What is your opinion about the existence of Christian fundamentalism universities?
Do you think they should be built in the first place?
These universities include Bob Jones University, Liberty University, Oral Roberts University.
Bob Jones University is known to have really strict rules and regulations. For example, one cannot watch a movie that is above G-rated when in someone’s house. Or one cannot play video games even if it said it’s age 10 and up. Rock music, country music, jazz or contemporary Christian music are banned in this university.
Such strict rules are definitely unnecessary.
"Such strict rules are definitely unnecessary." It sounds like you have your answer already, although one I disagree with. One may not be a fundamentalist; one may not wish themselves or their children to be subjected to rules that are so strict compared to modern society; but should such schools be built? I actually like this question because there are several aspects to it.
Is it legal? Is it American?
Your statements may be interpreted as questioning whether these schools deserve a place in our society. I won't gush about the First Amendment, but in both specific and broad senses America was built on freedom. Fundamentalists may worship in ways they choose, and they may build private schools and universities, just like any other group can.
Is it worth it? Will anybody take advantage of a fundamentalist school?
Some would see the question as asking whether anybody would seriously consider attending such a school. But these schools have been around for a long time, and continue to take in a steady flow of students. There are some parents (and not too few students) who appreciate having an option different from the state-sponsored party schools.
Should students be subjected to such strict rules?
Does the question imply that students are forced against their wills to accept "unnecessary" rules? The rules and regulations are hardly a secret. Parents and students know exactly what kind of school they are applying to, and they choose to live by those rules. This is not tyranny; this is truly the American way: deciding right and wrong for yourself, finding like-minded people, and living with them with respect. (Exception: There are many parents that "send" their children to a college that the child has no interest in. But that's a separate issue.)
Is it wrong to watch a G-rated movie?
The expression "definitely unnecessary" at the end of the question is more profound than it seems. There is the whisper of declaring these rules to be wrong, but then we are all entitled to our opinions, and indeed some of the examples above might just be wrong.
But more importantly there is a false assumption made here. (It may have been unintentional, but) We are left with the impression that these schools teach that G-rated movies (and all other examples given above) are wrong, or sinful . . . that a student will spend eternity in hell for watching a PG movie. But no such statement is made. The rules are guidelines, so students can be guided by an over-arching atmosphere at the college, and so discipline can be carried out in a consistent manner.
To parents, some would say PG movies are fine, and others would not. But as a school community, you can't say it's ok for some students and not for others. There must be a consistent rule. (Should schools even be monitoring students' viewing habits? I don't know that I would create such a rule, but again they have their reasons, and the students are aware going in.) Not every student (or even administrator) would agree with every rule as it comes to their personal lives, but the rules do serve a purpose (are necessary), at least in the eyes of this fundamentalist community.
My answers are:
My opinion about the existence of Christian fundamentalism universities is that they are certainly not for everybody, but I appreciate the healthy moral environment that they try to create. It may be a little more strict than I would like, but I am not opposed to them.
Should they be built in the first place? Absolutely yes.
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February 28 2009 09:04 pm | Christian
HiwM on 01 Mar 2009 at 2:25 am #
"Such strict rules are definitely unnecessary." It sounds like you have your answer already, although one I disagree with. One may not be a fundamentalist; one may not wish themselves or their children to be subjected to rules that are so strict compared to modern society; but should such schools be built? I actually like this question because there are several aspects to it.
Is it legal? Is it American?
Your statements may be interpreted as questioning whether these schools deserve a place in our society. I won't gush about the First Amendment, but in both specific and broad senses America was built on freedom. Fundamentalists may worship in ways they choose, and they may build private schools and universities, just like any other group can.
Is it worth it? Will anybody take advantage of a fundamentalist school?
Some would see the question as asking whether anybody would seriously consider attending such a school. But these schools have been around for a long time, and continue to take in a steady flow of students. There are some parents (and not too few students) who appreciate having an option different from the state-sponsored party schools.
Should students be subjected to such strict rules?
Does the question imply that students are forced against their wills to accept "unnecessary" rules? The rules and regulations are hardly a secret. Parents and students know exactly what kind of school they are applying to, and they choose to live by those rules. This is not tyranny; this is truly the American way: deciding right and wrong for yourself, finding like-minded people, and living with them with respect. (Exception: There are many parents that "send" their children to a college that the child has no interest in. But that's a separate issue.)
Is it wrong to watch a G-rated movie?
The expression "definitely unnecessary" at the end of the question is more profound than it seems. There is the whisper of declaring these rules to be wrong, but then we are all entitled to our opinions, and indeed some of the examples above might just be wrong.
But more importantly there is a false assumption made here. (It may have been unintentional, but) We are left with the impression that these schools teach that G-rated movies (and all other examples given above) are wrong, or sinful . . . that a student will spend eternity in hell for watching a PG movie. But no such statement is made. The rules are guidelines, so students can be guided by an over-arching atmosphere at the college, and so discipline can be carried out in a consistent manner.
To parents, some would say PG movies are fine, and others would not. But as a school community, you can't say it's ok for some students and not for others. There must be a consistent rule. (Should schools even be monitoring students' viewing habits? I don't know that I would create such a rule, but again they have their reasons, and the students are aware going in.) Not every student (or even administrator) would agree with every rule as it comes to their personal lives, but the rules do serve a purpose (are necessary), at least in the eyes of this fundamentalist community.
My answers are:
My opinion about the existence of Christian fundamentalism universities is that they are certainly not for everybody, but I appreciate the healthy moral environment that they try to create. It may be a little more strict than I would like, but I am not opposed to them.
Should they be built in the first place? Absolutely yes.
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