Pensacola Christian ‘Cult’: inside the college shaping America’s private school curriculum

Of course they are not a cult.
They are not my ‘cup of tea’ but to interview a disgruntled former student is hardly definitive proof of their accusations.
 
I think we can probably all agree that if a student agrees to enroll at a school like PCC, which is well-known for its strict rules, then they have to plan to abide by the rules. Students may go to PCC for various reasons - tuition is cheap, it's close to the beach, their parents will not fund attendance at any other school, maybe they were manipulated and even coerced by parents and/or clergy. Whatever the reason they are there, they have to try to keep the rules, if humanly possible.

Having said that, what is with this stuff about constantly intimidating, humiliating and accusing students over offenses that are trivial or didn't even happen? (The Lone Star Live article references a woman who was threatened with discipline for wearing a skirt "too tight" and ignoring a staff member). Some Christian colleges and churches are known for this nonsense. Is it really necessary? I have had a policy that when my pastor starts bullying and intimidating me over offenses that are trivial or not even true, then I leave that church. I've had to leave a lot of churches. Christian ministries need to treat people with more respect, or else they will lose them.
 
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Here is a song produced some years ago by some mischievious, unspiritual PCC students who were clearly not happy campers- a parody of "Your Body Is A Wonderland" by John Mayer:

"Your Body Is A No No Land"



We've got nothing to do at all.

Let's go to the social hall

where we can sit and stare

for hours on end up there.

We'll do devotions for a minute or two.

The rest of the time I'm going to stare

at you

and to our own demise. I can't touch

your thighs.

If you want to hold hands, you'll have

to wait until we get home for a real

date. The physical contact is reserved

just for mates. Dang, it's going to be a

while.

Your body is a no no land. I can't use my

hands. Your body is a no no land.

Something about the way your skirt hugs

your feet. That new pair of hose is

looking pretty sweet.

If you want to go off campus, we'll have

to get a shap. [chaperone]. Well, personally,

I think that's a bunch of crap. Yeah.

Okay. If you want

hold hands, you'll have to wait until we

get home

for real date. Physical contact

reserve just mates. Dang, it's gonna be

a while. Your body is a no no land.

Your body is a no no land. I can't use my

hands. Your body is a no no land.

Your body is a no no land. I can't use

my hands. Your body is a no no land.

Your body is a no no land. I can't use

my hands. Your body is no less.
Every dad's dream for his daughter. :rolleyes:
 
Such an evil, insidious cult...
My school bus company tells its employees that we are not allowed to wear open toed shoes or sandals. The kicker is, we're not even allowed to wear certain kinds of advertising on our shirts, half shirts or tank tops.
Maybe someone can label STA an unfair cult-like work place.
PCC is a private Christian college and nobody is forced to go there or stay there once they are there.
Terrible example on the work place. College rules are nothing like work place. Work place owns you because they are paying you to be on their property to provide a service.

IFB also says, it’s good for your kids to go to Bible college because it allows them to learn to get up on their own and make their beds and things like this. Excuse me but if the IFB parents aren’t teaching their kids these type things by 18 then the IFB are doing terrible parenting.

You are correct they are allowed to leave at any point. I agree with you there. Buuuut I do have a question. If they leave against their parents wishes would that be disobeying their parents in the IFB teachings?
 
I have come to the realization that not every rule that we were exposed to at college needed to apply to the rest of my life.
I have also come to the understanding that at college, there are young people with hormones raging who are living together in very close proximity, 24 hours out of the day.
I have gone to two secular colleges, the University of Pittsburgh, and Burlington Community College in Burlington NJ, to help me get my Associates Degree and I have gone to a Fundamental Christian College, Hyles Anderson College.
The secular colleges really don't care about your morality, we did whatever we wanted with whomever we wanted, drank what we wanted, skipped class when we wanted, dressed how we wanted, smoked what we wanted, etc.
It's only by the grace of God that I survived my year at Pitt.
The leadership of the Conservative Christian college believes, and I believe correctly, that they have a responsibility as Christian educators and mentors, to assure that as best as possible to foster an atmosphere that insures purity and Christian character.
And that is their 'liberty' to do so.
It is my liberty to say whether I want to be exposed to that or not.
We ALL have choices, even those who said that they didn't have a choice.
You could have refused to go and made your own way and gone to the school of your own choice.
You could have gone to the military like I did and receive technical training and some money to help with college.
If your parents refused to help you go to college unless you went to a "Christian college of their choice", you could have moved out of the house and gone to a community college.
Please don't say you don't have a choice...
We all have choices...

