By Micah Furlong
In the life of every person, there comes a time when you wrestle with the major questions of life, “What is my purpose? Why am I in this particular place at this particular time? Who or what is God?” These inquiries form the basis of an intellectually honest and curious person. My own life has been a continuous struggle to find the median between a life of pure reason and one which embraces the emotional and spiritual gaps often left by austere living. And, to be honest, I can’t think of a better place than Baylor in which to continue this investigation.
Even in the heart of the Bible Belt, Christian faith can be a serious burden on the life of one who dares to ask (or better yet answer) these questions. Often times, you hear the voices of those standing at the extreme who declare that anyone who eats this type of sandwich or wears that type of shirt is sentenced to Hell. To me, its very difficult to reconcile those positions with a loving God. But, with a few exceptions, that isn’t the type of Christian message you receive here at Baylor. The people of this community are seriously engaged in pursuing truth, which means that you may be poked and prodded in unusual ways.
If you happened to be raised in the tradition my family practiced, then coming here will be strange. For example, my professors don’t believe in Biblical literalism. Instead, you will be challenged to search within the nuance of the Scriptures to discover their whole meaning. Many students are disturbed by this idea and refuse to believe anything their professor tells them. But you’ll quickly learn that the majority of academia, quite possibly including your pastor at home, don’t interpret the Bible in a literal sense. To my father, that was a horrifying thought. In my opinion, this understanding of the Bible allows me to dive more deeply into a pursuit of truth in its teachings. In short: it helps me answer the question of who God is and what He is doing.
Likewise, you may be led away from the path you think you’re following. Unlike high school, which tries to drive you toward a career, college is a lot about figuring out who you are as a person. In this long and difficult journey, you will asked to make decisions that will literally direct the rest of your life. And I’m not even using the word “literally” in any ironic way. I know that at 18, asking that much of you is painstakingly hard, but you don’t have to know the answers immediately. Maybe you come to college thinking that you want to become a doctor and leave studying law, psychology or sociology. Please don’t be afraid of this happening! It’s totally natural. If you make it through college without switching your major, you’d be in a tiny minority.
Little do you know that the next four years are going to be the best roller coaster ride you’ve ever ridden. You’re going to realize how little you really know, and be challenged to learn so much more. I’m incredibly lucky to be able to attend Baylor University, which has already in my short time here transformed my understanding of so many things. Now, I get the supreme pleasure of inviting you to come here and join me in this wonderful, and quite often insane, joy ride.