Religion: World's Most Unusual

(2 of 2)

Right Side Up. Some 1,200 students, whom Bob Sr. fondly calls his "Preacher Boys," are studying for the ministry. On school weekends and during the summers, they pour off the campus to bring converts to the sawdust aisle. At churches where they assist, they often make pastors uneasy with their fervent preaching.

Last week the Preacher Boys were heading off campus again for their summer missions. Each man must preach one sermon a week; every day he must find a new spiritual "contact," ask him how he stands with Christ.

At commencement exercises before they left, President Bob Jones Jr. summed up their school's philosophy: "Bob Jones University students have never followed the trends of the day. Twenty years ago, they were not swallowing goldfish, and this spring there were no lingerie raids on our girls' dormitories . . . We do not send out graduates to turn the world upside down. The world is already upside down. We are sending you out with the message of the Gospel, which can turn men right side up."

* Most famous Bob Jones alumnus: Evangelist Billy Graham.

Quotes of the Day »

Get & Share
TOMMY WARD, whose family has been harvesting oysters from the Gulf of Mexico since the 1920s, on the FDA's plan to ban the sale of raw oysters that are harvested in warm months; about 15 people die each year due to raw-oyster contamination
For use in rail of Articles page or Section Fronts pages. Duplicate and change name as necesssary to distinguish.

Time.com on Digg

POWERED BY digg

Quotes of the Day »

Get & Share
ROBERT GATES, the U.S. secretary of defense, on leaks in the Obama administration about who supports a troop increase in Afghanistan and who wants a more limited approach

Stay Connected with TIME.com