Commentary: Have Evangelical Colleges Succumbed to “Theological Paranoia”?

[CopyBoy]

On a fall day in 1998 I sat opposite the kindly guidance counselor at my Midwestern Christian high school who extolled the virtues of evangelical higher education. She seemed concerned that Christian students’ faith might be weakened or lost were they to enroll in a secular institution. For me, this was a red flag. If Christianity was the Truth, then what was the danger in the open-ended exploration of ideas? I ultimately opted for Ball State University, though many capable classmates, like many current and former evangelicals I’ve met since, chose evangelical colleges or universities, confident that they would prove compatible with authentic intellectual inquiry and tolerance for a range of political views. Given a worrisome trend at a number of Christian schools, not all would make that same choice today.

Larycia Hawkins, associate professor of political science at Wheaton College and the only tenured woman of color in the school’s 156-year history, is just the latest case to hit the headlines. After initially suspending Hawkins for asserting in a Facebook post that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, Wheaton has initiated proceedings to terminate her claiming that she has violated the school’s statement of faith that she, like all faculty, had signed.

religiondispatches.org/special-report-have-evangelical-colleges-succumbed-to-theological-paranoia/

 

[exnihilo]

The first point the article tries to make is the bald assertion that evangelical colleges are run by White male racists. The rest of the article has this as its point:

Dissenting professors are being purged, non-conforming students are being intimidated, speech is chilled, and academic freedom is on life support.

If so then this is nothing unique to evangelical colleges or academia. Academia has a long history of ridiculing dissenting voices. It has a long history of suppressing unpopular speech. The ridiculous notion of an unbiased liberal arts education is put forth. This is like the equally silly claim of unbiased journalism. It just doesn’t exist.

There is always a battle going on. We should strive to be fair and willing to explore different ideas. But that doesn’t mean there is no limit to this. If the evangelical colleges are like this then they serve as a great counterbalance to government colleges and the all too many secular colleges masquerading as Christian institutions.