“...I realized how naive I was. My aunt Tina was right: this stuff does exist, and it does hurt people, and although there are lots of people at Liberty who condemn violence against gays-including Dr. Falwell himself-the number of students who want to give them the Goliath treatment isn't zero. In fact, the number who live in my room isn't zero.” PeopleGivingHurtLibertyViolenceStudentsI RealizedAunt Author:Kevin Roose
“I love being prayed for! I know that sounds strange, and I've had people ask me if I'm offended when Liberty students pray for me, since they're (usually) praying that I'll see the light and become a born-again Christian. But there's no malice behind it. They simply believe that unsaved people are in trouble, spiritually, and they want to make sure I'm safe from damnation. In a way, given their beliefs about the afterlife, it'd be mean for them NOT to pray for my salvation.” PeopleBelieveMeanChristianBeliefLove IsLibertyTroubleStudentsStrangePrayingSalvationAsk MeOffendedMalicePray For Me Author:Kevin Roose
“If I had to guess, I'd estimate that 9 out of 10 Liberty students come to Christian college on their own, with no pressure from their parents or religious leaders. A lot of the students came from secular high schools, and for them, Liberty is a place where they can practice their faith freely without feeling ostracized or mocked.” FeelingsSchoolChristianParentReligiousLibertyLeaderStudentsCollegeHigh SchoolSecular Author:Kevin Roose
“In some of the classes, especially the introductory religion courses I took, the professors can veer into a particular strain of religious anti-intellectualism. Professors typically aren't given tenure at Liberty, so there's pressure to hew to the party line on religious and social issues. I didn't see a whole lot of my professors encouraging critical thinking among their students. Which isn't to say that students don't engage critical thinking skills at Liberty - just that it wasn't part of my classroom experience there.” ThinkingReligiousPartyLibertyStudentsClassroomSocial IssuesCritical ThinkingTenure Author:Kevin Roose
“I think we're seeing in the wake of the last election that evangelicals - especially young evangelicals - are no longer inextricably linked to the Republican party. Even at Liberty, there's now some ideological diversity with respect to politics. Last fall, I saw a Facebook group called "Liberty Students for Obama." It had 4 or 5 members, but still...” ThinkingFallPartyLibertyStudentsRepublicanDiversityElectionRepublican PartyIdeological Author:Kevin Roose
