Monday, March 27, 2006

And now for something a little more serious - the dust up at Patrick Henry College.

My friend Joan emailed me the link to this article.

Mar 23, 2006—A public debate at Patrick Henry College about whether the Bible is the only source of truth preceded the decisions by three professors and an instructor last week to tell school administration they would not return for another year.
Assistant Professor of Classics David C. Noe, Assistant Professor of History and Literature J. Kevin Culberson, Chairman of the Department of Government Robert Stacey and Instructor of Government Erik S. Root, all submitted letters indicating they would not return after the current school year, according to sources from the Purcellville college. Patrick Henry founder and President Michael Farris said the departures followed an “exchange of ideas” and a critique of an article Culberson and Noe wrote in the student newspaper The Source.

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The article in question, titled “The Role of General Revelation in Education,” argues that sources outside of the Bible are needed for Christians to lead happy and productive lives.

“Christians may be inclined to accept this proposition when it comes to things like carpentry and the law,” the article states. “After all the Bible does not tell us how to fix a door jam or file a brief in appellate court. They are less inclined or sometimes refuse to accept this when it comes to matters of ethics and the nature of the soul. But while it is true that the Bible contains all we need to know for reconciliation with God, it does not include all the information we need to live happy and productive lives.”

Patrick Henry College’s Statement of Christian Philosophy states “God is the source of all truth, be it spiritual, moral, philosophical, or scientific. [ed. - emphasis mine]… Christian faith and genuine learning cannot be separated; neither is our Christian faith a mere addendum to the liberal learning process. Instead, our Christian faith precedes and informs all that we at Patrick Henry College study, teach and learn.”

What I find to be the point of contention is the distinction between the College’s Statement where they say “God is the source of all truth” and then later say that the Bible is the only source for that truth. The Statement doesn’t say “The Bible is the source of all truth,” which leads me to believe that other sources could be valid for revealing truth in addition to the Bible. But that’s my snap judgment.

Beau sent me the link to this blog discussion, which includes the thoughts of a few active and former students at PHC. Since he’s a candidate for one of the newly opened Government positions, he has an interest in how this will shake out and asked what I thought. I’m not sure I’m prepared to wade into these lofty waters beyond my above stated snap judgment. I’m sure each “side” has a valid and Biblical point. I guess what troubles me about the whole thing is that there seems to be little room for expanded thought or use of sources other than the Bible at PHC. I would like to think that a professor using Marx to point out the fallacies of that school of thought versus the Scriptures would be encouraged rather than discouraged, but I don’t know enough of the details of the dispute to know if this was what was occurring.

It is an interesting debate. What think you?