The Secularization of a Christian College

Karl Giberson currently serves as an adjunct professor of writing, science, and religion at Stonehill College, a Roman Catholic liberal arts school near Boston. He is also former vice president of the BioLogos organization (known for promoting evolution to Christians), and former professor at Eastern Nazarene College where he received numerous recognitions.

Giberson has attacked the work of Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum on numerous occasions in his writings. His latest article in The Daily Beast is a must read for Christians. Yes, I am essentially promoting an article by a well-known compromiser with evolution and millions of years. The reason I’m mentioning this article is that in it Giberson actually outlines clearly the secularization of a once very Christian College: Calvin. This article should be a warning to parents not only about Calvin College (a well-known Christian college associated with the Christian Reformed Church and located in Grand Rapids, Michigan) and where it stands in regards to God’s Word, but also, sadly, the majority of Christian colleges in this era.

In his latest article, Giberson gives accolades to academics at Calvin College for their compromise with evolution and millions of years, and even for their rejection of a literal Adam and Eve.

Now, keep in mind, whenever Giberson uses the word “science” or “scientific” in his article, in most instances he’s referring to the belief in molecules-to-man evolution and/or millions of years. In other words, most of the time when he uses the word “science” in such articles, he actually refers to man’s “historical science” (i.e., beliefs about the past) rather than observational or experimental science that we can all agree on (i.e., the kind of science that builds our technology).

Giberson states:

Calvin College scholars have long led the way in engaging contemporary scientific theories of origins from traditional biblical and theological perspectives. Former physics professor Deborah Haarsma is the president of the BioLogos Foundation, which promotes evolution to evangelicals, and BioLogos is now located at Calvin. Geologist Davis Young probably did more than anyone to help evangelicals make peace with the idea that the earth is billions of years old, not thousands, as the Bible suggests. His book Christianity and the Age of the Earth was an important counter to the young-earth creationism that has long been—and remains—the default position for evangelicals. Calvin astronomer Howard Van Til was for years the leading evangelical champion of the Big Bang Theory. His 1986 book The Fourth Day persuaded many evangelicals that the Big Bang was not just “entirely fiction,” as some influential creationists still claim.

Now wouldn’t you love to send your kids to a Christian college that can boast this sort of compromise, which has been going on among the faculty for many years? Actually, it’s an apt description of the ongoing secularization of a college. In essence, many Christian colleges are “Christian” in name only. They have compromised so much with secularist beliefs, they are basically secular colleges with bits of the Bible and God added in, and maybe an occasional chapel to attend.

Now although many of the scholars referred to in Giberson’s article are no longer at Calvin, nonetheless the blatant compromise with God’s Word beginning in Genesis is rife through such colleges as Calvin.

(By the way, Giberson misrepresents the Galileo affair in his article. It was much more complicated than most people realize.)

As I’ve been saying for nearly 40 years, as the church continues to compromise with evolution and millions of years, eventually the church will more and more give up a literal Adam, a literal Eve, and a literal Fall. This is exactly what is happening today.

In the Giberson article we read a statement about scholars like those that have been associated with Calvin College. Some of these scholars become so radical, even compromising Christians realize they are a problem. However, Giberson bemoans the fact that such radical compromisers may not be able to continue at Christian colleges:

Schneider and many of his fellow evangelical scholars are convinced that Christianity can survive the loss of Adam and Eve. What is not so clear is whether evangelical Christianity can survive the loss of so many of its scholars.

The sad point, however, is though the very vocal and more radical compromisers may sometimes end up leaving a Christian college, that by no means suggests that this compromise disappears with them. No, such compromise is rife through most Christian colleges. In fact, BioLogos, the leading promoter of compromise with evolution and millions of years to the church, is now located at . . . Calvin College!

You can read Giberson’s entire article to see more about the history of Calvin’s secularization.

For a list of colleges whose president has signed a statement agreeing with the stand of Answers in Genesis, go to CreationColleges.com.

How secularized are the Christian colleges you are familiar with, or support financially, or entrust your kids to?

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,

Ken