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“The Confessions of St. Augustine” (A Conservative Christian Goes to College, part 18)
“Whom could I find to reconcile me to you? Was I to seek the help of angels? By what prayer, what sacraments? Many people in their attempts to return to you and not being able to do so by their own strength have, so I hear, tried this way and have fallen into a desire for strange visions and have become, rightly, the victim of delusions…. They were seeking a mediator through whom to become clean, but this was not he. It was the devil” – “The Confessions of St. Augustine”, Book X, Chapter 42.[1] World Religions Class. It was time for our book reviews to be presented in front…
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A Christian Conservative Goes to College, part 16 (World Religions Class: Silent No More)
“…knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel…” (Philippians 1:16, NIV). When asked, “How can we foster the encounter of people with Jesus Christ?” C.S. Lewis replied as follows: “You can’t lay down any pattern for God. There are many different ways of bringing people into His kingdom…. As Christians we are tempted to make unnecessary concessions to those outside the Faith. We give in too much. Now, I don’t mean that we should run the risk of making a nuisance of ourselves by witnessing at improper times, but there comes a time when we must show that we disagree. We must show our Christian colours…
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A Christian Conservative Goes to College, part 8 (Critical Thinking and the Abortion Debate continued)
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20, NASB). I have mentioned how the Critical Thinking Class seemed geared towards attacking conservative positions and Christian beliefs; in particular, one of the major assignments was for the class to read two major pro-abortion arguments, A Defense of Abortion by Judith Jarvis Thomson and The Moral and Legal Status of Abortion by Mary Anne Warren.[1] My last column was a minor critique of Thomson’s argument, but should I leave Ms. Warren to her own devices? As the Apostle Paul often…
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A Christian Conservative Goes to College, part 7 (Critical Thinking and the Abortion Debate)
“These men turn night into day; in the face of darkness they say, ‘Light is near’” (Job 17:12, NIV). In my last column in this series I mentioned how our Critical Thinking (Philosophy 111) Class seemed geared towards attacking conservative positions and Christian beliefs. In particular, one of the major assignments was for the class to read two major pro-abortion arguments, A Defense of Abortion by Judith Jarvis Thomson[1] and The Moral and Legal Status of Abortion by Mary Anne Warren.[2] It was at least mentioned that there was a famous counter argument by American bioethicist Baruch Brody; though I could not find his work online.
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A Christian Conservative Goes to College, part 2 (Philosophy 101)
“If only you would keep completely silent! For you that would be wisdom” (Job 13:5). “Philosophy” is a word based upon two Greek root words, “philo” meaning “love” and “sophia” meaning “wisdom.” Thus Philosophy is supposed to mean, “love of wisdom.” “Wisdom is supreme,” the Scriptures tell us, “so acquire wisdom, and whatever you acquire, acquire understanding” (Proverbs 4:7). I took my first Philosophy class in my very first semester of college. I was very excited about taking it because I wanted to learn more about Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. I wanted to learn about the great thinkers. I was ready for God to teach me His Truth even through…
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A Christian Conservative Goes to College, part 1 (Introduction)
In the last year I have talked to several friends, Christian parents, who were concerned about the “education” their children are receiving in college. After all, conscientious Christian parents work all those years to raise their child in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4, Deuteronomy 11:19, etc.), then send those children off to a secular college or university where that instruction will most likely be attacked on every level. When this happens, the child may begin questioning everything about Christianity and everything the Bible teaches. They may begin retreating from parents, Christian friends, church, and Christianity while the parents become sick with worry and wonder how in…
