<p>@Holocene yes I know what a theory is. I’m saying that you cannot assume a theory is true (you have lots of evidence to support the statement that it is true, but you cannot say that it is true).</p>
<p>For example, all of Newtonian mechanics was thought to be true until Einstein and others realized that, if objects started traveling closer to the speed of light, weird relativity effects occur.</p>
<p>Jesus :), you are an idiot lacrosse37. Are you saying that black people can’t be Christians?</p>
<p>I hate the refrain thats becoming common: Muslim? Black?</p>
<p>Seriously, the only one that you left off that is commonly included is “gay”.</p>
<p>Edit: and when was the SAT essay ever considered “prestigeous”?</p>
<p>I really would avoid it, unless you are applying to religious colleges (eg, Liberty, Hope, Pepperdine, etc.). I think it is very difficult to keep both your and the reader’s perspectives and prejudices out of the way. It would be a very fine line to walk, and why risk it? There are surely TONS of other topics that have fewer minefields than this one.</p>
<p>While I think Sikorsky makes some very good distinctions, there are enough things to worry about in your common app essay without adding this layer of possible problems. And I personally think that even the most intellectually able high school students I know could make a misstep (or an ad-com could misinterpret). The rules about not discussing religion or politics could well be extended to the common app essay, IMHO.</p>
<p>Not that this is a major point, but the original question was about the SAT essay. Since that’s a timed essay, I wouldn’t advise a student to spend time casting about for some other example if he or she has something useful and intelligent to say about Jesus. (Yes, I know that all students go into the essay with a handful of examples already lined up, and their real question is not which examples to use, but how to shoehorn those examples into a response about the essay prompt. Still, since it’s a timed writing assignment, I wouldn’t encourage students to spend any more time than necessary on a task other than writing.)</p>
<p>The Common App essay, by contrast, is an exercise for which students have essentially limitless time. If you want to recommend that students eschew religion and partisan politics in their Common App essays, I wouldn’t disagree in most cases.</p>
<p>@lacrosse37, in post #13, you basically said that Black people will disagree with the statement that Jesus is real. Umm…</p>
<p>Thank you for all of the responses. I wasnt expecting to get so many. If anyone here took the October SAT they know that there was no way to incorporate Jesus as an example, not that I really intended to anyway. I realize that with all the possibilities when citing examples its better just to stay away from anything associated with religion. However, Jesus was a historical figure. You can question his divinity but not his existence. And as many other people pointed out, even if he didn’t exist he would be a fictional character. And did anyone honestly think I would use something like the resurrection to demonstrate perseverance?</p>
<p>Hmm…I said it would be fine with me (a non-Christian reader) if you used Jesus as an example, as long as you weren’t relying on Jesus’ divinity to prove your point.</p>
<p>Evidently, I was wrong. Apparently, you’d better base your writing for a North American readership on a life-and-death battle in the Middle East that isn’t actually even happening over whether or not there ever was a Jesus.</p>
<p>Sent from my DROIDX using CC</p>
<p>@lacrosse37, if Christ can’t be used as an example because readers will disagree with you, that’s similar to saying, “You can never write a persuasive argument about abortion because the reader will likely disagree.”</p>
<p>I think how you phrase it matters. Consider the two statements:</p>
<p>“Jesus healed a blind man.”
“Most Christians believe that Jesus healed a blind man.”</p>
<p>Sure, the first statement can be disagreed by many, and here, cannot be used as an example or as evidence. The second statement, however, is true, regardless of whether or not you believe that Jesus existed.</p>
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<p>SOME atheists do. Don’t try to paint all with the same brush. I don’t because out of all the gifted students I know, we have 3 atheists and one Muslim then the rest are Christian. So I know that Christian does not equate to lower intelligence. And a lot of these kids are the most open minded people I have ever met.</p>
<p>Being a Christian is great for many reasons. One of the less obvious ones is having all the incidents and individuals in the Bible available for use for such a time as this. Go ahead and use Jesus as an example in your essay. While His identity is disputed, no one can logically deny that He existed. He is an actual part of history. Whether you believe He is God or not, His life was full of the themes that make up SAT essay assignments: integrity, good character, etc.
