'Higher education is not condemned.'
*** w56 5/15 pp. 313-314 par. 14 Careful Living Helps Avoid Life’s Pitfalls ***
: “Would it be proper for me to enter college? Will the broadening of my education enhance my capabilities later as a theocratic minister?” Whether a person should or should not seek such higher education is dependent on the individual and what he desires to gain from life, present and future. Up to this point he has been successfully guided by theocratic parents in harmony with godly principles—he is a successful young minister. Now, again, as many times before, he comes to a point in life where he must make a decision, and here too the parents can come to the fore as counselors. Being a sincere young Christian minister, he wants to make a right decision. He must decide whether his ambitions are toward the popular trend of materialism or not—whether he desires to get ahead in the world, to attain a high position and honor and esteem of men which a college education subsequently leads to. In making his decision he must bear in mind the question: How will this affect my position in the New World society and my relationship toward Jehovah God? College is too often a tool of the old world and is shaped so as to be used later in accomplishing its ideologies and to enhance success according to old-world standards.
*** w05 10/1 pp. 28-30 Parents—What Future Do You Want for Your Children? ***
The Cost of Pursuing Higher Education
9 When we think of cost, we usually think of financial expenditures. In some countries, higher education is government sponsored and qualified students do not have to pay fees or tuition. In most places, however, higher education is expensive and is getting more so. A New York Times Op-Ed article observes: “Higher education used to be regarded as an engine of opportunity. Now it’s certifying the gap between the haves and the have-lesses.” In other words, quality higher education is fast becoming the domain of the rich and influential, who put their children through it to ensure that they too become the rich and influential of this system. Should Christian parents choose such a goal for their children?—Philippians 3:7, 8; James 4:4.
10 Even where higher education is free, there may be strings attached. For example, The Wall Street Journal reports that in one Southeast Asian country, the government runs a “pyramid-style school structure that unabashedly pushes the cream to the top.” “The top” ultimately means placement in the world’s elite institutions—Oxford and Cambridge in England, the Ivy League schools in the United States, and others. Why does the government provide such a far-reaching program? “To fuel the national economy,” says the report. The education may be practically free, but the price that the students pay is a life engrossed in advancing the present system. Though such a way of life is highly sought-after in the world, is it what Christian parents want for their children?—John 15:19; 1 John 2:15-17.
11 Then there is the environment. University and college campuses are notorious for bad behavior—drug and alcohol abuse, immorality, cheating, hazing, and the list goes on. Consider alcohol abuse. Reporting on binge drinking, that is, drinking for the sole purpose of getting drunk, New Scientist magazine says: “About 44 per cent of [university students in the United States] binge at least once in a typical two-week period.” The same problem is common among young people in Australia, Britain, Russia, and elsewhere. When it comes to sexual immorality, the talk among students today is about “hooking up,” which according to a Newsweek report “describes one-time sexual encounters—anything from kissing to intercourse—between acquaintances who’ve no plans to even talk afterward.” Studies show that from 60 to 80 percent of students engage in this kind of activity. “If you’re a normal college student,” says one researcher, “you do it.”—1 Corinthians 5:11; 6:9, 10.
12 In addition to the bad environment, there is the pressure of schoolwork and examinations. Naturally, students need to study and do their homework to pass the exams. Some may also need to hold at least a part-time job while going to school. All of this takes a great deal of their time and energy. What, then, will be left for spiritual activities? When pressures mount, what will be let go? Will Kingdom interests still come first, or will they be put aside? (Matthew 6:33) The Bible urges Christians: “Keep strict watch that how you walk is not as unwise but as wise persons, buying out the opportune time for yourselves, because the days are wicked.” (Ephesians 5:15, 16) How sad that some have fallen away from the faith as a result of succumbing to the demands on their time and energy or of getting entangled in unscriptural conduct at college!
Are there any 'normal' congregations? Maybe, the ones that ignore the wt guidelines and use a little more common sense.
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