<p>If you truly want to follow the lessons of Jesus, you don’t call others “deviants” or categorize them unfairly. </p>
<p>My sweet young friend, devout, has found sheer thrill in her mega-liberal Northeast university in a big bad city. She sought out a church that fit her beliefs, threw herself into its activities- and practiced her faith by welcoming all; she does not judge, and lives her life as an example and role model. She found, immediately, that her own strength and conviction, combined with a truly generous spirit, drew many to her, led them to hear her out, etc. Her friends are of many backgrounds; she looks for- and finds- the good in them. I adore her for this, though my own beliefs are different. I respect her so much.</p>
<p>I am not encouraging you to make the decision in one way or another- just to be careful how you judge others. Good luck.</p>
<p>Then, I’m sorry, but you’re not going to make it out in the real world. The real world has people of all different shapes, sizes, and beliefs. If you don’t want that “influence around” you, you need to go to a conservative college in a conservative area and then live forever in a conservative area.</p>
<p>I’m very liberal. I’m an atheist. I used to be a conservative Catholic. I am still friends with people from all over the spectrum. The majority of people you’ll meet will NOT attempt to force you to do anything.</p>
<p>I go to a large state school, and Christianity is definitely not dead. There was a church service earlier this evening for college aged people, and the place was packed. It was a decent sized auditorium. I ended up meeting/seeing people I know from school and other Christian related activities, as well as people from my old high school. There is definitely a strong, supportive Christian community around here, even though the majority of students are conforming to the usual college routine.</p>
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<p>But then this fellow Jesus came along and declared that everything he says is now the law, and that salvation comes through him. Don’t know where it is mentioned in the NT, but it’s there… trust me.</p>
<p>Truly, these opinions rarely, if ever, need to come up. If you have an LGBT teacher- who CARES? If you “overhear” something- who CARES? If someone wants to talk about something like that to you, just say it makes you uncomfortable. Your friends will understand and it doesn’t matter what others think.</p>
<p>People “sin”. That doesn’t make them bad people. That doesn’t mean they’re going to force you to be a “sinner”. That’s not how the world works.</p>
If you go to a Christian college, you won’t be spreading His word. Period. Students at a Christian college have heard God’s word, whether or not they choose to listen to it and obey it is an entirely different story.</p>
<p>If you go to a normal college, you WILL be able to find others who have similar beliefs to yourself to help keep you grounded in your faith as well as those who do not know God. If you want to spread His word, which as a Christian you should, then you have to get out and about with the non-believers.</p>
<p>Also, I should note that going to a Christian college does NOT mean that you will be away from very bad behavior and sinners. A lot of people end up going to Christian colleges not of their own free will or choose a school for reasons outside of religion. (I have an agnostic friend who really wanted to go to Catholic schools because religion interested her and the education is good, but she’s not at all religious herself.)</p>
<p>What you have to keep in mind is what God wants for you. He has a plan for you. You need to pray about it. If he tells you that going to a Christian college is what’s right, then do it. But remember, often God doesn’t lead us in the easiest paths.</p>
<p>Someone pointed out that they sensed a ■■■■■, and I sense the same thing. A 100% devout Christian posting on a forum full of liberals and denouncing atheists and others as deviants? Seems like it’s pressure-cooked to garner a strong response–the definition of a ■■■■■.</p>
<p>Regardless, I’ll respond as if “gospelgirl” is genuine. OP, I think it would be good for you to attend a secular school. It’s a bit worrisome that your beliefs are so strong held that they verge on intolerance, and I think a taste of the real world might help you. When you denounce others for not seeing the importance of Christ, instead try questioning your own beliefs: what have you always been exposed to? Christ. What haven’t you been exposed to? Everything else. With such a limited frame of reference, how do you know that your beliefs are correct? That’s what college is all about–learning more and questioning everything. Find what you truly think is correct, not what your parents think is correct.</p>
<p>I agree with Stu in that one should question everything with contradicting perspectives and seeing the truth in more than one interpretation. In church, people tell you “in the Bible, this means…” but in reality, there are other sects of christianity that might have a completely different interpretation of that verse. There are also atheists who question the Bible in a historical context, and I respect their opinions. Personally, I don’t think I will be able to call myself 100% christian until I’ve read at least parts of the Bible (OT and NT) and the Qumran… still got a ways to go.</p>
<p>gospelgirl, don’t let anyone intimidate you. All of your comments are precisely spot on correct. Your word choice is absolutely correct too. Remain confident that the Holy Spirit will guide you! God is so happy for your show of His character He has built in your great personality. You bless me!</p>
I’m not so sure about that. Many Christian colleges do have programs for evangelizing/missionary trips. It might be easier to have access to such things/funding at a Christian college.</p>
<p>Well, when you come from a small town where everyone pretty much agrees on most things- and you are certain you have it right- it’s hard to accept the value of questioning- that’s not part of the vocabulary. </p>
<p>And, doubly hard to choose to leave home and meet the outside world, when there’s distrust of that outside world, from the get-go. And, an idea you are the one to change others. Rather than excitement or curiosity. Or acceptance. I’d say, be careful to remain humble.</p>
<p>Ald is right that evangelical trips are more common at religious schools. At many “liberal” schools, the intent behind study abroad revolves around “study,” not mission work.</p>
<p>No I smelled it too, the OP came across as a parody of conservative Christians, but it could just be that she’s a naive, sheltered high school girl. No offense! We were all naive, sheltered high schoolers once upon a time, here at CC.</p>
<p>You are not speaking from experience, but we are. Things like that will only influence you if you let them influence you. Put on the full armor of God, no matter what neighborhood you live in. Let me tell you something, there are plenty of wolves in sheeps clothing in the church, and in conservative Christian neighborhoods. You’ve met some. You may be friends with some. I think those people are who you ought to be concerned about. Because non-believers are not the enemy, but wolves in sheeps clothing truly are the enemy.</p>
<p>It is <em>not</em> your job to make people believe anything or behave a certain way, it is only your job to present the Gospel and to be a good representative of God. God takes over after that.</p>
<p>It’s okay to not want to be around certain behaviors, but I think a Christian ought to be able to sit down and have dinner or shoot the breeze in a student lounge with just about anybody. Secular colleges aren’t exactly as they’re depicted in the movies. All of the debauchery doesn’t happen during lecture, it happens at parties off campus so it’s easy to avoid.</p>
<p>Also, you don’t have to give your opinion on everything. This is just general advice for everybody. There’s a time and place for making your opinion known, learn to sense when it’s “okay” in conversation to launch into a mini-sermon about something you are passionate about. Otherwise you risk alienating people for no good reason. Many times it is not Christian opinions themselves that turn people off, it is how we express them.</p>
<p>Yeah you should probably just go to your local community college. Even at BYU there’s a gay community so the only way for you to maintain your closed-minded ideals would be to stay at home. That, and being open minded is essential for studying at any reputable university.</p>
<p>If this is a ■■■■■, I certainly fell for it. OP, I hope you are sincere, and if not, trolling to start controversy is counterproductive to the possibility of people getting along in the world.
One aspect of college is putting many people with different perspectives into a living situation with the challenge of getting along. It’s a challenge to live with someone who believes and feels entirely different from you. One way to be miserable is to be judgmental and closed minded- from any perspective.</p>
<p>If OP is real, then this is a good example of what college life will be- different people presenting their points of view. If OP is a ■■■■■, then an attempt to start a battle on this thread has failed, as most posters have tried to be helpful and respectful- and kudos to everyone for not taking the bait.</p>