Comments from Pastor Billy about chapter two of his summer book recommendation - a great read for high school graduates and their parents!
My Professors Are Really Smart--Isn’t It More Likely That They’re Right and I’m Wrong?
It can be quite intimidating on a college campus. The professors there have been trained, educated, studied, researched, and written their findings for years. How as a young man or woman entering this space can you take confidence in what you know, when you are going to be challenged at every turn?
You may be thinking that if you can just collect enough of the right facts or research that you will be able to prove your point. That if you can just present what you believe in a logical and coherent way everyone will trust and believe you. However, we know that this is not the case when it comes to many of the truths that we believe.
Michael Kruger presents the findings of Thomas Kuhn, who wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, that “people (including your professors) are not neutral. They have a worldview, a paradigm, that shapes everything they see.” Basically, our foundational beliefs and commitments will shape how we look at the details of the things we learn and experience. No one comes to a fact or discovery on neutral ground. When I wake up in the morning, according to my Christian worldview, I appreciate the gift of life knowing that God is the one who has given me another day to live for his glory. If I had a different worldview I could possibly believe that the reason I am alive is due to chemical processes occurring in my body that cause me to get up. It all starts with our fundamental beliefs.
Another key point by Kruger, just because you may be at a university that is decidedly dominated by a non-Christian worldview, does not mean that you are alone. Many people throughout time have believed what you believe. While it is true that many universities today are dominated by this type of worldview, opposed to Christianity, it does not make their worldview correct.
Kruger ends with this encouraging thought, “intellectual isolation can make us think that everyone else must be right, especially our professors. But truth is not determined by majority vote.” It may be that you are the minority position on many of the truth claims at your university. However, we have an unchanging standard upon which we must measure all claims of truth, God and his revealed Word. So as Joshua said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
I will continue through the book over the summer months, however, I would encourage you to pick up the book and maybe read through parts of it with your family, whether they are headed off to college or not.
In Christ,
Billy