critical mass (e.g. there is a critical mass of Christian representation in all facets)
intentionally pluralist (e.g. there is some intentional Christian representation in some areas)
accidentally pluralist (e.g. there is a haphazard sprinkling of Christians).
Some biblical perspectives
The two typologies given above could obscure the fact that many Christians are serving Christ within higher education but without fitting any of them, because they are in secular institutions. There are many ways of serving Christ in the higher education sector, and it is not intended here to set one way above another. Jesus repeatedly sent off his disciples in twos, and there is much that small numbers of Christians can do. This section, therefore, considers some areas on which all Christians in higher education can agree.
For the academic Christian, so preoccupied with matters such as knowledge, evidence and debate, there is great release in the fact that all truth is God's truth and hence Christ's truth. Solomon and Jesus are both presented in Scripture as a personification of wisdom. As 'the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it',[9] including the so-called secular world, the world is not there to be claimed for Christ - it is there to be reclaimed. Christians, seeking to love God with all their mind,[10] do not need to spend any time fearing what truth may be unearthed as they faithfully pursue a particular subject or line of enquiry.
God's revelation in the Bible and God's revelation in the world are not going to be in disagreement.[11] There is an inevitable creative tension to be worked out between being set apart and being a light to the world. Old Testament exemplars of this are provided by characters such as Joseph and Daniel. If that creative tension is not worked out effectively, there are dangers of being so separated that no great influence is exerted or so integrated with worldly practice that little visible light from God shines through.
The expression common grace is used to refer to the grace of God given even to non-Christians. Thus, creation is open to all as a field of study. This means that Christians can readily work alongside non-Christians in a wide range of academic matters, and individuals among the latter will often exceed the achievements of the former. The New Testament nonetheless makes a useful distinction between two kinds of wisdom that are not distinguished in the secular academy: wisdom from above and earthly wisdom. Earthly wisdom is indeed 'earthly, natural, demonic' and characterised by jealousy and selfish ambition, 'but the wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy'.[12]
There is ample reason for continued use of the Bible within academia. It is a book that has deeply enriched Western imagination and thought. Many European towns and cities would be robbed of some of their finest buildings if those inspired by the Bible were removed, and that is just an outward picture of this book's great impact on Western culture.
In order to help convey the debates around the topic, there follows a list of arguments for and against a Christian university. It should be noted that a Christian university does not need to be on the scale of a large secular university. It could specialise in the arts and the humanities, which avoids the issues of scale and funding associated with science and engineering.
Arguments for a Christian university
If 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge',[13] there is a place for a university that believes and acts upon that. In contrast, the secular academy does not start there. Instead, its energies can all too easily be directed by political influences towards wealth creation and utilitarianism, as the second quotation on the first page has indicated.
A Christian worldview can be explored and articulated in a Christian university. Research can be more easily facilitated in areas that complement a Christian worldview. Subjects and research centres can function that might easily be blocked from starting or closed down in the secular academy. Learning and teaching can be underpinned by a Christian worldview which affects what is studied and how it is studied. A Christian university can facilitate the development of an authentically Christian mind,[14] and every aspect of its shared life can be penetrated with Christian perspectives.[15] John Henry Newman[16] (1801-90), propounded the concept of (Catholic, as he saw it) students acquiring what he called 'universal knowledge', a comprehensive form of knowledge in which different subjects would be seen as parts of knowledge as a whole. It is difficult to see any equivalent to this being possible within the contemporary secular academy.
The study of theology, and of religion more generally, can be prioritised. Theology was once the queen of the sciences in a university.[17] In a Christian university, it can be both accorded its important place among academic subjects and engaged in ways that serve the church and the world. Beyond those studying theology, there can be a widely-shared acceptance in a Christian university that there is a religious dimension to life which merits respect and academic scrutiny.
