"How Can I Prepare for College?"

Dear Mr. Bohlin,

I will be attending Cornell University in the fall of 2000. My declared major is pre-med, biochemical engineering. I will also attending the Mind Games conference in July. Can you suggest any Christian reading materials for me so that I can be prepared for the conference in July, but most importantly, so I can be prepared for Cornell in August as a Christian.

 
 
Good to hear we will see you in July! I am looking forward to meeting you and spending the week together.

I would recommend Jim Sire's book, The Universe Next Door, as a good place to start. Worldview is an essential concept to the conference and Sire maps out the different worldviews in a concise manner. Considering your future major, I would recommend Darwin's Black Box by Michael Behe and Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds by Phillip Johnson for starters. If Sire proves interesting reading to you and you are wondering where some of these strange ideas came from, you might look for a copy of Francis Schaeffer's How Should We Then Live? which briefly (258 pages) traces the historical development of philosophy, theology, art and science in the west. Though the book is over twenty years old, Schaeffer turned out to be an accurate prophet of where things were headed. So, read Sire first and take on the others as time, money and interest dictate.

See you in July.

Respectfully,

Ray Bohlin, Ph.D.
Probe Ministries

 
 
Dear Mr. Anderson,

I will be attending Cornell University in the fall of 2000. My declared major is pre-med, biochemical engineering. Can you direct me to someone who can tell me what the Christian culture is like a Cornell University. What can I expect? As a Christian scholar can you recommend good books in my field of interest. I will be attending the Mind Games Conference in July. I hope this will prepare me for my future.

I have recently watched the new movie release "The Skulls" which mentions Cornell and other Ivy League schools. Can you tell me anything about the secret societies which are in this movie. Are there actually secret societies on these Ivy League campuses? Do I need to be aware of them?

 
 
Thank you for your e-mail. I am glad you will be attending our Mind Games Conference in July. I know that will be of great help to you.

I attended Yale University (graduate school) so I am familiar with some of the pressures of the Ivy League. You are around the best and brightest. Often there is hostility toward Christian values. Ivy League schools can be quite a challenge to your Christian faith.

I trust that your week with us at Mind Games will provide lots of help. I would also encourage you to keep in touch with us by e-mail. No doubt many questions will arise, and you will be glad to have your Mind Games notebook and the Probe web site.

I would also recommend you stay away from the secret societies. I'm not sure how many (if any) function at Cornell. Perhaps we can put you in touch with some of the Christian ministries at Cornell and they can give you advice. I might mention that our Probe book Evidence for Faith was written by a number of faculty and ministers who were associated with Cornell University in some way.

Thanks for writing. God bless you. Looking forward to seeing you in July.

Kerby Anderson
kerby@probe.org