How to Stay Christian in College
Wednesday, 10. March 2010
- ISBN13: 9781576835104
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Going away to college can be exciting, scary, wild, or all of the above. And don’t think Christian colleges are always a failsafe alternative. As students trade home life for dorm life, they leave behind their church, their friends, their families–their major networks of support. What should they expect when they arrive on campus?
How to Stay Christian in College is an interactive guide that lets students know what to expect and reassures them that they can attend school and still maintain their faith. Filled with anecdotes, resources, and much more, it prepares, equips, and encourages high school and college students to meet the challenge of living out their faith at school. It examines different worldviews and myths that students encounter at college, giving them the tools they need to meet the challenges ahead.
Karen Houchin Says:
Have not heard from my youngest son if the book was helpful. Older son had it and found it useful even though both my sons are strong Christians and confident in their faith and their expression of it. I know it is useful to all students who have not had previous experience with other world views and attacks on their faith.
Rating: 1 / 5
M.J.K. Says:
I unfortunately was not able to finish this book…I simply couldn’t go on after the section on Postmodernism. After reading the entire paragraph devoted to today’s dominant social/cultural state of being, I knew Budziszewski didn’t know what he was talking about. At the end of his section on Postmodernism, he states, “Christians aren’t Postmodernists.”
Budziszewski makes the same fatal flaw that a great deal of older Christian leaders make when dealing with Postmodernism, he boils it down to one thing (moral relativism) and then dismisses it. This is infact a distorted characiture of Postmodernism that is hurting Christianity. All one must do is look at books like “Blue Like Jazz” and “Velvet Elvis” to understand that there is a new blossoming movement of Christian Postmodernism, and it could very well be one of the best things to happen to the church in centuries. Budziszewski ignores this though, and thus tries to only perpetuate another generation of scared, angry, and closed-minded Christians.
It’s not all bad of course, I particularly liked Budziszewski’s section on politics. Even so, it’s a deeply flawed book, and one that should not take the place of a parent/church leader having extensive honest discussions with a future college student.
Rating: 2 / 5
E. Johnson Says:
If you have a college-bound high school student or are the potential student yourself, you will want to check out this book. The average university is teaming with secular humanistic ideas, and Budziszewski (I can’t pronounce it!) is a college professor himself who has some good ideas of how to deal with thinking issues. According to the research, more than half of all evangelical teens who go to college will end up leaving an active faith after four years of graduation, which should give pause for every parent and youth pastor. A book that deals with the real issues that the vast majority of our teens will encounter may not only help someone own his or her own faith but be an immunization against accepting the college professors’ word for truth. I believe that a biblical world view is both rational and defensible. Anything we can do to help protect our children in a spiritual sense ought to be considered. I recommend this book to my own students at a Christian school, and they are constantly giving it a good review as well.
Rating: 5 / 5
James Oberdieck Says:
I’ve made it to page 92, and every page has made me laugh. He makes it seem as if unless a non-believer is asking, “How can Jesus save me what should I do.” that they are blowing smoke and trying to divert your thought. He paints the non-believer as rude, and unintelligent on pages 70 and 71, where as the believer is portrayed as being calm, wise, and mannered. A lot of this book is written so that young Christians have a way to combat atheists, or those that might argue contrary beliefs. I am an atheist, I have heard Christian arguments some of them are well formed, this book tries to mimic them but fails horribly. His comparisons and descriptions are weak, and the author shows he has little understanding of alternate views, and his views on Christianity are also shaky depending on your denomination. I beg you for the sake of good argument, don’t add this book to your arsenal. I would simply laugh, and end any conversation about religion with someone who would try to argue the way Budzisewski does.
I was raised and confirmed in the Lutheran church, my uncle who sent me the book is a Lutheran Pastor. If you want a way to defend your faith talk to your church leader, or research opposing views and think of them yourself. But don’t use this book, you wont be taken seriously, and you’ll seriously insult both yourself and the other person in the debate.
Rating: 1 / 5
The Professor Says:
How to Stay Christian in College is a realistic, helpful, guide for those concerned with the effects of college on religious faith. Professors often see themselves as change agents, and may view religion as harmful. For this reason many tend to slant, either consciously or unconsciously, their lectures and readings against a religious world view. Dr. Budziszewski covers the main reasons why there exists a positive correlation between higher education and agnosticism, including especially teaching of scientism, especially Neo-Darwinism. Of note is Budziszewski correctly notes that this is also true of putative Christian colleges. As he discusses, just because a school is linked with a Christian denomination, or says Christians things in its mission statement, or has the word Christian in its name, does not mean it is Christian and may actually be more hostile to Christianity than openly secular schools (page 24-25). This book, for me, was a very easy read and I could relate to much of it. The author also tells of his conversion to atheism and why he accepted this world view. He then tells why he became a Christian.
Rating: 5 / 5