Interesting Upheaval at Erskine College

I was reading The State(Columbia, SC) newspaper this morning when an article about Erskine College in Due West, SC caught my eye. The headline read "Tension boiling over at Erskine." In smaller print below the headline was the teaser "Church ousts many trustees; move could threaten accreditation." The article went on to say 14 trustees for the college had been dismissed. My first thought was, uh oh. Erskine has long been a stalwart of conservative Christian education in South Carolina providing undergraduate, graduate and seminary education for countless ministers and lay people in it's 171 year history. I thought, here goes another Christian institution into the quagmire of liberalism. Much to my surprise the ousters were apparently made because the governing body felt that Erskine was becoming TOO LIBERAL!

Erskine is operated by the Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, one of the more conservative wings of the Presbyterian church in America. The institution has educated countless ministers of all denominations over the years rooted in the theology of the Reformation and the "God breathed" authority of the bible, sola scriptura. In an age where many previously Christian rooted colleges are abandoning their biblical roots in favor of a more secular, and liberal education, the stand taken by Erskine and its governing body is a refreshing departure from the norm.

Over the last 30 years Southern Baptists have seen many of their traditionally Baptist operated colleges and universities walk away from their Christian foundations. Schools like Furman, Wake Forest, Gardner Webb, Mercer and many others have rejected a denominational foundation for educating their students in favor of a traditional liberal arts education and secular world view. While in South Carolina we are blessed to have 3 strong Christian schools funded by the S.C. Southern Baptist Convention in North Greenville University, Anderson University and Charleston Southern University; the norm has been to reject a biblical world view for education in favor of a secular one. This is why I find the changes at Erskine so interesting.

What is wrong with having a Christian institution of higher learning actually believe and proclaim that the bible is the word of God and our foundation for learning? Their certainly is not a lack of options if someone desires a secular education, but their are a dwindling number of colleges a perspective student can choose if they desire a learning experience grounded in God's word and a Christian world view. While disciplines such as higher criticism can certainly be taught, and students challenged to explore their beliefs to further strengthen and prove their faith, it does not need to be taught from a perspective of unbelief to be effective and instructive.

It is not "indoctrination" as student Tessa Bigham claims, but rather an intentional choice by a school and a student to pursue an education that not only reinforces but boldly proclaims that God is God, and that is what we believe. While I'm sure their will be challenging times for Erskine in the near future, I applaud the college for choosing to take a stand for their foundational Christian beliefs. We live in a nation and serve a God that allows us freedom of choice. With schools like Erskine willing to take a principled stand we will continue to have a choice to pursue an education that preserves the biblical world view our nation was founded upon.