How Does BJU Teach Science?

[Brainstormy]

In trying to research the curriculum for my granddaughter's school, I learned that the science textbooks are published by Bob Jones University. I found this "policy statement."

How does BJU teach science?
The Christian teaching of science requires not only a good command of basic subject matter, but also the spiritual perception to discern truth from error in a great variety of contexts. As a prerequisite for this, the Christian teacher of science must be thoroughly grounded in the Word of God. Moreover, he must have firmly implanted in his mind a biblical framework of truth which serves as the touchstone for his decision making. True science will fit that framework; anything that fails to fit the biblical framework must be rejected as erroneous.

That last sentence is making me heartsick. I don't know what to do about speaking to my son and daughter-in-law, who are reasonable people, but very committed to this school otherwise.

[Zoeisright]

1. Then they lied.

They can't discern truth from error. In fact, they wouldn't know the truth if it bit them in their pasty white buts. How anyone could think that a 2,000 year old book written by scientifically illiterate sheepherders can tell us anything about science is beyond me. Bob Jones University is run by lunatics.

[defacto7]

2. The part that gets me is

"must have firmly implanted in his mind"

That statement in itself negates any semblance of scientific reality. Planting anything "dogma" in your mind is as far from science as you can get.

Also notice... it's always "him" there's no her.

[pokerfan]

3. Not very well...

http://www.11points.com/Books/11_Eye-Opening_Highlights_From_a_Creationist_Science_Textbook

http://www.amazon.com/Science-Student-Text-Grade-4/dp/1591664233/ref=pd_sim_b_1

[AtheistCrusader]

5. Dafuq?

[pokerfan]

7. Yep, that's a Bob Jones science book

Here's biology:

http://scienceblogs.com/authority/2007/09/29/more-bob-jones-biology-for-chr/

[JBoy]

24. Thanks for that link. A great review of that crazy, evil book!

Love the "blow dryin' for Jesus" picture.

[Warpy]

4. Too bad this stuff isn't illegal.

They need to call it bible study, not science. They're lying right out of the gate here, by their own words.

My question would be what the kid wants to do. If she has aspirations toward the scientific end of things, including any of the medical fields, then your son and DIL need to get her out of that sink of a school fast.

Clinging to ignorance might be fine if she has no aspirations beyond high school and marrying young and raising kids in the same ignorance she was raised in.

However, it would be nice to consult her.

[OriginalGeek]

6. Don't know if it's still true but

when I visited the BJU campus (30+ years ago when I was in a christian high school) they didn't allow mixed race dating.

I couldn't let people like that poison my kid's brains.

They couldn't possibly be any better at science.

[pokerfan]

8. Apparently, they dropped that rule in 2000

Kicking and screaming into the 21st century...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Jones_University#Dropping_the_no-interracial-dating_rule_.282000.29

[LostOne4Ever]

9. Sadly I don't think there is much you can do

That last sentence is making me heartsick. I don't know what to do about speaking to my son and daughter-in-law, who are reasonable people, but very committed to this school otherwise.

I don't think there is much you can do other than mentioning your concerns to them.

[DetlefK]

10. The Nazis tried to counter the "jewish physics" of Einstein with "german physics".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_Physics

[TxDemChem]

11. Okay, I'm pissed

For background, I am an analytical chemist with a BS in biochemistry and a minor in biology. I've got 10 years of experience in these fields. After reading their snippet about electricity and their incorrect information regarding codominance and incomplete dominance, I am royally pissed. BJU is wrong. They are doing a complete disservice to any students who are exposed to this bullshit information.

I don't know how you can protect your granddaughter, but I truly hope her parents would not allow her to be taught such ignorance. This sort of misinformation scares the hell (if I still believed in it) out of me.

[Iggo]

12. I still can't get over the fact their initials are BJU.

[trotsky]

16. Lots of oral exams I would imagine. n/t

[skepticscott]

20. You'd be expelled from BJU for that joke

Or at least, you would if there was anyone there who would admit it if they got it

[durbin]

13. This is indeed very disturbing junk being fed to young adults

There are probably thousands, at least hundreds of Christian-affiliated or religiously-based colleges and universities in the USA that teach actual science, medicine, astronomy, physics, and other scientific disciplines properly. Some of them even have medical schools, nursing schools, and offer other advanced degrees in the sciences.

Of all the possible choices of a religiously based school, why would any child and his/her parents choose Bob Jones U.?

There's more going on in that family than simply a desire to attend a nice religious college. I wonder if that child and parents described here are not hiding their deep fundamentalism from the original poster of this thread.

