{"id":903,"date":"2011-04-11T00:01:26","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T04:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/returntorome\/?p=903"},"modified":"2015-03-13T13:29:21","modified_gmt":"2015-03-13T17:29:21","slug":"faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith, Reason, and the Christian University: What John Paul II Can Teach Christian Academics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

That\u2019s the title of an article I published in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture<\/a><\/em> 12.3 (Summer 2009)<\/a>. Here\u2019s how it begins<\/a>\"\"<\/a> (notes omitted):<\/p>\n

Baylor University, the world\u2019s largest Baptist university, is a remarkable place with many fine Christian men and women on its <\/span>faculty and in its student body. It boasts a rich tradition of academic <\/span>excellence, and it is a privilege for me to be able to make a con<\/span>tribution to that tradition, however modest my contribution may <\/span>be. However, soon after my arrival at Baylor in 2003 it came as a <\/span>surprise to me to learn that among the university\u2019s most respected <\/span>faculty, denominational leaders, and alumni are those who reject <\/span>creeds as normative for Christian belief. For example, one theo<\/span>logian of this stripe, James Dunn, enthusiastically asserted that the <\/span>only creed his tradition accepts is \u201cAin\u2019t nobody but Jesus goin\u2019 to <\/span>tell me what to believe.\u201d Of course, there are many Baptists, in<\/span>cluding Baylor faculty, alumni, and regents, who disagree with the <\/span>point of view held by Dunn and others.<\/span><\/p>\n

As one would suspect, this anti-creedalism, as its advocates argue, has implications for the life of a Christian university. For they <\/span>maintain that an academic institution\u2019s embracing of a creed\u2014as a <\/span>standard of orthodoxy to assist the university in assessing the Chris<\/span>tian faith of prospective and current faculty members\u2014is a viola<\/span>tion of academic freedom as well as oppressive to the believer\u2019s <\/span>liberty and spiritual integrity.<\/span><\/p>\n

I believe this view is mistaken, but not because its advocates do\u00a0not mean well or that they are not committed to the truth of the <\/span>Gospel or the primacy of the Christian message. Rather, it is be<\/span>cause they have assimilated into their theological understanding, <\/span>sometimes inadvertently, philosophical beliefs about the nature of <\/span>liberty and knowledge that are inconsistent with the preservation of <\/span>their institutions\u2019 theological commitments.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can read the whole thing here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That\u2019s the title of an article I published in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 12.3 (Summer 2009). Here\u2019s how it begins (notes omitted): Baylor University, the world\u2019s largest Baptist university, is a remarkable place with many fine Christian men and women on its faculty and in its student body. It boasts a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":211,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,32,55,68,111],"tags":[159,22184,22214,194],"class_list":["post-903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-baylor","category-christianity","category-faith-and-reason","category-higher-education","category-pope-john-paul-ii","tag-baylor-university","tag-christianity","tag-higher-education","tag-john-paul-ii"],"yoast_head":"\nFaith, Reason, and the Christian University: What John Paul II Can Teach Christian Academics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"That's the title of an article I published in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 12.3 (Summer 2009). Here's how it begins (notes omitted):\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Faith, Reason, and the Christian University: What John Paul II Can Teach Christian Academics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"That's the title of an article I published in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 12.3 (Summer 2009). Here's how it begins (notes omitted):\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Return to Rome\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-04-11T04:01:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-03-13T17:29:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com\/community\/returntorome\/files\/2011\/04\/baylor.university.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Francis J. Beckwith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Francis J. Beckwith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/\",\"name\":\"Faith, Reason, and the Christian University: What John Paul II Can Teach Christian Academics\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-11T04:01:26+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-03-13T17:29:21+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/#\/schema\/person\/ea4cf1e3d64003e8376d3a7ac9e43bce\"},\"description\":\"That's the title of an article I published in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 12.3 (Summer 2009). Here's how it begins (notes omitted):\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Faith, Reason, and the Christian University: What John Paul II Can Teach Christian Academics\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/\",\"name\":\"Return to Rome\",\"description\":\"Francis J. Beckwith's Reflections on Faith, Ethics and Culture\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/#\/schema\/person\/ea4cf1e3d64003e8376d3a7ac9e43bce\",\"name\":\"Francis J. Beckwith\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0c2b4e2611fc34908134be56ffecb130?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0c2b4e2611fc34908134be56ffecb130?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Francis J. Beckwith\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/author\/francisbeckwith\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Faith, Reason, and the Christian University: What John Paul II Can Teach Christian Academics","description":"That's the title of an article I published in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 12.3 (Summer 2009). Here's how it begins (notes omitted):","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Faith, Reason, and the Christian University: What John Paul II Can Teach Christian Academics","og_description":"That's the title of an article I published in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 12.3 (Summer 2009). Here's how it begins (notes omitted):","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/","og_site_name":"Return to Rome","article_published_time":"2011-04-11T04:01:26+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-03-13T17:29:21+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.patheos.com\/community\/returntorome\/files\/2011\/04\/baylor.university.jpg"}],"author":"Francis J. Beckwith","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Francis J. Beckwith","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/","name":"Faith, Reason, and the Christian University: What John Paul II Can Teach Christian Academics","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-04-11T04:01:26+00:00","dateModified":"2015-03-13T17:29:21+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/#\/schema\/person\/ea4cf1e3d64003e8376d3a7ac9e43bce"},"description":"That's the title of an article I published in Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture 12.3 (Summer 2009). Here's how it begins (notes omitted):","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/2011\/04\/faith-reason-and-the-christian-university-what-john-paul-ii-can-teach-christian-academics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Faith, Reason, and the Christian University: What John Paul II Can Teach Christian Academics"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/","name":"Return to Rome","description":"Francis J. Beckwith's Reflections on Faith, Ethics and Culture","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/#\/schema\/person\/ea4cf1e3d64003e8376d3a7ac9e43bce","name":"Francis J. Beckwith","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0c2b4e2611fc34908134be56ffecb130?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0c2b4e2611fc34908134be56ffecb130?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Francis J. Beckwith"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/author\/francisbeckwith\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/211"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/returntorome\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}