#11: Surviving Religion 101 – Dr. Michael Kruger

Welcome to another edition of the College Faith podcast, sponsored by Global Scholars. My guest today is Dr. Michael Kruger, President of Reformed Seminary-Charlotte and author of Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College. Dr. Kruger wrote this book for his daughter, who is now a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, sharing what he wished he understood as a young believer and a student there thirty years ago, as his faith was challenged by his religion professor. Now an accomplished scholar, he is able to offer much wisdom to his daughter Emma, and so many like her, who face challenges to their faith each day on campus. 

In this podcast we discuss:

• Why he wrote this book to his daughter, now studying at a public university
• How his book will also help students at Christian colleges and universities, and their parents
• The strong bias against the Christian faith in Religion Departments
• How studying at a secular university can help students grow in their faith 
• How students can identify and engage the biases of their professors and their own 
• How to disagree on “hot-button” topics in a respectful and loving way 
• How our theological paradigms incline us to respond to objections to the Christian faith differently (such as our response to the Problem of Evil)
• The importance of students understanding biblical truth to survive Religion 101 
• How our churches can help students prepare to thrive during college
• Two “flavors” of Evangelical Christianity that don’t prepare students well for college
• Different types of doubt Christians experience, and how to “doubt well”  
• What to do if a student feels “Christianity just isn’t working for me.”
• The connection between head and heart–between what we believe and what we love
• The only way to sustain a robust Christian faith for the long-haul  
• Why one unanswered objection shouldn’t derail your faith
• Why all believers will benefit from this book (not just college students)

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Michael J. Kruger, Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College 
• Michael Kruger’s website
• James Anderson, What’s Your Worldview?: An Interactive Approach to Life’s Big Questions 
• James Anderson, Why Should I Believe Christianity? 
• C.S. Lewis’ Free Will defense to the Problem of Evil: Mere Christianity, pp. 47-48, see also Art Lindsley, “The Problem of Evil: C.S. Lewis Speaks to Life’s Most Difficult Questions”
• Stan Wallace, “If God Exists, Why is There Pain and Suffering?”
• Mark Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind
• Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism
• Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith