Alec's College Quiz

Match each school with the appropriate description.

A score of 60% or better is exceptional.

Link to answers at the bottom of the page.

___USC 2. Famous for its founder’s emphasis on the separation of church and state.

___Duke 3. Its athletes were once known as the Fighting Methodists.

___Oberlin 4. Founded by evangelist and abolitionist Charles Finney.

___Cornell 5. The idea of this school was first raised at a meeting of the Methodist Conference of Georgia. A preacher known as “Uncle” Allen Turner suggested that local Methodists should have their own college.

___U of Illinois 6. In 1872, its president said, “We will labor to make this a Christian institution . . . governed by a body of Christian trustees, conducted by Christian professors. . . . ”

___U of Chicago 7. In 1924, its bylaws read: “The aims of (?) university are to assert a faith in the eternal union of knowledge and religion set forth in the teachings and character of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” A plaque with these words remains today near its large chapel.

___Northwestern 8. Its motto was once “Christ and Church.”

___Emory 9. In 1902, a professor was fired for saying that the Bible contained myths and errors.

___U of Virginia 10. In 1868, daily chapel and Sunday worship were required. The President lectured on topics such as “Was Jesus more than a man?” and “Is Christianity true?”

Purpose of Quiz

Less than a century ago, most American colleges and universities considered themselves to be at least nominally “Christian.” Similar to answer #9 above, in 1902, a professor at a prominent university was fired for saying that the Bible contained myths and errors. Likewise, two years later, charges of heresy were brought against a Boston University faculty member who denied the Trinity, miracles, and the Atonement.

Contrast those outcomes with a 2006 survey conducted by professors at Harvard and George Mason. They discovered that fully three-quarters of faculty at elite schools today consider the Bible to be “a book of fables and legends.”

What caused such a seismic shift in such a relatively short period of time? There are several factors. Church-related schools compromised their spiritual mission in order to attract faculty and donors. German empiricism placed a perceived wedge between religion and science. Religion was pushed from the center of the academic enterprise to the periphery. The chief cause, however, was the general secularization of the culture.

As a result of this shift, our vision to see “campuses renewed” represents an entirely different kind of challenge today than it would have had a century ago. It is not coincidental that, a century ago, God began to raise up new campus ministries like the Student Volunteer Movement, the precursor of InterVarsity.

I will have more to say about “renewing the campus” in upcoming months. In the meanwhile, let us meet the challenge of making the Gospel relevant on campus today. While it certainly takes more creativity and chutzpah than it did a century ago, the extraordinary challenges of proclaiming the gospel will not impede us. God renews campuses in many ways. Let us discover them together.

Sources:

• The Soul of the American University, by George Marsden
• The Decline of the Secular University, by John Sommerville
• Titan, by Ron Chernow
• Discovering an Evangelical Heritage, by Donald Dayton
• Wikipedia.com

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