[Brainstormy]

15. She's in grammar school

not college. But BJU publishes the science textbooks through high school.

[durbin]

17. Any chance of getting her into another school next year?

This is probably even more deadly to her brain when started so young.

What do the parents say as to why they chose this school over others?

[deucemagnet]

14. Biology professor here.

It's a crime that an institution like this can get accreditation at all, but they just got theirs renewed in 2011!

Bob Jones University is a member of the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), [15935 Forest Road, Forest, VA 24551; Telephone: [phone] ; email: [e-mail]] having been awarded Reaffirmation I of its Accredited Status as a Category IV institution by the TRACS Accrediting Commission on November 8, 2011. This status is effective for a period of ten years. TRACS is recognized by the United States Department of Education, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE).

http://www.bju.edu/academics/accreditation.php

Yep! A nationally recognized association looked at that science curriculum and said, "Okey doke! You're good for another ten years!"

[Curmudgeoness]

18. You don't know what you can do.

Well, first, I would ask them to investigate the textbook, online or the one their child was given. If they are reasonable and have a rudimentary science education, they will be concerned that their daughter will be totally uneducated in science. (I would have to wonder if science is the only area where the education will be substandard.)

Secondly, whether the parents decide that this is a deal-breaker and pull her from this school or not, be a source of science education to your granddaughter. I have always been that aunt who bought science project books and microscopes and telescopes for my nieces and greatnieces. My degree is in biology, so I want kids to find science fun and interesting. I am so fascinated and enthusiastic about science, and I try to instill that in children. You will have to do that, especially if they stay with that school.

Is this a parochial school?

[Brainstormy]

21. Thank you

Good advice, all, and I will try to do just that. The school is an expensive private Christian school with lots of enrichment programs in music and art and seemingly kind and lovely teachers, but there's that hint of proselytizing in everything. Her third grade summer reading list included Pilgrim's Progress, for cripes sake. Lots of CS Lewis allegories. That won't do permanent damage. They can't get the religion into math. But I worry about the science.

[Curmudgeoness]

22. I would worry about the science too.

But it isn't really your decision. Unfortunate that this is even allowed in any school in this country. I could cry.

And don't think that they can't get religion into math. For example, if you make $64,549 this year, how much was your tithe.

[dimbear]

19. Bob Jones Sr., for whom that 'school' is named, was a KKK mouthpiece.

I believe that even today one of the student dorms is named after a Klan bigwig. If your friends are white supremacists, might be a good choice.

[onager]

23. I grew up pretty close to BJU.

I'm mostly mentioning this for newcomers, as I've posted about it before. Consider it "Classic Onager," a/k/a The Usual Tiresome Repetitive Crap.

Anyway, some of my fond memories:

1. My family is mostly devout SoB (Southern Baptist), including a whole passel of preachers, missionaries, etc. Even THEY mocked BJU. A nickname for it I heard at a young age was "Jesus Tech." That still cracks me up.

2. As I heard the story: back during the riot-prone 1960s, the South Carolina National Guard was getting rid of some surplus .50 caliber machine guns. BJU asked if the Guard could "donate" some of those weapons to the school.

This request went to the SC Attorney-General. Who asked - not unreasonably - why a small Bible college needed heavy automatic weapons. The BJU reply was something like: "In case of race riots, to protect our white women students." The request was denied.

3. Dating was allowed at BJU, sort of. A date consisted of the male student dressing up in suit/tie, going over to the Women's Dorm, and sitting in the lobby talking to his "date." The couple was chapheroned at all times by one of the older women who worked in the dorm.

4. If you drove thru the front gate of BJU without the right sticker on your car, you'd soon find yourself followed by a car carrying BJU security guards. They'd follow you till you drove out the back gate. Presumably to make sure the campus wasn't defiled by any lingering Negroes, hippies or atheist Commies.

5. In high school we took a field trip to the BJU "Art Museum." Jesus! Because that was about the only subject matter in the museum. IOW, it was the art equivalent of their science textbooks. LOTS of extremely gory paintings of the crucifixion, after the Spanish Ascetic school. Except that school usually depicted Jesus as butt-naked on the cross, and BJU wasn't about to display the Holy Peen.

6. Every spring the BJU students had to do street preaching. It was part of the curriculum. So while you were just trying to do your shopping or pick up the dry-cleaning in town, you'd be suddenly accosted by some asshat screaming at you to repent. For me, it was invaluable early training in dealing with Mormons, JWs, $cientologists and other pests.