I’ve mentioned God in my SAT essays without it negatively impacting my score. So why not try it?</p>
<p>@ lacrosse37, Hitler was very much a Christian. He repeatedly referred to and prayed to the Christian God. He claimed his god’s plan for him was for him to do what he was doing. That’s part of how he got people to go along with it.</p>
<p>We aren’t forcing anyone to believe anything. Did you see the two example statements I put in post #31? The first statement almost “forces” the reader to accept, which we don’t want. The second statement is much better for an essay.</p>
<p>@dcTalk, the phrase “become a Christian so that you can use examples from the Bible” is quite odd to me. I am a Christian, but why would anyone become a Christian just to use examples for a 25 minute essay? Might as well take a class on religion. Then you get to learn about all the world’s religions and have more examples on SAT essays…</p>
<p>C’mon people, let’s get back to the real point here… if in doubt, leave it out! Do you want to get the best score possible or make a big personal statement? (not that those are mutually exclusive).</p>
<p>More importantly - since you don’t know what the SAT question will be, are you trying to shoehorn this talk of Jesus into just any essay question? </p>
<p>Is your SAT really the time to address this whole issue?</p>
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<p>Well this is certainly an interesting topic. I’ll throw my opinion into the ring.
Consider the audience. You do not know who reads your essay and you can not assume how they will feel about it. You could offend the reader or you could not. Consider that the topic could possibly be taken the wrong way. Is your intention to write the best essay for the situation or is it to discuss Jesus? If it is to write the essay, then there are many subjects to talk about and if you pick a neutral one then the essay will be appropriate to any reader.</p>
<p>There is a time and place for things. Don’t wear pajamas to a dinner party, sleep in them. Don’t write about Jesus on the SAT, but you could write that for a church newsletter or something like that. We could argue forever about the topic but the main issue is choosing an appropriate subject for the situation.</p>
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<p>@ lacrosse37</p>
<p>This is ridiculous. You can’t be serious.
You aren’t “forcing” your Sat grades to do ANYTHING. YOU AREN’T FORCING THEM TO BELIEVE IN CHRISTIANITY. NO. NOTHING. NOTHING. UNDERSTAND? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. NOTHING.
Just because the SAT grader doesn’t agree with what you believe DOES NOT and completely DOES NOT and totally DOES NOT and all-in-all DOES NOT mean that the SAT grader will grade your essay down.
If I’m an SAT grader, and I think that happiness is achieved through others but my essay does not think so, I wouldn’t ansd shouldn’t grade it down.
“HURR HURR im atheeist sat graider i disaggrre wit u therfor 0/12 4 u lel”</p>
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<p>I agree that there’s a ridiculous part, but I don’t think you’ve quite zeroed in on it yet.</p>
<p>I think the bias would be more subtle. Especially if Jesus is discussed as everyone’s “Lord and Savior” and not “a religious leader”. Atheists would simply think “oh, this kid’s a Christian.” And as they read, their stereotypes about Christians will interfere with their objectivity. Especially if they’re reading very quickly.</p>
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<p>If I were evaluating an SAT essay that cited Jesus as “Lord and Savior,” I might well conclude, “This kid’s an idiot.” But it wouldn’t be because I’m an atheist (I’m not), and it wouldn’t be because I think Christians are all idiots (I don’t). It would be because I’d found an author who didn’t know an appropriate way to write expository prose for a secular audience. </p>
<p>But that wouldn’t be my personal bias interfering with my objectivity. That would be objectively correct.</p>
<p>@rspence: Read more carefully. I didn’t say become a Christian for essay topics. That’s ridiculous. You become a Christian because you realize you need Jesus. Period. I merely said that having familiarity with the Bible is helpful in this situation.</p>
<p>@lacrosse7: I’ve always wondered… how does it feel to be a ■■■■■? Is it fun?</p>
<p>@Serenity Jade: Make no mistake – Hitler was no Christian. His every deed goes against the teachings of Christ and the character of God. A person can claim to be a Christian all he wants, but Christ Himself said you will know His followers by their deeds.</p>
<p>Obviously, the College Confidential forums are no place to discuss religion. I stand by my previous statement. The OP should feel comfortable using examples from the Bible when relevant to the essay prompt.</p>