Despite our ability to combine modesty and assertiveness in our “confident pluralism”, we must be willing to embrace the challenge of working in a secular environment. Nathan Hatch warns of a common temptation, one inevitable for Christians in a minority position within the academy:
Like children long rejected, evangelical scholars are still too anxious to be accepted by their peers, too willing to move only in directions that allow them to be ‘relevant.’ [The result is that] we have been far more inclined to speak up when our Christian convictions are in tune with the assumptions of modern academic life than when they are at odds. It is much easier, for instance, to set oneself in the vanguard of social progress than it is to defend those Christian assumptions that the established and fashionable intellectual circles of our day regard as obscurantist and fanciful. Yet it is this tougher mental fight that we must not avoid.
To avoid the temptation to value social acceptance over defending the Christian worldview requires we embrace a “[tough] mental fight.”
Towards the end of bringing a distinctive Christian perspective into a pluralistic university, we’d like to present the following questions one might consider when considering future research or teaching opportunities.
In subsequent Missional Moments, we’ll unpack these questions a few at a time.
- What is the meta-narrative of my discipline? Does this bring to light possible issues that need to be refuted, or modified, or advanced?
- What is the current meta-narrative of our culture? What needs to be encouraged, corrected, or redirected for the common good?
- Are there opportunities to pursue a project or research that might be a blessing to the world?
- Is there a contemporary position that is in conflict with the gospel that needs to be responded to? Are there research or writing areas which might open doors to engage in gospel/Christian worldview conversations?
- Is there a substantive area in your discipline that you sense God is leading you to work on?
But first, we must address, in next week’s Missional Moment, the common perspective that Jesus should be sequestered from true academic pursuits.
Rick Hove and Heather Holleman