While teaching at the university level for 16 years, Dr. Renton Rathbun observed that there was a growing disconnect between Christian students attending a secular university and practicing their faith.
“What I have found is that we’re getting more and more young people walking away from the faith because they don’t recognize the organized and intentional strategies that are part of the life of (secular) university,” said Rathbun, director for BJU’s Center of Biblical Worldview.
Rathbun will be leading a workshop entitled “What is Waiting for Christian Students at the Public University” at the STAND Conference on Tuesday, Nov. 16, on the BJU campus.
Standing for Truth Amid Cultures in Chaos
Equipping the next generation to stand in the gap of cultures in chaos is the theme of this year’s STAND (Sound Teaching About Navigating Decisions) event that is open at no cost to seventh–12th grade students, school administrators/teachers and homeschool parents. Register for the conference.
Answers in Genesis founder and CEO Ken Ham, who is passionate about equipping Christians with the authority of the Bible to defend their faith and challenge the secular worldview, will be the keynote speaker at two morning sessions. BJU President Steve Pettit will also address the audience during a morning session and join Ham for a town hall forum in the afternoon.
Rathbun will lead one of a handful of informative and encouraging workshops. He believes that if students go to a secular university, it is critical that they receive an education that is permeated with biblical worldview.
Importance of Biblical Worldview
“A lot of people are going into the secular schools with a very cartoonish view of biblical worldview,” Rathbun said. “It’s not that the Bible is weak, it’s that their knowledge of the Bible is weak. If you’re a 15-year-old and you don’t have a sophisticated biblical worldview, you need to make the sacrifice to get to a good university that cares about biblical worldview.”
On average, students spend about 16 years in formal education. But do they have the tools to navigate a complex world?
“If you don’t feel that you’re battling the world, then you’ve already given up,” Rathbun said. “The world is not going to battle you if they think you’re one of theirs. The rest of your life is battling — battling sin, battling the world who hates your god, and you have got to have the tools to do it well.”
Target Audience: Homeschooling Parents
Rathbun has geared this workshop toward homeschooling parents. “I think homeschool students and their parents need to seriously consider Bob Jones University as a destination for their students, because I think our goals are aligned, ” Rathbun said.
He believes that most homeschooling parents understand that the world is not friendly to Christians. It is a battlefield.
“Christians need to learn to be dangerous to the enemy before them,” Rathbun said.
