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University of Destruction: Your Game Plan for Spiritual Victory on Campus

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What to buy that high school graduate who is a Christian? If the answer is, "Buy him/her a book," until now the option had been limited to saccharin, shallow devotional guides. With David Wheaton's "University of Destruction: Your Game Plan for Spiritual Victory on Campus," there is now an option that is relevant, penetrating, and practical.

Author David Wheaton has "been there, done that." From his own experience on the campus of Stanford University, from his research, and from his interaction with 1000s of young people, Wheaton has distilled three "Pillars of Peril" for the Christian on the college campus: sex, alcohol/drugs, and humanism. After identifying the perils, Wheaton creatively offers realistic guidelines for raising the college spiritual GPA in order to become a victorious Christian on campus.

Wheaton demonstrates his insight by not stopping at the "body sins" of college campus--sex, drugs, and alcohol. For the deepest, ongoing college peril is the "mental sin" or "faith sin" of the deconstruction of belief that systematically occurs on secular college campuses.

You know that a book is solid when both Sean Hannity and Dr. John MacArthur recommend it. They're correct. "University of Destruction" is an excellent gift not only for the high school graduate, but for her/his parents.

Reviewer: Robert W. Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Soul Physicians" and "Spiritual Friends." He is also the parent of a college junior on an elite secular college campus and the parent of a high school senior headed to an elite college.

I could have used a mentor like this when I was a young adult! I am a parent of a high schooler and highly recommend this book. David does an excellent job of preparing the reader for the temptations of "Sodom" found on many college campuses (and many high school campuses as well). He teaches the reader how avoid the temptations by establishing the habits of a godly lifestyle. This book would be very helpful for any young adult ready to go out on his/her own, college bound or not. The same temptations are there in and out of college.

I wish I had read this book years ago when I was a college freshman; David Wheaton's excellent book would have saved me from a lot of emotional pain and heartache from broken relationships and "youthful" behavior. Alas, today's college and high school students can greatly benefit from David's insights, experiences, and advice on how to navigate the difficult transition from high school to college. As I was reading along, nodding my head in agreement, I thought one thing was missing from this book: more about David's experiences at Stanford University. But he was saving that part to the end, and what a powerful finish!

I'm always looking for great books to give to Christian students to prepare and equip them for the challenges of college life -- especially those that help them prepare for the challenges to their faith. In the past, the best book on the market was J. Budziszewski's How to Stay Christian in College; but I may go out on a limb and say that Wheaton's University of Destruction is even better!

Wheaton does a great job of weaving the personal testimony of his own experience (which was not positive), but the truth of Scripture to give a young person a solid foundation from which to make their own decisions. And the best part is that Wheaton tells it like it is -- no sugar-coating of the college experience, no rose-colored glasses that "Christian" kids don't face the same pressures and temptations that other students face -- Wheaton addresses alcohol, sex and authority issues with honesty and gives students real solutions to the dilemmas they will face on every college campus.

I love the book -- short enough that students can read it; but deep enough that when they do, they'll learn and be challenged by the truth presented clearly in each chapter. Parents of teenaged students, this would be a great graduation gift...or even better to give your student during their junior year as they begin to look at colleges and consider what campus best fits their goals and calling in life.

It is a tragic fact that many, and perhaps even the majority of students who proclaim to be Christians when they begin college, no longer make such a claim when they have finished. Four years of college, four years of being away from the presence of parents and church, leads many to abandon the faith they once professed. To combat this ongoing problem, David Wheaton, radio host and one-time tennis professional, has written University of Destruction. This book is targetted squarely at the teenager who is about to depart the comfort and safety of home to set out on his own, beginning with a college education.

To explain how so many young people can fall away during their tenure at college Wheaton differentiates between professors and possessors. Everyone who claims to be a Christian when he begins college is a professor, for he professes faith in Christ. But only a few are possessors, those who actually possess a living and active faith. Clearly it is only those who possess the indwelling Holy Spirit, and are thus possessed by God, who can expect to remain strong through their years of higher education.

Wheaton goes on to introduce what he calls the Pillars of Peril that every student will encounter. They are sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Sex refers to all forms of sexual deviance and activity outside of God's divinely ordained plan that sex be restricted to the marriage bed. The author emphasizes abstinence and allows no leeway for any type of sexual activity outside marriage. He also warns of the dangers involved in dating. While he does not directly advocate a courtship model, he does encourage young couples to date under the authority of their parents and to only date people with whom they can foresee a marriage.

