Thank you Paul for articulating a culture I understand at a visceral level.
BJU is certainly a dichotomy. But life is a dichotomy. My father grew up a Kansas Reformed Presbyterian where barn dances on Saturday nights were followed by solemn Sunday services singing the Psalms with no instruments.
That Kansas boy would meet a Pennsylvania Dutch Methodist girl in an EUB Sunday School class on a late 50s BJU campus. Almost sounds humorous!
That couple would go on to teach in the public school system, help a struggling IFB church school in NC, go to Guam for a couple of years working for John Lewis. Later dad went to work for BJU Press as the mid US rep.
All that to say this, I get it. Cultures die hard, especially one of a religious nature. When practice becomes routine and routine becomes the norm and the norm becomes sacred, expect there to be resistance to change.
I attended in the mid 80s and my daughter just a couple of years ago. I once told dad, the BJU you attended is NOT the BJU I attended. When we took our daughter there, during Steve Pettit’s administration, it too was vastly different from my experience. I was truly jealous. Faculty, staff and students all seemed genuinely happy and had great spirits. I knew nothing of evangelist Pettit but felt it made sense having someone of his experience leading the institution. A BJU Bluegrass Band? . . Now that is weird. . . But I LOVE Bluegrass music! I did get to sit next to Dr. Pettit at dinner and talk about our mandolins, yes the same one my grandad used at the barn dance!
It took me years to overcome a bitterness that my BJU experience was not that of my parents. Maturity has give a perspective that we live in a fallen world surrounded by fallen people. What a shock the day I learned my favorite Bible characters all had a dark streak and needed redemption!
God’s work was accomplished prior to the existence of the university and will certainly be accomplished long after the campus is shuttered. I just hope that doesn’t happen in my lifetime. There is a new generation of young people that would benefit from a BJU education.
I stumbled across your article finding it interesting,having myself attended BJU (1974-1980, BA, MA). You analyzed in an intriguing manner the struggle between trying to be a cultured institution of higher learning while attempting to please hard-line fundamentalists. When I tell people where I went to college, I never know which aspect they are familiar with. I was involved in the music department, playing in the Trombone Choir in undergrad, and singing in the Concert Choral during grad school. I studied both the trombone and voice with professors. But, I was a 'preacher boy,' so it was interesting being a part of both of those worlds. I remember that as a trombonist, we would have been shamed for playing in any style that could be remotely reminiscent of Jazz, and there are many legendary jazz trombonists (I had fallen in love with Jazz during high school). So, I was intrigued when hearing the piano students practicing the music of Scott Joplin as I passed by the practice rooms. I have since learned that Joplin is considered by many to be the "Father of Jazz." It seemed to be that if someone in the administration (usually one of the Jones's) OK-ed something, then it was fine. I remember noticing the statues in the amphitorium, women holding up something, maybe lamps, (I was after all an adolescent boy) were adorned in such a manner that, let's just say, any female student wearing those clothes,or the lack thereof would earn a trip to the dean of women's office, or maybe worse.
I have written a memoir about my religious journey that includes my years at BJU and some years following as I found my way out of the indoctrination that I absorbed there. The book is not a critique of BJU, in fact I give credit where it is due to dedicated faculty and aspects that were good for me. But I do describe the racism that I encountered there. The book covers my life starting years before BJU and for some years after, chronicling my religious journey that put me in the ministry for nearly 30 years (including being a foreign missionary for 7 years, then later becoming a psychotherapist for the last 21 years. If you or your readers are interested, my book is "THE LONG SURRENDER: A Memoir About Losing My Religion" by Brian Rush McDonald. The BJU faithful view me as a heretic, but you might find it intresting. You can find in on Amazon or I would be happy to provide a copy for any interested readers. brianmcd74@gmail.com
Wow. I am new to the Greenville area and my first exposure to BJU was reading a news story about how they expelled a student immediately after she reported she was raped, because she had been drinking. (As a Christian and a sexual assault survivor myself, I was and still am appalled by the university's lack of compassion.) I have subsequently encountered a few people affiliated with BJU and it has been interesting. Nice people but at least one with a very "us versus the world" view). I think "unusual" is a good descriptor for this particular university. Thanks for all the insight into it!
