Dear Lighthouse Trails:
I am a Westmont grad from the early 70s, and, with my husband, a Multnomah University alum as well. I grew up in a church closely associated with Multnomah when its slogan was: “If you want Bible, you want Multnomah.” But no longer. We live near the school and have seen the apostasy firsthand. It breaks our hearts.
Westmont was beginning to crack while I was there. Most of the older faculty were still OK but the administration was caving in to vocal students who were very rebellious, especially toward the Christian stance of the school.
We sent a daughter to Trinity Western University in Langley BC in 2000, back when I still believed printed doctrinal statements. She went from respecting the Word of God and loving her parents to becoming a radical socialist activist who excises out of her life anyone who doesn’t support her current values, including us. I don’t know of any of her friends from there who haven’t followed the same path, either becoming indifferent to, or antagonistic toward biblical Christianity. She goes to a social justice episcopal church.
My niece, a pastor’s daughter, went to Texas Christian University, graduating around 2006. She became a Unitarian a few years ago.
The daughter of my husband’s boss is an enthusiastic Biola grad. She is also a shaven head goth who spoke at her grandfather’s funeral, calling up his spirit and having a lovely visit with him over a glass of wine!
We pray for their salvation. I believe the reason our other children still walk with the Lord is because they eschewed college (and debt) for other kinds of career training. The Lord is blessing them.
Colleen
Related Articles:
Letter to the Editor: Diana Butler Bass and Westmont College Steered Daughter Away From the Faith
A Parent’s Summary of the Spread of Critical Race Theory At Gordon College
Letter to the Editor: Continuing Concern About Moody Bible Institute
Letter to Editor: Pastor Studying at Christian College in Maine Discouraged by Lack of Discernment
(photo from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission)
Its getting hard to find solid schools or churches anymore. Its like,where do you go? Where I live,most of the churches in my community have been captured by the new reformed calvinism/emergent church movement that is sweeping Christianity right now. Ive only been able to locate 2 churches in my area that I feel are solidly biblical. One is an independent fundamental baptist church,which I do have respect for many of those folks. I just disagree with them on the KJV. The other is an independent bible church,which is really good. It is a doctrinal teaching church,but it is a 45 mile drive away form me. There are 3 schools that I think could be recommended. None of them have sought accreditation,which is probably a good thing. Chafer Theological Seminary in Albuquerque,NM is a good school. Tyndale Seminary and Biblical Institute in Hurst,TX is good,as well as Louisiana Baptist University in Shreveport,LA.
Further to my most recent comment, this is what Carter Sawatzky looks like now:
https://english.ubc.ca/profile/carter-sawatzky/
Ladies and gentlemen, this is what your “Evangelical” universities are producing.
Further to my comment above, look at any issue of Mars’ Hill, the TWU student newspaper: https://www.marshillnewspaper.com/archive
Glance at any issue, and I dare you to find anything distinctively Christian.
As an example of the apostasy to be found in any issue is in the October 6, 2021 issue: https://issuu.com/marshillonline/docs/mh_v26_i02_1_
Go to page 12, and you’ll find an article promoting animism.
The arts and culture editor (2020-21) and managing editor (2021-22) of Mars’ Hill was one Carter Sawatzky, a drag queen who occupies several letters on the alphabet pervert spectrum, and is appearing with “gay Christian” Greg Coles at a Preston Sprinkle-hosted conference: https://disntr.com/2023/11/28/proof-that-preston-sprinkle-is-a-lying-deceptive-wolf-in-sheeps-clothing/
If TWU were actually Christian, characters like this would have been kept out, and Mars’ Hill wouldn’t be allowed to be published.
You are spot on in what you are saying Walter. Unfortunately, there is very little warning from most of the pulpits in the church in North America. And since the pastors don’t warn, parents think all is well. So they send their kids to the schools where their faith is destroyed because they weren’t prepared or equipped.
I received a request for money from Biola today to help students get scholarships. I wrote back today and told them why I no longer have faith in this university to prepare Christians to face the world and do God’s will and defend the faith of our fathers. I am waiting for a reply. The last straw was a discovery online that Biola has a same-sex attraction club on campus.
It is a sad commentary on the spiritual state of the schools, but what about the spiritual state of the “churches” these students are coming from? Why haven’t they (and in particular, their parents), been taught discernment, and apologetics? Why were they not distinctly taught about the lies of the enemy, and who to retain the victory which is ours, in the Messiah?
I just shake my head when I see the outright LIES being taught in “churches”, and the lack of teaching the TRUTH of The Word of God.
But God said that this is exactly what would happen. But shame on those who let it happen.
I recommend students attend a city college or trade school. My granddaughter did that, joined the Army for med training (she is an army medic). You save a lot of money and heartache. Good Christian colleges are rare in the U.S.; there are about 12 that do not have spiritual formation and progressive agendas. So sad to see what has happened to Biola, Westmont, Prairie, Bob Jones, etc.
Back in the 1980s, Herbert Schlossberg was quoted as saying that the real mission field was the evengelical colleges, which had largely lost the idea of confronting the world, and instead had largely accommodated it.
I’ve been saying for years that doctrinal statements are often useless; there are many churches, schools, and evangelical organizations that have good-looking statements of faith, but they don’t follow them in practice.
If you want to know how “Christian” an “evangelical” college is, don’t look at its statement of faith; look at the student newspaper and blogs. They’re often full of apostasy, and it’s an indication of the school’s apostasy that they even allow such content to be published.
Paul publicly criticized Peter over his Kosher diet hypocrisy.
A little leaven corrupts the whole lump.
Today’s monetized pastors are afraid to confront blatant heresy.