Guest Danny Ferguson Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I would like to hear from people who went to Bible college. What was it like? Did you fit in at the time? Would you recommend the experience to young Christians? I'm putting together a site that collects stories about Christian colleges from students who didn't like it, didn't fit in or decided later that it was a bad experience. If you're interested in telling your story there, please let me know. I'm a new member of the forum and I don't want my first post to be taken as spam, so I won't mention the link yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ Fuego ♦ Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I would like to hear from people who went to Bible college. What was it like? Did you fit in at the time? Would you recommend the experience to young Christians? I'm putting together a site that collects stories about Christian colleges from students who didn't like it, didn't fit in or decided later that it was a bad experience. If you're interested in telling your story there, please let me know. I'm a new member of the forum and I don't want my first post to be taken as spam, so I won't mention the link yet. While I did not attend a Christian college, it was pushed heavily by the Nazarene church that I was a part of for many years. But it was sad to see so many young people attend there and be immediately saddled with $20K in loans for the same education they could have had at the local community college for a fraction of the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Danny Ferguson Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Fuego, It was pushed on me, too. Money played a big role in my deciding to go to a state school. Did people in your church guilt-trip you about your choice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trashy Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 I went to a Christian college cuz I waz gonna be a minister! Generally had a good time, wish I had finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Did You Go To A Christian College?, What was it like? Did you stop believing while you were there? That's quite a batch of questions. I went to Christian colleges but not Bible Colleges. They were affiliated with secular universities. For my BA, I took social work at the Christian college and very little or no religion, though they did have a religious studies professor or two. I also took a lot of other courses at the larger university. For my MA, I took religious studies courses at the secular university, then switched to theology at the seminary on the same campus. I deconverted while there, but it had little or nothing to do with the school. I think my deconversion was inevitable because Christianity had never made sense to me. Studying theology formally gave me more confidence that I had done a thorough search of the situation. From that perspective the school may be said to have contributed but that's all. I enjoyed most of my university experience though some funny things kept happening after I announced my deconversion to my professors. This was very unexpected on my part because they are fairly liberal and open-minded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ Fuego ♦ Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Fuego,It was pushed on me, too. Money played a big role in my deciding to go to a state school. Did people in your church guilt-trip you about your choice? No, they understood about the money issue. But I was a bit of a free-thinker so maybe I didn't pick up on the guilt that was being thrown my way. I was still surprised at how many of the teens felt almost compelled to go there. Their whole world was the Nazarene church and what it stood for. (I remember going back to the Naz for a visit after having switched to Baptist and non-denominational for a few years, and was startled by how Naz specific they were.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trike Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I'll be graduating from one in May. I deconverted here. It opened a whole abyss of independent thought for me, having been taught my entire life that only people like those in my church were "real Christians." As soon as I got here I met a ton of liberal Christians, Christians who didn't speak in tongues, who weren't rabid creationists and who were pretty accepting of others and they all seemed "real" enough to me- they all loved Jesus and followed parts of the Bible that most members of my church didn't (they actually loved their neighbors!). That blew my mind and three years later, here I am. I hated it at first, but then I learned that Christian schools and colleges are breeding grounds for apostates. I fit in among my group of friends and get along pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chefranden Posted December 13, 2008 Share Posted December 13, 2008 I went to a bible college of my own free will when I was 30, so I could be a preacher. I mostly liked the experience at the time -- except for being broke all the time. It was a waste of time and money in the end* for me, but I suspect that many of my classmates are still employed as preachers and missionaries. I did have a seed of doubt planted there that later contributed to my deconversion. That was Ezekiel 18, which was used as a proof text against original sin, which proof was in turn used to prove that babies shouldn't be baptized or sprinkled. *It did give me the fun hobby of being able to argue rings around most Christians -- expensive hobby though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looking4Answers Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 I also went to Bible college. I attended Piedmont Baptist College (back when it was called Piedmont Bible College) and then transferred to the Institute of Biblical Studies (now called the Institute of Jewish Studies), which is a part of the Philadelphia Biblical University. I started college thinking I would be a preacher. I was 25 or 26 at the time. Then I switched to training to be a missionary. For the most part, I liked the schools and enjoyed my time. I was newly converted to Christianity and it was all a world of wonder to me. I felt like I was a part of something big and wonderful at the time ... like being Frodo from the Lord of the Rings . I was introduced to the tools of the trade and, as a result, I don't consider it a complete waste of time because I can use those tools today, but for different reasons . I was also introduced to professors who, despite teaching in the same school which held to the same doctrine, thought quite differently about some of the same subjects. I believe that this may have factored in somewhat to my de-conversion years later. If these learned men could not agree on some core issues, then how could we really know anything for certain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aquarius217 Posted December 14, 2008 Share Posted December 14, 2008 Hi, all. I'm new here as well. I went to a Christian (Seventh-Day Adventist) college for one year in 1991. While I'm still friends with people I've met there, I was not that thrilled with the college. It was very conservative -- I felt like I was stuck in the 1950s (except there was no rock n' roll). You could not wear