Tough Times for Christians at College

The whole purpose of a university is to provide students with an education. But the PC culture has something to say about it.

For the past few years, increasing degrees of intolerant political correctness, leftist indoctrination, and a cementing of secular values has undermined actual education. As if that weren’t bad enough, universities have been openly hostile to Christian groups and clubs that seek to educate students on what Christianity is all about.

“There is a lot of spiritual interest on campus, but it must be made accessible to students.”

That hasn’t changed, but an organization is working to combat this agenda: the Christian Union. This organization, founded by Cornell alum Matt Bennett, adds an extracurricular opportunity for students to learn about Christianity at a handful of schools.

“While studying at Cornell, I realized that these secular institutions had very little resources to explain the foundations of Christian faith. I wanted to give interested students access to learn about the basics of the faith,” said Bennett.

“These particular institutions were turning out the most influential members of our culture. I didn’t care for the direction our culture had been going for some time, so I saw this as an opportunity to impact the culture by reaching future leaders at a significant time in their lives,” continued Bennett.

It’s a challenging endeavor to undertake in a society that is openly vilifying Christians. The problem is particularly bad on college campuses where many students don’t appear to have the first understanding of the faith — or the values it reflects.

Bennett finds that fact somewhat puzzling, considering many of the most prominent social movements came with revived Christian focus — the same movements the Left claims to desire today.

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The anti-slavery movement came with the Second Great Awakening — the Protestant religious revival of the early 19th century. The fight against child labor, anti-poverty movements, and the push to permit schooling for women also came from a Christian mindset. Thousands of colleges were also established based on Christian philosophy.

Even modern-day philanthropists are deeply moved by the New Testament. Bill Gates, for example, started his foundation because he recalled words from the Book of Luke that his mother had written to him.

“He doesn’t identify as Christian, yet look at the power that Christian values can have on non-Christians,” Bennett remarked.

How does the Christian Union reach out to students in the college environment, which bombards its populace with educational and extracurricular activities?

“Our initial approach is student-to-student. Those involved in CU share the same fraternities, sports teams, and classes,” Bennett said.

This grassroots approach is likely the primary reason why, on a number of campuses, CU is the largest organization of any kind, secular or religious. Eight percent of Princeton’s student body belongs to CU, for example.

“There is a lot of spiritual interest on campus, but it must be made accessible to students. Consequently, we take an intellectual approach to reflect the philosophy of what a university is — a place to develop one’s mind,” Bennett said. “Most students join our ministry because of the friendship and acceptance they experience, which is too often a rare commodity in our culture.”

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Freshmen are offered Bible courses, often examining one specific book of the Bible and meeting each week with eight to 10 students, and “study” means exactly that. It is about reading and interpreting the text, the subtext, the context, and discussing all the angles that a given passage is about. This permits everyone to experience the presence of God when they come together.

Universities are somewhat welcoming — although not always, Bennett said. But he noted that many are appreciative of the context of love and support for the students. One Harvard dean told a CU campus minister, “Whatever you’re doing, it’s magical.”

Bennett has observed that “a lot of university students and staff don’t know a lot of Christians. The current societal tone toward Christianity is so negative, some professors stay in the closet. There is discrimination.”

One college dean told him that many Christian faculty are the most fearful of being outed.

“Naturally, the idea of a vibrant and active Christian group would be most threatening to those who oppose the values of Jesus Christ.”

“Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn it, because the world is condemned already. He came to save the world.”

There is intense animosity from LGBT community members toward Christian Union, based on the perception that Christians hate LGBT individuals and judge them. This is a perfect example of how Christianity’s critics are uneducated on the actual position of the faith.

“Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn it, because the world is condemned already. He came to save the world,” Bennett said. “Christians are not here to condemn sexual choices of any kind, or any of the ways that man dishonors God. That’s because Christ receives everyone who repents of their sins and turns to him.”

Christianity teaches the same sexual ethics that have been taught for thousands of years, according to Bennett, along with what 90 percent of the world practices and believes. It seems odd that one group representing 4 percent of the American population should consider Christians to be “intolerant,” when LGBT groups engage in overt and vocal attacks on Christians without understanding anything about them.

Bennett noted that “any disapproval of the LGBT community’s view toward sexuality makes the critic an instant target. We are seen as a threat merely because we exist, and schools such as Vanderbilt [University] have kicked off Christian ministries as a result.”

Yet Bennett is extremely optimistic. “We hope to see a revived Christian mindset in the USA, and all the blessings that come from that — the hope and peace and joy. Our desire is to have people in senior leadership positions with Christian values — those who put others before themselves, look to honor those who sacrifice themselves for general welfare, and who honor God.”

“The more we can educate people on Christian values and Christ, the better the world will be,” Bennett concluded.