A Plug For “College Plus”

Every year Christian parents pack off their children to College. It is a rite of passage that has become a great American tradition. One must ask though if Christian parents would send their children away to College if they realized that nearly 70% of of all formerly church-going teens will not go to church after they leave home.

Part of the reason that 70% of all formerly church-going teens will not go to church after they leave home is due to the fact that they were not trained in the way they should go when they were living at home. Another part of the reason is that those who were trained were not ready for the assault upon their faith that the college experience represents.

“By their own description, 72 percent of those teaching at American universities and colleges are liberal and 15 percent are conservative, says the study being published this week….

The professors and instructors surveyed are, strongly or somewhat, in favor of abortion rights (84 percent); believe homosexuality is acceptable (67 percent); and want more environmental protection “even if it raises prices or costs jobs” (88 percent). What’s more, the study found, 65 percent want the government to ensure full employment, a stance to the left of the Democratic Party.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8427-2005Mar28.html

Seemingly the college experience includes the experience of the Christian faith being viciously attacked. Sending young Christian adults — even young Christian adults who have been decently trained — to a college environment against these kinds of odds is akin to taking green military recruits and putting them up against elite seasoned veteran soldiers in hand to hand combat.

Now combine this with the reality that the average college graduate finishes their undergraduate work $21,000.00 in debt and suddenly the incentives begin to pile up to find alternatives to the “great American tradition” of sending our covenant seed to college.

Some will object by saying that they only send their children to “Christian colleges.” First, even if Christians send their children to Christian colleges, the $21,000.00 indebtedness they will have upon graduation isn’t any less onerous all because it is “Christian debt.” Second, to be candid, I have great reason to suspect that many (not all) Christian colleges may be worse then “secular” colleges if only because the liberal indoctrination that happens in many Christian college classrooms is far more insidious because it flies under the banner of “Christian.” For example, do you really want your child taking Sociology courses under Dr. Anthony Campolo (Marxist professor of Sociology at Eastern)? For example, do you really want your child taking religion class from Dr. Kenneth Schenk (neo-orthodox Professor at Indiana Wesleyan University)? Do you really want your child taking Economic courses from someone like Ron Sider? The examples could be multiplied endlessly.

The college scene — Christian or “Secular” — is a mess right now. The reason it is a mess is because the pedagogic paradigm in the colleges, like the paradigm in our overall culture, is thoroughly imbued with humanism.

There is a way for Christians now to do a end run around the traditional college scene and that way is called “College Plus.” College Plus is a program that allows college age students via long distance learning, and at home studies, to earn an accredited college degree in far less time than the traditional 4 years and with the promise of not being burdened w/ $21,000.00 in debt. It also holds out the advantage of not putting your children in what amounts to the indoctrination and brainwashing camps that many college campuses have become.

My son Anthony is currently working as a intern w/ College Plus in Moses Lake, Washington and thus far we have been quite pleased w/ his progress. Anthony is 19 and credit wise is just short of being a Senior in college right now. We are hopeful that before the summer of 2010 is completed that Anthony will be finished with his undergraduate degree.

Now, College plus isn’t going to be as good of an education for Anthony as he might have received if he had Dr. Glen Martin, Dr. R. J. Rushdoony, or Dr. Greg Bahnsen as his personal tutor. Still, Anthony, and all College Plus students will not have their Christian faith attacked in the College Plus program and they will have the opportunity to continue to develop their Christian worldview while they are working on their College degree.

College Plus is an idea whose time has come. Christians really do need to consider no longer supporting pagan colleges with their funds and God’s covenant seed. The way to begin dismantling our humanist culture is by reintroducing the idea of quality higher education to our children again.

College Plus is a beginning step towards that goal.

Learn more about College Plus at,

http://www.collegeplus.org/

Author: jetbrane

I am a Pastor of a small Church in Mid-Michigan who delights in my family, my congregation and my calling. I am postmillennial in my eschatology. Paedo-Calvinist Covenantal in my Christianity Reformed in my Soteriology Presuppositional in my apologetics Familialist in my family theology Agrarian in my regional community social order belief Christianity creates culture and so Christendom in my national social order belief Mythic-Poetic / Grammatical Historical in my Hermeneutic Pre-modern, Medieval, & Feudal before Enlightenment, modernity, & postmodern Reconstructionist / Theonomic in my Worldview One part paleo-conservative / one part micro Libertarian in my politics Systematic and Biblical theology need one another but Systematics has pride of place Some of my favorite authors, Augustine, Turretin, Calvin, Tolkien, Chesterton, Nock, Tozer, Dabney, Bavinck, Wodehouse, Rushdoony, Bahnsen, Schaeffer, C. Van Til, H. Van Til, G. H. Clark, C. Dawson, H. Berman, R. Nash, C. G. Singer, R. Kipling, G. North, J. Edwards, S. Foote, F. Hayek, O. Guiness, J. Witte, M. Rothbard, Clyde Wilson, Mencken, Lasch, Postman, Gatto, T. Boston, Thomas Brooks, Terry Brooks, C. Hodge, J. Calhoun, Llyod-Jones, T. Sowell, A. McClaren, M. Muggeridge, C. F. H. Henry, F. Swarz, M. Henry, G. Marten, P. Schaff, T. S. Elliott, K. Van Hoozer, K. Gentry, etc. My passion is to write in such a way that the Lord Christ might be pleased. It is my hope that people will be challenged to reconsider what are considered the givens of the current culture. Your biggest help to me dear reader will be to often remind me that God is Sovereign and that all that is, is because it pleases him. View all posts by jetbrane