171
THE K I N G ' S BUS I NES S
May, 1942
She was afraid to go to college. But arriving there, she showed that she had unusual courage when — -
Called to the
Witness Stand
By ALLISON SELWAY* Alhambra, California
/
B HERE WAS a unique sensation in my heart as I took my place in the philosophy c l a s s r o o m how during the class period my love for (the Lord Jesus and my belief in God’s Word were to be put to the test. It had been only two years since I had been graduated from the Bible Institute of Los Angeles with a prayer in my heart and upon my lips that my Lord would guide in the next step of preparation for a life of service in India. As I came into His presence each day and brought to Him my problem, there ■toas one thing that I ■felt I could not do. I could not attend college, for various reports I had heard had led me to believe that a Chris tian young person who went to col lege today must almost necessarily lose his faith. And yet because I be came convinced that the new step was His directive will, I enrolled for a course in a junior college in Southern California. There was still one thing that I de termined never to do. Some one had told me that about seventy-five per cent of those who lose their faith in college do so in a course in philoso phy; consequently, I determined that no such course would become a part of my program. When I was informed * Graduate of the Bible Institute of Los An geles in the class of 1938 .
who would profit by the exchange in professors. As the course progressed, there were many statements in the text and many ideas advanced by the professor with which I could not agree, but there was not a definite oppor tunity for witnessing. But now the testing time had come; God’s Word was to be on trial in the eyes of the class members. The Issue of the Case Is Drawn , The discussion for the morning cen tered around the various theories of creation. Several members of the class had been called upon to suggest one theory and to tell why it had been discarded by science or why they be lieved that it might be true. The last young woman to be called upon said that there are some people who accept the Biblical theory of creation found in ' Genesis. The fact that there were still in existence such ignorant and narrow-minded individuals c r e a t e d much mirth among the members ot the class. Contrary to his custom, the pro fessor turned to the group and asked whether there was any student who sincerely believed this theory. The test had come; God’s Word was on trial, and I, His child, sat in the room. I must either deny my Lord by, re-
that graduation was impossible with out at least one year of philosophy, the same fear that previously had been mine returned. Along with that fear came the assurance that had made me willing to obey my Lord’s voice two years before; if I could trust Him to keep me in the hollow of His hand and close to His heart of love for a lifetime in India, I surely could trust Him through four years of college, yes, even through four years of philosophy if that should be ■ needful. Before I first entered the philosophy classroom, I determined three things. I determined that I would be the best possible student in the class, for a Christian should be “ at the top of the list” in every phase of his life; I determined not to begin an argu ment unnecessarily and thus make myself obnoxious to the professor arid to the other members of the group; I determined that, in His strength, I would joyfully and quickly a c c e p t any opportunity for testimony that should be mine. The professor was not the one for whose course I had enrolled; instead, he was an exchange teacher from another state, where his academic standing had been high. His under standing manner and his interesting approach to the subject soon caused us to be grateful that we were those
that morning, a conviction that some
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