LTRP Note: Since the inception of Lighthouse Trails in 2002, we have been researching and warning about what is happening in today’s Christian colleges, seminaries, and universities. The letter below from Manny Silva (co-founder of Concerned Nazarenes) (posted with his permission) illustrates the great dilemma in which many Christian parents find themselves today, and it is utterly heartbreaking. Over the years, so many parents and grandparents have told us how their child’s or grandchild’s faith was turned upside down after attending a Christian college for even just a short time.
We wrote the booklet Epidemic of Apostasy in 2013 (from a report we released in 2011) showing how the Christian schools were incorporating Spiritual Formation (i.e., contemplative spirituality) into their students’ lives. We warned that doing this was going to turn these young people emergent. If anyone reading the following letter thinks for a minute that the huge emphasis on contemplative spirituality in the church these last two decades has not produced “social-justice warriors” in our young people who are joining (or at least sympathizing with) the Marxist, Black Lives Matter, pro-hate, anti-biblical movements currently happening, then he or she has not done due diligence in understanding what we’ve been warning about for nearly 19 years. We have always stated and will continue to warn as the Lord allows that the Spiritual Formation movement (now in the majority of Christian colleges) is a disguised effort by our Adversary to lead followers away from the Cross and into deep deception! Want to have a socialist, anti-moral, angry, and disillusioned child or grandchild? Just send him or her to a school that promotes Spiritual Formation.
And do not think that today’s Christian leaders are not much to blame for what is happening with our young people and the colleges—just read Roger Oakland’s book Faith Undone and Ray Yungen’s A Time of Departing* to understand the roles Christian leaders have played and the links involved in bringing about an emergent “social-justice” Bible-rejecting revolutionary movement within the church.
To All Parents of Students Considering Attending Gordon College by Manny Silva:
My son is a freshman at Gordon College. We enrolled him because we believed the school is a solid Christian college. But now, we have serious issues with what is going on campus this semester. We and many other parents of Gordon students are extremely concerned with the direction things are going. So if you are considering sending your student to Gordon College next year, please contact me at my e-mail address.
The biggest symptom of what we see is a falling away from the biblical principles that the school stands for, is the division being caused on campus by the Black Lives Matter movement. Student BLM activists have been exhibiting less than Christ-like behavior, such as racially divisive signs on campus. And one of the most serious concerns is that students who oppose BLM, or oppose social justice/Critical Race Theory are being vilified, intimidated, harassed, and even coerced into participating in activities which they do not agree with! These are all symptoms of a bigger problem, in which social-justice ideology is supplanting a biblical worldview on a college campus which we were certain would provide a solid basis for my son’s learning and spiritual growth. That is all in doubt now!
I have attended or listened to chapel messages where Scripture was twisted (by college professors!) into a social-justice theme. My son has not learned much about God’s Word in many of these chapel services. Racial issues seem to be overly-discussed in many classes, and activities and events are almost all themed on racial issues—but again, always slanted towards those who support BLM and social-justice causes. If you disagree, you are disapproved of, or you are forced to stay silent.
This in unacceptable on a Christian campus. Therefore, this is a clear warning to all parents considering Gordon College. We have not given up. We have started a group for concerned parents, and we are working hard to see if we can help rescue Gordon College from going over the precipice, where it will become undiscernible as a Christian school, and it will turn into just another secular, godless school in practice.
If you are a prospective parent, or know if a prospective parent of a student, please let me know, and I will give you further information, including joining the Concerned Gordon Parents group.
Related Material:
Lighthouse Trails List of Christian Colleges Promoting Spiritual Formation
Critical Race Theory, Southern Baptist Convention, and a Marxist “Solution” That Will Not Work
Various research articles by Lighthouse Trails on Nazarene schools
Emergent Manifesto of Hope Despair Revisited—How It Has Affected Today’s Church
(photo of college scene from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission)
*If you have never read these books and cannot afford to buy one or both, e-mail us at editors@lighthousetrails.com, and we will send one to you.
Thank you! Thankfully, it’s not the same one.
Hi again! I’m sorry it took me so long to see your message and reply, but I’ve been swamped with all sorts of responsibilities and issues during the last month.
Thank you so much for your encouragement! I really needed that today. I’m looking forward to meeting you (and others here) in Heaven! 🙂
Wenham, Massachusetts
Thank you for sharing that heartbreaking story about your daughter, Judith. Can you tell us her first name so that we and others can pray for her?
