Clobbered in the Classroom
By W. Russell Crawford
Please excuse the bluntness, and the informality, with which I will begin this short piece concerning my observations about the university. The following is what I previously composed on Facebook out of sheer frustration as I perused student interactions within my Discussion Board requirements for an Introduction to Philosophy course. Put on your seatbelt:
As I grade another round of “Discussion Posts” for my college course(s) involving the existence of God, I cannot say this loudly, or forcefully, enough: collegiate campus ministries (and churches) that are not *regularly* implementing apologetic material into their teaching are absolutely failing their students. They are setting them up to be torn to pieces in the classroom. I'm watching it happen, and it's a slaughter. If you're a college minister, or are involved in college ministry, and this angers you—then do something about it. I couldn't care less if "it's not your thing," nor if you believe it to be "their thing" (whatever that means). If that is your stance, then it will not be long until Christianity itself "is not their thing."
Such is the state of our young believers within the collegiate setting. Now, of course, there might be the objection that this is purely anecdotal, and that it may not be the case over the entirety of the university or college system. However, as mentioned, this social-media posting was composed in frustration—but it was not composed due to the frustration of a single event, but rather due to the culmination of multiple episodes that I have witnessed over a period of years—and at many institutions of higher learning.
Over the years, and prior to securing a full-time (limited term) position, I have taught as an adjunct professor or instructor for at least five institutions; four of those being at a college or university. The above sentiment and observation reflects each of those teaching appointments as well. It is not uncommon. On the contrary, it has been the norm.
From the very beginning of my teaching career, I have been privileged by each college to design my own layout and trajectory for each philosophy course that I have taught on campus. During the section of the course that covers the “big” questions of metaphysics, I have always dedicated the lion’s share to the existence/non-existence of God. Predictably, the students come alive during this portion of the course. Many students who have not so much as made a whisper during the course, thus far, will immediately find the courage and wherewithal to opine minutes on end regarding the greatest question set before mankind. So far so good. But this does not typically end well for those students who are brave enough to openly “out themselves” as Christians on the Discussion Boards. It is not unusual for those who are not friendly to the Christian faith to express their predictable objections (Why would God allow ____, Christians are hypocrites, Christianity is intolerant, etc.) That is to be expected. And, I might add, those are fair questions to ask those who would identify as Christian; there is nothing inherently wrong with a professed non-believer inquiring as to why Christians believe as they do. Any halfway rational person might expect such a thing. However, I have noticed over the years that
1) Non-Believers have become more numerous, and they are not “outliers.” They are also more comfortable with asserting that Christianity is completely irrational and nonsensical;
2) There is, for all intents and purposes, no pushback from other students in the form of evidence or argument that Christianity might perhaps be true;
3) Those that do identify as explicitly Christian are much more comfortable in outright denying large portions of Christian teaching that are not “culturally acceptable” in an effort to salvage the overall Faith—while ignoring the larger question as to whether the Faith is even true to begin with.
This is telling. Notice that the first observation is not necessarily shocking. Quite naturally, that is somewhat to be expected given the state of modern culture. As well, it is not exactly a surprise to those who are interested in the discipline of philosophy of religion (or apologetics) that contemporary Christians are most often ill-equipped to defend their faith in any robust sense. Yet, the last observation seems to be something that I am seeing more of as of late—among those students who are willing to embrace the Christian nomenclature, they are ready to dismiss swaths of classical Christian teaching on a particular topic if it is culturally “out of taste.” One might think that this would occur in regard to a general theist of some stripe—but it is the self-proclaimed Christians who seem to now embrace this apparent shift. In a recent Discussion Board interaction, a student who proudly claimed to “lead bible studies at Church” agreed wholeheartedly that the Christian faith was wrong as it pertains to classical understandings of sexual ethics and/or norms. Others who claimed to be involved in various campus ministries were roughly similar in their responses. Among those, it was claimed that it was simply obvious that “you could not trust the Bible in many areas… but it is still true.” This, as should be obvious, is akin to throwing a single New York Strip into a pack of wolves. Non-believers in my courses are quick to thrash such uncritical and muddled thinking. Why wouldn’t they?
But I do not want to place the focus on the students, per se. Those who do speak up at all claim to be Church folk. And therein lies the problem—they are quite possibly the product of the modern or contemporary Church. Is it arguable that they are merely the result of the Churches (and campus ministries) of which they attend? Could it be that they give such answers because they’ve been given no such answers? How many churches or campus ministries do you know of that regularly implement apologetic or philosophical thinking into their materials or teachings? Much of what I have witnessed in the classroom (and Discussion Boards) could have been wrestled through at the “Apologetics 101” level. Meaning, there were no new, original, or specifically insightful rebuttals to classical Christianity. Most, if not all, could have been engaged with lay-friendly materials from popular-level works such as I Don’t Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist, or Craig’s On Guard. Clearly, one does not need to have a graduate degree (or any degree at all) to work through such material with students. Why shouldn’t we do such a thing? Is it not the very job of these ministries to “equip the saints”?
Moreover, this clearly has long-term implications for worldview considerations. Clearly, the Christian worldview has more to it than the commitment to the truth of the proposition that “God exists.” The Christian worldview includes this most important and fundamental fact, but also includes a much more intricate, rounded, full, and robust view of Reality—and how things ought to be. A fully informed Christian worldview holds to the fact (and trust) of God’s existence, sure enough, but it is also staunchly committed to the belief that God has communicated His purposes and patterns to His creatures—and children. Even Christ did not say that it was enough to not only be ashamed of Him—but, and this is important, Christ said that we are not to be ashamed of Him AND His Words. His Word (among other things) informs the Christian worldview. If one rejects His Words, then not only is Christ rejected, but obviously His worldview as well.
It could be said that I have misdiagnosed the problem. I’ll concede as much for the sake of argument. On the other hand, though I may not locate the correct solution, I have observed a looming problem on our college campuses—the saints are not equipped. And, sadly, because many are not equipped, they may also decide to leave the ranks.
— W. Russell Crawford began a small non-profit organization with the intent of engaging and communicating with those of an eclectic and/or “freethought” mentality and disposition. That pursuit eventually morphed into a more generalized desire to teach worldview and philosophy emanating from a distinctively Christocentric perspective, providing the secular culture with a taste of the rich intellectual tradition of the Christian faith. He loves to spend time with his family, preferably around a firepit or football game. You can listen to his lectures on either his podcast, The Philosophy and Theology Porch, or his YouTube channel, Philosophy Porch.
Image by Claudio_Scott from Pixabay
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