What does a liberal college exactly mean?

College Confidential Community
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<p>I KNEW that it was right in my spirit.</p>

<p>Exactly, Christianity was right in your spirit and I'm happy you found a religion that fit you so well. But just remember that Christianity might not feel right in other people's spirits and that other religions are a better "fit".</p>

<p>So you've been a Christian for 7 years. That would mean you converted when you were around 10 or so. So if you don't mind my asking, what were your beliefs prior and what exactly was it that made you turn to Christianity (and not Islam, etc-which offer similar messages of love, forgiveness and salvation for all)?</p>

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<p>Well, I am an advanced person so me at ten may be more ppl at say fifteen ( in fact in fifth grade I scored on the college level of the test given in Texas to measure proficinecy level). Before I was actually adverse to GOD, I remember one time sitting in church in a youth group and ppl were asking did we want GOD'S love and I sat there point blank and said no.
As to other religions, I did not know about them, Christianty was the first. But about two or three years ago I went through a really long period struggling between Islam and Christianity, bc the rhetoric was identical and I was studying other religions (not in class but on my own, bc i felt to know GOD, you should know about other aspects of HIM, so I studied Islam and Judaism) these were very tough times in my walk of faith and I prayed so often then. But ultimately I am still Christian bc well I prayed. I prayed to GOD (remeber all three claim to believe in the same GOD) and asked HIM, to reveal to me the correct path, and HE revealed Christianity to be the right path.
It was different than Judiasm which in the observant sense is based on outward fidelty to law, and not true inner devotion to GOD. And different from Islam, bc Allah is distant. In Islam Allah is not FATHER, or FRIEND, but rather more a master who you must sumbit to. (Islam means submission) Christianity was where GOD stooped down and became low to lift us up not bc we earn it by following rules or by submiting to will, but bc simply HE loved us. And that love is the reason I am a Christian to this day.</p>

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<p>A liberal school is one in which people can hold a discussion like the preceding one with no problems from the student body or faculty. :)</p>

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<p>A liberal college is where people like Dbate would be met with much eye-rolling and cold shoulders.</p>

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<p>Hippo, it is interesting to note that in your "debate" with Dbate, you appear to assume that it's a given that: (1)truth is relative (the "what's true for you may not be true for someone else" philosphy), (2)"all paths lead to God", and (3) a good "religion" is one that fits a particular person's needs the best. I disagree with you on all three points, and before I could debate any ideas about homosexual behavior with you, or morality in the broader sense, or religion, it would first have to be established that truth is indeed relative, for this supposition seems to form the basis of your entire line of thinking. You imply that truth is indeed relative, yet almost immediately go on to state that "all paths lead to God" and "Christ really isn't the only way..." Mmmmh....sounds like a "truth" statement to me. Are you sure? But I thought relative truth means you can't be sure of anything? Do you get to pick out which truths are true and which aren't, based on...what? Why do you get to pick and Dbate doesn't?</p>

<p>I think it is so interesting how so many today talk about coming up with their own religion the way you would customize a favorites playlist on an Ipod, whatever makes you happy.....Let's talk about you for a minute, Hippo. What if I choose the things about you I like, get rid of some of the things I don't, and pick up a few traits of someone else I heard about and apply them to you, then maybe make up a few that I really like, and say that this is now "Hippo". Makes me happy, but is it true? Do you mind that I've done this to you, or would you think I was living in a dreamworld and very self-centered? Do you think God minds when we do this to him?</p>

<p>I don't believe truth is relative, and I believe Jesus when he said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me", and I believe that everyone sins, and all sin, not just sexual, separates us from God. All other religions tell us all of the things we have to do or not do to earn God's favor, but never tell us exactly how good we must be--what is a passing grade? (Except Islam--according to the Koran the only way a Muslim knows for sure he will go to Paradise is if he kills an infidel in a holy war. And Christianity ("love your neighbor as you love yourself") and Islam are two equal paths?) Only Christianity recognizes that we could never be good enough on our own, and it is only through faith in God's gift of Jesus that we are forgiven and saved. </p>

<p>The quest to answer these questions is far more important than a debate about what's wrong or right with homosexuality. Sometimes I wonder if being "accepting" of everyone's viewpoints and behavior, although it sounds so nice and considerate, just means not really caring enough about something or someone to have an opinion, much less express it.</p>

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<p>"can anynone explain to me what their definition of a liberal college is?"</p>

<p>Could we please return to this? Any threads that have a shred of politics in them seemed to derail unbelievably quickly. The question is an interesting one, and I would appreciate more answers, as a conservative myself.</p>

