Gutenberg College — Attraction in Eugene

The staff I have met are very kind and humble people. However, there are people in the Gutenberg/MSC/Reformation Fellowship community that teach denying the Trinity, downplaying the deity of Christ, rejecting the Nicene Creed, and not participating in Baptism and Communion. These are very basic things for Christianity, so it is concerning that these things are allowed to be taught within the community there. If you send your child here they will eventually be exposed to this, especially if they chose to attend Reformation Fellowship. In regards to their views on dating relationships, they are very strange and dangerous. According to their views, people are allowed to date as many people as they want at one time, under the guise of just being friends. This leads to people having their emotions toyed with and creates many avoidable conflicts, as well as broken hearts and destroyed friendships. My own personal experience with the Gutenberg students was very negative. After moving cross country to be apart of MSC and the Art Project, I was at first accepted by the Gutenberg students, until I had a minor conflict with them. At this point, they began to shun me, and then spread various rumors about me. After confiding to the then house managers about what was going on, I was placed into a meeting against my wishes with some of the Gutenberg students. During this meeting one of the Gutenberg students lied about me, taking something that was true, and spun it out of context to malign my character. Later, when I tried to resolve things in a Biblical manner with this person, they became hostile and yelled at me, and then accused me of having false motives for being there. In a attempt to resolve things in a peaceful way with another Gutenberg student, they went to a Psychologist within the community and told a bold faced lie about me, and it was a complete fabrication. Only a few of the Gutenberg students have ever repented in regards to the shunning, lies and rumors spread about me, even though I repented of my part in the conflict. Eventually, the rumors got so bad and out of control, I was left with no choice, but to simply leave the community. There were even more horrible things that I experienced in that community , but I have chosen not to speak of them here. Hopefully , the new students have a stronger Christian character than this, but my own experience gives me pause about wanting to support the schools claims about teaching these students how to resolve personal conflicts in a Biblical way. I saw people come into that community solid Christians and in less than two years turned into the most callous and uncaring people I have ever encountered in a Christian setting. Another major issue I have is that Mckenzie Study Center existed before Gutenberg, and was a very vital and much needed ministry for Christian thinkers and artists. Now it appears that Gutenberg is filtering out MSC , and I don't like the direction it is going in, where it is only designed for the academic elite, and not for soul searching Christians. I wish they would have had the ability to have kept MSC and the Art Project completely separate from Gutenberg, and had kept that as something for post college age adults . It was really sad to see those amazing ministries disappear and to lose contact with some of the great people I met there. Overall, I am in the process of becoming Eastern Orthodox, so I really no longer have a dog in the fight , but I don't feel I can recommend this place anymore unless it returns to a community less focused...

Far more than a great education, Gutenberg College is a formative experience. If you're googling Gutenberg, you probably already know it's a small, Christian liberal arts school with a classical great books focused curriculum. But that description doesn't quite do the school justice.

At the time of this writing, it's been 10 years since I gradated with a bachelor's degree from Gutenberg. I am still grateful for the education I received there and astounded by how interregnal it has been in my day-to-day work and personal relationships. I'm a writer, by trade and I'm struggling to put into words the true significance of my Gutenberg experience.

If you're thinking about applying to Gutenberg, but aren't sure if it's right for you, let me just pose some questions to you. Are you looking for a challenging (I stress, challenging), broad-based education? Are you discontent with being told what to think or believe? Do you recognize that truth must be sought out and discovered on an individual basis?

Gutenberg is not right for everyone, but if you're nodding 'yes' to these questions (and maybe you feel that 'yes' like a smoldering ember hidden in your heart just waiting to be fanned into flame--all the better in that case) then, yeah, Gutenberg is right for you.

Before I go, a quick note on the label "Christian" school. Most of the teachers ascribe to fairly standard Christian doctrines. A few teachers have some controversial theological views. That said, students are not expected to ascribe to any specific doctrine or even to call themselves "Christians." If you need your specific beliefs to be supported at all times, Gutenberg is not the place for you. Ultimately, Gutenberg isn't about faith, per say; it's about facilitating an individuals pursuit of truth. The course of that pursuit is up to you--or God, depending on your...

Gutenberg College provides a opportunity to get a thoroughly bluestocking degree in the progression of Western thought through the ages. Conveniently it also allows for the processing of one's faith and personal perspective of the world in a forum capable of hosting those kinds of questions and aiding in the search for answers.

In the paraphrased words of Viktor Frankl: The question, "What is the meaning of life?" It is not for life to answer but for the individual to responsibly find meaning. Man is called upon to answer life and not the other way around.

I think the Gutenberg offers a set of tools that are priceless in the search for meaning.

When someone asks: what is truth, what is faith, what is art, what is love. At Gutenberg these questions are not presented with a list of facts to recall for a test but they are answered with a call to rise up to seek and decide those answers and responsibility participate in the great conversations of the purpose and...