Is Gustavus Adolphus College the Right College For You?

​​This is the time of year when many seniors in high school are finalizing their decisions on where they will go to college. It is an important decision that will shape and influence the rest of their lives in many ways. Most importantly, it will influence students' Christian faith. 
Parents need to ask and investigate how the prospective college will influence their child's Christian faith and belief. 

To help parents and students in their investigation I have written the following about Gustavus Adolphus College. 

Gustavus Adolphus College is a school of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) located in Saint Peter, Minnesota. One would think this Lutheran college would be an excellent place to grow in your Christian faith, to encourage you in your faith and to deepen your understanding of Scripture and God’s will for you. It is not. I repeat, it is not. As you will read below, Gustavus Adolphus College is openly encouraging thoughts and behaviors that go against the will of God, thereby leading students away from Christ Jesus and the Truth of God’s Word.
 
Sexuality

--- The Gustavus Adolphus Department of Theatre/Dance performed the play “In the Next Room, or The Vibrator Play.” On the Gustavus Adolphus website, announcing this production, is the warning, “If you are offended by beautiful naked people and/or consenting adults having frank conversations about physical pleasure please, do not come to see this play.” (see here) 
 
--- Gustavus Adolphus’ made news when freshman orientation activities were filmed and posted online in 2010. The article linked below describes the school's orientation gathering as a “series of sexually suggestive skits explaining to incoming students such things as where to get free condoms on campus, how to signal to your roommate that you are busy having sex (so he waits until later to come in), and how to tell your roommate you're gay (as well as the appropriate response you ought (to) take when receiving such information).” (see report here) 

​Here is a video of the Gustavus Adolphus College freshman orientation activity.

The second Gustavus Adolphus College freshmen orientation video post below is equally disturbing. 
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--- Last month, a Safer Sex Carnival was held at Gustavus Adolphus. The college’s website reports “The Carnival will include resources and information about having safer sex and overall healthier, more satisfying relationships.” The Safer Sex Carnival is sponsored by Title IX, the Dean of Students Office, and the Sexual Education and Decision Committee. (see here)
 
--- On the Gustavus Adolphus website you can find a section from a book called “Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children from Sex.” One line from the excerpt says “Child or teen sex can be moral or immoral.” (see here)
 

--- The college paper, Gustavus Weekly, tells us, “Gustavus library finalizes plans for gender-neutral bathrooms.” (see below)
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--- The College newspaper published another piece called “Legalize Sex Work” where the author encourages the legalization of prostitution. (see here) 
 
--- Gustavus Adolphus’ Women’s Awareness Center held an event to talk about “orgasms, safe sex decisions and the importance of respecting our bodies.” (see here)

Other religions
 
--- The Gustavus Day of Fasting-A Ramadan Celebration in honor of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan was sponsored by the Chaplains’ Office. (see here)

--- Last year the Chaplains’ Office and Diversity Center sponsored a webinar called Campus Responses to Islamophobia (see here)
 
--- Office of the Chaplains’, Siri Erickson, Brian Konkol and Ailya Vajid released a statement saying “we are deeply grieved by the rise of Islamophobia in our nation…we stand against hate, ignorance, and bigotry wherever they occur and together work to promote dignity, inclusion, and equity.” (see here)

​--- The ELCA Lutheran school has a multifaith center. “The Center is the new home for a number of student organizations, including Gustavus’ Muslim Student Association, Gustavus Meditation, Gustavus Interfaith Lodge, and the Multifaith Leadership Council.” (see here and the screenshot below)

 
--- “Diwali Festival of Lights, a traditional Hindu celebration, will be observed at Gustavus Adolphus College at 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 28 in Alumni Hall, in O.J. Johnson Student Union.” (see here) 
 
--- What about Buddhism at Gustavus Adolphus? Yep. “Gustavus community will have the opportunity to participate in a cultural event not normally seen in this part of the world. Students and faculty are invited to join in the celebration of the annual Buddhist festival of Vesak…” (see here) 
 
--- The Chaplins’ Office section on the college website has a list of small groups and programs one can attend. Among them is Feminist Bible Study, Muslim Student Association and Gustavus Meditation. On the Chaplins’ Office webpage we are told that Gustavus’ “Meditation is lead (sic) by a local Buddhist monk, Prof. John Cha, and Cody Kirk and is followed by discussion. The purpose of this organization is to provide a weekly meditation classes for the entire Gustavus campus.” (see here) 
 
--- Department of Theatre/Dance at Gustavus presented a performance of The Ragamala Dance’s 1,001 Buddhas: Journey of the Gods. This performance was “inspired by twenty-eight Hindu deities that guard the 1,001 Buddhist statues of the Sanjusangendo temple in Kyoto, Japan.” And illustrated “the myriad histories and energies of these gods and goddesses and to bring to the modern stage a vision that traverses the scope of spiritual experience, from the intimate to the infinite.” (see here)

More LGBT
 
--- Yes, Gustavus Adolphus College observes “Coming Out” week. It is run by the group “Queers & Allies.” There is an article about it in the school paper, The Gustavian Weekly, titled “Importance of Coming Out Week…” (see here)  

