Mon 18 Sep 2006
Upon completing high school, I perceived that I had three choices, 1) go off to the church sponsored Bible college, 2) stay home and work/settle down/get married/etc., or 3) go study something else somewhere else, and I felt strongly that my church community was advocating them in that order. After all, if I was at the official Bible college, it was certain that I was learning approved doctrine and most likely living approved lifestyle, and if I stayed home, at least I was close enough to still be influenced/supported by the church community. If I went somewhere else, only time would tell how far I was going to stray.
One way that this was made very clear was the prominent display of the “pray for me” posters at the back of the church. Bible Colleges mail photographs of students to their respective churches, with headings like, “Pray for me while I study at such-and-such Bible College.” While there was likely some sincere spiritual request in that, it was never free of inherent advertisement for that particular school and that particular type of lifestyle. These guys also got their names mentioned in the prayer requests section of the church bulletin on occasion.
I almost went to that Bible College, until I realized that I could both study for a career and enhance my faith. My secular University didn’t send “Pray for Me” posters to my church and my name didn’t show up in the bulletin.
Other guys stuck around, worked in local factories, played on the church baseball team, etc. Their workplaces didn’t send “Pray for Me” posters to the church either, and these local boys didn’t get their name in the bulletin either.
(I speak in gender specific terms intentionally. I talked to a lot of the guys about this similar experience, but I can’t even pretend to understand the pressures the girls faced, with the greater pressures to get married and have children, not to mention the greater discouragement to pursue higher learning.)
While I listened to professors enthusiastically deconstruct the beliefs I had held since my youth, my Bible college friends had those beliefs aggressively reinforced.
While I was surrounded by party culture and various other religious and non-religious groups, and while my factory friends found themselves surrounded in a more vulgar party culture and by people who found numerous destructive outlets for their newfound disposible income, our Bible college friends were surrounded by religiously motivated and spiritually conscious peers their own age.
While my factory friends worked for a companies that only knew how to extend compassion through pay-cheques and provincially outlined regulations, and while I studied at an institution that expected me to determine my own destiny, my Bible college friends were constantly encouraged by their professors, deans, and administrators in financial, academic and spiritual matters.
While my Bible college friends were prayed for, the rest of us weren’t. Does that make sense to anyone? While in some ways everyone deserves and benefits from prayer, if anyone in the church family needs it the least, it’s the youth that are studying at Bible colleges.
September 19th, 2006 at 12:38 am
This is a fun post, Ana, I must say. I have a few responses.
First, I think we’re looking at this too linear (I’m sorry, I need to use my math degree SOMETIMES)… I doubt that God looks at his daily list of prayers and says, “Suzie has received 10 prayers today, but George only got 4.” Prayers are a form of petition to God, but are not in among themselves valuable in some sort of *earthly* meaningful way.
Second, I want you to consider something. Those who have their faith deconstructed and picked apart, and can still believe, are perhaps stronger in the end than those who have had their faith affirmed time and time again with no challenge. Sometimes in questioning and picking apart, do we learn about our faith and learn more about why we do indeed believe what we do. Those who have been challenged are the ones who can easily spread the Word, for they not only know the Word itself, but are well aware of the dangers of manipulation of the Word. The Bible itself is full of examples of people whose faith have been challenged. Jesus himself befriended the people who lived riskier lifestyles.
I’m not trying to downplay the faith that is learned from Bible college, but you have to remember there is more than one way to grow in your faith. Sometimes, being tossed into the Lion’s Den, is the best thing for your faith.
September 19th, 2006 at 7:18 am
First off, I (Will) made this post, not Ana.
My intention wasn’t to discuss how much care is given by God, but how much is asked for by the church, and what that says about where their priorities are.
I don’t feel that God neglected me, and I don’t think that my Bible College peers necessarily did a great service to their faith either.
I will say more about your second point in part II, mostly agreeing, as I talk about specific cases of who went where and what happened to them.
September 19th, 2006 at 7:20 am
haha. sorry Will.
September 19th, 2006 at 9:50 am
Take that, Bible Colleges! Bam!
:p
September 19th, 2006 at 11:51 am
Will,
I’d be curious to hear what prompted you to write this post. It sounded like it was a very personal trigger. But maybe i’m reading to much into it.
At any rate I enjoyed the post tremendously and can’t help but agree with you. Its not a numbers game and those with ‘pray for me’ posters, and the like, are, in my experience often the least christlike or ‘christian’ in their lives and as kirk has said, need to get their faith shaken a little to do it right.
Cheers,
P
September 21st, 2006 at 9:42 am
Patrick,
I had a conversation with my younger brother who’s graduating high school this year. I got off-topic here and there, so I’m not entirely sure where the issue came from, but I wanted him to be able to make a decision on his future with the benefit of my hind-sight.