Written by James C Norris
Welcome toHarding Universitya place full of family and friends, a reputation for excellence in both academics and sports, and where you can come to have your spiritual life stifled and slowly crushed to a bloody lifeless pile of pulp barely recognizable from its former self.
This may not be the slogan which you remember attracted you to Harding but it is one that students like Gary Griffin are starting to discover.
While Harding may offer a positive church atmosphere, with fantastic bible teachers and classes that help you better understand God and his word. It is also endorsing an environment that is unwittingly removing any motivation for students to grow closer to God or strengthen their faith in Him.
Griffin a junior this semester returns to Harding after having spent the last five years with the Coast Guard.
Griffin describes being in the Coast Guard as a daily challenge to keep up with his faith.
“There was no church family, no one to hold me accountable,” Griffin says.
With his schedule Griffin wasn’t able to attend any kind of church for months at a time, and he was constantly surrounded by co-workers, who were rude and sometimes even hostile towards Griffin because of his faith.
“They were some of the crudest people I’ve ever met.” Said Griffin, “I was even attacked verbally for being a Christian.”
However, despite these challenges Griffin persevered, he said that his faith grew while working for the Coast Guard.
Without any support from others, Griffin was forced to develop his own faith and really push to demonstrate it as a Christian should.
“It was a challenge to stick with my faith but it made me keep my spiritual guard up at all times, I even slept with the Bible under my pillow,” Griffin said.
But when returning to Harding as a junior, Griffin didn’t find the spiritual safe haven he had been counting on.
“I’m not being watched or scrutinized anymore for every action that I make, so I’ve become content,” Griffin said.
Griffin attends church regularly and is in chapel every day, as are most Harding students; but he is no longer being persecuted for his beliefs on a daily basis. And because of this Griffin feels no need to show off his faith or rely on God to help him through his struggles.
This feeling of complacency concerns Griffin and he hopes that even with Harding’s Christian atmosphere he will be able to keep his faith and let his spiritual life grow.
