What to Expect if You Attend Luther College

Luther College is a small liberal arts college in Decorah, Iowa. Taking its name from reformer Martin Luther and being a school of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), one would think Luther College would be a place to send your children for a good Christian education. But nothing could be farther from the truth.  Luther College, much like the ELCA, hides behind its “Christian” persona, bringing students and financial gifts from committed Lutherans, while in reality pushes secularism, false religions and faux Christianity.
 
My research on Luther College turned up a plethora of information. So much so that I finally cut it short because I had too much. Here is what I found:
 
Sexuality and Secularism
 
The Bible teaches that homosexuality is a sin and people should turn from/repent of the sin. At Luther College homosexuality is promoted.
 
--- Luther College is a Reconciling in Christ (RIC) congregation. (see here) Which, in essence, means they view LGBT behaviors as normal and not sinful. 
 
--- Naturally, Luther College has a LGBT student organization which is called PRIDE. Recently it was highlighted prominently by Luther College Chips, the student newspaper.

​--- Luther College is having a "Royal Drag Ball." It is sponsored by the Student Senate. It is also being promoted by Luther College Ministries. What kind of Christian college ministries support this kind of thing?
 

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--- Luther College offers a course called “James Baldwin and Black LGBT History.” The course is taught by assistant professor Lauren L. Anderson. (see here)
 
--- The college has a page on their website with information geared toward people with same-sex attraction. (see here) 
 
--- On Luther College’s website they have a page called “Internship Opportunities.” Planned Parenthood is among the places listed. Luther College also provides a link to Planned Parenthood for anyone interested in having an internship there. (see here)
 
--- Luther College provides gender-neutral housing. So a male student who says he is a transgender female can live with a female student. (see here)
 
--- The student newspaper writes about Luther College’s Visual and Performing Arts’ rendition of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” saying, “Because of these two casts, some women played men, and some men played women. This opened up a discussion for gender fluidity.” (read here)
 
--- The student newspaper wrote that they commend “…the Target Corporation for promoting what we believe to be true family values in the face of adversarial claims.” This is in reference to Target allowing those who say they are transgender to use the opposite sex bathrooms. (see here)

--- Luther College put on a performance of Vagina Monologues (see here). The monologues display a variety of female experiences on topics such as sex, childbirth, masturbation, love, menstruation, rape, etc.

Liberal Speakers and Causes
 
--- “Eight students and two pastors from Luther College attended Decolonizing Lutheranism at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago…” (see here)
 
--- Notorious ELCA pastor and author Nadia Bolz-Weber spoke at a recent Luther College conference called Liberating Grace. (see here) 

Enjoyed hearing @Sarcasticluther at @luthercollege tonight! Ready for #LiberatingGrace conference tomorrow. #pastorlife #ELCA #Luther500 pic.twitter.com/jmJQBNJDSW

— Pastor Daniel Flucke (@danielflucke) April 1, 2017

One breakout session during the conference is called, “For the Sheer Joy of It: Luther's Theology of the Body.” Here is how the breakout is described, “Martin Luther's writings about embodiment and human sexuality as intrinsic parts of God's creation connect to current movements in the Lutheran church related to sexuality and gender. We will explore Luther's theology of the body and its modern day implications from academic and activist perspectives.” Amalia Vagts is one of the presenters of this breakout. She is the executive director of Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries, “a social ministry that believes the public ministry of publicly-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people demonstrates God's extraordinary love for all people.” (see here) 
 
Another breakout session is called “Tolerance and Religious Pluralism in the Age of Reformation: The Religious 'Other' Then and Now.”
 
--- Luther College has also hosted LGBT advocate Donna Red Wing. The school’s website writes, “Donna Red Wing joins us from One Iowa where she serves as Executive Director to support full equality for LGBT individuals living in Iowa.” (read here)
 
False Religions
 
Did you know this supposed “Christian” college celebrates other religions?
 
--- I wrote about one of Luther’s celebrations titled “ELCA Celebrating Muslim Festival of Abraham's Willingness to Sacrifice His Promised Son, Ishmael.” (see here)
 
Here is what Luther College’s website says about this false religion gathering, “Eid al Adha is a Muslim festival that marks the end of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. ‘The festival celebrates Abraham's faithfulness and obedience to God. Abraham is an example of faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims throughout the world,’ said David Vasquez, Luther campus pastor.” This event will take place at Luther College and is “sponsored by College Ministries, the Diversity Center, the Muslim Student Association and the Interfaith Student Association…” (see here)
 
--- Luther College also celebrated a Hindu festival. A news article reads, “Luther College; a college of the Lutheran Church affiliated to Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a Christian denomination; will celebrate Hindu festival of lights Diwali on October 26.
The Diwali program will be followed by refreshments and ‘a time for conversation’.
Applauding Luther College for Diwali celebration, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, described it as a ‘remarkable interfaith gesture’ and ‘a step in the right direction’ . . . According to Zed, Diwali, most popular Hindu festival, aims at dispelling the darkness and lighting up the lives and symbolizes the victory of good over evil." (see here)
 
--- Did you know that “Silent Meditation in the Zen Buddhist Tradition” is happening at Luther College?  We learn from their website that “Silent Meditation takes place each Tuesday of the academic year at 5:15 p.m. in the Melanchthon Interfaith Room (CFL-205). Sittings are led by Professors Gereon Kopf, Scott Hurley, or Professor emeritus, Lee Zook.” (see here) 
 
--- Kwanzaa is celebrated too. (see here) 

--- Look what these Luther College students are purposing -  'Concerned students' want free shuttle to mosque.

Religion Professors
 
What kind of teachers does this ELCA college have instructing students? Ask yourself if you want your children to get their instruction on religion from these professors.

--- Todd Green, Associate Professor of Religion at Luther College, is an expert on “Islamophobia” being interviewed by various news organizations including Al Jazeera. Professor Green’s latest book is called, The Fear of Islam: An Introduction to Islamophobia in the West. (see here) 
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--- Associate Professor of Religion, Sean D. Burke’s research interests are listed on Luther College’s website: “Sex in sacred texts; queer theory; sacred texts & religious diversity.” (see here)
 
--- The Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Buddhist Philosophy is Gereon Kopf, a professor of religion at Luther College. (see here) 
 
--- Rev. Dr. Guy Nave, a professor of religion at Luther College is also a writer at Sojourners, a liberal publication of Jim Wallis (see here)

--- Another professor of religion at Luther College is Robert Shedinger. He is well known by Exposing the ELCA for his book, Was Jesus a Muslim? Questioning Categories in the Study of Religion. (see here and here) On page 10 of his book he writes, “‘Was Jesus a Muslim?’  I will answer with a very qualified yes.”
 
--- Finally, Luther College doesn’t sound like a very welcoming institution for those who are conservative politically. Check out this article, “I am a woman and I voted for Trump.” (read here)

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This is the second installment in a series of investigations into colleges of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. 

You can read the first installment on Grand View University here. 

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​Please prayerfully consider supporting the ministry of Exposing the ELCA.  Click here to find out how.