Sadly my daughter attended Gordon College 1988-1991. Even back then I was concerned because of all the social justice organizations ie peace movements etc she seemed to be joining. I too thought sending her to a Christian college was the right thing to do – which was not cheap. She has completely turned fromChrist and has been living in San Diego for the last 20 years and is a Buddhist and a Wiccan. She also has been attending Burning Man for the last 20 years and has very limited contact with her family.
Hi CW! Ya, It was really God that answered a prayer of another woman and my own prayer that I joined her prayer group. We were only two. Then she said she was moving and I thought how am I going to keep praying…when God provided me with a prayer partner.
I could never get more than 3 to stay together and pray, which I think is kind of sad. One woman left the group when I wouldn’t make it a social group and not a prayer group.
Prayer is such a blessing..don’t look down on doing it alone..God is still listening. God Bless you, Lisa
Anderson University is doing the same thing. I have known many Christians who go there and have come out Buddhist, Hindu, or Wiccan. Some of the other things I noticed were students coming out believing hell isn’t real, believing in universalism, and preaching Gnostic beliefs.
I was part of a “Mothers Who Care” prayer group in my town in Ontario, twenty years ago. This is the Canadian counterpart to “Mom’s in Touch”. I am sad to say that after a while I noticed, when they had meetings which included all of the groups in our city, with the director of the organization for Canada speaking, that deceptions from the charismatic movement and NAR/Dominionism were being promoted. Various prayer techniques were encouraged, like marching around the school buildings seven times to “bring the strongholds down”, etc., (there are many more examples I could give of deceptions), I had to leave that group, but not until after I warned the leader. She seemed to agree for a time and be concerned about it, but then refused to accept there was anything wrong.
It was an ecumenical set up as well. I am not knocking prayer for schools and two or a few agreeing in honest prayer, but I am just sharing what my experience was. That was around the time many deceptions began to come in to the C&MA church I was attending and I had to leave it all behind.
May I ask, where is this Gordon College? There is one in my state, but I don’t know if it’s the same one.
Lisa, I remember Moms in Touch! 🙂 I was never privileged to be a part of a local group, because there never was one in my area, but I was on their mailing list for a long time and prayed diligently for them and the schools.
Our family started out with our children in public school, but the spiritual atmosphere was really bad from day one, and a few years later the Lord made the way for us to get our children into Christian school.
That went well for a few years, then when that went downhill (we learned that Ch. schools can “apostasize” just as churches can), the Lord made the way for us to homeschool, and we never looked back.
But I always had a great fondness and respect for the moms who would take the time and make the effort to pray for their children’s schools. I’ve been a part of prayer groups in churches and other places (including a homeschool moms’ prayer group) and I know exactly what you’re talking about, how hard it is to get people to commit to regular group prayer. I was always so thrilled to know that Jesus said when it only takes TWO to agree in prayer! 🙂
Lisa, I remember Moms in Touch! 🙂 I was never privileged to be a part of a local group, because there never was one in my area, but I was on their mailing list for a long time and prayed diligently for them and the schools.
Our family started out with our children in public school, but the spiritual atmosphere was really bad from day one, and a few years later the Lord made the way for us to get our children into Christian school.
That went well for a few years, then when that went downhill (we learned that Ch. schools can “apostasize” just as churches can), the Lord made the way for us to homeschool, and we never looked back.
But I always had a great fondness and respect for the moms who would take the time and make the effort to pray for their children’s schools. I’ve been a part of prayer groups in churches and other places (including a homeschool moms’ prayer group) and I know exactly what you’re talking about, how hard it is to get people to commit to regular group prayer. I was always so thrilled to know that Jesus said when it only takes TWO to agree in prayer! 🙂
We also need to pray for the parents of these students who allow them to go to colleges they have been warned about. Please listen to warnings of your grandparents. We have some wisdom that younger folks do not have. I am praying for 4 of my college-age grandchildren. Parents need to listen, read and be aware of what is going on at college classrooms and campuses. We do not want our precious children and grandchildren graduating as Bible skeptics and atheists. God forbid!
Sounds like they need a college Mom’s in Touch group too. I think they changed the name to Mom’s in Prayer now…but I was in a one while my kids were in school..but even then (20 years ago) it was hard getting mom’s to pray in a prayer group. They were always too busy with other things and to find a Christian willing to commit to a weekly prayer group was a little tough. However, the one I led..God brought a woman for me to pray with and we prayed the whole year.
Perhaps they need to go to God in prayer and find out what He would have them do? Perhaps its not a rescue of the college..but a different path?