Dear Mr. R. Kirby Godsey,In the process of life we face many challenges and manycrossroads.
We have many choices and many decisions to make. In making these decisions we must keep in mind the moralvalues our parents have taught us since we were born. ThoseChristian values should guide our lives and the choices wemake. These same values should also guide at school as well.
Inour pursuit of knowledge, we should keep these values in mind. In our never-ending road of learning, we are granted withmany academic freedoms. We have the freedom to question andtry to learn new ideas. We also have the freedom to disagreewith the material presented to us. We can disagree and voice ouropinions, but in an orderly fashion.
In exercising those freedoms, we should do so withmaturity and responsibility. As students, we are responsible forlearning all the content of any course we study. We are free totake exception to the views or information presented to us, andwe are free to reserve judgment about matters of opinions. Sometimes, in our quest for knowledge, there becomes aconflict between our beliefs we are accustomed to and thematerial presented to us. When there is a difference, we shouldnot ignore the idea or block it out.
We should feel free to learnand question new ideas. Just because we learn somethingdoesnt mean we have to accept it. We should leave ourselvesopen to new ideas. When we do this we become very wellrounded individuals. An example of this is the issue involving the debatebetween evolution and creationism. As Christians, we naturallybelieve in creationism, but we shouldnt stop learning about evolution because we dont believe in it.
This makes us veryclose minded. We shouldnt stop learning about a subject justbecause we dont believe in it. One of our freedoms is theacademic freedom of inquiry. This means we have freedom toquestion.
We have the freedom to learn. We can still search formore answers, and we can learn different theories and still keepour beliefs. The trick in doing this is to balance all of this. Wemust be able to keep our beliefs and new ideas presentedseparated.
We must be able to draw a line between what youlearn and what you believe. In doing this we become openminded individuals. I believe if we can balance our values and our academicfreedom of inquiry we have reached a whole new level oflearning. Not many people can do this.
It is hard to want to learnmaterial presented to us that you dont particularly care for orbelieve in. When we learn to do this we are open to a whole newworld of possibilities. I feel I have learned how to keep my morals and beliefs,while continuing my search for new ideas and information. I feelI have learned to balance these. I have found the line betweenthe two , and I know when too far is too far. Since Mercer is aplace where I can feel free to open myself to new doors andexpress my beliefs, I feel I would blend into the Mercerenvironment very well.
I am open to new ideas and want tolearn. I want to get the best education I can get and Mercer is theplace where I can get it. I am willing to learn as much as I can,whether it is spiritually, academically, or intellectually. Sincerely,XXXXXXXXXccCategory: English .
