"Already Compromised"

In a follow up to his 2009 book Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it, which discussed the tragic fact that we are losing our students.  They aren't returning to our churches after college.  Now, Ken Ham (along with Greg Hall and Britt Beemer) has released his new book Already Compromised discussing the beliefs and teachings of colleges and universities around the country with emphasis on Christian higher education.  The authors provide the reader with a lot of information and statistics and the data gathered is the launching pad for the conclusions the authors make.

Here's the skinny.  It ain't looking good.  The two primary authors (Ken Ham and Greg Hall) offer their own experience, expertise, and perspective to the book that makes it an interesting collaboration.  Hall is a former university President and Ham is known for his work with Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum.  The authors are concerned with what students are learning in American campuses including Christian campuses.  Parents need to wake up and realize that the label of Christian attached to a college or university does not necessarily mean that what the school teaches lines up with what the parents have taught and believe themselves.

At times the authors do go a bit overboard in sounding the alarm.  For the most part, the Christian colleges surveyed do affirm the basics of the Christian faith.  Most, by far, affirm Scripture, Jesus, God, etc.  Ham is best known for his advocacy of young-earth creationism.  I am one with him there.  I do believe that Scripture teaches that the earth is young, but I'm afraid that the authors make a bigger deal out of this than necessary.  The age of the earth is not my biggest concern at college campuses, but the gospel.  Certainly what one believes about creation is a huge part of the gospel, but one can accurately and fully affirm the redemptive gospel by affirming an old earth viewpoint.

But overall, this is a good book.  My favorite section was on the history of some of America's ivy-league schools and how they began founded on the gospel and how they abandoned such a founding.  It will shock readers to read such a surprising history and how easily it was lost.

It is books like this that parents need to take seriously.  Parents are pretty naive when it comes to their children's education and going through the process of choosing colleges is no different.  Ham and Hall have given parents and students a resource that force us to think more deeply about choosing a college - secular or Christian.  For Christian parents and their students, this is a must read.





For more:
Reviews - Already Gone