thoughts on grad school.

so. no one in 3 weeks has taken up my call for suggestions, so i'll keep blogging for blogging's sake.

i just started a new class in grad school on tuesday, called "moral reform in america." i very much enjoyed my first class, and it should be very interesting. it will focus on various social movements in america and the ideological basis behind each of them.

what struck me about my first class, though, was something about myself. after the prof had given her short biography, everyone was going around introducing themselves and what led them to the course. i noted some things said about religion, liberalism, etc. in the other's comments. religion seemed to be a concern for some, and an oddity to others.

when it came my turn to introduce myself, i felt it necessary to inform people of my undergrad experience at a conservative christian school. i told them how i came there thinking i wanted to be a pastor, saw the way some people at iwu lived and what the believed, and markedly chose not to go that path. i mentioned how attending a conservative school served to make me more liberal than i otherwise may have been. and in the same breath, i was defending christians as well. i can do that: criticize something while also upholding it.

but what was it that compelled me to do that? what was it that made me speak up, force my faith into a discussion? i don't know if i would go so far as to say it was the holy spirit, but maybe it was. i don't know.

and the funny thing is, this isn't the first time i've done it. i've done the same thing in another class. i think i just instinctively react to this sentiment that i sometimes detect amongst intellectuals that christians are stupid, close-minded bigots. that thought is all too prevalent, and though it has some truth to it (4 years at iwu was experience enough to prove that), it is overall a falsehood.

has anyone else who is an alum of iwu or a similar school continued their studies at another school and had similar experiences? or am i alone in this?