makeup, colored nail polish, or jewelry. Unless you were going to the rock quary, women could not wear pants on the Sabbath -- only skirts or dresses and they could not be "short" (meaning no more than 1" above your knee). My mom made a deal with me: If I went to an SDA college for just 1 year, she would pay for my college tuition. After 1 year, I could transfer to a non-SDA college and she would still pay for my college tuition (up to 4 years). So I did my time at the SDA college and transferred right after I completed 1 year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Danny Ferguson Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Would any of you be interested in doing a brief writeup about your time at Bible college for my site BibleCollegeStories.com ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlerman Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I graduated from a Bible College which I attended for the purpose of becoming a minister. It was during my time there that looking into the system on that level began opening up cracks in the sidewalk, which widened and deepened the more I learned. Following graduation I devoted myself to confront my deep doubts before committing myself to a role as a pastor, as I couldn't in good conscience persuade others to commit their lives to a belief I had such grave doubts in. That led to me writing my pastor a 60 page detailed explanation outlining and opening up the areas where the system falls apart and why I couldn't use my abilities to help sell this to others. He never responded to me, though he did bring it to the president of the Bible College asking him to explain it to him (as I was told by a friend of mine who stayed on as a teacher at the school). So, I'm grateful for Bible College. It taught me the truth of their beliefs, which I was then able to reject with full awareness. In a sense, Bible College helped save me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looking4Answers Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Would any of you be interested in doing a brief writeup about your time at Bible college for my site BibleCollegeStories.com ? Sure, I wouldn't mind. But my experience as a good one (because I was a new believer at the time). I thought you were looking more for the bad experiences? I am glad for what I learned because I am using those same tools to debunk the Bible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Danny Ferguson Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I thought you were looking more for the bad experiences? Yes, I'm sort of trying to capture the negative side, but I don't mind having some mixed reviews of schools, too. You could discuss the things you liked, the things that helped you debunk later and even the things that you don't like in hindsight. Would you be willing to give the name of the school? If so, I'll add it to the map on our site and attach your story to our site's profile for the school. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trike Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Would any of you be interested in doing a brief writeup about your time at Bible college for my site BibleCollegeStories.com ? Can't, never went. Christian colleges are a different story from bible colleges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Danny Ferguson Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Can't, never went. Christian colleges are a different story from bible colleges. What is the difference? I didn't realize there was a distinction. Are Xian colleges less Bibley? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looking4Answers Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 I think a Christian College, like Liberty University, offers a variety of subjects. Therefore, you could train to be a doctor, engineer, etc. At a Bible College you train for the ministry (pastor, missionary, music minister, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Danny Ferguson Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Ok, thanks for explaining that. I guess I'd like to include Christian College stories on my site, too. Do you have one to tell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trike Posted December 16, 2008 Share Posted December 16, 2008 Usually Bible Colleges are a lot more conservative too and come with even more insane rules. ...The college I go to is the liberal scum of the Christian college universe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdp Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 I went to the same Bible college chef did; the library had a subscription to Humanist magazine when I was there, and one day I saw an ad in the back of it for a book documenting that Jesus had never existed. That thought blew my mind; I described the ad to one of the profs and he suggested I send for the book but I was afraid to, I wasn't ready to confront something that might well bring my whole worldview down. However many, many things planted many seeds of doubt in my mind at Bible college; I didn't deconvert there but the shaking of my foundations certainly began there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prysm Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 I was given a full-ride presidential scholarship for the private bible college I attended for four years. Graduated with honors and all that. You better believe I have stories for you, but I'd rather not post details until I'm "out." I'll get back to this post in a week or so. Actually, I can't wait until I can tell them they spent around 50k creating a very well-educated atheist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roan7995 Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 I went to Carson Newman College, a Baptist Liberal Arts college ... whatever that means. It was flooded with rich white people of the conservative, republican variety, and black people who were good at football. I found the women to be incredibly beautiful, but naive, delusional, and uninformed to such an extent as to leave me stunned. I didn't connect with anyone there and only stayed a semester. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roan7995 Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 ... I can't wait until I can tell them they spent around 50k creating a very well-educated atheist. Holy shit! I lol'd. : D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trike Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 I propose we start naming the names of these places, just for fun. Sure the vague descriptions are interesting but it would be cool to see where everyone went. I'll start first, in May I will be graduating from Calvin College. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Danny Ferguson Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 If anyone wants to contribute a story to my site ( Bible College Stories ), you can use the contact form on the site, PM me or just post your story here and let me know that you give me permission to paste it into my site. Ideally you'll give the school's name and your name, but a close second would be giving the school's name and leaving your name off. Feel free to tell more than one story. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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