Archive for January, 2010
Christian Colleges: Are They Different?
Choosing a college can be a very difficult task. Many highly rated colleges and universities are worth looking into. I wanted one that would enhance my spiritual, social, and academic values. My parents had little influence on my college decision. I was alone. Just one of the many who had to decide where to spend the most formative years of my life.
I once held the belief that selecting a Christian Liberal Arts College would prevent me from being a witness to the unsaved, and jeopardize my education. Several churches that I attended and friends I respected supported a Non-Christian education for two basic reasons: Academic standards could be lower at a private college and there would be little or no opportunity to win others to Christ.
I have learned through my first few weeks here at a noted Baptist University, in the Fall of 1986, that this theory about no witnessing opportunities is absolutely untrue. First of all, there are more rules to be broken on this campus, so the men of the world who want to be radical are going to try everything they can to break them without getting caught.
That’s where I come in. These guys may be cool with the majority of the guys on my dorm wing, but when they come around me they know I stand up for my Christian beliefs. I may have a priestly nickname by the end of the year, who knows? When guys come down the hall cussing up a storm at one o’clock in the morning there needs to be some kind of mediator. Those sources and associates that had me believing everyone in a Christian College was saved must have been on L.S.D.-”A Low on Common Sense Diet.”
The second belief that concerned me the most was low academic standards. Many students are paying almost seven grand a year to attend college, why on earth would a Christian teacher fail a student? This would lower enrollment, make the school look bad to the public, and give teachers a bad name. Academic standards must be lower in a private college, right?
Wrong! Professors who teach here at our Christian University have degrees from Baylor University, Pepperdine, University of Southern California, and University of Illinois, to name just a few. I enjoy listening and learning from those who have had hard core “upper class” educations and include this into their Christian faith. Also, with low academic standards it would have been very difficult to receive the accreditation that this college has obtained.
Miraculous changes can take place on a Christian campus. Continuous Bible reading and teaching leads to greater knowledge. After all, Solomon in the Book of Proverbs does state: “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The students, professors, and faculty that I’ve met in my first few weeks here on campus have been people whose sole purpose is to serve God with all their heart.
That’s big for me, because I believe that without the positive influence of Christian friends I do not believe that I can reach my full potential in college or in my life’s goals and dreams for that matter.
Though once led astray, I now believe that the Christian Liberal Arts Education is superior to universities that are based solely on academic standards. My decision on this issue may sound very one-sided. I have to agree with you. However, my thesis is summed up most eloquently in the book of proverbs: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge.”
The Popularity of Christian Rock Music
“Christian Rock”, the genre often scoffed at by traditional rock artists, enthusiasts & critics alike is gaining popularity and stamping its place as a sort after genre for the young generation of head-banging, mosh-pitting gurus! Didn’t Christian rock die a couple of years ago, you ask? Christian rock music is growing faster than ever before with Daily News of Christian Rock Music, new artists & albums streaming across the Internet and pumping the airways continuously every day. So where did this religious music come from? I mean this is new right?
This type of rock music wasn’t around 20 years ago, was it? Well I didn’t think so until recently, the reality is Christian music or should I say Christian rock music has been around seemingly since the dawn of creation! So why seeing it today all the time? Where were the God Rocker’s for so long and what happened to the voice of damnation for those participating in anything other than a church hymn or Sunday school choir? The chastity belt of today’s Christian rock is alive and kicking. There are many religious organisations who oppose this form of music, I will talk more about this opposition later.
Most Christians are in favor of this “movement” feeling that Christian rock music is another way to reach people with the importance of the Christian faith. So why the controversy?, what is so different about Non-Christian rock music in comparison to Christian rock? Many have asked this question and instead of quoting Mr. Bob Dylan “the answer is blowing in the wind”, I thought I would analyze the facts and see why there is so much “opposition” to the sounds of “thumping grace”. After reviewing many rock & heavy metal music bands and performances and then compared them to their Christian counterparts, I did see differences but not many! The stage performance was very similar with the exception of Non-Christian heavy metal revealing more of a dark or sadistic side at times in general there was little if no difference in presentation from Christian rock to standard or Non-Christian music. The only real difference I could see was in the lyrical content, with Christian rock music singing words from the Bible and preaching family values.
So why was Christian rock music introverted for so many years, seemingly hiding in the shadows from more upright members of the Christian community? Well apparently they weren’t hiding at all, it’s just that I like many people didn’t even know they were around back then! Good old fashioned Christian rock bands like Petra, Stryper, Bloodgood, Whitecross and Tourniquet have been rocking Christians and secular music lovers alike for generations.
The voice of rock damnation is still screaming louder than ever in some Christian circles although seemingly falling on deaf ears of a Christian Rocker community that grows bigger every day. Who opposes this Christian liberation? Who else but other Christians! It seems some segments of who have not advanced to modern day sounds are Bible bashing these Christian rock music head bangers with eternal consequences for their “misguidance”. The most dramatic example I came across was the seventh day adventist (SDA) church who proclaim that Christian rock music is quote “Devil music”. The seventh day adventist church preach that all rock music has the “beat of the devil” borrowed from primate heathen rituals, beating in time with the body’s “natural rhythms”. I found it hard to believe that people could think this way at first, but indeed it is true and the SDA church is serious about stamping out any and all rock music, or anything for that matter that has a drum beat!
