The Truth about Secular Education

I remember a woman from my college days who sat a few seats ahead of me in my history class. Our class at the time was discussing Rome and Christianity. These lectures had the effect of casting Christianity as just another product of culture, influenced by this or that factor.

But after every one of these lectures, she would faithfully pull out her bible and begin to read for several minutes - in fact i noticed she did this every class, it just seemed more conspicuous on days her faith was being relegated as just another social or natural phenomenon. At this time i was an agnostic. This had an incredible impact on me. What impressed me most was her fortitude, she appeared neither bitter nor shaken from what she just heard. She knew exactly where she was, and witnessed silently to us all by simply pulling out her bible.

One of my friends, an ex-drug dealer, who later got saved, went to a nearby community college. He has since received his bachelors in physical therapy and is currently studying missions. God willing he hopes to go to the mission fields of Puerto Rico taking along with him his physical therapy skills and his love for God and lost souls.

I see your an English major. Do you want to teach or write? As Gregg has pointed out, be strong, we'll be praying for you.
Blessings,
Rob

Hi NotMe...

Thank you for your honesty! I have personally debated this issue in my heart in the past. However, I have come to terms to what I feel is the direction that God has for me.

First of all, I believe that there is no such thing as "secular education." Education is simply [i]the act of obtaining [u]knowledge[/u][/i]. We obtain knowledge and truth through different means. In our spiritual lives, we have an ultimate resource (the Word of God). However, we would not be able to read and understand the Word without an education. We often hear tales about illiterate men of faith who learned to read the Word of God through supernatural means. Most of us, however, are forced to already know how to read. Our education (whether formal or self-commissioned) allows us to supplement our understanding of the Word. A formal education from Bible School is typically mingled with requirements of writing, reading, history and even mathematics. Even a less formal Bible School requires the participant to learn history, reading and writing.

Secondly, we must remember that we are all being educated every day. Someone taught you to use the internet. Even if you learned it on your own, you were self-educated. We are educated every time we read or perceive a subject. When we read a Bible commentary, we are educating ourselves from the teachings of others based upon their knowledge. When we listen to a teacher in Church, they are educating us to matters that they feel is important. When we read that we must change the oil in our Church Van every 3000-5000 miles, we are receiving an "education" that can possibly save the Church money in the future (allowing us to be a "good steward"). We educate ourselves concerning the benefits of cleanliness. In other words, our education begins as infants and continues until our death.

Third, there is a difference between EDUCATION and a COLLEGE DEGREE. I know many individuals that are highly educated, but did not graduate from high school. Likewise, I know individuals that graduated from college, but did not obtain much of an education. A college education that results in a degree will typically, for obvious reasons, help an individual obtain a higher paying job. This is important to individuals with a family.

Finally, we should remember the apostles were "educated" men. I don't mean that they earned a degree from Jesus University or Rome College. However, each of them were "educated" in a trade. John was a fisherman. Matthew was a tax collector. Luke was a physician. Paul was a tentmaker. In fact, Paul used his knowledge of the Rome (including the political system and roads) to spread the Gospel. The point is that they were all able to provide for themselves and their families. A college degree is not necessary to do this. It is merely a tool to help achieve this goal.

I believe that the importance was that they were willing to consider all of their knowledge as "dung" compared to the knowledge of knowing Christ. When I first came to Christ, I thought that I could flip burgers at McDonalds for $5.15/hour and simply preach the Gospel in the streets. I had no plan to ever get married. Then, I figured out that it was in my heart to one day get married (an interesting story if you ever want to hear it). While I don't believe that God wants us to be rich, I feel that it is important that a man is able to take care of the needs of his family. A minimum wage job will often prohibit this -- especially if you ever have children. In fact, a person working full time (40 hours a week) at minimum wage will only earn about $11,000 in a year in the United States. Without assistance from the Government, this would be difficult to provide adequately for a family of three.

A formal college education is simply a means by which a person can move to a better paying job. Studies have shown that a person with a college degree earns quite a bit more (on average) that a person without one. Money isn't everything -- but it is required to purchase food. I know that it would break my heart if I couldn't afford to feed my future wife and children.

Anyway, I hope this helps. Like I said, I have wrestled with the notion as to the importance (or lack of importance) of education. But I can testify that I have never regretted the knowledge that I have gained. I will be praying for you through this journey!

