The pursuit of knowledge was once a deeply Christian calling, anchored in the belief that all truth is God’s truth. Harvard’s original motto was Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae or “Truth for Christ and the Church.” Yale and Princeton were founded to train ministers. America’s colleges were built to glorify God, but that foundation has crumbled.
Christian students must recognize that the secular college is no longer neutral ground. It’s an ideological battlefield, and too many students are heading off to the warzone untrained and unarmed. But with proper training, young Christians will not only maintain their faith but also act as a light in the darkness of academia.
So, students, as you ready yourself to stand firm in the marketplace of ideas, here are several lies you can expect a college professor to tell you, and how to counter them.
The foundation of a college education used to be the pursuit of truth. But today’s students are taught that truth is subjective. “Your truth” and “my truth” are all that matter. But when truth becomes nothing more than personal opinion, then morality, justice, and even reality start to lose their footing.
Scripture offers a different foundation: God’s Word is truth (Jn. 17:17) and the source from which all true knowledge flows. As Proverbs 1:7 declares, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
Without God, there is no reliable basis for meaning, ethics, or truth. The Bible grounds all the truth we need. It is sufficient, authoritative, and wholly trustworthy.
On campus, Christian students are told their faith is fine so long as they keep it to themselves. Christianity is treated as personal superstition, unfit for serious academic dialogue.
This automatic dismissal of public faith divorces the Creator from creation, shutting down the ability for private belief to inform a comprehensive worldview. When you apply your faith to all of life, it speaks to science, law, human rights, identity, and ethics.
Faith and learning are not enemies; they are allies. The Cultural Mandate in Genesis 1:28 is a call to fill the earth, subdue it, and rule over it, bringing order, purpose, and stewardship to every area of life. That includes the classroom.
When you apply your faith to all of life, it speaks to science, law, human rights, identity, and ethics. Faith and learning are not enemies; they are allies.
On campus today, students aren’t taught to understand the founding and formation of the United States of America, let alone appreciate it. Instead, they’re trained to despise her. From the 1619 Project to Critical Theory, students are told this country is systemically racist, homophobic, greedy, and beyond redemption.
These critiques flow from a worldview that defines justice apart from scripture. In this framework, sin is disagreement with progressive orthodoxy. But for the Christian, sin is rebellion against God. For the non-Christian academic, justice becomes power redistribution. But for the Christian, justice equals righteousness.
Our Founders declared that rights come from God, not government, and built a system designed to protect those rights in spite of a sinful, fallen mankind. Though imperfect, the great American experiment has produced more liberty, reform, and human dignity than nearly any other in history.
You don’t have to ignore the nation’s faults to be grateful for its foundations. If you only learn to tear down, you’ll never know what’s worth defending or how to reform America in a godly fashion.
Campuses have become training grounds for soft socialism, where government is presented as the ultimate solution to every social ill. Students are encouraged to turn to the state for nearly everything, from fairness and equality to healthcare and housing, and even for a sense of personal identity and purpose.
What these professors fail to acknowledge is that when the government replaces God, freedom quickly disappears. A large state and a diminished church work against God’s design.
Government does have a place in God’s plan, but that place is small compared to the roles of family, church, and individual conscience. When it stays within its proper bounds, it can protect the vulnerable and help maintain order. When it pushes past those limits and takes on authority it was never given, the result is confusion and instability.
Today’s students are told that identity is something to be created. Whether it’s gender, sexuality, or even truth itself, society encourages us to redefine ourselves by our feelings, desires, and inner voice.
We are not a blank canvas. When people seek identity apart from the Imago Dei, the result is deeper confusion and greater harm. In fact, God never meant for us to have to reinvent ourselves. Knowing that we are Image-bearers (Gen. 1:27) gives us lasting security. He has a plan for each life, and his plans are good (Ps. 139:14).
Government does have a place in God’s plan, but that place is small compared to the roles of family, church, and individual conscience.
In the new moral order of campus life, to disagree is to do harm. Students are taught that love equals affirmation. In extreme cases, campus administrators posit that anything short of full celebration is violence.
The gospel offers a countercultural way for Christ’s followers. Jesus loved sinners while calling them to repentance. Love that aligns with scripture tells the truth even when the cost is high.
Scripture is full of examples of God’s people refusing to bow to cultural idols. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to affirm what everyone else accepted (Dan. 3). Jonah went to Nineveh alone with a message no one wanted to hear and ultimately saw a nation repent.
On today’s campus, your example of biblical love may be misunderstood, but the courage to speak the truth in love has always been a Christian virtue.
This lie often undergirds all the others. Students are praised for intellectually rebelling against their upbringing, and college becomes a four-year exercise in deconstruction. Church teachings are mocked. Family values are ridiculed. The commandment to “honor thy father and thy mother” is checked at the door.
When you dismiss your parents, you’re not just rejecting their opinions. You are rejecting the authority and wisdom God has placed in your life. Scripture says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov. 9:10). When young adults trade that foundation for the approval of their peers or professors, they don’t gain independence. They lose a God-given anchor that is there to keep them steady.
These ivory tower ideas are more than intellectual errors; they are spiritual assaults aimed at dismantling God’s design for his creation. But here’s the good news: God has not left this generation defenseless. His Word is still true. His design is still good. And his people are still called to stand for truth, even in academia.
P.S. I encourage every student to subscribe below and engage with the Institute for Faith & Culture resources. We want to help you stand firm in your faith and be a light in the darkness at your college.
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