I have been waiting +50 years to see something of this quality written by a BJU graduate. I graduated in 1969 (History/English) and never once felt the academic education I received as anything less than quality. Being by nature a solitary and private person, having kept my opinions to myself ,I not only survived, I thrived. And enjoyed myself immensely. I never (even during my years in residence) allowed the religious indoctrination (heavily Baptist, even then) to pry me away from my Brethren roots. This ultimately lead to a family rift between myself and my sister who is more like Mary (Sheldon's mother) in the Big Bang Theory, although my sister only attended 1 1/2 years. Half a decade later I wrote a letter gently stating an opinion differing from a public statement of Dr. Bob III (truly a classic example of nepotism), I received back a screed calling me a Judas and repudiating my association with the University. Fine with me. However, I find one of my more enjoyable uses of the Internet is to follow Bob Jones University.
Good evening Paul. Thank you for the article. I was at BJU 2000-2003. While I was never a student the school would be proud of, I didn’t hate the school in any way. Do you think there is any hope to save the university? I sure hope so, but it would need to happen very soon. What are your thoughts?
Speaking purely denotatively, I doubt it. Higher education is in a general retrenchment trend in light of the ongoing decline of total enrollment; the hardest hit are tuition-dependent private and religious colleges. That's BJU, which means negative headwinds. And, of course, firing the popular president and sparking an alumni backlash is terrible tactics when facing a general crisis.
The one thing the school has going for it is the Press, which remains the primary source of funds. At this point, Bob Jones is nearly reduced to being a press with a vestigial university attached.
I'm concerned about the Bob Jones University Press. What I have seen is very anti-science, Young Earth, and smells strongly of TheoBros traditionalism and Christian Nationalism. When I was at BJU (1964-1969) we regularly had Chapel lectures on cult methods and behavior and most notably frequent discussions of the general evils of Theodesy specifically Christian Nationalism. Has the country so lost our moral compass that even BJU Student Body could secretly support Trumpism? All too seldom do I see anything from a Chapel lectures.
I currently live in Columbia, SC and went to visit the campus last year for the first time since 2003. The library now another set of offices, Jerusalem room gutted, and demolished administration building were sad to see. What confused me the most is I saw less than 10 people on campus. Although it was a Saturday, I still expected to see more people, ans the FMA looks like it needs some serious attention.
I honestly thought about approaching the school with the idea of being an advocate for enrollment. It’s my understanding that my beloved fine arts department has been gutted, now only a ghost of the fine program I remember from the early 2000’s.
Again, I was never a student who was a model they wanted, but I didn’t abhor it like so many people I knew. Would there be any value in approaching the school about its current course?
I doubt it. During the administrative coup against the executive, alumni advocacy played a significant role in backing the president. I suspect the new hardline administration is going to be suspicious of alumni input, especially from "non-model" students, if you catch my drift. ;-)
I wonder if another frame for this story is a generational split that, as with other things at BJU, lags the rest of the culture a bit. There are *a lot* of new, young-ish faculty at BJU in the last few years. Many of them have fairly deep BJU roots <raises hand>, but many don't. I wonder if some of the old guard is resenting the fact that the younger ones (and even some of the not-so-young-anymore) are no longer willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, and aren't buying so much of the us-versus-the-world narrative. The campus definitely has a different feel today than it did 20 years ago, much less 40 years ago. (It no longer feels quite so unusual.) Thus, the conflicts are, in part, a sub-culturally-distinctive version of the much broader trends away from a kind of mid-century social consensus.
Thank you Paul for articulating a culture I understand at a visceral level.
