It’s fairly common these days to hear the noble declaration, “I can no longer hold to [the Bible, Christianity, traditional stance on LGBT, miracles, etc.] in good conscience. “I used to be so certain of these matters. But I can’t keep up the charade any longer. I need to be true to myself and to the oppressed. The truth of …
The Decline of Mental Health on Campus: One Small Antidote
Counseling centers on college campuses are packed out these days. Students are waiting in long lines to visit a counselor to talk about anxiety, depression, suicide, sexual trauma, substance abuse, and more.* I’m not a counselor but I do offer a listening ear. I hear a lot about medical issues, family conflicts, broken friendships, and academic pressure. And more than …
The 90-10 Rule (part 4 of 4)
In my prior post I suggested two main causes for students’ diminished participation in the church: ecclesiology, and caricatures from campus (the focus of this post). On campus, the dominant portrayal of the church is that it’s guilty of being a historic oppressor and, in modern times, of excluding persons of alternative lifestyles. My response is to propose a 90-10 …
How Students Got This Way (part 3 of 4)
In my last post I shared my observations about Christian students’ lack of commitment to the church. How did they come to this position? I offer the following thoughts with a bit of caution. See what you think: 1. We forgot our ecclesiology (theology of the church). A strong ecclesiology says, in effect, there is no true Christian spirituality outside …
Understanding College Students: Church Attendance (part 2 of 4)
In my prior post I did a flyover of the collegiate landscape, mainly in terms of atheism and agnosticism. What I meant to suggest is that, overall, campus culture is quite secular. As for religion, it’s allowed to exist as an exception to the prevailing rule of secularism, and especially as a concession forced by higher education’s stated commitment to …
College Students: What Makes them Tick (part 1 of 4)
Church people often ask me, “What’s happening on college campuses these days? What are students like?” I usually start my reply at the macro level, and talk about atheism, because along with its softer cousin, agnosticism, it’s the most dominant view on campus. Actually, there are two kinds of atheism in the university world: modern and postmodern. Generally speaking, moderns …
Exclusivism Part 4: Principled Pluralism
In my prior post I made the point that in terms of ultimate truth claims, the pluralist is just as exclusive as anyone else. But there’s another kind of pluralism available to us: social pluralism, or what’s often called “principled pluralism.” In 2013 the American Inclusivist Project published a paper called “Principled Pluralism” that called for Americans to “move beyond mere …
Exclusivism Part 3: The Pluralist Fights Back
In my prior post I accused the pluralist of being just as exclusive as anyone else. The committed pluralist is claiming that pluralism is true, and that therefore non-pluralists such as myself and other high-identity adherents to their respective worldviews such as Muslims, Atheists, and Catholics, hold views that are false.* The pluralist, however, insists she’s being misunderstood. The whole point of …
Exclusivism Part 2: Can It Be Avoided? By Anyone?
In my prior post I stated my belief that historic Christianity is true, which, if correct, defeats the truth claims of all competing views such as atheism or Islam. Critics tend to say of exclusivists like myself that we are the cause of much unnecessary strife and polarization in our world — even war. But can exclusivism be avoided? By …
Exclusivism Part 1: The Label Nobody Wants
I am what’s sometimes called a traditional or “historic” Christian. It means I’m trying to stand in a line that stretches back to the Reformation, to the early church, to the twelve Apostles, and to Jesus himself.* One of the main beliefs of historic Christians such as myself is that the Apostles and early church were in a unique position …