things. This explains why the opposition to
Christian higher education is not merely
questioning but openly hostile. It is not that
we will be treated as odd or backwards.That
would not be new. We have been treated as
odd and backward for well over a hundred
years. No, in a culture increasingly terrified
of those who would claim an unreserved
belief in the inspired, inerrant Word of
God, increasingly terrified of those who
would claima belief in the exclusivity of the
Gospel, and increasingly terrified of those
who would claim a belief that the biblical
model of sexuality is the moral model for
all people at all times, we are going to be
seen not merely as quaint but as dangerous.
And that is a very different thing.
So what can we do? There are only
two options: go secular or go sectarian.
If we try to hold onto the approval of the
academy, sooner or later we will surrender
our Christian convictions and turn secular.
The only other option, and the only real
option for those wishing to remain faithful
to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is to go
sectarian. Now, I realize the word sectarian
makes some people nervous, but I mean it
in the technical sense used by sociologists:
we are going to have to be more tightly
defined by what we believe in contrast to
the larger society. We are not going to have
a choice. We are going to have to release
our ambition to receive the approval of the
broader academy and focus on providing
an education that is Christian in terms of
conviction and content — an education
that is entirely defined by the effort to
bring every thought captive to Christ (2
Cor. 10:5). The Christian understanding
is that there is no such thing as secular
knowledge. All truth is God’s truth, and
it is the Christian’s responsibility to make
that very clear and to pass that knowledge
on to the next generation.
A Christian institution of education is
not Christian because Christians founded
it. It is not Christian because Christians
are paying for it. It is not Christian even
if Christians are the ones coming to it.
It is only genuinely Christian if every
dimension of the university or college is
accountable to the revealed truth of God’s
inerrant Word. Without that, “Christian”
is merely an adjective reflecting more of
the school’s public relations strategy than
its cognitive commitment.
At times, I have difficulty being
cheerful about the future of Christian
higher education. When you consider the
challenges that are coming, you quickly
realize that it is a daunting task. At times,
it even seems like an impossible task that
is somehow still getting harder by the
day. But we conclude as we began: these
heightened challenges only heighten the
urgency of our task. Make no mistake,
we must not flag or fail. As the people of
God, we have an imperative to provide for a
systemof education that prepares ministers
and marketers and mathematicians to
take the Gospel to their neighbor and to
the nations. The future may be dark, but
the same could be said in every age in a
Genesis 3 world. And it is not without
hope. God did not promise that the gates
of hell would not prevail against particular
institutions, but He did promise that they
would not prevail against His Church
(Matt. 16:18). And because the Church has
a future, there will always be a future for
Christian higher education. It will not be
easy. It will not be applauded by the secular
academy. But it will be faithful.
R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
, is President of
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in
Louisville, Kentucky. He has been recognized
by such influential publications as
Time
and
Christianity Today
as a leader among
American evangelicals. He received his
Master of Divinity and Ph.D. from Southern
Seminary. He addressed Cedarville’s faculty
and staff on this topic in August 2013. Learn
more about Dr. Mohler at
A CHRISTIAN INSTITUTION
IS ONLY GENUINELY
CHRISTIAN IF EVERY
DIMENSION OF THE
UNIVERSITY OR COLLEGE
IS ACCOUNTABLE TO THE
REVEALED TRUTH OF
GOD’S INERRANT WORD.
