Page 2/The Battalion/Tuesday, April 26, 1983
opinion
The fate of modern man
This is the final part of a two-part Read
er’s Forum.
Humanistic reasoning concludes that
all of the universe is contained in a gigan
tic cosmic machine. Man is a part of the
machine but God is not. God is dead.
Only matter exists. Thus every event
which occurs in the universe is a part of a
cause and effect relationship. Schaeffer
says: “The terms determinism or be
haviorism indicate that everything peo
ple think or do is determined in a
machine-like way and that any sense of
freedom or choice is an illusion.” Huma
nistic reasoning has affirmed, that man is
not great, but simply a random collection
of molecules ... nothing more. There is
no freedom, there is no hope, there is no
meaning. Man is dead.
However, man cannot bear the
thought that he is a meaningless collec
tion of particles, so now he is hoping to
find meaning. This yearning for mean
ing in the face of hopelessness is called
existentialism. The French existentialist,
Jean-Paul Sartre, says we can give
ourselves meaning through action. The
direction of the action is unimportant,
only the action is. There is no difference
between helping an old woman across the
street or running her down in your car;
both actions give an individual meaning.
Philosophers are attempting to Find
meaning though they all admit that it is
not reasonable to believe that meaning
exists.
Over the last 100 years, humanism has
slowly invaded theology to produce a wa
tered down Christianity. The Bible is no
longer a book about personal God who
gives us absolutes which give our lives
meaning, but has become the basis for
what Schaeffer calls, “a contentless reli
gious experience within which reason has
no place.” The Reformation provided a
Christian base which, although far from
perfect, became the foundation for West
ern nations including the United States.
Our society unfortunately has slowly
shifted off of this Christian base over the
last 100 years. We once would look to the
Bible to decide what is right or wrong. As
Reader’s
Forum
we have shifted away from Christianity,
the shift away from a “Christian-
dominated consensus” created a void
which Schaeffer says has been Filled with
“two impoverished values: personal
peace and affluence.”
But the youth of the 1960s wanted
more meaning to their lives than was pro
vided by their parents’ values of personal
peace and affluence. The youths correct
ly concluded that their parents’ aspira
tions were not enough to give life mean
ing but unfortunately turned to alterna
tives which were just as meaningless.
Over the last 15 years young people have
gradually given up their struggle for
meaning and significance and have re
turned to their previous values of per
sonal peace and affluence.
So where does all of this leave us today
in 1983?
Society is basically divided into two
categories: the “minority,” “Christians
who either have a real basis for values or
those who at least have a memory of the
days when values were real... (and the)...
majority ... with only their two poor
values of personal peace and affluence.”
(Schaeffer). As the minority grows smal
ler and the majority larger, our society
will rely on our courts to set arbitrary
absolutes provided that the new abso
lutes do not conflict with the majority’s
values of personal peace and affluence.
What will happen to society when econo
mic, political, and racial pressures mount
to an intolerable level? Francis Schaeffer
predicts that when the pressures and
problems of the world become choking
and intolerable, we will have to choose
between two alternatives: 1) an imposed
order by a totalitarian elite or, 2) “once
again affirming that base which gave
freedom without chaos in the first place
— Cod’s revelation in the Bible and his
revelation through Christ.”
******** Whither Do We Co?
******** I have chosen Cod's way.
By accepting Jesus Christ as my per
sonal savior and therefore becoming a
Christian, I discovered personal mean
ing and significance. Through the Bible,
Cod has explained to me the universe
and my role in it. The Bible gives me a
flawless set of values and absolutes which
help me make sound moral decisions.
Most of this article is simply an outline
of Francis A. Shaeffer’s book, “How
Should we Then Live?”, so you can refer
to it if you would like documentation. In
closing, I would like to leave you with one
suggestion. Consider the sign that I read
while driving through Bryan that said,
“The Holy Bible, the hero dies but that’s
not the end of the story.”
Wes Volberding is a senior accounting
major from Houston.
Letters: Olympic silver collection
Editor:
On Thursday, Texas A&M University
will become the site of an unprecedented
event, “SILVER DAY” — a day in which
the entire campus can show their support
for the U.S. Olympic team. Phi Kappa
Epsilon, and honor/service fraternity,
representing the health and physical
education department, is asking that all
students, faculty, staff and employees of
Texas A&M give a nickel, dime or quar
ter for this cause.
As you know, the Olympics is one of
the few events that tie and bring together
the nations of the world. In an indirect
way, we at Texas A&M can help promote
international cooperation by help send
ing our U.S. team to this global event.
As we contribute let us remember what
the tradeoffs are: 1) all funds will help to
support the 1984 U.S. Olympic team
(several athletes on campus are Olympic
hopefuls); 2) as a campus we can project
an image of international ambassadors;
3) Texas A&M can become one of the
First universities to advance, promote
and Financially support the amateur
athlete (big business and industry are
usually the leading donators for the
Olympic team); 4) and again promote the
tradition that espirit de corp still exists
and exempliFied in this united effort.
I feel conFident that everyone on cam
pus will respond and contribute for this
Olympic cause.
Ron Rainwater
PEK President
Reagan and El Salvador
Editor:
President Reagan has been debating
with Congress over increasing the milit
ary aid to El Salvador for that county’s
war with the Soviet-supported, commun- v
ist guerillas.
Many members of Congress have
likened El Salvador to another Vietnam.
