Progressive? Yes ------ Progress? No
Earlier this year Harvard University appointed a new school Chaplain. His name is Greg Epstein and he is a confirmed atheist. You read that correctly - an atheist who does not believe in God. They are calling him a humanist chaplain to get around the “religious” aspects of the position of Chaplain.
Harvard defends their decision to go this “progressive” direction with the following statement:
There is a rising group of people who no longer identify with any religious tradition but still experience a real need for conversation and support around what it means to be a good human and live an ethical life.”
While this really isn’t that surprising given the significant spiritual decline that has occurred at schools all over the country, it is important to point out that Harvard was founded in 1636 by a Puritan minister named John Harvard. It is the oldest institution of higher learning in the US and had church ties from the very beginning. One of its central bylaws was this:
“Let every student be earnestly pressed to consider well that the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ who is eternal life–and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.”
That’s quite a journey to go from a college founded with fundamental Christian values like this to one that would appoint an atheist as school Chaplain. It does check the box for progressive thought but has there really been progress made at Harvard by departing from the Christian principals on which they were founded?
Digging a little deeper we can get a good read on where the campus is in modern times. In 2006, the cover story of Harvard’s student newspaper, The Crimson, revealed the rampant depression among the university’s 6,700 students. The newspaper reported that 80 percent of the student body had experienced depression at least once during the school year. Nearly half (47 percent) of the student body found themselves depressed to the point of having a hard time functioning. Ten percent (650 students) had strongly considered committing suicide.
In February of 1993, Billy Graham meet with Harvard’s president, Derek Bok. As Graham was leaving, he asked Bok one last question, “What is the number one struggle the students at Harvard have to contend with?” Bok needed no time to think about his answer, as he quickly responded, “Living with emptiness.”
Harvard students are among the brightest and academically talented kids in the world. Harvard also has a huge endowment so many of their students pay little or nothing to go there. They get a very sought after secular education and their job prospects after graduation would be among the best in the country. Yet, even with all of this, the biggest issue that their students collectively face is “living with emptiness.”
While not surprising, it is disappointing that the academic world cannot grasp the bigger picture of a life that involves faith in a God that they cannot see. Living only by sight produces fear and all sorts of other vices while ultimately leading to “emptiness.”
As we continue our study of 1 Samuel, I couldn’t resist using this story as a perfect example of how we are in the same place as the Israelites when they were described as “everyone doing right in their own eyes.” When you remove a Biblical standard for behavior, this is what you get - everyone doing as they see fit based on a standard they they have created for themselves. It creates chaos and moral collapse in a society. Emptiness and disillusionment soon follow.
Healthy, progressive thought should produce healthy progress. Sadly, in this case with Harvard, it will only keep them on the same path that they are on now. Gratefully, we Christians all share a Biblical worldview that allows us the see the bigger picture of a life lived by faith and the fruit of doing so. We are not empty but full of the Holy Spirit and the joy of the Lord.
Stay hungry,
Big E
Matt. 5:6