Oh, the gospel will overcome in a world full of sorrow, by evil over all. You're listening to The Dean's List, an analysis of news, culture, and theological trends from a biblical worldview. This is your place for intelligent conversation on the relevant issues of our day. And now, here's the host of The Dean's List, Dr. Paul Dean. Mary, I gotta tell you, I like what's going on at Wayne State University. What's going on? They're dropping math! I know you would like that. Oh my. I hate math. You know, that's odd, but I understand. Yes. Now, I don't like what's going on at Wayne State. Okay. I mean, there's a lot going on, but I just got to tell you, I don't like math. Never have like math, but you know what? Math is necessary. I was gonna say, you know what is odd, though? You are very good at math, believe it or not. No, no. You just haven't been taught. Oh, I've been taught. No, no, no, to love it and see the significance of, you know, finding this curve on a, you know, whatever, prior math. Yeah, finances, you know, calculating my vast treasure, you know, stores of treasure and all that. I'm good with all that, but algebra and calculus and... Trigonometry. Yeah, you know, look, we need it. Well, yeah. Um, you gotta, you gotta have math to build cars. You gotta have math to, you know, do computer programming and build rockets and things like that. So math is really important. So I'm not in favor of dropping math out of the educational system, even though sometimes, uh, you know, I would have elected not to take math had I been able to do so. That's all I'm saying. Well, here's what I like thinking about things. I was a philosophy major. Well, that's what's happened in our education system. We're moving away from thinking and math is a simple way to teach thinking logic. True. Oh, very logical. And I love logic. And when you see them dropping math as opposed to something else, what are they replacing with? Well, I'm getting to that. We haven't got there yet. But I'm saying math is very important because even if you don't use that in your everyday life, it's teaching you how to think logically. but you are gonna use it. Most people do use it. They do, yeah. To a certain degree. Some of the higher level masks they don't use every day, but it's training your brain. Yeah, I started out as a business major, didn't like that. But you went to philosophy, which is thinking. Well, philosophy, I like thinking about things. I'd sit in philosophy class and think about, hmm, what am I gonna have for lunch today? Is it real lunch or is it my imagination. Yeah, but regardless, it was gonna taste good, so yeah, that's what I did in philosophy, I contemplated lunch. Anyway, Wayne State University students no longer have to take a single math course to graduate. Now listen to this, you asked the question, here's the answer. They may soon be required to take a diversity course instead. So no more math, but you gotta take the diversity course. We don't want you to think, we're gonna tell you what to think. Yeah, yeah, well that's right, that's right. Anyway. There's a lot of things that are problematic about this. You know, one of the things that they said was, just talking about the math and then we're gonna move on, was that the current math requirement is at a level already required by most high school mathematics curriculum. And so they were gonna eliminate that. But here's the problem. Most of the students that go to college need a course in remedial or a remedial course in math anyway. Sadly that is true. Yeah. You see that. Yeah. But college may not be the place, you know, make the high school standards a little higher. Maybe, maybe not. You know, take your course before you get here, but you got to take math. Are you kidding me? Especially the lower levels that they have. That's right. But that's not really the real issue. The real issue is this. The Wayne State University powers that be basically said a clear message our committee received from the university community, in other words, faculty, students, staff, alumni, employers, was that diversity is central to the nature of Wayne State University. In other words, distinctively Wayne State. Okay, diversity is distinctively Wayne State. So we have placed the values and goals of diversity as a central component of the university core program. How about that? Okay, yeah, you gotta tell me, what is that diversity training gonna do? I don't know what the diversity training is gonna be, but think about this. I went to college in the early 80s. Now that's like 30 years ago now. Actually, 1980 to now is what, 36 years? And I went in 82, so that's like 34 years ago. I went to the College of Charleston, which is I think it's a university now. I have no idea. It's still the College of Charleston. Yeah. Oh, it is? Yeah. Oh, I think so. I thought it was university. Anyway, it doesn't matter. Don't care. I don't know. You're right. I actually don't care. Okay. But anyway, that's where I went. By the way, Charleston's in South Carolina. So here we are in the Bible Belt, here we are in the Deep South, here we are in the 1980s. I'm gonna tell you something, the College of Charleston in 1980-something was extremely diverse. You okay? I'm just saying. Yeah. You went to Clemson University. Extremely diverse. Was everybody there white? No. No. Was everybody there male? No. Okay. Did you have some Asian