Q: Can a Christian survive college?

A: As modern philosophers go, Dr. Seuss isn’t bad. A popular high school graduation gift these days is a book written by the master of rhyme titled, Oh, the Places You’ll Go! The book, a graduation speech Dr. Seuss once delivered, begins like this,

“Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You’re off to Great Places!

You’re off and away!”

Dr. Seuss is right. College is just the beginning of the many places you’ll go, the beginning of many firsts. College is the first time you’re free from the regimented schedule of high school. You begin making more and more decisions for yourself—whether to go to class, or roll over and stay in bed. Whether to wear those jeans for the third day in a row, or do laundry. College is an exciting time, one more open door beckoning you further down the pathway of life. It’s a time when decision-making and responsibilities truly become your own.

“You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You’re on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”

I was so excited about going to college that I jumped in with both feet. Like Alice in Wonderland, I found myself in a strange and unfamiliar place, but this one was called Welcome Week. I understand that some years ago, Welcome Week used to be when you went to campus to walk your class schedule, buy books at the bookstore, find the good places to study among the library stacks, and meet other students in your dorm. You know the commercial that says, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile”? Well, likewise for Welcome Week. This is not your father’s Welcome Week.

These days, on most college campuses, Welcome Week is a not-so-subtle indoctrination into moral relativism. Moral relativism is the belief system that says there is no right or wrong. Right is what’s right for you. When followed to it’s logical end, moral relativism leads to anarchy, but when it’s cloaked in skits, games, group activities, mandatory lectures, and free pizza, it passes for freshman fun. Welcome Week is also an initiation into the drinking and partying scene, with ample opportunities for hooking up, which for you moms and dads is slang for a one-night stand. So much for finding out the library hours.

How can Christian students survive the secular environment of most college campuses? Start finding out with the first chapter of Abby Nye’s book Fish Out of Water: Welcome Week.

News to Note Quick Look

Don’t say that word!: “[S]cientist urges teaching of creationism in schools” blared alarmist headlines after Michael Reiss, Royal Society director of education who claims “creationism has no scientific basis,” nevertheless let his toe slip from the evolutionary line on education. Now, after less than a week, Reiss has been forced to resign—expelled, you might say. Read more.

We’re sorry, Charles! (No we’re not!): As part of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth, the Church of England is issuing an apology of sorts to Darwin for its previous “anti-evolutionary fervour.” The response from Darwin’s descendants? Thanks, but no thanks. Read more.

Also: Martian life found on Earth, Wilma Flintstone comes to life (almost), the world’s oldest gecko, creationists—unfit for office, man’s outward appearance, the art of mathematicians, and AIG’s $85 billion bailout. Read more.

This information was provided by Answers In Genesis, an excellent source of material relating to Creation and evolution. Please visit their website using the link in the upper left.