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<p>From my understanding (which is limited bc I am in high school) is that a liberal college is a college which has a high number of activist liberals. That is individuals who go out of their way to make demonstrations and display thier beliefs. But also a liberal college would be one where professors openly show bias in thier teaching and are vocal about thier condemnation of conservative agenda.</p>

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<p>Right. I was thinking about specific colleges, or anecdotes about professors or students. I hear Oberlin, Wesleyan, Grinnell, Macalester (to a lesser extent?) are very liberal.</p>

<p>Are there any universities known for being liberal strongholds?</p>

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<p>Kentuckymom, your entire post is based on a faulty understanding on your part of my posts. </p>

<p>Yes, I believe truth is relative and at the same time I believe that all religions are equally valid and equally invalid. These are not two contradictory beliefs. You claim to know for fact that Christianity is the right religion, simply because Jesus said that "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" What you fail to understand is than in every religious text, there is going to be mention of how that religion is the only true way. The Qu'ran claims to be the literal word of God, passed down to mankind from God through the Angel Gabriel to Mohammad. So simply because in the Bible it claims that Christianity is the only path, that doesn't make it so as every religion claims to be the only path. </p>

<p>And never once in any of my posts have I advocated "picking and choosing" from religion so that it can fit your mindset. It is a fact that the Bible has been interpreted and re-interpreted by various readers throughout time. There is a difference between having a different interpretation of a passage and completely tossing out passages that you don't quite like. There is a reason there are Catholics, Greek Orthodoxes, Protestants and Mormons. What is that reason you ask? Because there is no general consensus among Christian groups as to what "correct" interpretation of the bible is. I've always been an advocate individuals trying to interpret the meaning of their respective religious texts on their own. I've never advocated for picking and choosing. </p>

<p>according to the Koran the only way a Muslim knows for sure he will go to Paradise is if he kills an infidel in a holy war.</p>

<p>Wow. Why don't you look through the Qu'ran and show me the verse that came from. Do you want to know what the Qu'ran really says?-"The ink of a scholar is more valuable than the blood of a martyr." </p>

<p>And anyhoo, even if that verse did exist, guess what, who was responsible for the Spanish inquisition, Witch burnings and the forced conversion of countless Native/South Americans? That's right, Christians. </p>

<p>Only Christianity recognizes that we could never be good enough on our own, and it is only through faith in God's gift of Jesus that we are forgiven and saved.</p>

<p>Well of course it is the only religion that believes through God's gift of Jesus we are saved because it's the only religion that believes in Jesus. :/
The fact that you are so arrogant as to assume that your religious beliefs are the only valid ones is quite honestly a bit disturbing.
Do you know why the religion of Islam was started? Well according to Mohammad/the Angel Gabriel, it was because Christians/Jews had perverted the true word of God and had begun to worship falsely (for Christians, this means a false belief in Jesus). Don't forget that Muslims believe in the same God as Christians and according to their religion, God told Mohammad through Gabriel that Jesus was not to be worshipped So who is right, Muslims or Christians? The fact of the matter is, there is no real way of knowing (for all we know it could be neither).
Don't be so quick to assume that your beliefs are undeniably correct, simply because your religious scripture tells you. </p>

<p>Kentuckymom, next time you make a post in an attempt to "debate" me, make sure that you actually understood what it is I was trying to convey.</p>

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<p>........Edit</p>

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<p>Hippo, you said: "Yes, I believe truth is relative and at the same time I believe that all religions are equally valid and equally invalid. These are not two contradictory beliefs."</p>

<p>These statements are completely illogical. You are using your own subjective opinion about relativisim to validate your views--you are using circular reasoning, using relativism to establish relativism. If relativism is true and all points of view are true, then is my view that relativism is false, true? Your proposition is not logical and is self-refuting. And you feel I am the arrogant one? Maybe we should start another thread on relativism, because until truth can be established to exist at all, any discussion on morals or religion would be pointless.</p>

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<p>^By saying "all religions are equally valid and equally invalid" I am basically saying that there is no real way of determining which religion or which interpretation of that religion is correct. This is why "all religions are equally valid and equally invalid." </p>

<p>I am not using circular logic, if anything, you are. You have basically stated in your last post that Christianity is undeniably the only true religion, because Jesus said so. You are using the bible to justify itself. </p>

<p>PROVE to the 70% of the world that isn't Christian why Christianity without a doubt is the only true path and why Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism or any other religion isn't. </p>

<p>If you can't do that, even though you seem so sure of yourself, then my point still stands and the absolute truth about God can't be figured out, since there is no way of proving that one religion is superior to another.</p>

