As i began writing this blog post it soon became apparent that it was going to be waaaaay too long. I’m going to divide the post up into three separate posts emphasizing a different aspect in each post:
- The Good (I experienced some good things in my 4 years at BJU)
- The Bad – the ins and outs of what fundamentalists call separation
- The Very Ugly – the harmful and destructive aspects and deeds of Bob Jones University
I’m coming out of the closet. I generally don’t tell people that i graduated from Bob Jones University. The baggage is just too much to handle in a casual conversation. However, there are some things that i need to get off my chest (and my mind and my heart). I want this post to be accurate, truthful, and informative. In my four years as a student at Bob Jones University, i experienced some good and helpful things. I also experienced some bad and hurtful things, and in the years since graduating, i have learned from friends and from others who attended Bob Jones, some very wrong and in fact evil things. I want to share all of that in these posts.
Bob Jones University is a fundamentalist Christian university. Some of you may think you know what “fundamentalist Christianity” is. I suspect you may be familiar with some very mild forms such as Jerry Falwell and Liberty University. As an analogy, let me say that comparing most fundamentalist institutions to Bob Jones University is like comparing a Bell Pepper to a Jalapeño Pepper. They are both peppers, but the differences are greater than the similarities. It’s mostly a matter of the extremism in a doctrine which fundamentalists call “separation”.
The actual Biblical Doctrines of a fundamentalist school like Bob Jones University are very very similar to that of most evangelical institutions with the exception of the doctrine of separation, which will be the substance of Part 2 of these posts.
The Good
As an example, i want to discuss a few of the good things about Bob Jones University.
The Bob Jones University Creed
Here is the Bob Jones University Creed, required to be memorized by all freshman, repeated en mass by all students and faculty in the daily chapel service, and required to be agreed to in order to graduate. I did all those things, and in fact, I still believe every word of the creed without any issue or problem at all.
I believe in the inspiration of the Bible (both the Old and the New Testaments); the creation of man by the direct act of God; the incarnation and virgin birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ; His identification as the Son of God; His vicarious atonement for the sins of mankind by the shedding of His blood on the cross; the resurrection of His body from the tomb; His power to save men from sin; the new birth through the regeneration by the Holy Spirit; and the gift of eternal life by the grace of God.
The most dramatic thing about this creed is what it does not say. It contains none of the things which normally divide denominations. It doesn’t mention charismatic gifts. It doesn’t talk about the role of women in ministry. It doesn’t mention the doctrines of Calvinism nor Arminianism or dispensationalism. It has nothing to say about the form or type of church government. It stays strictly with the things which are core essentials of beliefs that unite Christians and doesn’t mention those things which divide Christians. It has never been altered or modified in its 88 years. One of the key things i learned at Bob Jones University and still believe very strongly, is that there are core things which are at the heart of Christianity and that those things traverse denominational distinctives. At Bob Jones University i encountered students and faculty from more denominations than i had ever encountered in my life before or since. Calvinists, Wesleyans, Baptists of many shades and varieties, Episcopalians, Nazarenes, Independent Bible Churches, and many many more. I learned that the differences in doctrines between these Christians did not have to be divisive.
The Education
Bob Jones University is a Liberal Arts University. This means that all students must take a core of general education courses which include 12 hours of English classes, in addition there are required courses in History, Math and Science, and Music or Art. That is in addition to courses in your major, your minor and of course the required classes in Bible every semester.
Because of this approach i received a very well-rounded education. My knowledge of literature, history, geography, math and music is something i have prized and used throughout my life. In addition, the University put on one Opera every year and one drama. Attendance at both was required. I confess that i consider both experiences to be things I would have never willingly chosen to attend, but which i now regard as having been extremely important to opening my horizons in new ways. I attended four operas and learned to appreciate opera in general. I’ve seen Shakespeare performed live and that is just not the same as reading it.
The classes and coursework were rigorous. So much so that after graduating, i enrolled in The University of South Carolina’s MBA program and found it relatively unchallenging.
My education from Bob Jones University has served me well these past 38 years (i graduated in 1977).
Part 2 about the ins and outs of separation coming soon.
Define “direct act of God” creating man. It sounds directly intended to oppose evolution. Since I generally find science increases my wonder and worship of God, I’d at least like to accept evolution, and I’m not convinced it necessarily MUST be in conflict with my faith, including a literal interpretation of the Bible.
Jeremy, I am quite sure that the creed as written in 1927 very likely considered that phrase to be a position in opposition to evolution. For me personally, i look at it somewhat differently. I don’t see a conflict between both the evolution of mankind, yet a direct act from God in breathing into Adam resulting in the breath of God creating a soul which Adam’s descendents all possess. I consider the soul to be something which only man possesses and that it is not the result of evolution, yet the species of man might be. In other words, There could be both Adam and Eve and also evolution. As i’ve aged, i’ve become willing to allow the Word of God and science to co-exist. Personally, i am an old earth creationist, willing to accomodate evolution as a process, yet also believing that God directly guided and intervened in the process and that man is a unique creature unlike any other.
Fair enough. I’m with you in being Old Earth creationist, I think. It’s an ongoing process for me, but again, the more I learn about science (only as an amateur, except in the area of Linguistics, of course), the more amazed I am at God and His Creation – so in a way, science helps me worship, rather than detracting from it. For example, went to a planetarium recently, and saw an IMAX presentation of Jean-Michel Cousteau’s ‘Secret Ocean’. Came away with a feeling that I wanted to worship.