:-)

Not Me,
At the end of the day, you must do what the Lord is telling you to do, and if it is the Lord, then He will sustain you. Only be sure it is the Lord and not self.
I thought of John Sung while reading your post. He had PHDs in many different subjects, and was a brilliant man destined for greatness and desired by Governments to develop programs for them. But the Lord took hold of him, and told him to go back to China to reach his people with the Gospel. Of course this would mean that all his education would be for naught, and he would be ridiculed by his parents but he went.
Along the way out on the open seas, he tossed his degrees overboard, and never looked back. God used that man to set China ablaze!
I cannot say that GOD will do this with you, but you never know!
I have seen many people have their walks devastated by school, and have watched the torment that people go through, being so tired from studying that they cannot read their Bible, or pray, having their head so clouded with knowledge from men that they lose knowledge from GOD. I'm sure you know what I mean :) I went through it even when I was in school for ministry!
Go hide away someplace for a bit with just your Bible, and seek GOD. He will show you what He wants you to do.
Blessings to you

Dear Slavyan,

I'm in college as well going to art school. I have often asked those same questions and have wondered about secular/liberal arts kinds of teaching. I can say that if you aren't rooted deeply in your faith you can be shaken when you are so focused on your studies. Education is important but colleges, even Christian ones that teach different philosophies, religions, and alternative ways of life can be damaging to us, even if our walk is strong. Many "Christians" that go off to college to get a liberal education come back completely cold to their faith (of course we don't know if they were really saved in the first place). However, I can speak from experience on this. I went on a quest for "truth" I knew the bible was true and that Jesus was true but you find so many different teachings even in the Christian church so I went on my own little quest and filled my mind with all sorts of teaching and "knowledge" and ideas to try to sift through them all. I came to a place where I didn't know what I believed anymore. Filling ourselves with worldly things, even education on other religions so that we can "know how to preach to those kinds of people" can even be damaging. Fortunately, I can say that I am stronger because of what I experienced and how I searched because I came back to the only truth there is. We must study truth and not waste our time with the world's ideas and philosophies. Why fill our minds with lies and filth? So... even though you are getting an education for English, your teaching is worldy and you have to deal with all sorts of lies and teaching contrary to your beliefs. My faith has been greatly strengthened by finding other Christians at my school (the very few there are) and using those relationships to strengthen each other in faith and to pray together about everything and also over our school. As far as feeling your studies are requiring you to deny your beliefs... that doesn't seem right. Is there a way you can use your classes and and your assignments in a way that allows you to witness and share your faith? Education is important because it opens doors for us to be used because we have skills in certain areas. It's easy to sometimes feel that we are wasting our time with education that seems pointless and even wrong. I think it's important to look at Jesus' life. He had to wait until he was in his 30s to teach because no one would listen to him if he was younger, even he had to follow some of the rules of his culture in order to even be heard... I think in the same way Americans have higher respect for educated people, people are more likely to listen to what you have to say if you are educated and have a skill. Your witness can be greater because of that.

I just know that for me it was really hard when I started school at the art center. I felt like I was the only Christian there. But as I began to reach out to people and share my faith I began to find other Christians hiding. God used me to speak truth to them and get them back on track in their walk. And we've sort of banded together and there is much strength when true Christians come together to worship God, pray, and talk about our struggles! My whole point of view has changed. The school is my mission field. I'm always looking for ways to witness and share my faith. In my animation I assignments I did a story about how to get to heaven, in another class we had to share a song that about our life so I sang about Jesus.. sometimes you are told by your instructors that you can't do such things. For example I did a story board and shared my idea with the class... the story board was the gospel. After I shared it I was told I had to change my story board so that it wasn't so preachy and religious, but you know what.. it served its purpose because I had already share the idea with the entire class. Staying grounded in your faith, reading the word, praying, being involved in a church, are all really important, but if you can use your school as a mission field and your assignments as a way to share truth, even if only your instructor will read it.. you are sharing truth. Look at the lost around you, pray for them, and for your instructors. There are lots of opportunities. Look for ways to speak out in love. Pray for open doors even if its not popular, expect persecution and rejoice in it. If you stand up for your faith people will sometimes repect you and your faith. They want to see something that is real and firm in a wishy-washy society. Try to find ways you can glorify God at your college. Start a club, start prayer meetings, witness to your classmates. God can use you for a lot! Maybe you are already doing those things... I do understand how liberal education can seem like a waste of time. We spend years learning things we will forget. We study things to pass a test and then next week we've forgotten it all. But stick with it! Keep focused on God and ask for his help everyday to get stuff done and look for ways to shine the light of truth. And if God wants you somewhere else you will know, he will show you. Anyways, that's my longwinded advice.. stuff I've been going through this year.

