A New Course for Wheaton?

Here is a guidepost for living: be wary of any institution which fancies itself as the “Harvard of the Christian schools.”
(Come to think of it, I am not sure that even Harvard is the Harvard of anything anymore… :) )

It sounds to me as if Wheaton is simply going the way of all flesh — the second law of spiritual thermodynamics. What surprised me from the article is not how far they have drifted, but how much tension still remains.

What a sad story for a school which once truly was at the top of the Christian world.

BTW, there is another famous school in the Chicago area which considers itself “the West Point of Christian education.” Let us pray that they do not “elevate” to the status of the Ivy League.

Yikes, most of the faculty interviewed in the article seem to desire that the school move to the left. Even with a president who is staunchly evangelical and who intends to keep the school that way, what is the student getting in the class? John Piper is a graduate of Wheaton as is Philip Ryken and other prominent evangelicals. I would hope that if they sense any drift that they put a stop to it.

I think Wheaton has ceased to be a viable option for conservative Christains for quite a while hasn’t it?

[pastorwesh] I think Wheaton has ceased to be a viable option for conservative Christains for quite a while hasn’t it?

I don’t see why. I can understand why it’s not an option for some Fundamentalists and perhaps some conservative evangelicals, but I’m not sure why one would rule it out in general, especially if one’s child had exceptional academic potential.

[pastorwesh] I think Wheaton has ceased to be a viable option for conservative Christians for quite a while hasn’t it?

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_College_%28Illinois%29

In 2009 U.S. News & World Report ranked Wheaton College 56 out of 265 Best National Liberal Arts Colleges. Wheaton continued to achieve exceptional rankings in several areas of the report:

* #15 in freshmen retention (95.2%)
* #21 in six-year graduation rate (86%) (2007 Report)
* #25 in SAT/ACT scores (1250–1440) (2007 Report)
* #39 in percentage of freshmen graduating in the top 10 percent of their high-school classes (54%) (2007 Report)

I’d be interested to see where U.S. News & World Report ranked BYU — It’s a “religious” institution….My problem with Wheaton is, from what I read in the initial argument, that they seem to be fine with allowing professors to remain who can not positively affirm the 7 Day Creation Theory. I’m sure that is just the “tip of the iceberg”. Maybe Wheaton is an option, against sending your child to a state institution. However, I do not know why any conservative, fundamental parent would choose a school who seems to be great at walking the fence on issue that seem to me to be clearly spelled out in the Bible.

[Joseph] …but I’m not sure why one would rule it out in general, especially if one’s child had exceptional academic potential.

i’m not too familiar with wheaton, so maybe you could fill us in on which fields of study you think parents/children who are conservative evangelicals should consider.

[pastorwesh] Maybe Wheaton is an option, against sending your child to a state institution.

not to derail the entire discussion, but i went to a state university, and i would strongly recommend it to anyone looking for a career in a field of study not related to ministry. and for ministry-related studies, i think it makes the most sense to study at a school with which you have a good theological agreement.