friends? Yes. Okay. Did you have some African-American friends? Yes. Yeah. Did you have some friends? You know what? I had friends from all over the world. Argentina? Yes. Foreign. Different religious backgrounds. You know, Australia, Singapore, Buddhist. I mean, so here we are 35 years later, and you know what? Wayne State University actually boasts as one of the most diverse universities on the planet. In fact, that's why they're saying diversity is distinctly Wayne State. Here's what one of the school nurses has to say. She says, I think we will lose diversity if we get rid of core competencies like math. Wayne State University is one of the most diverse universities with students from all over the world. It is one of our crowning jewels. We have students from everywhere interacting in different classrooms and different courses teach diversity. You can't help when you are immersed in diversity but to learn about diversity and other cultures. That's a natural process, yes. You can't help but learn about diversity when you go to college. That's part of the point. Part of the point, you get out of high school, you go to college, you realize, hey, not everybody's like me. I actually knew that in high school, by the way. How about you? Yes, it's funny. In South Carolina, I knew that in high school, middle school, grammar school, but I guess there's a lot of people that don't know about diversity. I don't know. I have a brother that has lived most of his life up north and talk about diversity. Oh yeah. We're just our taste and food are different you know sure diversity sure but yes I understand what they mean but well yeah I agree it's you don't need a class on diversity. It's crazy. It's like I guess it's another sociology class Well, that's what it was, you know, it's not just diversity and teaching about diversity as if we need to learn anything about diversity. Look, at one point it was, okay, let's be nice to everybody. Let's don't discriminate against anyone. Okay. You know, from a, from a Christian worldview perspective, we don't want to be ugly to folk. We're not, we don't want to discriminate against folk in an evil way. We understand that. want to be kind to others, want to get along with others, and you know, what is it, Jesus made the little children of the world, red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in his sight? Yes. Do you remember singing that back in the early 70s? 70s, yes. Late 60s? Yes. Anyway. Listen. But I, you know, I... Go ahead. I was gonna say, I have an idea. What? Let's say that you must take the math class in your last semester of college as a refresher. I think that would be beneficial. Maybe so. Because you do need to think mathematically. Maybe so. I know there are Christians out there who are racist. I do. And I know that a lot of Christians have tried to use the Bible to be racist. You can't do it unless you twist it. And, you know, they're going to, I don't know. The problem is not lack of knowledge. The problem is their heart. Well, that's right. But what I'm saying is the scripture doesn't teach racism. The scripture and look, our culture, you know, we've as a culture, we've tried to eliminate racism. Now, again, Unless you're truly Christian, unless you're walking in the scriptures, like you say, and dealing with the heart, it's going to be difficult, but at least we have as one of our cultural values that we're not racist, that we're not trying to discriminate. Listen, I know there are people out there that do, but I'm simply saying I just, the whole diversity thing, and everybody who's listening to me knows this, it's morphed, it's changed. We're okay with diversity in the sense that red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in his sight. You know, in the sense that we all gotta live together. Listen, I'm down with Sly and the Family Stone. Okay? I'm just saying. Okay. But the problem is, of course, trying to say, well, my lifestyle, no matter what, you can't sit in judgment on it. Like if I'm homosexual and you can't say it's wrong, or if I'm transgendered, you can't say it's wrong. That's what they're after. Sexually promiscuous. You can't say it's wrong. You can't say anything about that or that that's harmful. But that's not real diversity. That's forcing us to adopt your ideology. That's tyranny. That's oppression. That's, that's, uh, establishing a religion, which is unconstitutional. I'm just saying from a civil perspective. I agree with that, that's right. So again, Christians have to think through these things and we'll understand that, but I'm just quoting this nurse, and I'm going to scroll up and down here in this article because I can't remember her name, and I want to get it right, but there's a nurse out here at Wayne State University, her name is something like, I can't even find it, listen, I'm on the air, so forgive me, nurse at Wayne State University. I just can't waste my time finding your name. But, oh, Kim Schmina. Kim Schmina, all right? She served on the nursing faculty until her contract expired in May. All right, so she's saying we need the math courses. She's saying the place is diverse. Listen to this. She's talking about, um, Oh, this is someone else. There shouldn't be math requirements anyway. Now I don't want to get into that. I want to get back to, to what the nurse, uh, uh, has to say. She says that she's the one that says we're