... I was going to ask why you would take courses with titles like those, but then again you're a theology minor...
First. Don't touch those boards. Ever. I watch Ghost Hunters too, it's hilarious because they almost NEVER get anything super-natural (think about it, if the last haunting was a year ago, they have about a 1/365 chance of seeing a ghost in a single episode if 1 haunting per year is the frequency rate of the building). It's even more hillarious because they never quote units (THE EMF METER IS READING IS READING 10, 10! (nano-volts)) nor do they get their quantities right (Emf meters determine the energy in the atmosphere @_@ (T_T)).
I saw and was afraid of ghosts when I was a little kid, I had some really wild experiences, including intelligent entities with power over the lights in the house O_O. Ultimately, shows like this got me over my fears, ghosts are just really anti-social people (I'm defining a ghost as a deceased person here, not all spirits are ghosts).
That stated, there is no real clear definition with spiritsl, and because you're blind you don't know if you're running into your deceased grandfather or the devil himself. Demons are real, not abstract from my personal experience, don't make the mistake of touching them with a ten foot pole. So please, do yourself and the rest of us that would be hurt by the pain you'd feel a favour, leave that stuff ALONE! You're a great kid with a curious mind, it would be better if you focussed on school-work. Add a math minor to that if you feel you have the time for the other things you were talking about
, you'll make a revolution in your field for certain!
People of the world, hate me, I am a sinner (picked up a bad habit of looking at dirty pictures during hours of surfing the internet looking for knowledge to physics problems). I can't say that drinking, smoking or taking drugs is any more of a sin then gluttony (another sin of mine though I lack the other three), but ultimately they'll all do the same thing, drain life from your years and years from your life. Downloading illegal music will probably cost you more in money if you get caught, but they'll take their own toll if you give them long enough.
Like me I doubt you can get an addiction to any of those things and feel you're any better for them (and if you've just started, don't fool yourself, they grab you before you know it). At the least, they reduce your pocketbook and take up your time (I can certainly tell you that from my super-sized meals). And when you're health drops, it goes instantly and then you and I wish we never met the things, but are already enchained.
As far as sex, remember the words of Nana, my families greatest matriarch (Or source of knowledge period):
"The man always walks away and zips up his pants leaving YOU with the big belly."
In other words, men are sneaky little devils looking for pleasure. They'll lie up a blue streak just to get into your pants, but you can never expect a penny in your pocket from them if you end up getting pregnant. They'll run off, join the military, do anything just to avoid paying child support, THAT WOULD BE LOSING! Until you've stuck that darn ring around their finger and dragged them through their wedding vows and have 'em by a legal contract, don't trust 'em with an INCH! NOT AN INCH! (Even then, you'd better know them well as some are just as tricky there)
Finally, I've come to have a different understanding of professors over the years after taking so many courses. It is true, you will find the teachings in many of the courses to be completely blasphemous, but you have to realize something.
Christianity is one of many religions. Even if the teacher were Christian, there are so many different sects with such a wide variety of beliefs, one can't say there is "one Christianity". Not even fundementalism (even though they all claim to "interpit the Bible for what it says") is one view-point.
If you were to run a course on Christianity, could you really get anything done with all these sides jumping at each other from across the classroom? No, it would be a civil war! So, to avoid religious debates, they crush independent thought on Religion within the course, kind of like CAA bans religious debates. They have to teach SOMETHING though, and so they might teach from the vantage point of various theologians and athiests (who if they are looking at religion are theologians as well) throughout history. No one in the class, even the teacher, may agree with the statements, but for the sake of learning and their importance to history they may be included.
Now, while avoiding chaos in the class, they must also avoid their own lives from being driven crazy. Certainly, you aren't the only Christian with a strong view, and you can really expect that in a class you will have 30-300 kids who believe their view is the absolute unadulterated truth of God and have nothing better to do then convert each other and (most importantly) the teacher. I'm not saying it's necessarily true, but it would be rather convenient to claim atheism (with a hatred of religion) so that no students try to convert you (lest you glare at them and make them feel like they are going to fail). It's like hot movie actors claiming to be gay, they may not be, but they don't want fifty million googly eyed girls chasing them down at every parking lot.
Of course... they might really hate religion... but I doubt they entered the subject with that hate. (It would be like condemning yourself to an eternal life of pain)
Ultimately, if they ARE athiest, they generally just want one thing. They want you to keep your religion to yourself and not try to force it down their throat or use it as a justification in an argument. Mind you, you can write papers in clever ways that avoid involving your own personal feelings or faith. I can say:
This author says, or this theologian feels...
but this makes no statements about how *I* feel, and nobody really cares about my ideas beyond my thesis statement anyways. The rest is all facts or quotes to back it up!
Making a good argument has nothing to do with what you feel and if you're a REALLY good writer, you can write both ends of the argument! (In fact, this shows that you have a good understanding of the subject matter) Your own personal feelings shouldn't be involved in a piece anyways, keep to logic, facts and history. Arguments using feelings are for the internet except CAA
. You might even take on an opposing side against your own religious standpoint just to understand the other sides perspective better.
You'll change a lot during college. That is how this thing goes. It's your first first event of independence from your parents and ultimately a MAJOR change in your thought process. Proffesors could care less about striking at the heart of your philosophical world and that's just what they want to do! They feel if you're philosophy isn't strong enough to stand up to their arguments then it shouldn't be your philosophy anyways. Better to tear the whole thing down then let you live in a foolish idea. They don't want to harm you, they do wish to make you stronger and challenge you to your deepest core.
(If they place any value in their status as a professors (One who professes) then, despite all their angry views and stands, they should even care about you even if what they are arguing is completely wrong. Love should and admiration of the spirit of learning is the heart of the professor and should be the first thing in their eyes even if it is hard to see.)
Love them for who they are, and if they knock down your philosophy, take what you learned and build a stronger one. The stronger your fortress is for God, the harder it will be for the devil to knock it down. Do not abandon God, and the pillar will always be beautiful.
Good luck kid,
Pascal
Edit: "him" in the last sentence was terribly ambiguous.