This post is part of a 3-part mini-series. It might make more sense to you, if you read Part 1 & Part 2 first.
In retrospect, the ROTC requirement should have set off alarm bells in this thing I call my brain, but what can I say, I still was quite naive. At the outset, I realized that Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) was governed by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), but at this point in my life, I did not understand the differences between my liberal Christian faith (Presbyterian) and that of fundamentalism.
Boy, was I in for a rude shock!!!!
The very first thing I came to realize was that the majority of the students matriculating at OBU were...Southern Baptists. The Baptist kids seemed to be able to spot all of us non-Baptist students on sight! Not only that, but the Baptist students seemed to push all the non-Baptist students together. "Hey Trey, have you met Jeff? I think you two would get along great!" You see, Jeff was a Methodist!
In short order, I realized my circle of other oddball characters had not one Baptist in the mix. Our group was made up of Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, a Buddhist, two agnostics and one devout atheist. And we became a major thorn in the administration's side, but that's a story for another day!!
Every Tuesday we were required to attend Chapel before class. Besides featuring general campus announcements, we usually had to listen to some holy-roller harangue us about how we weren't living up to the conservative Jesus' standards. I found most of these sermonettes to be quite funny, but soon learned that laughing out loud was frowned upon. I grew to loathe Chapel.
Two REQUIRED courses for general education (?) were Old Testament and New Testament Survey. My profs and classmates read the bible like it was the inerrant word of God! How backwards. I soon discovered that none of them appreciated the many inconsistencies and contradictions I pointed out. When I stubbornly dug in my heels, the best answer my profs could provide was that I needed to pray so I could see the light.
Pray? I thought this was college! You know, question things and study to uncover the truths of life.
I didn't completely understand it at the time, but most of the education provided at OBU was inadequate. Every subject was steered by the particular brand of Christianity the school professed to. I now believe that most of the profs spent more time studying the bible than the texts for their specific discipline and this showed up in class after class.
I continually landed in hot water because I asked questions that begged for answers BEYOND what was written down in a book nearly 2,000 years old. I ended up majoring in sociology (with a minor in journalism that I later turned into BA at another school) and I wanted to discuss social theory. My main sociology professor wanted to talk about the bible and the "hated Jews"! (In his twisted mind, every social ill known to humankind could be blamed on the Jews. This from the most tenured professor at the school!)
But the worst of it all was the rampant hypocrisy on campus. The SBC frowned on fraternities and sororities, yet we had both, albeit utilizing different styled names. The SBC had decreed that the university would not sponsor dances, so the university advertised "functions" and the main activity was, of course, dancing.
So many of the Baptist students ran around talking about their piety and tattling on anyone else who wasn't toeing the fundamentalist line, yet the most popular building on campus was the Chapel and it wasn't being used for praying either. On almost any given night, couples would sneak into the "holy" building on campus to have sexual intercourse (E-V-I-L fornication) on the cushioned bench-like pews!
Amidst all this, I began to question the entire Christian perspective. It planted a seed that continued to grow throughout my adult years and led me, about a decade ago, to say I am no Christian. (Actually, I ceased being a Christian in my mid 20s, but clung to the label for another 15 years or so.)
So, the catalyst turns out to be my decision to attend a Christian-based college. Being exposed to fundamentalism started me on the path to Taoism.
In retrospect, the ROTC requirement should have set off alarm bells in this thing I call my brain, but what can I say, I still was quite naive. At the outset, I realized that Ouachita Baptist University (OBU) was governed by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), but at this point in my life, I did not understand the differences between my liberal Christian faith (Presbyterian) and that of fundamentalism.
Boy, was I in for a rude shock!!!!
The very first thing I came to realize was that the majority of the students matriculating at OBU were...Southern Baptists. The Baptist kids seemed to be able to spot all of us non-Baptist students on sight! Not only that, but the Baptist students seemed to push all the non-Baptist students together. "Hey Trey, have you met Jeff? I think you two would get along great!" You see, Jeff was a Methodist!
In short order, I realized my circle of other oddball characters had not one Baptist in the mix. Our group was made up of Presbyterians, Methodists, Lutherans, a Buddhist, two agnostics and one devout atheist. And we became a major thorn in the administration's side, but that's a story for another day!!
Every Tuesday we were required to attend Chapel before class. Besides featuring general campus announcements, we usually had to listen to some holy-roller harangue us about how we weren't living up to the conservative Jesus' standards. I found most of these sermonettes to be quite funny, but soon learned that laughing out loud was frowned upon. I grew to loathe Chapel.
Two REQUIRED courses for general education (?) were Old Testament and New Testament Survey. My profs and classmates read the bible like it was the inerrant word of God! How backwards. I soon discovered that none of them appreciated the many inconsistencies and contradictions I pointed out. When I stubbornly dug in my heels, the best answer my profs could provide was that I needed to pray so I could see the light.
Pray? I thought this was college! You know, question things and study to uncover the truths of life.
I didn't completely understand it at the time, but most of the education provided at OBU was inadequate. Every subject was steered by the particular brand of Christianity the school professed to. I now believe that most of the profs spent more time studying the bible than the texts for their specific discipline and this showed up in class after class.
I continually landed in hot water because I asked questions that begged for answers BEYOND what was written down in a book nearly 2,000 years old. I ended up majoring in sociology (with a minor in journalism that I later turned into BA at another school) and I wanted to discuss social theory. My main sociology professor wanted to talk about the bible and the "hated Jews"! (In his twisted mind, every social ill known to humankind could be blamed on the Jews. This from the most tenured professor at the school!)
But the worst of it all was the rampant hypocrisy on campus. The SBC frowned on fraternities and sororities, yet we had both, albeit utilizing different styled names. The SBC had decreed that the university would not sponsor dances, so the university advertised "functions" and the main activity was, of course, dancing.
So many of the Baptist students ran around talking about their piety and tattling on anyone else who wasn't toeing the fundamentalist line, yet the most popular building on campus was the Chapel and it wasn't being used for praying either. On almost any given night, couples would sneak into the "holy" building on campus to have sexual intercourse (E-V-I-L fornication) on the cushioned bench-like pews!
Amidst all this, I began to question the entire Christian perspective. It planted a seed that continued to grow throughout my adult years and led me, about a decade ago, to say I am no Christian. (Actually, I ceased being a Christian in my mid 20s, but clung to the label for another 15 years or so.)
So, the catalyst turns out to be my decision to attend a Christian-based college. Being exposed to fundamentalism started me on the path to Taoism.
Fundamentalism does not equal Christianity, and church-related ("Christian-based") institutions of higher learning are not necessarily narrow or prejudiced. I too attended a church-related college, run by the pacifist, Quaker-like Church of the Brethern, which while being connected to that particular faith, was very liberal and espoused very humane and high social values. (One of my professors was one of the guys arrested with the Berrigan brothers, and one of my husband's classmates is a Nobel-prize winner in physics.) And my husband (not RC but C of E) today is in a post-retirement gig as an administrator at a Marianist Catholic University which has much clearer and stronger social values than the state-run university from which he retired. Neither of these church-related institutions teach the SBC-style pray -to-understand-it, and are both dedicated to serious academic inquiry and intellectual development. It's too bad you picked the wrong school. Blame the fundamental SBC who planted the seed of doubt in you, but don't cast aspersions on all church-related academies.
ReplyDeleteFair enough. Of the two colleges I attended in Kansas City, one of them was the Catholic institution, Avila College. Except for the fact that some of the courses were taught by nuns, the subject of religion never came up in English or Psychology class.
ReplyDelete