How Do I Prepare for College

One of the greatest challenges to a Jewish students identity is when they head out to college where, for the first time, they will be exposed to the beliefs and practices of divergent cultures and religions.

The religion that poses the greatest challenge happens to be Evangelical Christianity. It is noteworthy that while professional missionaries do come on campus, they are not the first line of exposure for our children. It is often a roommate, dorm mate, or fellow classroom student who will make the first approach.

These encounters are particularly challenging for the following reasons:

1. Students, even Jewish Hebrew School graduates, listen to peers. They are genuinely interested in what they have to say. Hence, the natural guard of defense is lowered. Hence, witnessing to a dorm roommate is precisely the low-level of evangelical missionizing that these groups desire.

2. Some Jewish students feel very lonely in an out-of-town college situation. Often the one who offers the most attention; compassion and love are these evangelical Christians. Remember, they wish to disassociate themselves with the despicable Christianity of the historical Church and are out to prove that they are the “True Christians” who really have a “message of love” to share.

3. A Jewish student may tend to be less critical and questioning of their Christian classmates for two reasons:

a. They do not want to offend someone else’s religious beliefs and in trying to refute or dismiss their arguments they might feel as if they are being intolerant to their Christian faith.

b. Many Jewish students, even Hebrew School graduates, are not familiar with the Tanach as they should. They are generally ignorant to the 30 or so Biblical passages a fundamentalist Christian student may invoke to support his/her belief in Jesus as messiah or god.

As a result of the assimilation of cultures and “marketplace of ideas” – type environment associated with the typical university, most entering Jewish freshmen are ill equipped for the challenge. This makes them most vulnerable to compromising scenarios where even agreeing to attend a Church service in the spirit of egalitarianism – is not out of the question. Often the goal of a missionary-trained college student is merely to open dialogue with an unwitting friend, make him/her comfortable to attend a Christian function, and expose him/her to one of their professional missionaries to “close the deal.”

There are generally two ways, you as an educator can deal with this situation:

a. Tell your charges not to engage in religious polemic debates with their Christian classmates, or:

b. Instruct them really well in the basic arguments by providing them with the tools they need to become familiar with Hebrew Scriptures and feel confidence in meeting any challenge to their faith.

The second option is what this guide is all about. The remaining chapters will deal with the specific evangelical Christian arguments and so-called proof texts that are typically used to attempt to convert the uninitiated or unlettered Jew. The goal here is not to memorize all the facts, rather to find out where to find the answers, and that there are solid answers. As the saying goes “the best defense is a good offense.”