Over
the past few years, two separate Christian research groups — the Barna
Group and LifeWay Research — have reported that upwards of 70 percent
of Christian youth leave the church or abandon their faith after high
school. "Most of them," states Barna,
"pull away from participation and engagement in Christian churches,
particularly during the 'college years.'" Only one in five, they say,
have maintained a level of spiritual activity consistent with their
high school experiences.
Sounds to me like a good reason for Christian parents to encourage
their children to seriously consider a Christian college, where their
faith will be bolstered and encouraged by their peers and professors —
right? Well, one would hope so…
When
a college bills itself as a Christian school and even highlights the
denomination with which it is affiliated, I think it's fair to assume
the school gives preeminence to the written Word of God — or at the
very least, adheres to that denomination's tenets. But I was sorely
disappointed last month as I was helping my youngest select a college
to attend this fall.
You
see, my sweet daughter wants to study marine biology — which early on
in her classes will certainly subject her to the presentation of
Darwin's theory of evolution. Not that I'm opposed to her learning
about that; after all, it is part of the scientific discussion these days and needs to be addressed.
However, my concern — and I hoped hers as well — was how
it would be handled by the biology department at the university she
ends up attending this fall. That's why I submitted the following
question to the head of the biology department at Carson-Newman
College, the Southern Baptist-affiliated institution that sat atop her
list of schools being considered: