Christians Going to College Have to Be Intellectually Prepared

The useful part

Like many freshmen, I was excited for the next chapter in my life, eager to explore the new opportunities and experiences that college had to offer. As the oldest state university in the country, and one with a strong academic reputation, UNC was a promising place for my new adventure. When it came to moral issues (substance abuse, sex, and the party scene) and practical issues (how to get along with my roommate, manage my budget, and stay focused on my studies), I had received plenty of good input.

How it works

• There was very limited instruction on the Christian worldview—what we believe and why we believe it—and virtually no instruction on how to respond to non-Christian thinking.
• Surely, therefore, many Christian college students over the years have found themselves in a position very similar to my own—lots of zeal but little knowledge.
• It didn't take long to see that he lectured with an eye toward evangelicals, even sharing how he was once an evangelical himself not long ago.
• Students Need a Framework But for many college students, the story ends very differently.
• I wasn't prepared in the one area that would matter most in a university environment.

What to take from it

While evangelicalism is certainly not monolithic, most would agree that large segments of the movement today still lack deep doctrinal reflection and intellectual engagement. Then during his graduate studies, after deep engagement with the text, he realized he could no longer maintain his evangelical beliefs. My lack of preparation wasn't just because I was a teenager.

Example or evidence

• Loving God with Our Minds In short, I learned to love God with my heart but not with my mind.
• You can believe it with your heart—after all, isn't that what religious people do?—but you cannot (or at least should not) believe it with your mind.
• Either way, the development of the Christian mind has not been a priority.
• These books, generally speaking, rehearse the same claims about the New Testament I experienced in the university classroom: it is untrustworthy, is filled with mistakes, is poorly transmitted, contains...

Details worth keeping

College life would not be easy, especially for a Christian. Now, it's not as if I was entirely unprepared. To be sure, these are important things for any college student to address.

Related coverage

• Desiringgod: The world's diversions at college may distract and entice. But when we pursue lasting pleasure in God, every semester counts for eternity. Watch Now
• Realclearreligion: John M. Grondelski, Crisis Catholic colleges that have largely given up their Catholic identity are finding that they can't compete with their secular counterparts.
• Crossway: Classical humanities have been eclipsed in the schoolroom, to be replaced with disciplines that have an obvious application to the workplace.