Intellectual giants confront you in the classroom in the form of anti-Christian primary assumptions, worldviews, theories and perspectives. Practicably, they show up in routine  academic  interactions— in your textbooks, lectures, tutorial classes and practicals. Generally, their human agents are experienced scholars who are supported by the powerful  anti-Christian intellectual establishment. These include most of your non-Christian lecturers who take advantage of your intellectual inexperience to present your faith as a straw man in the  intellectual world.

Some students who are genuinely committed to the Lord Jesus Christ, are unable to handle intellectual pressure on their faith. With the passage of time, their intellect gradually fits into the anti-Christian mind set that dominates most universities today. In the process, whatever remains of biblical convictions  in them is left to linger doubtfully on the periphery of their hearts. They become spiritually timid and are ashamed to publicly express their commitment to the Lord.

To such students, there appears to be no practical alternative to this slippery slope of spiritual decline in the course of university learning. This is not true.  Of course, intellectual pursuit has its excitements and challenges. But neither the excitements nor the challenges of tertiary learning requires that you compromise your Christian faith in order to succeed.

I recall my ignorance and poor judgements when I faced these challenges. One of such failures remains fresh in my mind. On that particular occasion, a professor devoted the best part of his 300-level political science lecture time blaming Christianity for the economic and political problems of Africa, Asia and South America. I boiled inside in protest until I couldn’t take anymore. I stamped out of the class in a rage that was calculated to embarrass him. This was my response to his Marxist tirade against Christianity. As you would expect, this action got me and other students in the course into big trouble. That was thirty years ago. At that time, I thought that I did the right thing. I’m not too sure about that today. I wish I knew then what I know now about being a Christian student. I certainly would have avoided unnecessary fear, insecurity and frustration when I encountered anti-Biblical worldviews, theories and perspectives in the classroom.

You can defeat anti-Christian intellectual giants. If you know what they are and the truth about their strengths and weaknesses, you can stand your ground when they confront you in lecture rooms, libraries, laboratories and examination halls.