Liberty University – an inside look at an educational joke

In my constant quest to read every book on the planet and tell you all about it so you can do other things like have a life or hobbies or friends I have finished reading The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University.

Author Kevin Roose leaves liberal Brown University for a semester at the uber-conservative Liberty University. Founded by Jerry Falwell, Liberty requires students to follow the “Liberty Way” code of conduct. A few of the rules that students must follow:

• RAs will inspect the dorm rooms on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays – beds need to be made, trash emptied, things picked up, sinks and mirrors clean.
• No alcohol, tobacco, R-rated movies or risqué posters
• Curfew is strictly enforced
• Men’s hair must be short – can’t touch the collar or cover the ears
• No earrings, studs or body piercing
• Collared shirts and pants are required at all times, jeans may not have rips or tears and shorts are never acceptable
• Interactions with the opposite sex are limited to hand-holding and 3 second maximum hugs

As if the social mores straight out of the 50′s aren’t quite enough to make you run the other way screaming, the curriculum should cause your brain to implode. The author attends the required course Contemporary Issues where the syllabus describes the course thusly:

“This course is designed to aid the student in the development of a biblical worldview. This will involve an introduction to critical thinking, an evaluation of contemporary moral philosophies and an affirmation of absolute truth.”

The professor expands on this by saying that “We’ll be learning about moral philosophies like nihilism, relativisim and utilitarianism, but mostly as opposition research. We’ll discuss where they appear in American society, then learn how to combat them from the Christian perspective.”

The author also attends the History of Life course, a course that teaches evolution from the perspective of

“… why it’s invalid and why it’s foolish, and then showing the proper way and the correct approach to the origin of the species. That approach, of course, is young-earth creationism. Every biology professor at Liberty teaches that God created the universe about six thousand years ago in six literal, twenty-four-hour days, pretty much the way it looks now.”

From his first History of Life exam the author shares a few questions:

• True or False: Evolution can be proven using the scientific method. (Answer: False)
• True or False: Science is the only way to truly know truth about the world. (Answer: False)
• True or False: Noah’s Ark was large enough to carry various kinds of dinosaurs.
  • According the the professor, the answer is “True – since dinosaurs and humans cohabited the earth after the flood, they would have had to find a way to squeeze onto the Ark. He suggested that they could have been teenage dinosaurs, so as to take up less space.”

The author writes an engaging book that draws you in, regardless of your religious views. Even as a dyed in the wool atheist I found the book intriguing and not only because it confirmed some of my views about evangelicals. The book is well written and the author takes an objective look at his situation, I’m not sure I could be nearly as open minded as he was if our roles were reversed. What scares me the most is that this indoctrination is considered a college education, by some.

If you’re interested in a peek at the evangelical college experience, really a day in the life, this is a good read for you.

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