Can a Young Catholic survive an Evangelical school?

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I’m a teen somewhere in California and I’d like some advice. I’m at that time of life where I’m buried in college searches, and one of my first choices is Pepperdine in Malibu.

But Pepperdine is a Protestant (Church of Christ) college and I come from a line of immigrant roman catholics.

Does anyone have recent experience with this specific school? With Catholics in Protestant establishments as a generality?
 
It depends on the denomination and group running the school.

If the school is evangelical, your time there is likely to be spent being bombarded with arguments, pamphlets, bible-“studies” etc, designed to teach you that Catholicism is false - not the true gospel etc.

If you are going somewhere like that you had better be strong in your faith for it will be challenged constantly, and you will be presented with selected bible verses designed to “prove” catholic beliefs, particularly with regard to salvation, purgatory, Mary, images and papal authority, wrong. You will also be charged with answering claims and much skewered and even false “information” regarding the inquisition, crusades, actions of medieval popes etc. You will need to study the Catholic response on all these matters.

Other moderate protestant groups can be more open to Catholic belief, but still be prepared for many misconceptions, and false ideas about “Millions” killed by the inquisition, alleged witch-burnings etc.
 
There is a very good article How I led Catholics Out of the Church by Steve Wood, a former Protestant. You can read it here catholiceducation.org/articles/apologetics/ap0057.html
He advises, “…don’t put untrained Catholics in a Protestant setting.”

If you are looking for an education, you are more likely to find that much of the time you should be spending studying will instead be taken up with defending the Catholic Church’s teaching, and studying Apologetics.
 
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Lumancer:
I’m a teen somewhere in California and I’d like some advice. I’m at that time of life where I’m buried in college searches, and one of my first choices is Pepperdine in Malibu.

But Pepperdine is a Protestant (Church of Christ) college and I come from a line of immigrant roman catholics.

Does anyone have recent experience with this specific school? With Catholics in Protestant establishments as a generality?
Click to expand...
Do you really want to give your money to a protestant organization? Church of Christ is definitely anti-Catholic, and I wouldn’t put myself in that situation if I had a choice. There’s lots of good Catholic universities out there, Notre Dame, Xavier, etc. A public university would be better than that. But if you do go to a public university, prepare yourself for the liberal-secular philosophy your professors will spew at ya. Good luck.
 
There are also other good Catholic Universities. Ave Marie in Florida and in Michigan. Franciscan University of Stubenville of Ohio.
 
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Lumancer:
I’m a teen somewhere in California and I’d like some advice. I’m at that time of life where I’m buried in college searches, and one of my first choices is Pepperdine in Malibu.

But Pepperdine is a Protestant (Church of Christ) college and I come from a line of immigrant roman catholics.

Does anyone have recent experience with this specific school? With Catholics in Protestant establishments as a generality?
Click to expand...
I like the title of the thread: “Can a Young Catholic survive an Evangelical school?”

I would answer the question this way: “Can a Young Catholic survive in a lost world?”

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13

Blessings
Richard
 
I think it depends on how strong and rooted the young person is in the faith. Even those who are well versed will find themselves challenged, but it could also be a great way to evangelize and spread the Truth about Catholicism.
 
It really depends on you how good are you at defending your faith and being a witness. Sometimes this is a great chance to get a good education and be a good example of Catholicism.

Look at Michael Barber
salvationhistory.com/Mission/Staff/michaelbbio.cfm

He is studying at Fuller Theological Seminary for his Doctorate.

Learn more about your faith and prayerfully make this decision.

God Bless
Scylla
 
I’d like to thank everyone for their responses. I’m afraid, despite the great reputations of many of the aforementioned colleges (many of which I’d heard of) distance is an issue. Saddly, Pepperdine is more traditional than many of the so-called “Catholic” colleges found in Northern Cal. i have in fact looked at Thomas Aquinas, but the rigid curriculum made it less appealing (I hope to be a computer science major). It’s an interesting debate, and I will definitely consider all of your advice. However, the general consensus is, as I feared, that it’s a bad idea, even for as stubborn a traditional catholic as me 😃
 
Hey,

I am a member of the Church of Christ (although I am myself questioning the foundations and teachings of authority in Protestantism) and I know a little about Pepperdine. All (or at least most) of the professors have some affiliation with the Church of Christ. However, the goal of the school is to be a public school with Christian professors. I have heard that over 80% of the student body is not Church of Christ, so you will not be alone. Pepperdine is more like a secular university than a Christian one. I have a friend who is in grad school there, and he said that actors (such as Adam Sandler) come there sometimes to play basketball. I tell you that because I really don’t think Adam Sandler would be going to a campus that shoved their religion down everyone’s neck to play basketball. Pepperdine is suppose to be a great college academically. I don’t think you will have any trouble there because you are a Roman Catholic. However, I have never visited there. I only know all of this from a minister who has many friends on staff there. Hope I have answered some questions for you.

Micah
 
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