God Bless you and give you a VISION for what he wants you to do at your college. God is mighty and you can be His mighty warrior. You can be a walking revolution at your campus with Jesus in you. Just be who you are and who God created you to be. If you feel like you are denying your faith and you feel miserable about it, like you are compromising truth, maybe thats why you feel miserable, because you aren't being honest, maybe you just need to be honest and stand up for your faith, even if its unpopular and you are graded down for it. It's more important to honor God than compromise so that you might get better grades.

Lol, I think I'm done now, I hope that helps you!
God Bless!
Laura

I never looked at education squarely until I had children and became a Christian. I began to reflect on my education. How much did I learn that was profitable? That would help me in this life? That would lead me to the Savior? Very little. Then I asked myself, why then did I spend 8 hours a day most of the year in classes that didn't profit me much at all? Very simply, American education isn't about academics at all, it's about behavior modification. Now, I'm not talking about "training a child up in the way they should go." Nor am I talking about the Pavlovian ring-the-bell-and-salivate thing. I'm talking about the subtle erosion of secular thought, persuasive words from an evil agenda--relativism, political correctness, tolerance, cultural diversity, open-mindedness, new ageism, evolution, humanism, socialism, globalism, peer pressure, promiscuity. It completely amazes me that our youth have any capacity at all to escape this system and come to Christ. Children spend 40 hours weekly with "wicked council," perhaps 20-30 with parents, and maybe 2-4 at church. There is an agenda! I'm not saying this is promoted by all teachers, but it's no surprise with the curriculum's we have in public schools.

Another thing I want to add, not to brag or build up myself, but to inspire you. I've done some bold things at my school, things I thought I would be persecuted and hated for, I've claimed to have absolute truth in front of an entire class and have said that Jesus is the only way to heaven... all standing up (and trembling) in front of my classmates, most of which are pagan, and very much against religion. What I found was that people wanted to be my friend... because they saw I was real and admired my naked honesty and they told me they envied my faith and wanted what I had. The ways of Christ seem foolish my friend, some will see foolishness but others will see truth and be inspired and drawn to desire God.

Notme,

Well, perhaps you might consider changing majors, depending on what you want to do for a living one day, or, simply finding something that interest you more. Generally speaking, a B.A. in English won't help you out too much career-wise unless you plan on being a reporter or going on to further graduate level studies.

However, being a recent college graduate, having studied both in secular and private colleges I'll say a couple benefits of education, no matter where you get one at.

1) You'll become more disciplined - Unless you are simply trying to just pass with a C average, the world of academia will force you to become intellectually disciplined. You'll learn to manage your time, become more goal-oriented, and the like.

2) You'll increase your ability to find the truth and facts - Having to read through book after book, and write paper after paper, will teach you how to dig through information, and find out things for yourself, instead of just believing everything anybody says.

3) It'll also give you critical thinking skills. - Having to constantly compare opinion against opinion will make you think.

4) Make you less timid when it comes to learning difficult things, and gives you confidence- Frankly, after having been through 5 years of undergraduate studies, and 1 1/2 years of graduate studies, I feel like I could learn just about anything I wanted to.

5) It'll make you a life-long learner - Well... hopefully so at least. If you carry the good things you learned in college through the rest of your life, you'll hopefully keep learning, which will make you adaptable. So that if 20 years from now your job should pack up and go overseas, you wont' fulfill the maxim: "an old dog cannot learn new tricks," and thus find yourself with the ability to get a new job.

6) It'll give you something interesting to say every now and then - Socially speaking, this can go a long way.

And I'm sure many other things could be added. But these are just some benefits I've personally found when reflecting upon my education. As far as what benefit it has for the kingdom? That'll depend on what you do with it. Education can open doors closed to many others, and thus allow you the chance to perhaps reach people who would otherwise remain unreached. Perhaps with your education you can land a better job, provide for your family, and help support a missionary or somebody else in need (I know many homeless people who need some help!), and thus, through finances influence the kingdom.

Just be sure to keep the faith. For 2 years I earned an Associates in Liberal Arts, and took classes steeped in secular thought, and sometimes, some of the things we learned were just ouright attacks on the faith. I took biology, geology, history, philosophy, mythology(!), and a number of English classes (where the Puritains are treated like the scum of the earth!). Many of the things I learned were difficult to learn, but I perservered in the faith just the same. That's not to say that sometimes I didn't go through some series crisis like testing of my faith.

It's difficult to hear about evolution and get to learn first hand some of the mechanics of that theory. It's difficult to hear about the skepticism philosophy casts on everything. It's difficult to hear about how Noah's flood was nothing more than a rehash of the Gilgamesh epic. Some of these things can shake one to the foundations. But, now that I've wrestled with those things, and consequently, with God, and come through those things, I am quite thankful to have received the liberal arts education that I have.

Now when some "intellectual" is ready to drop a bomb on me and my faith, they are quite shocked that I'm not really moved by these things anymore, and pretty much just give a "so what?" attitude to a lot of the arguments they might put forth. Frankly, this has been very important when I have gone to UNC Charlotte and the like to do some evangelism.

I see that you are from Greensboro. The Lord recently has called me to become a missionary to Greensboro. Starting in the Spring I plan on coming up there, and probably starting at UNC Greensboro, to do some evangelism. Perhaps we could meet sometime for some coffee.

God bless.

NotMe,

I think I have some viable experience in what you are experience. I attended Washington State University for one semester back in the fall of 2002. I remember the most distinct moment for me was when a teacher from my intro history course got up to tell me that polytheism originated in cultures before monotheism. The particular portion that stung was that on the first day of class, she had professed to be a Christian! Evidently, she could not believe this to be true.

Well, she didn't. I asked her. Historically, there is a great deal more suggestive evidence of monotheism being original and polytheism following it to make the concept of such a bit awkward. But the curriculum the institution demands follows an older theory. And so my teacher lied to me.

I couldn't take it. I failed horribly that semester, and I dropped out. It killed me that where I was supposed to be gaining the ability to think and perceive the world in a proper fashion, I could call my teacher on obvious lies and have him/her agree with me.

Today I'm writing from an apartment in southern California at Azusa Pacific University (it is my first semester). It is a liberal institution under Christian direction. The funny thing is, four and a half years later, that my teachers still aren't perfect. There isn't the blatant disregard for perceived truth, which is something I do admire.

I won't say that I came to this school expecting its theology to be perfect. I also can't say I expected to arrive here with a perfect theology of my own.

I think the entirety of this was to suggest that sometimes there is worth in investigating a path in more than one regard. If you anticipate that education is going to be important to you, you may find that a place with a more proper theology guiding their decisions is a more appropriate place to begin. By more proper, I mean to suggest not that it matches your own beliefs immediately, but that there are no blatant anti-biblical concepts (like the cessation of miracles.) There is a great deal of cultural study which is appropriate to understanding biblical concepts, and trusting that others are intelligent and diligent is necessary in education. However, I have noted that beyond core concepts, a great many schools prefer to entertain development in the classroom. I believe that this is appropriate.

Now, it took me several years. I also had entrance into a decent career field which would support a family of four without outside aid and only one working person. But at the end of it all, several people managed to convince me that the education I had received improperly was considered to be of great benefit to more than just myself. It became a personal decision to try to receive it in a more fitting fashion. And I don't regret it. God did not reject it, and I fully believe encouraged it.

This is not something I can attest to with any certainty, but it may not be the path you find yourself on which is improper. It may be where you place your feet.

I should mention that my dropping at WSU was not mandatory... I had the option to stay. My parents were not pleased. But I'm at a university again. This time it's my own dime (...a great many of them.) The expectations are entirely different. Although the weight is heavier to me personally, my load is easier.

Maybe this will help you, but probably not.

Blessings.

NotMe,

Secular education is indeed horrible!!! I am attending North Carolina State Univeristy and the humanism is everywhere! Fortunately, I am studying Engineering, which is not as bad as a liberal arts degree. If I was studying for a liberal arts degree, I would definetly attend a Christian collge - but still with a high amount of criticism for sure!

Nile