The covered bridge on the campus of Messiah CollegeYesterday in my Created and Called for Community class at Messiah College we discussed different kinds of Christian colleges. We thought about the things a Christian college requires all faculty to affirm, the issues a Christian college “privileges” (but does not necessarily require faculty to agree with), and the issues on which a Christian college does not take an official position. (Most of our discussion built on the work of Messiah College provost Randy Basinger).
Faculty at Messiah College must be Christians. All faculty must affirm the Apostles Creed. We thus have Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox faculty. Other Christian colleges require faculty to affirm more than just the Apostles Creed. For example, faculty at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan must affirm the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dordt. Wheaton College and Gordon College do not hire Catholics.
Messiah College privileges social and religious positions that line-up with the school’s historic Anabaptist, Wesleyan, and Pietist roots. For example, as a college with Anabaptist roots, Messiah privileges pacifism. As a school with Anabaptist and Wesleyan roots, the college privileges the ordination of women. But a faculty member does not have to be a pacifist or believe in the ordination of women to teach at the college. We have faculty who are advocates of a “just war” position and we have faculty from denominations (traditional Catholics and Orthodox, conservative Presbyterians, and complementarian evangelical churches) that do not ordain women.
And there are all kinds of issues on which Messiah College does not have a position. For example, the college does not take a position on political candidates or parties.
All of this makes for a vibrant and diverse Christian intellectual community.
During our conversation in class, a few students brought up Liberty University. What does Liberty require of faculty? What positions and issues does Liberty privilege? What are the issues on which the university does not take a position?
For example, last month we highlighted Jerry Falwell Jr.’s leadership of VEXIT, a movement started by Virginia counties and localities who want to leave the Commonwealth and join the state of West Virginia. Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty University, is not happy with proposed legislation to restrict gun rights in Virginia.
VEXIT is getting a boost from Liberty University’s Falkirk Center, a think tank created to “equip courageous champions to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ, to advance his kingdom and American freedom”:
We’re calling it #Vexit! @JerryFalwellJr & @WVGovernor have come together to let VA counties know that West Virginia is not only open for business, but open for expansion, too. https://t.co/owymBPOPlJ
— Falkirk Center (@falkirk_center) January 28, 2020
VEXIT: Could Some Virginia Counties Secede Over Gun Control? – Sara A. Carter https://t.co/wGRknPy0yi
— Falkirk Center (@falkirk_center) February 7, 2020
Momentum is building for #VexIt ! https://t.co/v4kjnVzQRq
— Falkirk Center (@falkirk_center) February 8, 2020
The Falkirk Center is connected to Liberty University. In a January 20, 2020 piece at the Liberty Champion, student journalist Hattie Troutman writes: “The idea for the center was presented by [co-founder Charlie Kirk] when he pitched the idea to Falwell last year. [Executive Director Ryan] Helfenbein said Falwell received the idea well, knowing that if Liberty was to be in a partnership with the center, it must be rooted in the Gospel and represent Liberty University’s missional values.”
So there you have it. The Falkirk Center is an extension of the mission of Liberty University. The Falkirk Center promotes VEXIT. It thus appears that Liberty University privileges VEXIT.
A quick read of the Falkirk Center Twitter feed suggests that the university also privileges gun rights, BREXIT, Donald Trump, free markets, and a pro-life position on abortion. If Messiah College is rooted in the historic Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan traditions, Liberty University is rooted in the (very short) history of the Christian Right.
At Messiah College, we also have “centers” that support beliefs that the college privileges:
- We have a center for Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan studies that promotes issues related to peace, reconciliation, heart-felt conversion, and personal and social holiness.”
- We have a Center for Public Humanities with a mission to promote the study of the humanities and “partner with our broader community in meaningful inquiry, conversation, and action.”
- We have a center devoted to the work and legacy of former U.S. Commissioner of Education and Messiah graduate Ernest L. Boyer. The Boyer Center “advances educational renewal for the common good.”
- We have a center called The Collaboratory for Strategic Partnerships and Applied Research. This center has a mission to “foster justice, empower the poor, promote peace and care for the earth through applications of our academic and professional disciplines.”
Because Messiah College is a Christian college informed by the history and theology of the Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan movements, the college supports centers that reflect the things the college privileges. Liberty University also has a center that supports the things Liberty University privileges.
Not all Christian colleges are the same. High school students and their parents should be aware of this.
The Created and Called for Community course continues next week with some additional exploration of Messiah College’s Christian identity. Follow along here.
