“If You Wore Glasses, You Were Shot.” As the Khmer Rouge overran Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, they knew that educated Cambodians would stand against their propaganda and methods. So anyone with any sign of education was exterminated in “The Killing Fields.”

“What About The Bomb?”
This is not a common question in most department meetings at universities here in the U.S. But that was exactly the question at the department meeting recently in a West African university where a Global Scholar teaches.

This month I have been struck by the daily challenges experienced by so many Global Scholars professors throughout the world, in particular those in countries closed to Christianity. I recently connected by email with “Pam,” a Global Scholars professor in a closed African nation.

Many years ago in a small village in Zambia a young man, Tembo, set out on a journey. He moved to Uganda to follow his dream and attain his Ph.D. Tembo studied and worked very hard during this time in his life. At the same time, he began to ask questions and develop a relationship with his Global Scholars professor, who discipled him as a follower of Christ.

Last week, a woman in China (“Lin”) reached by a Global Scholars professor was baptized. We praise God for another changed life in this closed country!

There is no greater expression of our unique status as God’s image-bearers than to ask questions and search for answers. In fact, Jesus says the greatest commandment is to love God with all our hearts, souls, strength and minds (Matthew 22:37).

According to recent reports, Hurricane Matthew has left 572 dead in Haiti as well as leaving much of the country under knee deep, or higher, waters. The entire southern peninsula is cut off from the rest of Haiti due to a major bridge being washed out. Citizens of the nation are trapped in their neighborhoods, many homes are in ruins and food and water are expected to run out soon.

Students throughout the world are under attack for their faith, values and even their lives. Students like Tuyen, from a country in Asia, who was tricked by relatives into getting into a vehicle that ended up kidnapping her to be someone’s bride. She managed to escape, barely surviving a swim across a river to a safe shore.

Universities are dangerous to those who seek to control a nation with their brand of radical ideology, whether radical Islam, Marxism or Secularism. It is much harder to control men and women who receive an education and learn to think for themselves. Therefore many see universities as one of the greatest threats to their power. As has often been said, the three square feet behind a university lectern is the most dangerous real estate in a nation!