going to lose diversity. She says, uh, the content of many diversity and cultural sensitivity courses. And that's what we're talking about. Cultural sensitivity. Yeah. You're culturally insensitive simply today, simply by pointing out that someone's different than you. Or by, like you said earlier, saying that something they may be doing is harmful. Well, let's just say you get someone who's obviously Asian. All right. There's nothing wrong with that. Praise God. You know, I'm obviously, you know, not Asian and I don't, I'm not offended when people don't think I'm Asian, but I'm obviously not black. but you can be who you want to be in today's culture, come on. Well, I understand that, but I'm just saying, you know. They want to teach you how to not say, you know, how are you, sir? Well, I know, but yeah. Well, if you're Asian, praise God. You're black, praise God. You're white, praise God, all right? So here's somebody who's definitely Asian, and if I ask this person, hey, where are you from originally? and they get offended. Now I know full well they might have been born and raised in Arkansas. And that's fine, they can say Arkansas. But you know what? They might have come from, you know, I don't know, Japan. They might have come from Korea. It'd just be interesting for me to know. You know why? Because I actually like people from other cultures. I actually like to get to know them. I actually like to find out about where they're from. I coach a lot of kids, and I meet people from all over the world. A lot of people in our area work for Michelin, for example. Of course, that's a French company, I believe, still. A lot of people work for a lot of different companies, and so I have an occasion, an opportunity to meet people from different parts of the world. And I get to hear about what it's like in Hong Kong. I get to hear about what it's like in France. In fact, we have dinner with this French family fairly often. So I'm just saying, but today you can't say, Hey, where are you from originally? Because somehow that's insulting. You're sort of, you're discriminating against me because you're assuming that because I look this way that I'm Asian. Well, yeah. Tell me why that's wrong. You can't, you won't, you can't tell me why it's wrong. It's just become part of the cultural mantra. Can you tell me why it's wrong? Oh, silence. No. All right, we're moving on. I'm just saying, we got to get over this. It's hindering our ability to even communicate. It's hindering our ability to love people and get to know people. Oh yeah, you heard on some broadcasts, I can't even remember the context of what happened, but somebody had said something similar to this and they're like, we can't even talk anymore without somebody getting offended. Well, according to nurse, uh, you know, Schmina, some of the students fear being reprimanded by other students. Uh, or even their professors, if they express conservative opinions in class, for example. Yeah. And at least, yeah, see, so they don't want diversity. They want our kind of diversity, which is not diversity. Right. In one instance, an instructor threatened to lower students grade for sharing conservative opinions. Can you believe that? So much for diversity, bunch of hypocrites. Yes. And see, that's what the Lord Jesus would call them. He'd call them hypocrites because that's what they are. Now we're not just here to rant. We're here to kind of provide a little bit of biblical perspective if we can, what can we do as Christians, but we're doing it in the context of a conversation, obviously. Anyway, let's move on to a couple of other items and then we're going to try to make some application. Um, let's see. Well, I don't know. I don't know if I want to go down that road. Doesn't matter. That's what's happening at Wayne State University. That's what's happening in our culture. Hey, can we say a word about education in general, just for fun? Sure. I think Christians need to wake up. I think Christians need to realize that for too long they've been asleep at the wheel. And I've heard Christians, for example, defend public school. You can't defend public school on a biblical worldview. You might can defend it on a cultural worldview. You might can defend it because it's personally convenient, but you can't defend it on a biblical worldview. Public school is government school. Government school is indoctrination. Indoctrination, the kids that are, your children are being indoctrinated with a worldview that's totally contrary to a biblical worldview. And unless you're countermanding that at home, you're sending your children to be educated by Baal. I'm just saying. Now we know that in the public school and now Christians are finally waking up to that. They're waking up to that because of the whole transgender issue. They're waking up to that because of the LGBT agenda. They're waking up to that. Hey, it's not just about evolution. It's about a lot of other things too. Duh. Well, even before the transgender and LGBT, it's about a lot of other things. It's about an ungodly worldview of economics, an ungodly worldview of history, an ungodly worldview of math and science. If you don't know why math works, if you don't know why math is important, if you don't know that two plus two is always four, if you don't know why that's the case, you don't have a biblical worldview. Why is two plus two always