Surely the academy values the cognitive over the relational, but this hardly means the relational aspects of the academy fail to matter. On the contrary, it seems – though there are exceptions – those who love well best navigate the inherent tensions of being a Christ-follower in the midst of an oft-inhospitable environment.
In the Scriptures, Jesus taught that others would know we belong to him by our love for each other (John 13:35). There is an apologetic value in loving, or caring, for others.
The sociologist Rodney Stark has studied the rise of Christianity. He concluded that pagan and Christian writers were unanimous that not only did Christian Scripture stress love and charity as the central duties of faith—but that these were sustained in everyday behavior.
- Lucian wrote of the Christians: ‘Their original lawgiver taught them that they were all brethren, one of the other.’ . . .
- The wicked emperor Julian, who despised all Christians, accusing them of ulterior motives still grudgingly admire their charity: “The impious Galileans support not only their poor but ours as well. Everyone can see that our poor lack aid from us.”
- Tertullian claimed (Apology, 39): ‘It is our care of the helpless, our practice of loving kindness that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents. “Only look,” they say, “look how they love one another!’”
No one denies the intellectual work that lies before all Christian academics, yet it is impossible to deny that God has placed us in departments, and classrooms, and in this world to care about people around us.
In fact, without data to back this claim, I’ll suggest that works of kindness, humility, and compassion will result in more behind-the-door conversations about Christ than the latest journal article. We are called by God, of course, to excel at both.
We cannot put “acts of kindness” or “a humble spirit” on a C.V., yet they are part of what God has called us to. God has called us to people, and to ideas.
We dream of the day when things like this are said about Christian academics across the country: They love well. The department would never be the same without them. They defend the defenseless. They celebrate with those who are succeeding, and cheer on those who struggle. They put others before themselves. They are those to whom everyone runs in time of personal need.
Loving and caring for people – even in shocking ways – is part of God’s call to be an academic.
Rick Hove and Heather Holleman