don’t like the politics of blacks or the politics of Jews.”
Now I need to stress that I’m not crying “persecution.” When Christians in some countries are being killed for their faith, we should thank God every day that we can exercise our freedom of religion. Besides, as my colleague Roberto Rivera points out on our blog, The Point, it was Jesus Himself who told us, “Blessed are you when they insult you . . . because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
So there’s not much surprising here. But it’s still a valid concern. Christian college students have a right to the same respect and consideration from their professors as every other student, and when the professor judges them solely on the basis of their religion, it can mean serious consequences for their education and future job prospects. Much less what it says about the entire university system.
The Post cites a Missouri State University student who, when she wouldn’t complete an assignment in support of same-sex adoptions, “was hauled before a faculty panel on a charge of discriminating against gays.” The student filed suit and the university settled. But not all cases end this well. And what about Christians trying to keep their jobs as professors?
But the problem goes beyond how individuals are treated within the system. Colleges and universities play an enormous role in shaping the thinking of every generation, and professors know it.
Is it any wonder, then, that our universities are producing generations of people who consider Christianity anti-intellectual at best, and oppressive at worst? And remember, the influence of our universities goes way beyond the campus gates and the classroom. The very same professors who distrust evangelical Christianity are publishing enormously influential reports, studies, and books that make headlines, influence political leaders, and shape our culture in profound ways.
So what are we as Christians do? First, prepare our young people for what lies ahead. Visit our website, BreakPoint.org, for Christian worldview materials that can help—especially if you have high school teens, our curriculum called ReWired. Second, we need to encourage more Christians to pursue academic careers. Third, we need not be discouraged. We know that Truth will win out—even in the halls of academia.
If anyone wants on or off my Chuck Colson/BreakPoint Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.
BreakPoint/Chuck Colson Ping!
If anyone wants on or off my Chuck Colson/BreakPoint Ping List, please notify me here or by freepmail.
I really like BreakPoint and Chuck Colson, but I am disappointed in his latest endeavor with Rick Warren, who I see as a very real danger to Christians... But I don’t wish to go there right now...
To the radical feminist/liberal Left, Christians represent the locus of a great deal of the effective moral and political opposition to unrestricted abortion. This simple fact suffices to explain a whole lot of anti-Christian opinion. As I’ve noted previously, the Act of Aborting is the Premier Sacrament of Radical Feminism.
bookmark
Even though you didn’t go there, I think I know what you mean...
One thing that came as a shock to a Cold War child like me, is that there were a lot of Christians in the USSR. But they were not allowed into higher education or the professional class.
Have you read “Tortured For Christ” by Richard Wurmbrand?
Not yet. It is on my list to get a copy of. Is it as powerful as I have heard?
Absolutely.
Oh, forgot to mention...he has a couple of great stories in there about Christians who challenged the Soviet education system. One of them is even laugh-out-loud funny.
Her parents were scientists and not very religious. She became so, and found that she couldn’t get into schools. So she and her former husband (she was widowed) left via Germany.
Granted, Poland wasn’t Russia, but she told me a lot about what was going on behind the Iron Curtain in the bad old days.
A warning: be prepared to be shocked at the depravity of the atheistic Communists.
I have read quite a bit on the theory behind atheistic communism. More than I really wanted to, but about a year or so ago I wanted to investigate the “root cause” of socialism.
It has a very dark history, from the American and French Revolutions to today.
[1] Homeschool your children so that they will receive the skills they need to compete intellectually and ideologically. (Homeschooling is not a "retreat" but an opportunity to prepare for intellectual and spiritual war.)
[2] "Buy a sword" and learn how to use it, because we will be counted among the "lawless" and will eventually be persecuted. You can get a literal sword, or its modern equivalent.
Can we extrapolate that the predominant religion of America is now secular humanism?
I would extrpolate that the predominant religion of America is a Christianity so weak that it no longer bothers to resist secular humanism, and will not do so until major persecution begins.
We will either have a revival or a fascist state...probably both, with the latter preceding the former.
I dunno ... when you read of the end times in Revelations, America is silent as best I can discern, so it is perhaps due to self-imposed mutedness, maybe from an internal division so deep that the people are disengaged even under assault. I’ll freepmail you more ...
If an explanation would require touching on the subject you freepmailed me about, just use freepmail. TIA, FRiend.
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