Class, please read...

I just read this awesome article called The Devoted Student. Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/21/opinion/21taylor.html?th&emc=th


The jist is that the more college students become devoted to God; the less likely they are to be okay with challenging typical notions of religion. How interesting....I understand from some experience.

When I went to college, a Christian college, I assumed life would be hunky dory and we would all be Christian students together. Not so. You can ask my roommate how well I adapted to having non-Christians around....I am fearful to say not well.....but I think she still loves me to this day through all the stuff we put each other through those first two years.

Partially because I just like being a student, I loved studying about the Bible and actually most other things except math. I didn't have a huge reaction when learning all the theories of how the Bible got written, or that Paul might not have written all the letters that are attributed to him, or was the Bible metaphor or not.....I liked grappling with those sorts of things. However, I remember in Bible classes and theology classes students who were in every Bible Study on campus would start worrying that our professors were indeed leading us down the wrong path by studying about faith too much.

I obviously love studying about theology, faith and all that is in that category - I have two degrees in it. But even in seminary, I heard the statement "we shouldn't study the Psalms, they should just speak to us." I was put in this world to learn so if I get to learn more about the history of my faith and more about the important words of the Bible - goody!

However, for many people as alluded to in the article...faith is about right and wrong, faith is about God providing answers. So to make people more confused as a professor's goal was (in the article) not about providing a solid foundation for faith to most. Hey, I love rules and love even to follow them - but the more I learn about faith the more I realize it is less about rules and more about love and following the spirit than some rigid rule book in the sky.

I would love to know people's opinions about this and on the article.