--- On the Gustavus Adolphus College website it has a Latina/o resource page on ‘coming out,” LGBT issues, “Transgender Resources and Immigration Law and Policy” (one resource shared is information on the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) (see here)
 
--- The college website also has a LGBTQ resources page. (see here) 
 
--- Another Department of Theatre/Dance performance was “Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes,” a play about a 1980’s gay community. (see here)
 
Speakers/performers
 
--- A gay comedian/actress was on campus pushing her causes. The school paper writes, “Orange is the New Black’s Lea DeLaria speaks in Christ Chapel May 13, 2016 – Star of the popular Netflix series, Orange is the New Black, actress Lea DeLaria visited Gustavus on May 10. DeLaria is also known for being the first openly gay comic to take the stage on many late-night talkshows. She is also a prominent figure in the LGBT community. DeLaria entertained the audience through humor and song, while discussing important topics on gender identity and equity.” (see here and see the Exposing the ELCA blog about DeLaria’s performance here)
 
--- Historian and professor Kevin Mumford came to Gustavus Adolphus College and gave a lecture on black gay history. (see here)
 
--- The Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus performed at Gustavus Adolphus. (see here)
 
--- And when a Christian musician who “used to identify himself as a homosexual but now identifies himself as heterosexual” performed on the Gustavus Adolphus campus with his band, they were protested because the “band spoke about the possibility that homosexuals could be ‘cured…’” (see here) 
 
--- Like so many ELCA colleges, Gustavus Adolphus holds a drag show (see here and here) 
 
Planned Parenthood
 
--- The Gustavus Adolphus website has an article blasting abstinence-only sex education and the article is produced by Planned Parenthood. (see here)
 
--- The Gustavus Adolphus College website has a webpage called “Sex & Relationships.” The page provides a link to Planned Parenthood (see here)

--- The Gustavian Weekly posted a one-sided, pro-Planned Parenthood article. (see here) Another article that discusses the same event tells how students "all over campus sported pink attire to support Planned Parenthood. (read here) 
 
Professors
 
--- Professor John Cha, Associate Professor in Religion and Japanese Studies at Gustavus Adolphus, is a Buddhist monk and a meditation teacher/guide for the group Gustavus Meditation. Those who attend Gustavus Meditation “experience Buddhist mettā bhāvanā (loving-kindness meditation) and ānāpānasati (breathing meditation).”(see here) Professor Cha’s “teaching and research interests include Buddhist philosophy, Indian intellectual history, comparative philosophy, and inter-religious dialogue (primarily Buddhist/Christian dialogue).” (see here) 
 
--- Fuad S. Naeem is an assistant professor who teaches Islam and World Religions at Gustavus Adolphus College: “His interests include Islamic intellectual traditions in South Asia, Muslim encounters with religious others, Islam and modernity, the Qur'an and its exegesis, and Islamic philosophy, theology, and esoteric traditions.” (see here) 
 
--- “Professors at Gustavus Adolphus College make on average $108,181 per year. This is $44,715 more than the average liberal arts college professor's annual salary ($63,466).” (see here)

Race
 
--- Just this spring (2017), the “Diversity Leadership Council” did something that had many media outlets talking. They posted racially offensive posters (FAKE racist posters) around Gustavus Adolphus’ campus (see here)
 
--- The Gustavus Adolphus student newspaper published a piece called “Mein Trump,” mimicking the name of a book written by Adolph Hitler. A Gustavus Adolphus writer expressed the following, “Trump is quickly and not so quietly building a coalition of white supremacists and closet racists alike.” (see here)
 
Politics
 
--- The Gustavus College Republicans decided to leave the The Diversity Leadership Council “implying that their opinions have been disregarded.” (see here)
 
--- A Gustavus Adolphus College woman wearing a “make America great again” hat was allegedly assaulted on campus.  (see here)

--- Lutheran Pastor Tom Brock recounts what he saw and experienced while visiting Gustavus Adolphus College writing, “I visited the campus today and walked past the chaplains' offices and the offices of the religion professors, wondering what I would see on their doors.  A picture of Jesus or a Bible verse?   None of that.  Instead I saw signs saying 'Gay safe zone' and 'Hate free zone'.   One religion prof showed a rainbow sticker and a sign 'My Karma ran over your dogma'.  One door had a posting for feminist theology, another door or two displayed images from Eastern religions.   As I was perusing the doors, an Asian religion professor was talking to a student about the different kinds of meditation.   Nothing of Jesus."  (see here) 
 
Students who grew up believing God’s Word, believing in biblical marriage (one man, one woman) and that you shall have no other gods before Him, are having their beliefs trampled on at Gustavus Adolphus. Gustavus Adolphus College is not a faithful, Bible-believing college.

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This is a series of investigations into the colleges of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Below are links to the first two installments.

--- What to Expect if You Attend Luther College (see here) 
 
--- Beware of the ELCA’s Grand View University (see here) 

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The work required to run this website is extensive. Please prayerfully consider supporting the ministry of Exposing the ELCA.  Click here to find out how.