[El Scorcho]

That's not at all true. Just because we've accepted non-Christians doesn't have any bearing on how we run the school. Even if we know there are non-Christians here, is everything designed for helping Christian students grow, or do we primarily focus on evangelizing? Just because they're here doesn't make the underlying philosophical question go away.

[shukcb04]

That's not at all true. Just because we've accepted non-Christians doesn't have any bearing on how we run the school. Even if we know there are non-Christians here, is everything designed for helping Christian students grow, or do we primarily focus on evangelizing? Just because they're here doesn't make the underlying philosophical question go away.

if you allow Muslims then you aren't for Christians. to be for Christians, in my opinion, means only for Christians. Like the LLWS is only for kids of a certain age, the NFL is only for people three years removed from their HS graduation, etc. by allowing an atheist, a muslim, an agnostic etc., that says to me that you aren't just for Christians. it doesn't mean that the school isnt designed for Christians (because it obviously is), it just means that makming it open to others means it isnt exclusively for Christians. by allowing others in, it makes it clear that LU is an option for people not of the Christian faith. If I were an atheist and I applied and were accepted to LU, that would mean that Liberty is for me, if LU is not for me then I should not have been accepted.

that leaves you with the only other choice of being a Christian University, which to me simply means you are a university founded and based on the Christian faith, which doesn't mean to me that you are a university exclusively for Christians.

[LUconn]

That's not at all true. Just because we've accepted non-Christians doesn't have any bearing on how we run the school. Even if we know there are non-Christians here, is everything designed for helping Christian students grow, or do we primarily focus on evangelizing? Just because they're here doesn't make the underlying philosophical question go away.

if you allow Muslims then you aren't for Christians. to be for Christians, in my opinion, means only for Christians. Like the LLWS is only for kids of a certain age, the NFL is only for people three years removed from their HS graduation, etc. by allowing an atheist, a muslim, an agnostic etc., that says to me that you aren't just for Christians. it doesn't mean that the school isnt designed for Christians (because it obviously is), it just means that makming it open to others means it isnt exclusively for Christians. by allowing others in, it makes it clear that LU is an option for people not of the Christian faith. If I were an atheist and I applied and were accepted to LU, that would mean that Liberty is for me, if LU is not for me then I should not have been accepted.

that leaves you with the only other choice of being a Christian University, which to me simply means you are a university founded and based on the Christian faith, which doesn't mean to me that you are a university exclusively for Christians.

That's not the mission statement.

[thepostman]

I was always under the impression that this was a Christian college that aimed to be for everyone...with that said I am not 100% sure why a person without Christian beliefs would want to be here...but I think they are more then welcome to do so

[mrmacphisto]

I think the real mission is to get at least 25,000 on campus, isn't it?

[LUconn]

rimshot

[4everfsu]

If I am not mistaken from day 1 of our existence Jerry said the college was created to train Champions for Christ. Now if a muslim wants to come and spend four years here, to be trained to be a champion for Christ. Great. But he will not be trained here to be a champion for allah.

[badger74]

Thanks, I think the kid figured out that LU might not be the best fit for him.

[Sly Fox]

I think it is a testament to the positive things we have working on the mountain that somebody not of our particular faith would find us attractive. We must be doing something right.

[scuzdriver]

I believe, if you let anyone from any faith in LU, you are ruining the original vision Jerry had. Do we want to become like Baylor? or any other school that started out as a training ground for young champions?? Hopefully, the goal of 25,000 students won't compromise our standards!

[thepostman]

Why did Jerry Falwell allow Hindu students from Nepal if this was something against his original vision???

I do not see a problem with allowing other faiths in, but as I said earlier the way Liberty is I have no idea why they would want to come if they didn't have any interest in Christianity....

[jmdickens]

umm...Muslims??? I love them....pbow knows I forgave him for hating jews

[PAmedic]

ah, DICKENS

always the ray of sunshine

I can appreciate that

[whmatthews]

To answer the question, yes, I know of one Muslim at Liberty, and as of last year which was his freshman year, he was meeting Caner for lunch almost every week at one point. I won't say his name, but it rhymes with Al Queda.

I was always under the impression that anyone could come to Liberty, but under the understanding that the school was distinctly Christian, meaning there were church services (convo) to attend, and Christian faculty and staff. However I remember on my admission application I had to write a brief paragraph about my relationship with Christ... anyone else have to do that?

[mrmacphisto]

Back in '03, I think they stopped requiring the essay for admission. Did they change it back?

[SuperJon]

I had to do it before the spring of 06.

[mrmacphisto]

I guess the real question is whether they would have denied you admission if you never turned it in.

[ATrain]

I had to write an essay about my outlook on life or something like that

[LUconn]

just in case anybody still cares about this, Ed Smither a prof in the religion department gave a presentation on muslims last night at my church and he said that LU does indeed have a few muslim students. As in more than 1. So the answer to the question is yes.

[PAmedic]

thank you .

no more losing sleep over this one for me.

[Schfourteenteen]

I guess the real question is whether they would have denied you admission if you never turned it in.

Nope never wrote it, filled out everything else got lazy didnt do it and yes I still got the Champion(aka. WOW you have a pulse) scholly

[ALAFlamesFan]

My opinion:

You can still accept folks from other faiths and be true to the mission statement. The school is distinctly christian because the profs are christians, the convocation services, the standards of conduct based on Biblical standards, etc...

LU has never accepted only christian students. They don't pretend to otherwise why the Spiritual Emphasis week and hundreds of alter calls throughout my time there? I know plenty of "christians" who are not followers of Christ. (if you are from the south you know what I mean). About the only thing you could say is that LU preferes students who were brought up in the christian subculture and I don't know that that statement is even true anymore. Many, many folks come to LU without a personal knowledge of Christ and left with one. Some came with one and left early or left disillusioned by the fundamentalist ideals that at times in the past were pushed too hard onto every student not fitting the ideal LU mold. I think the university is much closer to getting it "right" today then at anytime in its history.