Conversations have been different this month. The young lady above stopped and asked me what denomination we were. I told her that each of us in the group go to a different kind of church. We are all born-again Christians. She had heard me comment about a kid that walks by every week and says mean things to me. I told the construction guy that he was nicer this week. I am wearing him. The construction guy laughed. She asked if lots of people were mean to us. I told her that some are. She asked me how I felt about that? I told her it comes with what I do. I explained that I want to share the gospel with students so they go to heaven. I walked her through the Good Person Test. She told me her God would never send her to hell. There were only a few thinks that were actually evil enough to deserve hell and they were not lying and stealing. People who stopped others being true to their inner-selves topped the list. I assumed the worldview of her God and we looked at how the world would be if her God was real.
I do not remember all the details of the conversation, however, we talked about how she believed I was there forcing religion on people. I explained that if I was forcing it on her, then I would have a gun in my hand and be threatening her. However, I am just sitting on a stool talking to people. She even came up and talked to me. I said I think you have it backward. There are Christian professors at the universities I go to who secretly come and thank me for being on the college campuses. They are afraid to be known on the campus as a Christian because they do not want to lose their job. If they would say what they believe they would get fired. I would say that it is your worldview being forced on them by the threat of them losing their jobs. I have a friend that fired a person for not agreeing with a certain lifestyle. Your worldview was forced on them or they lose their job. So I am not forcing my worldview on you but yours is being forced on me by the threat of job loss and other methods.
She told me that women are oppressed in the workforce and do not make as much money as men. I explained that when I was in computers, I made more working part-time than my husband did working full time doing the same type of job. Women tend to want to care for people and for kids and those jobs pay less. If you want to make more then get a job in computers or some other job that pays well.
I told her again that the world may not be like you think it is. We talked about a few other things. She told me she was no longer afraid to walk by.
I am taking an apologetics class at RPTS this semester. It has given me new insight into understanding college students. The college students tend to believe a postmodernism worldview. They do not believe in absolute truth, or absolute right and wrong. According to Professor Gamble, current philosophy leaves them with only grammar for their truth . They get truth through conversation. They think it takes a community to raise a child because they only get truth from relationships with others. They are not defined by family, church, or country as much as the desires they have in their head. Due to new technology and past philosophies, people now expect permission to express their innermost desires as their identity. If you do not affirm their innermost feelings of who they are, then they feel oppressed by the structures that society imposes on them. You can get a gist of all this from “Strange New World” by Carl Trueman. Or, for a complete explanation, “Whole Counsel of God volume 3” by Richard C. Gamble.
I am taking an apologetics class at RPTS this semester. It has given me new insight into understanding college students. College students tend to believe in a postmodernist worldview. They do not believe in absolute truth, or absolute right and wrong. According to Professor Gamble, current philosophy leaves them with only grammar for their truth. They get the truth through conversation. They think it takes a community to raise a child because they only get the truth from relationships with others. They are not defined by family, church, or country as much as by the desires they have in their head. Due to new technology and past philosophies, people now expect permission to express their innermost desires as their identity. If you do not affirm their innermost feelings of who they are, then they feel oppressed by the structures that society imposes on them. You can get a gist of all this from “Strange New World” by Carl Trueman. Or, for a complete explanation, “Whole Counsel of God volume 3” by Richard C. Gamble.
Many people claim to be Christians, but what is a Christian? When you say you are a Christian then you take on the name of Christ. You represent what Christ says and stands for. However, if you base truth on Kantian philosophy, and you cannot hear from God, and God cannot give you revelation, then the revelation does not come from God, and only establishes good morals. Liberal Christians deal with the Bible in this way. Liberals read the Bible as an allegory, and they derived truth based on their feelings about the text and what they get from the text and not what the text really meant to say. When we talk to people that claim to be Christians we need to understand do they believe the Bible is God’s inspired word to be applied to their lives or is it just a moral book that is helpful for keeping society acting correctly?
I talked to a young man at Pitt who I believe is a high school student. He fully embraced the postmodern worldview. I could not convince him that it is wrong to lie, steal or murder. I gave him example after example. I made him the metaphorical victim and asked if I took something from him would it be okay? He just gave me a look. He had to get on the bus and go but I should have asked him would it be wrong if someone killed him It is hard to know what he would have said. He justified breaking God’s law repeatedly.
Pray for this next generation. They need to know they have worth and value because they are made in the image of God. Young people need the stability that comes with knowing there is a right and wrong. Nobody can deny logic and reason exist. Pray for many Christians to go have meaningful conversations with people. I do not mean a conversation that makes people feel good but a conversation that explains the truth to people.