four? Because God does not change. Because God does not change, and that's how God designed his universe. See, the evolutionists posit a random chance universe. Well, in theory. Well, they say it's not theory, but they certainly don't act that way. No, they don't act that way. They appeal to a biblical worldview in order to even do science. They appeal to order, yes. And here's what I mean. And you just said it, but let me put it another way. Scientifically, we know that something can't come from nothing. And yet they say, well, everything came from nothing. So there's a contradiction right there. Well, how did everything come from nothing? Well, it was just a random accident. There you go. There's your worldview. So in your worldview, tomorrow, two plus two could be five. And then they laugh at you. They're like, what? But they're not going to say 2 plus 2 is always 4. Why? Well, because of the way the universe is. Well, that's right. But you just said the universe was a random chance accident. The universe has order. The universe is designed a certain way. We can't even do science or math unless 2 plus 2 is always going to be 4. You see? That's because God designed it that way, and Christians need to understand that. And if your children are not being taught that, they are being indoctrinated in an unbiblical worldview. And you say, well, that's not such a big deal. Oh, the implications are massive. And I'm just giving you a little example. Oh yeah, they've already changed the age, supposed age of the earth many times because it doesn't, certain things don't fit. So why not two plus two can be five? Wait, hold on. You know what? It might be one day. Yeah. the way we're going. Biblically speaking, parents are responsible for the education of their children. Go to Deuteronomy 6. Your beef is not with me, your beef is with God if you don't agree with me. I'm not being ugly, I'm just telling you. It's your responsibility. You say, well I can't have my, you know, lake house if I homeschool my kids. So? Maybe you don't need a lake house. Just saying. Now, Maybe you're a single mom. What are you going to do? All right, well, Christian school, there are Christian alternatives, Christian friends. Maybe you're just going to have to stay up a little bit later. Maybe you're going to have to change the schedule of your kids. Nobody said it was easy. This is a fallen world. And you got to be careful. You were saying Christian schools. I know several that are nothing more than public education, tipping their hat to God. Right. Well, I'm just saying if you really care about God, you really care about your children, you really care about their education and a biblical worldview and discipling your children, you're going to find an alternate means. You're going to do something other than public school. Well, let's just go on. Government school, I'm sorry. Go on from there. A lot of Americans, it is changing, but have this idea that college is a right of passage. Four years of nothingness. Let's talk about college. Try to figure out who you are and what you're going to do. Waste 60,000, well, more than that, dollars. Listen, and I don't want to offend my friends. I don't mind offending people I don't know. I'm kidding. You're going to tell the truth, is that what you mean? I don't want to offend anyone, and we have good friends that are going to disagree with me, and that's fine. Okay, we love each other, they know me, it's okay. I don't want to offend my friends. However, and listen, they're Christian kids, and look, I wonder if Christy, for example, might disagree with me a little, and I'm not saying every single college, but like you say, most colleges. I just think you're an absolute fool if you send your kids to the average secular university, not only because of the education and the professors and what they're going to get, but the lifestyle and what's expected at college. The diversity training. Well, the diversity training. Not that I don't want you exposed to diversity, but Well, yeah, but different worldviews, and not only different worldviews, not only the religious smorgasbord there, if you're not rooted in the gospel. If you're rooted in the gospel, it might be different, but even if you're rooted in the gospel, the temptation. Do you know the Bible? The Lord's Prayer says, lead me not into temptation. All right, you take an 18-year-old, 19-year-old boy, you put him in a co-ed dorm, You, and you pray the Lord's prayer. You are a hypocrite. You're asking God, you're asking God to just give you over to your stupidity. I'm saying, so when you put it in there, what 20 year old male or female, you're living in a co-ed dorm. Leave me not into temptation. Don't make God laugh. You're putting yourself in temptation. I can't help you. God can help you, but you know what I mean, that's the attitude. He might help you. He might give you an injury or something. I'm just, I don't know, just saying. But you get my point. Here's Joseph, he flees. He flees. Paul says to Timothy, flee, you lust. We're going to put all these... And the Proverbs say, you know, the man, the wise man sees danger and hides himself. That's right. Don't even go near that adulterous woman's house. Right? You know what the Proverbs say? So we're going to take teenage boys and girls who have no judgment. You know, and most of the kids that are there have no moral convictions. And