Elliot Swattridge

My name is Elliot, and I am 19 and in my first year doing a BA Theology degree. I come from a sheltered background, having lived in a house in the countryside, and so I was quite surprised when I heard of many of the problems people had been exposed to. My parents are not particularly 'Christian' in any committed sense, yet I ended up (thankfully) going to a Church of England primary school, where a basic Christian education was given. When I moved into secondary school, I began to seek more popularity than Christianity, yet (thankfully again) I received a Gideons Bible when I was in year 7, which I didn't read immediately. Due to various factors (of course being led by God), I began reading it at a later point, which led me towards God, although I didn't understand many Christian ideas at that point. I became a Christian officially when I was 16, during my baptism (which I didn't have as an infant); subsequently, counselling sessions and confirmation preparation sessions, as well as an introductory book, helped me to understand Christian ideas more, although I still didn't really think about things for myself that much. Eventually, I got into apologetics from my philosophy course, which I found really useful for my faith. I was initially planning to do Medicine at university, but, after being rejected for a particular university, and coming to the theological college for an interview (which I really liked), as well as being put off Medicine, and chose to do Theology. I am indeed very glad that I came here, since the community is wonderful and I have made many new friends and become more sociable, and I have become much more into worship than I used to be; God has developed and refreshed me in many visible and profound ways.