BJU is certainly a dichotomy. But life is a dichotomy. My father grew up a Kansas Reformed Presbyterian where barn dances on Saturday nights were followed by solemn Sunday services singing the Psalms with no instruments.
That Kansas boy would meet a Pennsylvania Dutch Methodist girl in an EUB Sunday School class on a late 50s BJU campus. Almost sounds humorous!
That couple would go on to teach in the public school system, help a struggling IFB church school in NC, go to Guam for a couple of years working for John Lewis. Later dad went to work for BJU Press as the mid US rep.
All that to say this, I get it. Cultures die hard, especially one of a religious nature. When practice becomes routine and routine becomes the norm and the norm becomes sacred, expect there to be resistance to change.
I attended in the mid 80s and my daughter just a couple of years ago. I once told dad, the BJU you attended is NOT the BJU I attended. When we took our daughter there, during Steve Pettit’s administration, it too was vastly different from my experience. I was truly jealous. Faculty, staff and students all seemed genuinely happy and had great spirits. I knew nothing of evangelist Pettit but felt it made sense having someone of his experience leading the institution. A BJU Bluegrass Band? . . Now that is weird. . . But I LOVE Bluegrass music! I did get to sit next to Dr. Pettit at dinner and talk about our mandolins, yes the same one my grandad used at the barn dance!
It took me years to overcome a bitterness that my BJU experience was not that of my parents. Maturity has give a perspective that we live in a fallen world surrounded by fallen people. What a shock the day I learned my favorite Bible characters all had a dark streak and needed redemption!
God’s work was accomplished prior to the existence of the university and will certainly be accomplished long after the campus is shuttered. I just hope that doesn’t happen in my lifetime. There is a new generation of young people that would benefit from a BJU education.
I stumbled across your article finding it interesting,having myself attended BJU (1974-1980, BA, MA). You analyzed in an intriguing manner the struggle between trying to be a cultured institution of higher learning while attempting to please hard-line fundamentalists. When I tell people where I went to college, I never know which aspect they are familiar with. I was involved in the music department, playing in the Trombone Choir in undergrad, and singing in the Concert Choral during grad school. I studied both the trombone and voice with professors. But, I was a 'preacher boy,' so it was interesting being a part of both of those worlds. I remember that as a trombonist, we would have been shamed for playing in any style that could be remotely reminiscent of Jazz, and there are many legendary jazz trombonists (I had fallen in love with Jazz during high school). So, I was intrigued when hearing the piano students practicing the music of Scott Joplin as I passed by the practice rooms. I have since learned that Joplin is considered by many to be the "Father of Jazz." It seemed to be that if someone in the administration (usually one of the Jones's) OK-ed something, then it was fine. I remember noticing the statues in the amphitorium, women holding up something, maybe lamps, (I was after all an adolescent boy) were adorned in such a manner that, let's just say, any female student wearing those clothes,or the lack thereof would earn a trip to the dean of women's office, or maybe worse.
I have written a memoir about my religious journey that includes my years at BJU and some years following as I found my way out of the indoctrination that I absorbed there. The book is not a critique of BJU, in fact I give credit where it is due to dedicated faculty and aspects that were good for me. But I do describe the racism that I encountered there. The book covers my life starting years before BJU and for some years after, chronicling my religious journey that put me in the ministry for nearly 30 years (including being a foreign missionary for 7 years, then later becoming a psychotherapist for the last 21 years. If you or your readers are interested, my book is "THE LONG SURRENDER: A Memoir About Losing My Religion" by Brian Rush McDonald. The BJU faithful view me as a heretic, but you might find it intresting. You can find in on Amazon or I would be happy to provide a copy for any interested readers. brianmcd74@gmail.com
Wow. I am new to the Greenville area and my first exposure to BJU was reading a news story about how they expelled a student immediately after she reported she was raped, because she had been drinking. (As a Christian and a sexual assault survivor myself, I was and still am appalled by the university's lack of compassion.) I have subsequently encountered a few people affiliated with BJU and it has been interesting. Nice people but at least one with a very "us versus the world" view). I think "unusual" is a good descriptor for this particular university. Thanks for all the insight into it!