we're going to put them all together. And we're not only just that, we're going to expect them. See, they're expected to experiment with different things in college now. Like you say, it's a rite of passage. So what I'm saying is Christians need to wake up and we need some higher education alternatives. It's diversity training in the minds of the world. That's what they want. They think those who have conservative values and those who want to hold on to those conservative values, they are doing harm to their children. And so therefore bringing them here so that they can experience or experiment with other ways of doing things. They think that's good rather than trying to protect them. And so that's why anyway just well no i agree and i think that's why we need to make a distinction between you know whereas diversity where we love and appreciate the different cultures of the world in the sense that people are different and god made them different but not all cultures in terms of their worldview are equal in fact only to the degree that a culture has been influenced by a biblical worldview it does it display you know kingdom culture for example And so while I might have a wonderful friendship with someone from India or Korea or wherever, I certainly don't want to buy into their worldview. We want to influence them for Christ. Love people from all over the world, create in the image of God. But here's the beauty of the gospel. God takes all these people and he makes them one in Christ. And, but what you're talking about is again, the people of the world say, well, let's send all our kids to college. And yes, part of their diversity training, as it were, is to have them experiment not only in all these different worldviews, but maybe in different substances, different sexual practices, different experiences. And they think that makes them educated. Well, it makes them educated. Sure. but educated in the wrong things. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And I'm not saying Christians should hide in their homes, I'm not saying that. I'm saying Christian parents should train their children, disciple their children, make their children mighty warriors for the gospel, for the Lord Jesus Christ, send them out. But make sure you send them out once they're trained and make sure, even when you send them out, they come back to base, they come back to base. Because if you're out there in the world all the time, you're out there behind enemy lines all the time, you're gonna get shot. Sorry, you just are. Am I making sense? Absolutely. So Christians, you know, they need to wake up. And you know what, I hear a lot of Christians, it's all about the career. Yeah, they think there's no other way. What other way is there to get a good job? Yeah, well, maybe you need to do without. Maybe, okay, well, maybe you need to be an entrepreneur. Maybe you need to learn to think. Maybe you need to start a business. Maybe you need to create something new. Maybe you ought to use the brain God gave you. But instead, no, we're gonna go work for somebody else. And when you think about it- Nine to five, every day, because I'm too lazy or stupid to do something on my own. Go ahead, forgive me. I'm not saying everybody- That was a little hard for you. Well, I'm not saying everybody- But not everybody's an entrepreneur, that is true. Well, no, no, and I'm not saying everybody's a cog in the machine either, and I'm not saying it's wrong to work for somebody else. I'm really not. I'm trying to be a little bit provocative. The point being, I want Christians to be shaken to their bones, wait a minute, There are alternatives out there, and God has given me brains and gifts and talents and opportunities and contacts, and I don't have to, you know, pitch my tent towards Sodom like Lot did. I don't have to do that. Amen to that. I mean, that's just, that's the point I'm trying to make. I mean, that wouldn't be in the Bible if it wasn't an issue, would it? That's right. Okay, so you think, okay, where's the Baptist preacher? He's ranting, and look, I like to rant on the radio. Not rant because I'm angry. I mean, it's just the style and I'm not, I'm not, I'm not faking, but I'm passionate. I'm excited. I'm all these things, but it's, it, this is, this is something I've been thinking, thinking, thinking through, praying through, looking at the scriptures, applying. You know what? We, we, we love our parents, all our parents, right? Your parents, my parents, godly, godly folks. But we haven't raised our kids where they raised us. That's true. Okay. Why? Because we've, we've learned a little bit more. We took what they taught us. We built on it. And my prayer for our children is that they raise their children even better than we raised them. Let's hope so. Yeah. I mean, I get rebuked by my kids all the time. Thankfully that is true. I don't like it, but just saying. But, back to the college math. We need it. Well, we do, we do. But do we need to take it at a secular university? Yeah, no. And see, this is the point. I don't care what they do at Wayne State. Well, except for the loss of souls out there. But, you know, let's just get out of the universities, too. Just get out. Why do you need to go to Wayne State? Deuteronomy 6, that's what the Bible says, right? Alright, we'll talk about something else next time! 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