Battling with Christian Colleges

Well, it’s not just professors at Christian colleges that we have to worry about challenging our young people’s faith—even admissions counselors are out to “dialogue” about whether or not Christians should accept Genesis as literal history.

An AiG supporter recently sent me this exchange he had with an admissions counselor from a Christian college. You see, the counselor contacted this young man in the hope of recruiting him to the school, but (sadly) he ended up challenging this supporter’s belief in a literal Genesis.

The supporter, A.M., told the counselor he had already chosen a college to attend, based on their acceptance of the creation account in Genesis as literal history. The rest of the conversation is below. It is important to note how the counselor defines “true education”—basically, because A.M. decided to take God at His Word and refused to compromise, no “true education” could happen.

Admissions Officer:

If you don’t mind me asking, is that the only reason you are attending there?

A.M.:

One’s views on Genesis affects everything, so yes, it is. I would never attend a school that compromised on the Word of God in order to appease secular scientists, and if a school says they believe the Bible to be the infallible Word of God, yet they allow for consideration of billions of years, death before Adam, etc., then they clearly are doing nothing more than double speak; the seven core doctrines of all Christianity all spring forth in the first book of the Bible: creation, corruption, catastrophe, confusion, Christ, cross, consummation.

Admissions Counselor:

Our school would hold to that as well. However, solely from your words in this email exchange, it seems that you are approaching your education as if you already are decided on how you approach Biblical interpretation and your philosophy on the canon. Therefore this leaves little room for true education, as you already have set parameters on what you will and will not be taught.

A.M.:

I took hermeneutics from Dr. Daniel Akin. I sat under Dr. Ed Gravely for History of Ideas. I have been in seminary for almost 5 years, and find it reproachable that you would demean my stance, my position because of your own lax hermeneutics. Do not lecture me on "true" education, for you have shown the exact opposite in this e-mail by questioning my credentials, my philosophy and most importantly my biblical worldview. If you think that your education exceeds that of the following scientists who support the young earth belief, then I am truly sorry. Bios

Admissions Counselor:

I don’t in any way mean to demean you or your professors or any one’s stance. I tend to hold your worldview as well. I’m not familiar with these names but I’m sure they are fine gentleman who take an honest approach to Scripture and are Biblical in their interpretations. I am just trying to dialogue about the way we often approach the weighty yet fragile subjects of scripture and its teaching. Thank you for your time.

You know, the most incredible part of this email exchange is that the admissions counselor is from a Christian college—one he says holds to young earth creationism—and that he himself says he would “tend” to believe the same. But his approach to God’s Word is all wrong. Rather than take God at His Word, this counselor seems to think that being open to interpretations of Genesis that conflict with what it actually says would provide “true education” for students.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with learning about other interpretations and philosophies in regard to Scripture. But you know, what we believe about the Bible must be grounded in what it actually says. The truest kind of education about Scripture comes from Scripture itself. Proverbs 9:10 tells us, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

Christian colleges should be affirming a belief in a literal Genesis, not challenging students about their desire for an education because they refuse to compromise about the Bible. I would urge you to read my book Already Compromised to find out more about what is being taught in our Christian colleges and seminaries. And if you’re looking for a Christian college that teach young-earth creationism, visit CreationColleges.org for a list of schools that affirm Answers in Genesis’s statement of faith.

For a list of Colleges that state they take a stand on a literal Genesis, go to CreationColleges.org.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken