Tag: education

Can universities do without God?

A while ago I went to a lecture at Virginia Tech from a guest professor, Dr. James Anderson, entitled “Why Universities Can’t Do Without God: The theistic foundations of modern education and research.” Let me try to get the gist of his argument down.

(1) The existence of universities assumes the existence of two things: rational thought and objective moral standards.

Dr. Anderson pointed out that things like university honor codes, the protection of intellectual property rights, and expectations for the behavior of students, faculty and staff, are all based on the assumption that objective moral standards exist. As if to corroborate his point, about a week after the lecture, I got an email that was distributed to the entire VT community announcing the 2012 rights and responsibilities of the Virginia Tech community. It set forth strong moral expectations for everyone in the community. Furthermore, I got an email about a university-wide initiative to support charities, with the encouragement to “have a heart and do our part” – an appeal to moral virtues like selflessness and generosity.

Secondly, Anderson pointed out that rational thought is an assumed foundation upon which the university is built. Academic discourse and scientific inquiry in any field of research attempts to articulate, ascertain and define realities. The principles or reason and argument are inherent. Truth values for statements are assumed.

The next part of his argument is constructed in modus tollens. He argues that, if God does not exist, these two things could not exist either. To show this, he quotes four prominent atheist philosophers who discuss the implications of an honest, consistent atheistic worldview on the issues of objective morality and rational thought.

[at this point my notes vanish. Oh well, I present the above for what it’s worth]

 

Love like battle armor

Here’s a wake-up call for me: I’m a humble grad student, but having kids is less than a decade away. In
In the car with my brother last week, I tried to argue why it would be okay to put my kids through public school, you know, do things the “normal way.” We didn’t reach a clean conclusion, and I’m not saying public schools are good or bad. But by the end of the conversation, I admit my bro had me convinced of one thing: I have to ensure that my children are influenced by Christians (including their parents) more than non-Christian friends, teachers, and role models. I don’t know exactly what that will look like, but it’s my responsibility to find out.

I want to redefine “sheltered.” The former generation often protected the upbringing of their children by cloistering them in Christian schools, churches, etc. I say the new generation can (and even should) be “in the world,” operating as salt and light in normal secular contexts. However, it’s simple fact: you become like those you spend time with and those you look up to. My kids will become like those who give them the most time, attention, and affirmation. If I’m not proactive about it, his friend Greg and the science teacher Mr. Kim will shape him the most.

I’m not a fan of being “sheltered,” at least in the way often associated with homeschoolers (you know, bare-footed spelling-bee champions who are downright weird). I suggest a new concept of “shelter” – not a cloister from culture, but bands of relationship that surround you. I want to give my children something more like battle armor than a fortress. Friends from church, a loving family, mentors and teachers, all who share in our beliefs. “Beliefs are based on relationships” (Josh McDowell). Wrapped in those caring relationships, like chain mail, my children will be better armed to withstand worldly influences.

We must be the primary influences on our children. Pre-school and day-care and babysitters and summer camps and “go-play-with-your-friends” won’t cut it these days. The challenge lies before us, and we must rise to meet it: we must be committed to love our children in the face of a hypercommitted society where sitting down for a family meal is a big event.

I’ve got to invest the time necessary to influence my children’s upbringing, to find out how to successfully “raise up my children in the way they should go” in a postmodern melting pot.

So to me and my young adult friends who are going to be parents sooner that we think: do we know what we believe, and what we want our children to believe? Are we ready? The next generation will soon be upon us.