Ex-Church of Christ Support Board

Here are links to some funny animated videos made by someone who attended Harding University emphasizing the ironies of some of their policies. Most of the people who told me stories about Christian Colleges attended Freed Hardeman (one story about people being disciplined for holding hands) which I think is the strictest one except maybe for baptist Pensacola Christian College (look here for some really strict rules https://www.ranker.com/list/rules-and-rituals-on-christian-college-campuses/erin-wisti). Ever wonder why many of these schools don't have Christian in their name, maybe it was due to this controversy when the name Christian was dropped from Florida College in the 60's "A vote by the students and staff resulted in dropping the word "Christian" from the school name in 1963. The name change was fueled in part by the controversy that the word Christian was only used as a noun and never as an adjective in the New Testament.)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5H4lGLi1Ob7Ad38T6KmXoA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFka5QAsAyw&t=3s

The name change was fueled in part by the controversy that the word Christian was only used as a noun and never as an adjective in the New Testament.)

Interesting. Especially since, well, where in the bible were church-supported colleges "authorized"?

But Florida College is NOT supported by churches. Individual Christians can donate. That is why it is the “approved college” for Non-Institutional COCs.

Moogy: That is really interesting, I wondered why I had never heard anyone mention it before. However thinking about it the churches I know about in TN do not make direct contributions to the colleges, but they totally support them, David Lipscomb is regarded as too liberal in general, Freed Hardeman is the most popular and Harding is also acceptable. I looked at the Truth magazine and found several churches listed as non institutional, they all had bible classes which were age segregated. The big difference I saw on their websites was they did not have food or social services in the church building.

I bargained my way out of attending Lipscomb. When I was college age, Lipscomb didn't allow men in the women's dorm past the lobby, and women couldn't enter the men's dorms at all.
Lipscomb had a strict dress code. Lipscomb expelled people for curfew violations, for kissing, for holding hands lasciviously (or something like that).

I made a devil's bargain, and got to attend Vanderbilt instead - as long as I lived at home and continued to attend church three times a week.

In our congregation, Lipscomb was the Flagship school.
Freed Hardeman was a country cousin and a bit too 'severe'.
Harding was maybe second only to Lipscomb - and to Harding my two younger siblings obediently marched.

(Mixed results: one is a gay atheist, and the other is an Elder's Wife at a Sound Congregation. They do not communicate. I am the one who talks to both of them, if rather minimally to the Elder's Wife.)

Abilene Christian was - marginally okay.

But that California school, however....HERETICS. Pepperdine was simply completely off the table. Far too liberal.

But we never even HEARD of Florida, or Faulkner.

longdistancerunner wrote: ↑Thu Apr 14, 2022 8:36 am Moogy: That is really interesting, I wondered why I had never heard anyone mention it before. However thinking about it the churches I know about in TN do not make direct contributions to the colleges, but they totally support them, David Lipscomb is regarded as too liberal in general, Freed Hardeman is the most popular and Harding is also acceptable. I looked at the Truth magazine and found several churches listed as non institutional, they all had bible classes which were age segregated. The big difference I saw on their websites was they did not have food or social services in the church building.

Opposition to direct church contributions to colleges and orphan homes were defining doctrines in the NICOCs that I grew up in and attended as an adult. Along with no kitchens, youth groups, church buses, or social events in the building.

I am so thankful my parents didn't even think to helicopter my college life. It was hard enough to individuate as it was, with the continual pull back into the religious fold. I feel for you folks whose parents wanted to dictate your choices. But to be fair, I was a slightly older student when I finished my first degree. I was already out on my own and working. My parents and I were old school; I would never have dreamed of asking them to help me financially, and they didn't have the means anyway. I realize it's different now; parents tend to help with funding university so feel they should be able to call the shots, require cofc schools of a certain ilk, etc.

Cofc-raised young adults really need academic freedom, and independence from the cofc parents.

Moogy wrote: ↑Wed Apr 13, 2022 11:39 pm But Florida College is NOT supported by churches. Individual Christians can donate. That is why it is the “approved college” for Non-Institutional COCs.

Oh, ok. I had forgotten about that. I wonder how in the world it survived without consistent funding...are there that many wealthy cofc people?

Yes, there are apparently many wealthy alumni. Freed Hardeman has a fundraiser where they bring in very famous speakers, usually TV personalities and movie stars. Several people in the last few years have been Glenn Beck, Gary Sinese, and Jeff Foxworthy as speakers. The FHU Annual Benefit Dinner is typically the state’s largest single-night fundraiser. For the past 21 years, it has generated more than $1 million annually to help students attend FHU

I watched one of these videos.

Please don't tell me Harding showed Fox News on campus TV screens.

I mean, maybe that doesn't surprise me but if true, it's so sad.