On another note, it's interesting that I had only been saved for 3.5 years when I went to Bible College.
When I got saved, I was a good time rock and roll, drinking, cussing fornicator and at times 'hell raiser.'
I learned the importance of devotion to Christ, godliness and separation while in my local church after I got saved.
But my involvement in the world was not all that far behind when I first went to Bible college.
I'm so thankful for the boundaries that I had while I was there.
Probably kept me from a lot of heartache.
If you were involved in all that I blame your parents. They should’ve taught you better. Not every kid in a public school is involved in debauchery same goes for college kids.

My wife went to a public school and never not one time got into trouble but at some point her parents put her in a IFB school and she says she was exposed to more sin there than in public school. She said she was also made fun of in the IFB school because her and a few friends had payer time during lunch. It’s all in how you were raised.

As if PCC kids and other IFB bible colleges kids have never gotten pregnant on campus.

My daughter n law goes to college and she’s not caught up in sin. But she wasn’t raised that way. She was raised in church but not IFB.
 
Of course they are not a cult.
They are not my ‘cup of tea’ but to interview a disgruntled former student is hardly definitive proof of their accusations.
They may not be but the IFB as a whole is.

If you need your pastors blessing to attend another IFB church before leaving………. Id say, you’re in a cult.

You might be in a cult if……
 
They may not be but the IFB as a whole is.

If you need your pastors blessing to attend another IFB church before leaving………. Id say, you’re in a cult.

You might be in a cult if……
…if your Pastor ever voted Republican.
 
We used Abeka as well. Generally, a good curriculum, although I took exception to some lessons such as the one that presented Charles Finney as a hero of the faith.
Agreed. We found that even though we had to correct errors there were significantly less of them in Abeka versus what we were dealing with in the local elementary school prior to home schooling. Our dinner table was always enlivened by discussing how we should respond to errors and how to correct them.
 
I think we can probably all agree that if a student agrees to enroll at a school like PCC, which is well-known for its strict rules, then they have to plan to abide by the rules.

We can agree they agree to abide by the rules they agreed to abide by.

But remember that 20 years ago, there was an underground student newsletter at PCC that was specifically designed to highlight the unwritten rules. Did anyone agree to rules they weren't told about?
 
I can remember the wailing and gnashing of teeth when Cedarville got rid of the student handbook rules. I believe it was when Dixon took over (could have been someone else). Anyway the new guy told the students at the opening chapel that he had no interest in treating them like children. Instead he was going to treat them like adults and expect them to act as adults.
 
I can remember the wailing and gnashing of teeth when Cedarville got rid of the student handbook rules. I believe it was when Dixon took over (could have been someone else). Anyway the new guy told the students at the opening chapel that he had no interest in treating them like children. Instead he was going to treat them like adults and expect them to act as adults.
When you say that they got rid of the student handbook rules, I assume you just mean that they changed their rules, maybe deleted a couple silly ones. My understanding is it’s still a very conservative Baptist college. To be honest, I know almost nothing about the school. I knew a couple people who went there, but they went many years ago.
 
I taught ABeka for 19 years in First Grade. I would put any of my students up against public school students any day. We prepared them for college. I met they did great in any school. I'll ask some of them. I did use other materials also.
 
Is this the same Pensacola that spawned Pensacola Bible Institute founded by Peter S. Ruckman?
 
Same city. Different school. No relation.
Actually, there is a much closer relationship than one may actually care to acknowledge. PCC has a standing rule that female students at PCC ARE NOT to date or interact with the "Ruckmanites" across town from them at Pensacola Bible Institute!

Seems a significant amount of PBI Students are dating and marrying PCC girls with such regularity that they had to enact such a policy! If I were a single man these days, PCC is where I would want to do my "Fishing!" :ROFLMAO:
 
Actually, there is a much closer relationship than one may actually care to acknowledge. PCC has a standing rule that female students at PCC ARE NOT to date or interact with the "Ruckmanites" across town from them at Pensacola Bible Institute!
What’s the reason they can’t date them? Seems very odd.
 
Actually, there is a much closer relationship than one may actually care to acknowledge. PCC has a standing rule that female students at PCC ARE NOT to date or interact with the "Ruckmanites" across town from them at Pensacola Bible Institute!

Seems a significant amount of PBI Students are dating and marrying PCC girls with such regularity that they had to enact such a policy! If I were a single man these days, PCC is where I would want to do my "Fishing!" :ROFLMAO:
I don't know if that rule was in effect when I was stationed there in 84-85 but it makes sense.

I remember Ruckmanites out on the street corners yelling at the traffic.

I remember talking with one and I almost want to say Jim Schettler was with me... He was explaining to us that the street preaching more of an exercise for students of PBI in standing boldly for the gospel than it was anything else.
 


I do truly hope that if I make it to 90 that I’ve gained enough wisdom to avoid doing things that are just flat-out obnoxious like yelling at traffic.
 
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