As the school year approaches and college students prepare themselves to move away from home, there are a select few who will not be attending a prestigious university this fall, but will instead be attending a two-year institution commonly known as community college. To those select few I can honestly say I empathize with you.
Community college is rarely the ideal. Dreamers don’t usually imagine themselves soaring through high school straight into a two-year junior college. It’s usually Plan B, or in my case, Plan Not-even-thought-to-be-given-a-letter. But, it would appear that the Lord’s plan for my future included Plan Not-even-thought-to-be-given-a-letter: Richland College, or as I like to facetiously refer to it, “Poorland College.”
Poorland College. Home of the ThunderDucks, striking fear in the hearts of our opponents since 1972 by the mere fact that our mighty mascot doesn’t even exist in nature.
As much as I like to laugh about my time at Poorland, (and about the fact that I call it “Poorland” in jest), God has truly used this place to change me. Community college can be a wonderful place to learn new things, and I am eternally grateful that the Lord did not allow my “Plan A” to succeed, but instead chose a different path for those two years of my life. He has used Poorland to chip away at my pride, strip me of my social codependence, teach me courage, show me how to show grace to others, give me love for the unloveable, pry my fingers from my self-righteousness, and for the first time in my life, He taught me how to share Christ in a sea of hostility and bitterness.
Not that I have arrived. I still have a long way to go and a massive number of things to learn. But, praise Jesus, I am nowhere near where I was when I began this journey.
Where did I begin, you ask?
I am a Christian private school brat. I had attended Christian school for thirteen years before Poorland. So I’m sure you can imagine how much of a culture shock I endured when plunged into the secular school system. In fact, the first time I heard my professor cuss, I nearly went into cardiac arrest. See what I mean? Culture shock.
One of the things that I quickly gathered at Poorland was the nearly palpable hostility towards Christianity that I encountered. In fact, this is one of the few reasons I chose the moniker “Poorland.” How discouraging it was for me to discover that the spiritual state of my college was nearly bereft of hope and love. I observed that people so rarely reached out to one another, cared for one another, sacrificed for each other, or served one another as I was accustomed to (with a few exceptions & some huge blessings! I am so grateful for those of you I was able to meet who encouraged me and had such a large influence on my life!). And the term “Christianity” was certainly not something that these people correlated with care, love, hope, sacrifice, or service. Rather, “Christianity” was associated with hate, judgement, and ignorance. It was unusual for me to experience. It was culture shock. Thus, because of the spiritual poverty of my environment, I chose to refer to Richland as “Poorland.”
This isn’t unusual in American universities
Despite all the talk about the political and religious neutrality of the public school system, you may not be surprised to hear that finding a Christian professor–or even a conservative professor–at a secular university or college is somewhat akin to finding a unicorn standing in a field of daisies in a post-apocalyptic barren wasteland. Pretty darn rare.
Alright, I may be exaggerating a little. But it’s still rather uncommon to meet an openly Christian or conservative professor at a public university. It is much more common, however, to meet an openly atheist, Hindu, or Buddhist professor, at least at Poorland. (Rarely an agnostic. Professors simply don’t admit to believing that something cannot be known). Alright, kidding.
How ironic, it seems, that the establishment of the university originally stemmed from the church. Today, the secular movement has boxed out any form of clergy in the school system, whatsoever. Most universities would rather have a 0-11 football season than be accused of having a traditionalistic worldview. *Gasp!*
One of many differences I observed in the public school system was the increasing push to wipe out gender discrepancies and to render distinctions between men and women meaningless. And folks, this isn’t just happening in colleges and universities.
- This year Harvard University appointed its first permanent director of bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender, and queer student life. The individual, Vanidy Bailey, has asked that he/she never be referred to as he or she, male or female. Harvard has agreed.
- Each year more and more American high schools elect girls as homecoming kings and boys as homecoming queens. Students have been taught to regard restricting kings to males or queens to females as (gender-based) discrimination.
- In Rhode Island this year, one school district cancelled its father-daughter dance after the ACLU threatened to sue the district for gender discrimination. Only parent-child events, not father-daughter dances or mother-son ballgames, will be allowed.
- Teachers. . . [if asking a young girl or boy about marriage] . . . have to make it clear, ‘Will you marry a boy or a girl?’¹
And while we are talking about public school systems, let’s talk about the school system sexualizing children. ABC News did a story almost five years ago that stated, “In schools across the country, kids as young as three and four [are] now facing charges of sexual harassment that will stay with them permanently on their school records.” “In 2007. . .166 elementary students were suspended for sexual harassment, including three preschoolers, 16 kindergarteners, and 22 first-graders.”² (emphasis mine). Recently, California passed a law that required teachers and textbooks to explain bisexuality and the contributions of homosexuality to society to all ages six and older.³ Can you imagine trying to explain bisexuality to a six-year-old? Talk about robbing childhood innocence. But this is actually happening. The things that our young people are learning, whether in preschool or university, are pretty disconcerting for those of us who adhere to the Bible as our definition of morality and ethics.
