Chapter 2: The Worldview (Freshman 15 Snippet)

Here’s a snippet from Chapter 2: The Worldview:

If you attend a secular university, you will be labeled as a backwards hick if you claim to believe the message of the Bible.  Compared to the state of the church around the world, the university campus should not be classified as full-scale persecution, but most campuses in this country are nothing less than hostile to a Christian worldview.  If you choose to live and to think godly, you will be persecuted at some level (2 Tim. 3:12).    If you are to maintain credibility in front of your professors and classmates, your worldview must be backed by more than heartfelt faith.  While that faith is essential to your salvation, you must begin to think through why you believe what you believe.

I have taught religion classes at a secular university.  One thing I have encouraged these students to do is to use their minds and their hearts when it comes to religion.  Many of them were spoon fed religion as a child by their parents and believe what they believe based upon family tradition.  Once they enter into college, they are spoon fed humanism and postmodernism by professors, and many students have not thought through the questions these professors propose.  In light of these forces in their lives, many students jump from worldview to worldview based upon who the current authority is in their lives.

A faith that is not personally possessed is not real faith.  Faith by association is not genuine.  I encourage students that regardless of what they believe, they need to own it.  You must not only know what you believe.  You must know why you believe what you believe.

Leading up to the time around when I get to release Freshman 15, I wanted to provide you a snippet every day for 15 days at 15:00 in the afternoon.