Post-Mortem for Christian Colleges? An Interview with Dr. Phil LaFountain : Theology Pugcast Ep298

[@ronnietaylor7814]

As a third generation ENC alum, it's sad to see the tradition fade into history. But as a Christian, I'm glad to see this cancerous tumor removed. For the past few decades, it has been doing far more harm than good. I was not aware of it at the time, but as the years passed since my attendance there, I began to be aware that some things that I believed weren't exactly scriptural. I started to reexamine what I had been taught. I still had the textbook written by Giberson and reread it. My jaw dropped as I realized the heresies that had been purpetrated on me. Then, I started hearing the changing views on homosexuality from a student who was struggling. Over the years I have not only been disenheartened at the watered-down gospel that has been taught but appalled at what has been considered appropriate for chapel services. I tried to voice my concerns to fellow alumni, but it fell on deaf ears. I was the "crazy one." Now that my concerns and predictions have come to fruition I only hope that others learn from ENC's mistakes. TNU, SNU, and a portion of the Nazarene Church are following along the path of reaching out so far that they let go of the truths that they are founded upon. I pray that this "tradition" dies as well.

[@alsteiner7602]

Excellent Excellent topic and discourse.

[@bluedog562]

I liked Giberson as a student at ENC because he was a rebel. Once I matured I realized what a horrible influence he was.

[@PhilRotz]

ENC grad - originally from rural PA and an Anabaptist denomination whose worshippers’ long-term consumption of right wing media has eaten away at receptiveness to the ‘peace witness’ pillar of its tradition. The dynamics at play here are multi-directional. This institution-focused discussion in this video must be balanced against the corrosive effects of 30-odd years of right-wing talk radio and 15-20 years of Fox News, and the skew of Salem Radio Network on the place of Christian colleges and universities generally. And ENC in particular. How much of ENC’s purported liberal bent was really real? And how much grew up around (but external to) the institution? What were the effects of pew-dwellers imbibing decades of diatribes from Rush Limbaugh and the like (ramping up with Dukakis in ‘92 and carrying forward) against the ‘People’s’ Republic of Massachusetts’ and anywhere associated with Ted Kennedy (or more recently Elizabeth Warren). Nazarene institutions in Tennessee, the Midwest, Oklahoma, and Idaho - did not shoulder the same ‘baggage.’ In addition, I note that labeling one former professor a ‘Neo-Darwinian’ rather than a proponent of ‘theistic evolution’ is a choice. And not one I share. On a wholly separate track - and a ‘tell’ that my ENC education might have ceded some materialist views! - the stiff headwinds confronted by ENC significantly included the multi-decade rise of the higher education ‘consumer’ and the central role amenities and facilities play in attracting contemporary students and parents. The college has run behind peer institutions on this front for 30 years. With few prospects to gain ground - (and practically no nearby sites for greenfield development). But I concede this is now far afield from your discussion.

[@johntobey1558]

Shout out to North Shore Community Baptost in Beverly Farms , Ma which remained conservatove.

[@johntobey1558]

Why is ENC closing? Are their students allowed to transfer credits at :ordon College?

[@thejeffhowe]

I didn't like Giberson when he was a student.

[@williambranch4283]

Bible colleges live. But maybe not seminaries attached to the Ivy League.