What is Being Taught at St. Olaf College

12/29/2014

The following is a comment that was posted on a previous Exposing the ELCA blog from a student at St. Olaf College, an ELCA school. It is truly a disturbing account of what the students are being taught and is a warning to all Bible believing parents considering sending their students to an ELCA college.

Hello everyone.

As a St Olaf student and full Christian Bible believer, I have found that St Olaf has increasing hatred towards me and what I believe. We are taught in our "religion" classes that Christians are hateful, hypocritical, sexist, and racist. We are taught that Christian beliefs were responsible for the Holocaust and the extermination of Native Americans. They tell us that much of the Bible is fiction; in particular, they teach that Ezekiel and Paul were mentally insane, Exodus never happened, and Matthew, Mark, and John never actually were followers of Jesus. It's incredible that this college still says it is a "Christian" college. The hatred I've received from students because of my beliefs is more than I've ever had before. Please pray that the actions of this college will come to light.

Thanks,
Anonymous St. Olaf Student

3 Comments

Didaskalos link

12/29/2014 05:00:06 am

When it was founded, St. Olaf was a Christian college. Witness this statement from the St. Olaf School's catalogue (1887-88): ". . . It is noble work to lead man to truth, but it is more noble to lead him beyond it to its source -- the God of truth; for God is love, and a man is blessed only when in communion with God, his Creator.”

Over the decades, St. Olaf has devolved into a wholly ELCA college, regularly surrendering to the world’s latest anti-biblical whim. St. Olaf has joined the rest of the ELCA in backpedaling from the Bible, cloaking the denominationally approved heresies and apostasies with a thin veneer of generic God-talk to try to keep the donors happy.

Recommended reading for St. Olaf students: James Tunstead Burtchaell's *The Dying of the Light: The Disengagement of Colleges and Universities from Their Christian Churches*. Not surprisingly, a few pages in the book are devoted to St. Olaf. On one of those pages, Burtchaell quotes the late St. Olaf religion professor Harold Ditmanson: ". . .just between you and me [Ditmanson was writing to a faculty colleague in 1974], it is my considered judgment that IF the present faculty were to be tenured, St. Olaf could forget about being a Christian college. I simply can't understand why some teachers who say openly that they have no sympathy with the aims and objectives of St. Olaf want to stay here and wreck the tradition that has made this the kind of place at which you and I are willing to spend our lives."

Rad

12/29/2014 06:37:44 am

After reading this letter Maybe it was a good thing that my alma mater, Waldorf College was bought out by Southern Colombia University.

1/5/2015 07:50:52 pm

If "Anonymous St. Olaf Student" posted his/her objections to St. Olaf's heresy on any campus website or discussion forum, how long do you think it might remain, if it were even allowed in the first place?

Can you spell "Orwellian speech code," students?

From TheFire.org:

"St. Olaf’s policy [ http://www.thefire.org/pdfs/13259543bbc15193617a0c609fe8677c.pdf ] on “Misuse of Computers” [.pdf] prohibits “creating or posting of material that is offensive,” stating that such actions “are subject to disciplinary review.” As is typical of such policies, “offensive” is left undefined, and there is no provision for who decides what is offensive, leaving students with no way of knowing whether their electronic communications might get them in trouble. Is a pointed criticism of the university offensive? What about a provocative editorial about Islamic fundamentalism? These types of expression have gotten students in trouble at other universities, and with such a vague and broad prohibition in place, St. Olaf students are almost certain to engage in self-censorship rather than risk punishment, chilling free and open discourse on campus.

"Although St. Olaf is private, its Student Handbook repeatedly emphasizes the importance of free speech and expression. Among other things, the Handbook states that “[f]ree inquiry and free expression are essential attributes of the community of scholars” and that “St. Olaf College affirms its belief in the importance of freedom of expression.” But freedom to offend is at the core of freedom of expression-after all, calls for censorship almost always emanate from those who are offended. As the U.S. Supreme Court has said, “[s]peech is often provocative and challenging. It may strike at prejudices and preconceptions and have profound unsettling effects as it presses for acceptance of an idea. That is why freedom of speech, though not absolute, is nevertheless protected against censorship or punishment, unless shown likely to produce a clear and present danger of a serious substantive evil that rises far above public inconvenience, annoyance, or unrest.” Terminiello v. Chicago, 337 U.S. 1, 4 (1949).

"By trying to limit electronic discourse to only that which is inoffensive, St. Olaf College has seriously restricted the right to free expression that it claims to protect. . ."

Would "Anonymous St. Olaf Student" find him/herself in trouble for raising a moral, biblical objection to the college's "Condom Olympics" [ http://www.exposingtheelca.com/exposed-blog/st-olaf-college-and-the-condom-olympics ]?

"Student Handbook: Code of Student Conduct- Proscribed Conduct 14-15

"Speech Code Category: Harassment Policies

"Sexual harassment, including, but not limited to:

"a. Unwelcome verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature on college premises or at functions sponsored by or participated in by the college."

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What is Being Taught at St. Olaf College

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Dan Skogen

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