Chi Alpha @ Stanford

Hi–my name is Andrew Wright. As this is my first blog posting, I should tell you a little bit about myself. I’m a sophomore majoring in International Relations, and this year (2002) I’ll be a peer academic advisor for eight lucky freshmen in Rinconada!

Seeing that freshmen will be arriving on Thursday, I thought it appropriate that I throw out some tips for new students.

1) You won’t use half of what you bring! Most of those books you thought you’d bring to look smarter, will only collect dust. So will your 5 extra bath towels, 3 heavy jackets, and possibly even your stereo system (should you decide to pirate music on your computer). School supplies can be bought at fair prices from the bookstore. Not only do you have student discount, freshmen are entitled to an even larger discount on certain important items. Not only are they cheap, but that have “Stanford” written all over them (literally)!

2) Present yourself as you truly are! Over-exuberance or first-week acts of folly can quickly lead to a reputation or expectations that you may find hard to live up to. Remember, you have to live with your dormmates for an entire year, so be yourself and you’ll have nothing to regret.

3) The patterns you set now will determine who you become. Don’t neglect your devotional life because the more time that goes by, the easier it will be for you to shrug it off. As Glen once said, “We’re defined by our habits, so choose yours carefully.”

4) Search thoroughly, but plug into a Christian group quickly. Immediately you’re going to be bombarded with tons of different philosophies, and if you don’t have a group to help you explore and reinforce your own you’ll be one confused freshman! Also, friendships and bonds within the group tend to form quickly. And the longer you wait to join a group, the greater the chance you’ll feel awkward when you visit the group.

If you have any questions or contrary opinions, just make a comment below.

This is basically a tweaked, sugarcoated version of our previous article Famous Living Scientists Who Are Christians. That article lists many more scientists and provides links to source documentation.

Are Christians Stupid?
Chris Carter (the creator of the X-Files) once met with Penn & Teller (the funny magicians). Carter knew that Penn & Teller are very outspoken atheists, so he asked them if any scientists believed in God.

They answered, �None of the important ones.�

That comment reflects a widespread assumption that smart people don�t believe in God, and they most certainly don�t worship Jesus as God.

In fact, maybe you�re worried that they’re right�that once you come to Stanford you�ll learn some deep, dark secret that will tear your faith to shreds. Maybe you�re even worried that you�ll be one of the only Christians here.

There Are Lots of Smart Christians
First, let me reassure you that you won�t be the only Christian at Stanford this year. Somewhere around 10% of the student body is involved in a Christian campus ministry on a weekly basis.

So relax�you�re not alone. Many of your peers believe.

Moreover, some of the greatest scholars in the world are devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Whether you�re majoring in the hard sciences, the social sciences, humanities, or the arts there are believers at the intellectual forefront of your field.

Consequently, I�d like to directly address the claim made by Penn & Teller that none of the �important� scientists believe in God.

Lots Of Important Scientists Believe In God
The easiest way to rebut such a claim is to produce a verifiable list of important scientists willing to publicly affirm their belief in God, so we’ve done just that!

Here are some highlights:

Dr. Charles Towns is a Nobel laureate, invented the laser, and almost won a second Nobel for some cosmological work.

Dr. Henry Schaefer is a Nobel nominee and the third-most quoted chemist in the world.

Dr. Allan Sandage is considered to the world�s greatest observational cosmologist. The list of his awards would require a ridiculous amount of space.

Dr. Francis Collins is the director of the Human Genome Project, the attempt to identify every gene in human DNA.

These sound like pretty important scientists to me�what do you think?

It makes sense that these outstanding scientists are believers. Increasing our knowledge about the world should increase our understanding of God. As Paul says in Romans 1:20, �since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made��

May your time at Stanford lead you to a deeper knowledge of God as you gain a deeper knowledge of this world He has made!

Stanford University�wow! If you�re like most Christians, you�re excited and nervous at the same time. You�re excited because Stanford is such a great school, but you�re nervous about what it will do to your faith. If that describes you, I encourage you to meditate on the story of Daniel.

When Babylon defeated Israel around 600 B.C., the Babylonians took the children of the Israeli nobles to Babylon for reeducation (a policy designed to ensure the future loyalty of their captured countries), and so Daniel was taken to Babylon to undergo a three year course of studies in Babylonian law, mythology, and culture designed to prepare him for a career of public service. (Daniel 1:1-4)

Think about that: as a young adult he underwent a three year course of study designed to groom him for success in a specific career. In other words, he was a student at the University of Babylon! Let�s examine a few principles we can infer from their experiences:

Daniel remained true to his values, even at personal risk. (Daniel 1:8-16)

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine; so he asked the palace master to allow him not to defile himself. Now God allowed Daniel to receive favor and compassion from the palace master. The palace master said to Daniel, �I am afraid of my lord the king; he has appointed your food and your drink. If he should see you in poorer condition than the other young men of your own age, you would endanger my head with the king.� Then Daniel asked the guard whom the palace master had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: �Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. You can then compare our appearance with the appearance of the young men who eat the royal rations, and deal with your servants according to what you observe.� So he agreed to this proposal and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was observed that they appeared better and fatter than all the young men who had been eating the royal rations. So the guard continued to withdraw their royal rations and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

Daniel excelled at his studies, even though he was studying pagan materials. (Daniel 1:17-20)

To these four young men God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and wisdom; Daniel also had insight into all visions and dreams. At the end of the time that the king had set for them to be brought in, the palace master brought them into the presence of Nebuchadnezzar, and the king spoke with them. And among them all, no one was found to compare with Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore they were stationed in the king�s court. In every matter of wisdom and understanding concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

Daniel took risks for God, even where others had failed. (Daniel 2:12-19)

…the king flew into a violent rage and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. The decree was issued, and the wise men were about to be executed; and they looked for Daniel and his companions, to execute them. Then Daniel responded with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the king�s chief executioner, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon; he asked Arioch, the royal official, �Why is the decree of the king so urgent?� Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. So Daniel went in and requested that the king give him time and he would tell the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon might not perish. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

Resolve now that you will choose the course of Daniel during your time at Stanford! Meditate on Daniel and the challenges he faced, imagine what analogous situations you might encounter at Stanford, and decide in advance how you will respond!

There are zillions of Christian books out there, and many of them are worthwhile reads. There are few, however, that are truly outstanding. Here are some that really need to appear on your reading list!

Growing Spiritually:
1) The Spirit of the Disciplines, by Dallas Willard (author, Amazon)
2) Prayer, by Richard Foster (Amazon)
3) Life Together, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Amazon)

Understanding the Bible:
1) The Challenge of Jesus, by N.T. Wright (publisher, Amazon)
2) Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals, by William Webb (publisher, Amazon)
3) Surprised By The Power of the Spirit, by Jack Deere (author, Amazon)

Reasonable Answers to Honest Questions
1) Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis (author, Amazon)
2) Long Journey Home, by Os Guinness (Amazon)