By The Editorial Board
Baylor’s Baptist affiliation seems to spark questions and opinions whenever anything remotely political happens in the community – and reasonably so. As a religious institution, there should be high expectations surrounding how the university carries itself in times of strife.
In order to respectfully challenge the university’s approach to contentious topics, however, we need to understand what the true mission of a Christian college student should be.
Last week, Baylor’s chapter of Ratio Christi, a Christian apologetics organization, planned to host an event in Waco Hall. Due to a late notice of higher-than-expected security costs, however, it was announced the event was canceled Monday morning, hours before it was set to take place.
Frank Turek, president of CrossExamined, posted a YouTube video in response to the dispute, expressing his qualms with Baylor’s core values.
“We know that the words inclusion, tolerance and diversity are words that are often used to get people to accept and celebrate sin,” Turek said, referring to what he saw as Baylor’s use of these terms.
In a second video, Turek then goes on to elaborate on his qualms with Baylor’s class offerings, specifically courses surrounding feminism, gender studies and race.
Claims like this aren’t new. In August, a social media post from Mercy Culture went viral for questioning Baylor’s Christian mission because it accepts non-Christian students and endorses “woke agendas.” The post instructed Baylor to “turn back to God.”
Baylor’s faculty members are required to be either Christian or Jewish, per the university’s Christian Mission and Identity statement. The religious faith of Baylor’s staff is widely represented in the classroom, yet some academic topics are not directly influenced by scripture in their manner of instruction.
“At a major research university like Baylor, faculty employ methodologies (i.e., scientific, logical, historical, literary, artistic) that are common to major research universities worldwide irrespective of any religious identities,” the statement reads.
If a Christian university intends to wield its Christian stance well, it will produce students who are well educated, all-loving and understanding of the world around them. That does not mean those students will be groomed to agree with a certain political agenda or reject the existence of specific disciplines, but rather hold a well-rounded perspective of God’s earth and his people.
Courses surrounding gender studies, race and other studies of diversity are often questioned for their validity and necessity to provide a well-balanced education. We might even see science courses scrutinized for how closely they align with the Bible’s teachings.
People often forget that the goal of certain classes isn’t to teach you what you believe, but to guide you in solidifying your own beliefs. Each and every student is entitled to their own opinions — if that means treating what a professor says as false, so be it. Understanding, however, that certain topics and lessons may have value beyond being immediately adopted as an opinion is key.
If all you’re able to get out of a course is a more developed understanding of someone else’s perspective, that is a win. Regardless of your personal qualms with a topic, being able to conceptualize and understand diverse perspectives is necessary to developing your own opinions.
If we were to tie ourselves down into echo chambers, we would have skewed, unquantified beliefs that would be undeserving of respect.
We, as The Editorial Board, don’t need to remind you that midterms are quickly approaching and the United States’ political atmosphere is as tense as ever. But we can encourage Baylor’s community to keep walking a path of stewardship and curiosity.
We also likely don’t need to remind you that giving in to social media hysteria is a recipe for misinformation and emotional hijacking. Question your sources, be skeptical and make judgments after assessing multiple media channels.
Consistently seeking truth and understanding just might be what differentiates us; setting us apart from just being average citizens, but positioning us as intelligent, ethical global leaders.
From microbiology to the social sciences, a true Baylor success story is a student who graduates knowing more than they did when they enrolled and with a stronger, more loving respect for their neighbors.
Looking to the bible for guidance helps us understand the power of acceptance. Understand we are all made in his image, embrace one another and strive to be Christlike in every facet.
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7.
