America's Best Colleges
11/90
A U.S. News and World Report Special Issue (October 15, 1990) included an annual ranking of America's best colleges. The system used to rank 1374 four-year colleges was based on a numerical score representing the quality of academic reputation, student selectivity, faculty resources and student satisfaction.
The top 25 big universities and small colleges were chosen in view of the overall quality of each school. These were institutions which had "first-class students, top faculty and a reputation for excellence." Most of these schools could also be called "the most famous schools in America."
The best big universities were chosen for a blend of matchless scholarship and research and a superb range of academic choices. The top ten, in order of rank, were: Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, California Institute of Technology, MIT, Duke, Dartmouth, Cornell and Columbia.
Choosing Harvard as the country's leading university may seem a bit redundant. However, this is the first time since 1983 that Harvard has finished first on U.S. News' list. Founded in 1636 as a school for ministers, Harvard is both the richest and oldest learning institution in the country. The campus sprawls along the Charles River in both Cambridge and Boston and boasts 10 graduate schools and more than 90 libraries. The university has been a pioneer in innovative education since its beginning and has provided the training ground for the nation's political and intellectual establishment.
In choosing the top 25 best small colleges, the same criteria was applied. To many, small, liberal arts colleges represent what higher education is all about. The top ten small colleges were: Amherst, Swarthmore, Williams, Bowdoin, Wellesley, Pomona, Wesleyan (CT), Middlebury, Smith, and (tied in a three-way place for tenth) Davidson, Vassar and Carleton.
Amherst College had a strong showing in the intellectual achievement of the students. According to one Amherst College professor, the students arrive with a self-confidence that comes from prior academic success and readily adapt to the method of Socratic debate that is the backbone of most of the school's courses. Nestled in the picturesque Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts, Amherst College shares the academic resources of four other schools in the area, in a consortium which provides the greatest range of interdisciplinary programs available anywhere in the country.
The educational institutions of our country provide the foundation for our quality of life. New discoveries, expert knowledge and highly trained people are the contributions to our society that these institutions produce. Significantly, the two winners in this year's U.S. News survey, Harvard and Amherst have notable histories as Christian institutions.
Although the students and faculties of these two schools may have forgotten, Harvard was founded "For Christ and the Church," and Amherst's frequent revivals in the early history of the school made the college one of the focal points of the Great Awakening in the 1800s. These schools remain great today because God Himself had a hand in bringing them into being.
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The Real Jesus: Who is the Real Jesus? Ever since the dawn of modern rationalism, skeptics have sought to use textual criticism, archaeology and historical reconstructions to uncover the "historical Jesus" -- a wise teacher who said many wonderful things, but fulfilled no prophecies, performed no miracles and certainly did not rise from the dead in triumph over sin. Over the past 100 years, however, startling discoveries in biblical archaeology and scholarship have all but vanquished the faulty assumptions of these doubting modernists. Regretably, these discoveries have often been ignored by the skeptics as well as by the popular media. As a result, the liberal view still holds sway in universities and impacts the culture and even much of the church.
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This presentation explodes the myths of these critics and the movies, books and television programs that have popularized their views.
Presented in ten parts -- perfect for individual, family and classroom study -- viewers will be challenged to go deeper in their knowledge of Christ in order to be able to defend their faith and present the truth to a skeptical modern world – that the Jesus of the Gospels is the Jesus of history -- "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). He is the real Jesus. Speakers include: George Grant, Ted Baehr, Stephen Mansfield, Raymond Ortlund, Phil Kayser, David Lutzweiler, Jay Grimstead, J.P. Holding, and Eric Holmberg. Ten parts, over two hours of instruction! Running Time: 130 minutes
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| The Beast of Revelation: IDENTIFIED
Who is the dreaded beast of Revelation? Now at last, a plausible candidate for this personification of evil incarnate has been identified (or re-identified). Ken Gentry's insightful analysis of scripture and history is likely to revolutionize your understanding of the book of Revelation -- and even more importantly -- amplify and energize your entire Christian worldview! Historical footage and other graphics are used to illustrate the lecture Dr. Gentry presented at the 1999 Ligonier Conference in Orlando, Florida. It is followed by a one-hour question and answer session addressing the key concerns and objections typically raised in response to his position. This presentation also features an introduction that touches on not only the confusion and controversy surrounding this issue -- but just why it may well be one of the most significant issues facing the Church today. Ideal for group meetings, personal Bible study -- for anyone who wants to understand the historical context of John's famous letter "... to the seven churches which are in Asia." (Revelation 1:4) |
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INCLUDES A FREE Sixteen Christian leaders and scholars answer some of the most common questions and misperceptions related to this volatile issue: Download the free |
Perfect for group instruction as well as personal
Bible study. Speakers include: George Grant, Howard Phillips,
R.C. Sproul Jr., Ken Gentry, Gary DeMar, Jay Grimstead, R.J. Rushdoony,
Steven Schlissel, Andrew Sandlin, Eric Holmberg, and more!
Ten parts, over four hours of instruction! Watch over 60 streaming videos from God's Law and Society at:
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| Amazing Grace: The History and Theology of Calvinism
Over four hours of instruction! Just what is “Calvinism?” Does this teaching make man a deterministic robot and God the author of sin? What about free will? If the church accepts Calvinism, won’t evangelism be stifled, perhaps even extinguished? How can we balance God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility? What are the differences between historic Calvinism and hyper-Calvinism? Why did men like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon, Whitefield, Edwards and a host of renowned Protestant evangelists embrace the teaching of predestination and election and deny free will theology? This is the first video documentary that answers these and other related questions. Hosted by Eric Holmberg, this fascinating three-part, four-hour presentation is detailed enough so as to not gloss over the controversy. At the same time, it is broken up into ten “Sunday-school-sized” sections to make the rich content manageable and accessible for the average viewer. |
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