This could not be further from the truth.
We are not talking about a country which
is half-way around the world, we are talk
ing about a country within two days driv
ing distance from the U.S.
If we let El Salvador fall to the com
munists, as Jimmy Carter let Nicaragua
fall, Honduras, Guatemala and Costa
Rica may soon follow. Then Mexico, with
its economic crisis, would be extremely
vulnerable to a communist revolution
which could easily spill over into Texas,
New Mexico, Arizona and California.
El Salvador is the place to reverse the
spread of communism.
We urge everyone to write the Texan
Senators, asking for their support of
President Reagan.
R. J. Balhorn ’82
Aldo C. Lopez ’86
Bicycle safety
Editor:
Well, it happened again. As I was driv
ing to work down East Main Drive I near
ly hit a parked car as one of those Fine
outstanding Ags rode their bicycle right
out in front of my car. He then also failed
to stop at the stop sign and was nearly hit
by someone who was obeying the law and
had stopped and was simply taking their
turn.
Despite the fact that some people
think that cars shouldn’t be allowed to
park on campus, or drive on campus for
that matter, there are those of us who
have to and will continue to do so.
If you bicyclists would quit hogging
the road, stop at stop signs, stop at cross
walks and obey all the other trafFic laws
that we automobile drivers must do, then
it seems to me there would be a less than
average chance that they would be hit, or
that they would hit someone walking.
And as long as the bicyclists on this cam
pus continue to disrespect the traffic laws
that exist, there will be a higher than av
erage chance that another name will be
added to the flag pole for Silver Taps or
to the roll call at Aggie Muster.
J. K. Playter
Bryan
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“Finals are gonna be a push-over. All I got to do is memo
rize these cheat notes, old exams and notes taken bymv
roommate. This sure beats studying!”
Corporate institutes
— old college try
Bane M. h
£. Grady, ;
1945
by Maxwell Glen
and Cody Shearer
Most any American horn after
probably knows that television irrepar
ably damaged the movie-house business.
Once Americans began to watch movies
and other entertainment in the comfort
of their living rooms, fewer bothered
with the cost and inconvenience of thea
ters.
A similar movement toward direct ser
vice now haunts, of all industries, higher
education. Rather than enter a tradition
al four-year college or a graduate school,
a growing number of students each year
are choosing a school owned and Fi
nanced by an American corporation.
Some might call it a short-cut to job
security.
Of course, ever since General Motors
established its “institute” in Flint, Mich.,
64 years ago to produce auto engineers at
assembly line speed, American business
men have often donned the robes and
mortar boards of university deans. But
the declining competence of college gra
duates and rising cost of retraining them
have led many more companies to estab
lish their own degree programs. The
working assumption is that tbe corporate
college can better train potential em
ployees than traditional academic institu
tions.
According to the American Council on
Education, 140 U.S. companies — from
American Telephone and Telegraph to
Mr. Steak, Inc. — now offer academic
credit for an aggregate of 2,250 courses.
Before the decade is out, employers
could be perusing resumes that boast a
“Bachelor of Science, Security Pacific
Bank, 1989.”
As yet, the Ivory Tower’s new rival
poses no mortal threat to its long
standing ascendancy. Most corporate col
leges still cannot award degrees (in most
cases an insufficient array of course
offerings and library volumes hinders
accreditation). In fact some, like (McDo
nald’s) Hamburger University, now seek
ing accreditation, encourage their
charges to enroll in humanities courses at
Davi
ildlife ai
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Vande
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ollege
id Envii
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tu
la
local community colleges.
M eanwhile, the typical a
course offering — “Better B
ters,” “Advanced Business Equi|
and "Food and Beverage Cost(jImw. Fra
Services” — wouldn’t throw a
Yale’s Bartlett GiatmattiorNotreft
Theodore Hesburgh. Onthewlioli|
ditional colleges remain
deadly earnest.
Yet the corporate dons aredi
serious about Filling a gap, notoil
their employees but for anyone
college-level training. At the pa:
level, moreover, they see anenof
opportunity to meet company neei
instance, Wang Computer’s three
old Institute of Graduate Studies
red its First Five masters degreesia
ware engineering” last spring, tf
institute’s enrollment is still only3i
faculty and students knowthattk
ly-specialized Wang degree is*
more than the paper on vdiitipy Rui
printed. I Batta
Academia’s response to the ceijB^
college try has been understandaE’lLj 3 n .‘
fused. Wliile manu institutions,pled tonk
larly large research universities,In* m . in
cently boosted efforts to arrangeil| Mooi
ments with corporations forbollifptudent
and contracts, they’ve otherwisefP[“The
the potential of corporate colleges| ea dy A
inaction mirrors academia’s sclm'j T>f e
nic approach to its task: anxious
prepare students for gainful vi
while purveying more timeless
beyond profit and loss.
Yet it would be unwise to lii -lglv i n fl
mate the drawbacks of a coiffayoflif
educated work force. Corfra natu
sponsored schools will likely tiE*s a p a
highly-specialized technicians n<
do the company’s bidding and
pay, but unable to see —muchteK nd . e 1
— beyond a narrow expertise.
not be a Mr. Chips to worry^'B er yo n
impact of assembly-line mindsoniWd an i
rial creativity and national prodnWwere.’
Whether America’s college sAe play
see it that way, however, is ^F^ces
matter. |l an d I
Nts, Mi
JHpore gc
tesettii
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