Ll
I have been waiting +50 years to see something of this quality written by a BJU graduate. I graduated in 1969 (History/English) and never once felt the academic education I received as anything less than quality. Being by nature a solitary and private person, having kept my opinions to myself ,I not only survived, I thrived. And enjoyed myself immensely. I never (even during my years in residence) allowed the religious indoctrination (heavily Baptist, even then) to pry me away from my Brethren roots. This ultimately lead to a family rift between myself and my sister who is more like Mary (Sheldon's mother) in the Big Bang Theory, although my sister only attended 1 1/2 years. Half a decade later I wrote a letter gently stating an opinion differing from a public statement of Dr. Bob III (truly a classic example of nepotism), I received back a screed calling me a Judas and repudiating my association with the University. Fine with me. However, I find one of my more enjoyable uses of the Internet is to follow Bob Jones University.
Thanks, this is a terrific and fascinating essay.
Thanks for the kind words!
Good evening Paul. Thank you for the article. I was at BJU 2000-2003. While I was never a student the school would be proud of, I didn’t hate the school in any way. Do you think there is any hope to save the university? I sure hope so, but it would need to happen very soon. What are your thoughts?
Speaking purely denotatively, I doubt it. Higher education is in a general retrenchment trend in light of the ongoing decline of total enrollment; the hardest hit are tuition-dependent private and religious colleges. That's BJU, which means negative headwinds. And, of course, firing the popular president and sparking an alumni backlash is terrible tactics when facing a general crisis.
The one thing the school has going for it is the Press, which remains the primary source of funds. At this point, Bob Jones is nearly reduced to being a press with a vestigial university attached.
I'm concerned about the Bob Jones University Press. What I have seen is very anti-science, Young Earth, and smells strongly of TheoBros traditionalism and Christian Nationalism. When I was at BJU (1964-1969) we regularly had Chapel lectures on cult methods and behavior and most notably frequent discussions of the general evils of Theodesy specifically Christian Nationalism. Has the country so lost our moral compass that even BJU Student Body could secretly support Trumpism? All too seldom do I see anything from a Chapel lectures.
I currently live in Columbia, SC and went to visit the campus last year for the first time since 2003. The library now another set of offices, Jerusalem room gutted, and demolished administration building were sad to see. What confused me the most is I saw less than 10 people on campus. Although it was a Saturday, I still expected to see more people, ans the FMA looks like it needs some serious attention.
I honestly thought about approaching the school with the idea of being an advocate for enrollment. It’s my understanding that my beloved fine arts department has been gutted, now only a ghost of the fine program I remember from the early 2000’s.
Again, I was never a student who was a model they wanted, but I didn’t abhor it like so many people I knew. Would there be any value in approaching the school about its current course?
I doubt it. During the administrative coup against the executive, alumni advocacy played a significant role in backing the president. I suspect the new hardline administration is going to be suspicious of alumni input, especially from "non-model" students, if you catch my drift. ;-)
I wonder if another frame for this story is a generational split that, as with other things at BJU, lags the rest of the culture a bit. There are *a lot* of new, young-ish faculty at BJU in the last few years. Many of them have fairly deep BJU roots <raises hand>, but many don't. I wonder if some of the old guard is resenting the fact that the younger ones (and even some of the not-so-young-anymore) are no longer willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, and aren't buying so much of the us-versus-the-world narrative. The campus definitely has a different feel today than it did 20 years ago, much less 40 years ago. (It no longer feels quite so unusual.) Thus, the conflicts are, in part, a sub-culturally-distinctive version of the much broader trends away from a kind of mid-century social consensus.
I think that’s right, and as evidence we could point to the rather astonishing faculty letter signed by what looked to be all the academic deans.
How do I access a copy of the letter you are referring to?
Well written; thank you.
Micah Wright
Thanks!