In Honor of Murdock's First Day

August 24, 2005 Posted by Amy HallcloseAuthor: Amy Hall Name: Amy Hall
Email: galatians611@aol.com
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Roger begins work on his M.A. in Philosophy of Religion and Ethics at Talbot Seminary today (best of luck, Roger!); so in honor of his embarking on this new endeavor, I thought I would address a couple of common misconceptions about this great school. 

I attended graduate school at Biola University (in conjunction with Talbot).  When I mention this fact, I often get a comment in response that goes something like this:  “Oh…Talbot.  Yes, well, that's a nice place to go if you only want your beliefs reinforced, but if you really want to learn to question and think for yourself, you should go to [fill in the blank].”  Or:  “I don't think I could go somewhere where everyone thinks the same way and you aren't allowed to question.”  Sadly, the assumption is made that any Christian school with conservative leanings must be enforcing its views by preventing any other view from being heard and by keeping the students from thinking too much.

Two aspects of these typical comments always come to mind as soon as I hear them expressed.  First, these statements completely ignore the question of truth (which ought to be the very first question).  Imagine a young science student trying to choose a graduate school.  Someone asks her, “What about Cal Tech?”  She responds, “No way!  Everyone has the same views of the rules of math and the laws of physics there.  I don't just want my views of these things reinforced–I want them questioned!”  You can see from this illustration that the important educational value for her to determine is not whether or not the professors teach new ideas that challenge her accepted views, but whether or not what they're teaching is actually true.  For the student to disregard the central question of whether or not the new ideas are true and object to the value of Cal Tech simply because they teach what she already believes is silly.  If what they're teaching is true, then the fact that her already-held ideas agree with theirs obviously isn't a problem.

I think deep down everyone knows this is the case, and so I suspect that those who make these types of comments to me are probably just saying in a PC way that they think the views of Talbot are wrong.  Of course they would like Talbot's views to be challenged by their own (as I would like to challenge theirs!) because they believe their views are the correct ones and should be taught everywhere.  But my guess is that the views of their seminaries very much reflect their own views which are not often challenged by professors who have the views of Talbot, so this accusation against Talbot is somewhat unfair.  I think most seminaries have mild diversity within greater similarities of thought amongst their professors, as does Talbot.  (And yes, it's true–there is diversity of thought at Talbot!)

Second, it strikes me that they haven't considered the possibility that a free exchange of ideas and a vigorous examination of those ideas may actually lead to a theologically conservative view of Christianity.  Maybe clear, open thinking–and not oppression–is responsible for the students' conservative views.  A quote in Phillip Johnson's book The Right Questions actually prompted me to write this piece for Roger because it reminded me of my experience at Biola.  Johnson says, “I have told many lecture audiences that opening minds is the only appropriate way to defeat [insert culturally dominant idea here].  An oppressive philosophy should be defeated only by removing the oppression, not by substituting a contrary form of oppression.”  In the same way, my experience at Biola was not one of professors dogmatically forcing ideas down my throat, using their own oppression to defeat other dominant ideas.  They argued against certain philosophical ideas, yes, but in a way that increased discussion and demanded critical thinking on our part, and not by oppressively hiding from us all other points of view.  An atmosphere of open questioning and examination of ideas was highly encouraged, and we were taught to demand sound reasoning from our professors before adopting their (or anyone else's) ideas as our own.

When I think of my experience in the apologetics program at Biola, my first thoughts are not of the facts I learned.  Facts come and go from my mind.  The lasting impact Biola had on me was teaching me how to think.  I will forever be grateful for the skills I learned (and picked up from watching my professors) in analyzing and evaluating ideas–in thinking clearly and precisely about spiritual and philosophical matters and interacting honorably with those who disagree with my views.  As a result of this training, I've been able to handle any new intellectual challenge on my own; and more importantly, the Holy Spirit has shaped me powerfully as I've learned how to think clearly about the Words God has given us.  Thanks to my experience at Biola, my relationship with God has deepened substantially.

This is the truth about Talbot.  So here's to you, Roger–you're going to love it!

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