I want to make a distinct point that I mention these things not to wage a war against homosexuals, or secular professors, or even leftism. I don’t hate you in the least! I have counted you as dear friends from the moment I met you, and for those of you reading this whom I may not have met, I am sure we would be great friends as well. You have made me laugh day after day, and I enjoy spending time with you. I enjoy seeing you, and I count myself blessed to have gotten to know you, regardless of how much you disagree with the things I believe. I have counted you as friends, and I am honored that many of you have done the same towards me. Although this sounds trite, I simply don’t know how else to phrase it: It is entirely true that I love you. I don’t know how not to love you.
However, this is why I write these things: I mean to make it abundantly clear that it is difficult–increasingly difficult–for an outspoken Christian to take a stand in the flurry of opposition he will encounter in secular school systems. I was taught again and again throughout my time at Poorland that the Bible is nothing but an outdated, irrelevant, and morally bereft manuscript that holds no bearing on today’s advanced society.
I disagree.
One of the most politically incorrect and (as I have been told) “intolerably ignorant” statements one can make in an environment of public education is, “I look to the Bible first for guidance, wisdom, and morality.” If you make such a statement, I can guarantee that you will face opposition. The type of “morality” encouraged at in colleges and universities is not one defined by standards, it is one defined by the heart. Absolute truth is thrown out the window, and “personal truth,” (aka, relativism) is applauded. God is not thought to be morally necessary. We have removed ethics from solid ground, expecting it to continue living and thriving, but when ethics are made malleable, they can hardly continue being ethics at all. So what authority should people consult to adopt their values and morals? The university? People magazine? Goodness, I hope not. In this time dominated by “feelings” I am so grateful to the Lord for warning me that “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9)
So the question is…
“Do colleges and universities discriminate against Christians or political conservatives?” From my personal experience at Poorland College, I would be inclined to say, “Yes.”
In fact, you have no idea how often I hear professors boast about the unbiased and political open-mindedness of their institution. It’s practically laughable.
The establishment of the university seems to be a stronghold against conservatism, and certainly a place where Christianity is viewed as an opponent of higher education. Science and God simply cannot co-exist. Or so I have heard. Interestingly enough, I see it differently: without God, science cannot exist.
How can this change?
Well, I would be thrilled to hear that more Christian professors are flocking to public universities to invest their time in balancing out the secular slant that is so heavily influencing our young people. The problem? Christian professors have an extraordinarily difficult time being hired at public universities. If you expect to land a job in the science or philosophy department, particularly, you will either need to ditch your religion, or keep silent about your beliefs and teach a Godless message to the masses.
And thus, Christian academics are being barred from the university. Consequently, more of our generation is being impregnated with a humanistic worldview. And students are all too willing to buy into such a worldview. After all, who wouldn’t want to be their own god? Biology, philosophy, humanities, government, etc, all join together in the same song of self-indulgent humanism, living in abject denial of subservience to anyone or anything.
So, if Christian professors are not able to get positions at public universities, and the students attending public universities continue to learn these Godless worldviews, what is the solution?
I wish I had an answer that would satisfy.
I simply don’t know how to reverse this cycle. But perhaps we can join together in prayer for God to intervene in the secularization of the universities.
Christian students: Wherever you are, view that place as a mission field. Be steadfast in prayer. All day, everyday. Be respectful to your professors, no matter what. Work hard and be diligent. Don’t allow your name or Christ’s name to be tarnished because you choose to be lazy. Remember: the harvest is plenty, and that includes professors as well as students. Talk to your professors about Christ (believe me, I know that can be terrifying), encourage them in whatever ways you can, and respect them, even if you disagree with them. And remember that the way you act speaks volumes. The words you say bear no meaning if the way you act does not love so loudly that others can’t help but notice. Serve other students and professors with your whole heart. Make every step intentional.
Christian professors: If you are struggling with finding a job at a secular university, do not despair. I am praying for you even as I write this. If you have the gift of teaching, remain steadfast to the Lord. He will use the gift He has given you, although, sometimes, not in the ways that you might imagine.
Let’s be honest, here. Opposition against Christianity is nothing new. But before you get discouraged, remember the words that Jesus spoke in John 16:33:
The Enunciation of Truth 