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<p>STOP IT. I have reported Hippo's post, not to target anyone in particular but because this is completely irrelevant, and that was the first post after my request that you both STOP. </p>

<p>Now, could anyone tell me about schools that are rigidly or intolerantly liberal? Where a conservative viewpoints would be dismissed or disregarded as a product of ignorance and/or stupidity?</p>

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<p>^Baelor, in case you haven't noticed, threads go where they may on CC. You're not even the OP. </p>

<p>And we're already in the Cafe.</p>

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<p>I still think this is dumb. I've seen the threads that derail, and posted on several. The mods deleted the OT posts, and discussion resumed. But that doesn't change the fact that we should stay on topic. Seriously, it's not that hard to create a new thread and continue the discussion there.</p>

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<p>Yes, let's get back to the original question on the thread, what is a "liberal" college, and how is it different from a conservative one? It is widely documented and accepted that there is a huge disproportion in the number of liberal vs conservative professors. This may not be of utmost importance when evaluating the college if free speech of all opinions is encouraged and not penalized in the classroom. It will make conservatives uncomfortable, though, if the student body as well is predominately liberal and very vocal and active, and where, for example, acceptance and approval of the gay lifestyle is taken as the only valid viewpoint, and any disagreement is automatically labeled as "hate".</p>

<p>In general, it appears that conservatively-minded institutions tend to place a great emphasis and importance on history, study of western civilizations, great books, the classics, etc. Take a look at the mission statements or course descriptions at a well-known highly liberal college like Wesleyan and compare it to a highly conservative college like Hillsdale. Core classes, if they are even required at all, at a Liberal college might include gender and ethnic or homosexual studies, while at a conservative college they would probably be required to include the classics, american history and the constitution. In a history class at a conservative college the students would probably be required to read the original documents and writings and be required to come to their own conclusions about what they mean, rather than to study a more current, "enlightened" explanation of past events through the lens of likely liberal-leaning professors. </p>

<p>Housing is another area where highly-liberal and conservative colleges differ. The Wesleyan Student Assembly has stated that since "gender and biological sex are separate and distinct concepts" that freshman should have the right to "define their own gender and make housing decisions." At a conservative college, one will at the very least find male or female-only floors and bathrooms and probably even single-sex dorms.</p>

<p>Hippo, if you would like to continue our discussion on relativism, etc., feel free to pm me or start a new thread.</p>

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<p>Thank you very much, Kentuckymom (and for staying on track!). </p>

<p>I hadn't considered the curricular effects of the political persuasion of a campus...That was definitely enlightening!</p>

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<p>I decided to PM you Kentuckymom. </p>

<p>Oh and while a conservative vs. liberal college might have slightly different curriculums, I think you exaggerated those differences. For example, even at a school as liberal as Wesleyan, I don't think a gender studies or lgbt studies course would be compulsory. Also, liberal and conservative colleges alike are going to use primary documents in history courses, because to not do so would just be silly.</p>

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<p>There is 1 type of conservatism for the use of the word Conservative. This is defined by Barry Goldwater.</p>

<p>Today's, Non Ron Paul, Barry Goldwater approach to conservatism is neo-conservatism. Neoconservatism is much more liberal in the set of social liberalism. Goldwater conservatism is in the set of classical liberalism.</p>

<p>Most Conservatives are Pro-gay, pro-abortion, don't believe religions should have anything to do with govt, etc.</p>

<p>Read the Conscious of a Conservative by Goldwater.</p>

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<p>The classical liberal and conservative, are basically switiched as so therefore just for colloquiual use, ppl associate the newer brand with each so that there is no confusion.
From what I know a list of liberal colleges:Yale, Brown, Wellesylan, Berkeley, Columbia, and probably alot of others. If you want non-partisan college it would probably be at a technical school like: Cornell (engineering), MIT, CalTech or the like. Also business is an area where conservatives are dominant like Wharton, I would think.
Overall a campus should not be liberal or conservative (well they can be conservative bc then they would be right :)), but should just be for an education, like O'Riely's no spin zone. Usually fields that have little to nothing to do with relativistic understanding like engineering or the sciences will be more accepting of everyone.
Also conservatives are more likely to get married and therefore want to make money to provide for thier children (like me) and so will be more compelled to high pay professions. So a field that meets both conditions like say medicine which on many matters is absolute (except for like life and death decisions and the BS which is abortion) you will probably find a high number of ppl who are conservative.
Likewise schools who are more crafted for that like JHU would probably be more conservative then say Brown.</p>