Drugs refers not only to the recreational drugs that are all too common at colleges, but also to alcohol. Wheaton encourages students to avoid alcohol altogether, not only because most college students are underage and drinking is thus an offense against the governmental authorities, but because it may represent a poor example to unbelievers. He suggests that students "Commit to a higher standard - don't drink alcohol...period! Take it out of play; remove it completely from your life...I can think of no positive reasons for drinking alcoholic beverages" (pages 74,75).

The third Pillar of Peril is rock 'n' roll, by which the author refers not to music, but to what rock music exemplifies - rebellion against authority.

Having introduced the pillars of peril, Wheaton goes on to help the student put together a game plan for addressing and overcoming each one of them. He concludes with helpful teaching about the importance of choosing friends wisely and choosing the right college.

Throughout the book Wheaton continually refers the student to the Bible, affirming the power and supremacy of the Scriptures. His teaching is consistent with historical Protestantism and will surely reap great benefits in the lives of those who read and heed his teachings. He is deliberate in showing that the greatest sin on campus is not the acts themselves, but the erosion of Christian worldview, without which there is no authority, no right or wrong.

This is a book I would not hesitate to provide as a gift for any student who is planning on attending college. It would be an excellent title for the student to read and study with his parents. I definitely recommend it.

I wish I could have read this book 15 years ago! College lasts such a short time, but makes a significant impact on the rest of your life. David does an excellent job of describing the pitfalls that await students the minute they step on campus. He then provides them the tools to avoid the traps, and not just get by, but Overcome! I like his significant use of Scripture as the foundation for everything he says. His writing style is personal, easy to read, and very easy to remember. He engages the reader immediately and keeps your interest throughout.

Should be a must-read for every Christian student who wants to make the most of college, not let it make the most of them!

This book contains advice for believing Christian students who want to survive a secular college education with faith intact. It covers the concerns of many parents as well, including drugs, drinking, sex, depression, and loss of purpose in life, to name a few. One section I found of interest was the review of the work of Railsback when he was a PhD student at UCLA. Railsback found that about half of those students who said they were conservative Christians as freshman lost their faith as seniors. His exact words were "as many as 50 percent of Christians students say they have lost their faith after four years in college" (book cover) He also found that this was true of not only secular colleges, but of nominal Christian colleges as well. It was less true only of historical black colleges and conservative Christian colleges. In my experience, according to the feedback of my colleagues, a major goal of many professors is to break the religious faith of those Christian students who try to live their religion and act on it in their daily life. The author, who went to Stanford, relates his experience at a top university. If parents knew what actually takes place at college they would not be so willing to fork out 100,000 dollars or more for a four year "education."

Mr Wheaton seems to understand a very fundamental problem that we all share. We are, regardless of whether we believe it or not, all influenced by what we are exposed to. Advertisers understand that very well. No one forces kids to eat the junk that advertisers are pushing. No one forces a kid to start smoking just because all of his friends do. And as another reviewer pointed out, no one forces college students to engage in harmful activities. But the fact is - they do it anyway. Even the best of kids (and adults for that matter) are influenced by their peers. So do we not warn them of the pressures and temptations that they will face because we know that no one will force them into anything? Of course not. If they are at least warned about what they are getting into, they have a much better chance of "keeping the faith". A truth that christians have accepted is that we all need help to stay on track. We know we are all weak with out the help of the Lord. Mr. Wheaton is offering very practical help for those who honest enough with themselves to acknowledge they need help. Most students don't realize they need help so they are not open to it when it is made available. "For those who have ears, let them hear."

As a youth pastor for over a decade, I have seen the powerful effects of "higher learning" on faith. This book helps decipher some of the key reasons and methods behind the systematic removal of most moral policies at colleges and university.

I would recommend that all Christian leaders, parents, teachers, administrators, and high school juniors and seniors read this book.

University of Destruction is the gift of a former college student, who became spiritually shipwrecked in college, to today's college students. It is the fruit of one man's willingness to follow the Lord's leading in his own life. It is Biblically sound because it is based on Biblical principles. College students are sharing this book with other college students because they believe it is a must read to help them keep focused on their daily walk with the Lord. Share this gift!