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November 1930
T h e
K i n g ’ s
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Prospects for CKristian Education B y J. O pver B uswell , J r .* ( Wheaton, Illinois)
issues; still others are violently prejudiced against indi viduals or institutions which stand for the fundamentals of the faith, and will use their authority in educational circles to advance the cause of their prejudices. The fact remains, however, that by much prayer and much hard work it is possible at the present moment to maintain unquestionable educational standards in a Class A, fully accredited col lege without the slightest compromise in regard to fun damentalist f ai t h and life.
conference of Christian Education, held in connection with the World’s Christian Funda- vsLrTh mentals Association Convention in Los Angeles last June,, gave great encouragement to many iM ir hearts. Representatives from a goodly number J- of schools were present. Plans and systems of cooperation were discussed. Mutual problems were studied in a spirit of earnest endeavor to glorify our Lord Jesus
Christ in the work of giving Christian training to young people. Best of all, the thought of mu tual helpfulness be tween institutions which stand four square for the fun damentals of t h e faith was repeated ly emphasized. T he Q uestion of S tandards We are frequent ly asked whether it is possible to main tain fundamentalist standards in a fully accredited institu tion in the educa
T he Q uestion of S ecuring F aculty M embers Is it possible to f i n d teachers of adequate scholastic training for funda mentalist schools ? The answer is de cidedly in the a f firmative. It is not easy to find the right sort of pro fessors, but it is possible. Scattered about in the various educational institu tions of the country, are individuals who
have fought their way through the postgraduate schools, maintaining a clear, unequivocal testimony for the faith— individuals who are letting their light shine in the darkness and are glad to find the liberty and fellowship of a solidly Christian faculty. We have received letters from such persons. A typical statement is : “ I should count it a great privilege to teach in a faculty composed of Christian men and women. I am giving my testimony here in this worldly place, but I feel smothered by such associations. I am hindered from teaching the best things I know.” Perhaps the best argument on this point will be a visit to the scientific department of a certain fundamentalist fully accredited Class A college. The head of the Chem istry Department is a thoroughly trained scientific man with years of experience both in teaching and in industrial chemistry. He has his Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Chicago. During his student days he suffered bitter persecution for his Christian testimony. His office walls are lined with the very best books in the field of chemistry, and with numerous geological and chemical specimens. It is not an unusual thing, however, for this professor to come out of his office with a shining face and remark to one of his associates, “ I have just led a boy to Christ.” That office is a place of prayer, where many a burdened student has found help and consolation. The younger professor in this Chemistry Department has his Doctor of Philosophy degree from Ohio State University. He made a brilliant record as a student in his under graduate days in the same institution in which he is now
tional world at the present time. The answer is emphat ically, yes. Our experience at Wheaton during the past four years is typical of that of other institutions. We must not deceive ourselves. Satan will do everything possible to defeat the Lord’s cause in every field. But the Lord is able to give victory when and where He will, even in these days of apostasy. The fact is that the standards set up by the great accrediting organizations do not at the present time interfere with fundamentalist views of Christian faith and Christian life. Moreover, there is not a very strong probability that these standards will so interfere in the near future. It is difficult to make the situation clear, but the reader may gain some light as he reflects upon the large number of schools belonging to such groups as the Lu therans, the Free Methodists, the Wesleyan Methodists, the Mennonites, and the Catholics. We make no comment upon the doctrinal or educational standards of these schools, but it is easy to see that an accrediting organiza tion which would dare to set up objective standards against the fundamentals of the Christian faith would have to face tremendous opposition on the part of the entire consti tuency thus represented. The difficulty in the field of accrediting is not with ob jective, clearly stated standards, but with individuals who have the administration of these standards in their hands. Some of these individuals are devout, earnest, fair-minded Christian men; others are entirely indifferent to all such
^President, Wheaton College, Wheaton, Illinois.
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