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TechnoratiAdolf Hitler once said, “It is the luck of rulers when men do not think.” The writer of Proverbs underscores this truth by saying, “Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse” (2:12).
Scripture makes clear that God places a high value on knowledge, wisdom, and understanding-and by implication, the education necessary to obtaining it. Proverbs chapter 4 says, “Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding … Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” The Bible goes on to prescribe understanding as a protection against sin: “The woman Folly is loud; she is undisciplined and without knowledge. She sits at the door of her house … calling out to those who pass by … ‘Let all who are simple come in here!’ … But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave”(Proverbs 9:13–18).
God has made mankind in His image, meaning we are endowed with certain attributes that are characteristic of God, such as creativity, compassion, love, and so on. God has also endowed us with intellect. In other words, God has given us the ability to reason and think. It is the mind that is designed to rule the flesh; it is reason informed by biblical revelation that should guide our passions. However, our minds were born corrupt and are therefore also in need of redemption or renewal (see Romans 12:1–2). This involves education, and there is not a secular and sacred distinction. All education on every subject can be reasonably framed and rationally understood within a comprehensive theological framework.
Earlier in our nation’s history, it was the Christian life and worldview that dominated social and cultural life-almost every aspect of American life and culture was shaped by the Christian worldview. Christian values and principles formed the social and moral consensus and the institutions of culture were largely led by Christians. This was due, in large part, to the educational system of their day, which was rooted in the Christian interpretation of reality.
Every university established within the first century of American independence was done so by the various Protestant denominations or Catholic Church. This commitment to intellectualism, scholarship, and academia was a fundamental part of the church’s mission. This was not an unintentional act by a culture that just happened to be religious. That generation of Christians understood and fulfilled the biblical mandate to exercise dominion, to advance the kingdom of God, and to be salt and light, and thus they did so with intellectually responsible effort. They understood that Christians had a duty in a literate world to be among the intellectual elite and that by being educated they would, in turn, shape the culture and show forth the kingdom of God.
Contrast that with the state of the American church today. Not only have we surrendered virtually every culture-shaping institution, we have essentially abandoned this once-held commitment to developing the Christian mind. As I have written previously, numerous studies reveal astonishing levels of biblical and theological ignorance.
Therefore, the degradation of American culture that has taken place over the last fifty years shouldn’t surprise us. This is the natural consequence of a culture in which the biblical view of life and reality-rooted in the redemptive mission of God-has been replaced by alternative systems of human thought, interpretations of reality that are rooted in the redemptive efforts of man.
As a member of the graduating class of 2009, the vast majority of your peers are intellectually ill equipped to defend-much less commend-the faith against the intellectual, moral, and spiritual assault now common to the university. Most will abandon the faith; others will stumble and fall into destructive sin; and for many their faith will simply become irrelevant. According to one study by Josh McDowell, only one in seven kids from evangelical homes will return from college with their faith intact. No organization can survive this kind of attrition. Continue »
