| Is there something in the air or water in my home state, Minnesota? "Minnesota nice" is going too far. We are making headlines for all the wrong reasons: The flying Imams, Muslim foot baths, unhappy Somali cab drivers, having the first Muslim as a Congressman, etc.
This story has little to do with the above issues, as now it is Hinduism in Minnesota making news. I don't have a particular battle with the Hindus and wish they didn't have one with me. While I say I don't have a battle with them, I am very troubled by the situation at a Lutheran-based school here known as St. Olaf College. Anantanand Rambachan, who has taught religion and philosophy at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota since 1985, now will become the first non-Christian to head the religion department in the school's 133-year history.
I sense Professor Rambachan is a sincere man and a sincere Hindu. If he were teaching math or science or a foreign language I would not be writing this column.
A college spokesman says, "Studying religion at St. Olaf must be centrally a cognitive, not a spiritual exercise: Indeed, in the words of the St. Olaf mission statement, the academic study of religion cultivates 'theological literacy'. But with that framework, these institutions have chosen to say we may not agree with every point of doctrine, but we do believe in pursuing an education process that brings Christ to the center and fosters a student's faith in Christ."
How can Christ be at the center when Professor Rambachan states that he is trying to "give my students an understanding of what it means to see the world through Hindu eyes"? Doesn't the college want students to see the world through biblical eyes? It is likely that many parents of these Lutheran-rooted students did not send them to St. Olaf to learn 'religion' from a Hindu no matter what his credentials are and no matter how sincere he may be.
St. Olaf students who are not spiritually grounded are getting a double message: This school is Christian but I'm learning about religion from a Hindu who wants me to see religion through Hindu eyes. Other students who are spiritually detached may explore Hinduism as a faith for themselves. St. Olaf professors and administrators do use the term for the school "Christ-centered." How is that possible under these circumstances?
Another St. Olaf spokesman says, "St. Olaf, like many other academic institutions, is growing and changing. Today, courses on Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism are taught without controversy. Institutions should increasingly reflect the diversity of our nation and this includes religion."
Clearly St. Olaf College does not reflect your grandma's Lutheran church or educational institution. Is it any wonder there is some legitimacy to the statement that America is now a post-Christian nation?
The magazine "Hinduism Today" continues to list Olive Tree Ministries as a hate Web site, along with many other ministries such as Gospel for Asia. World Net Daily reports on all of this at this link http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/printer-friendly.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56067
This verse applies in more ways than one. It is the "last days' " reference in 2 Timothy 3, "ever learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
That's why we must keep telling even the inconvenient truth!
Awaiting His return,
Jan Markell | 
