Today’s Guest Writer is: Mark A. Korodan
To my knowledge, there have been no relevant institutions of higher learning that were founded by atheists or agnostics. The historic record cannot be denied. Religion played a significant role in the founding of not only the above-mentioned institutions, but also many of the great universities of the world. For example, Oxford and Cambridge Universities were founded by religious societies. The majority of the great universities now in existence were founded either by a religious group, or individuals who were educated in a university founded by some religious group.
Now, given the fact that religion is at the very forefront and foundation of a good education, how can it be at odds with science? The answer is, it isn’t. Religion never was in conflict with science. The relationship between science and religion became an “issue” only when secular philosophy forced its way into the classroom. Thus, universal/eternal truth was banished from science and the scientific method. As a result, Theology (a required course of study for all students) was removed from the university, whereupon science was dealt a significant blow. How could Theology “regina scientiarum” (queen of the sciences) be removed to a seminary, and not have a catastrophic effect on university education?
It was removed, i.e. forced out, by secularists who believed ultimately that science and religion were in conflict, and therefore, hindered the pursuit of scientific truth. In North America, the decline in university education, as I perceive it, began in 1808 with the founding of Andover Theological Seminary. The seminary was founded in response to Harvard appointing the Unitarian/Arminian Henry Ware, to the Hollis Chair of Divinity, a position that was held, up to this time, by Calvinist Congregationalists. The ensuing struggle for power left the more orthodox Calvinist Congregationalists no other choice but to leave Harvard. While the founding of this seminary was of great benefit to the fleeing faculty and students of Harvard; it left the school without a truly orthodox, biblical testimony. Thus began the slow decline of a world class institution. Religious orthodoxy cannot be separated from real science without negative consequences. The once great colleges and universities are only a hollow shell of what they once were. I would be surprised if there were two or three faculty members currently teaching in the entire Ivy League who could even pass the 1801 entrance exam for Harvard.
The main goal in the sciences such as Theology, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology et al., is giving the Creator the glory for all that we observe in the creation, and in the process, discovering universal/eternal truth, while enriching the human experience. Education is the dissemination of truth, and a good education results in the ability to know how, not what to think. The truth discovered in Systematic Theology and similar courses of study, is the truth that unifies and gives meaning to all the sciences.
The decline in education was very slow at first, mainly due to tradition and the influence of individual faculty not willing to change with the times. This observed decline in education was/is passed down from the university to the elementary level. Those educated in the university took the philosophy of a nebulous, unknowable truth with them to primary and secondary schools, thus perpetuating the continuous cycle of ignorance we observe in education today. If you can never know anything for sure, as secular philosophy teaches us, you can never be truly educated. The purest science, mathematics, and the sciences expressed in mathematical terms such as physics, and to some extent chemistry, were not divorced from universal/eternal truth, and therefore remain constant. Truth never changes.
Removing Theology, and God in general from the university, has resulted in students with little ability to think clearly and logically about the world they observe. Honest, truthful conclusions and statements regarding the observed universe can only be made by acknowledging the existence of, and belief in, a universal/eternal truth, excluding all bias, or compulsion to fit some preconceived narrative. As a result of denying a belief in the existence of universal/eternal truth, textbooks are filled with information that is simply not true. Education has devolved from the pursuit of truth into systematic indoctrination. By definition, education in general will continue to deteriorate because the philosophy and people who caused the decline in the first place, are now charged to correct it.
Education is the process by which we acquire knowledge. This knowledge is only useful if it is the truth. We are dependent upon it for our very survival, and the survival of our progeny. Lies and misinformation only result in death. In the history of the world, there has only been one source of universal/eternal truth: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and observed in the creation. Education of the masses has always been a Judeo-Christian concept. Of all the religions and cultures in the history of mankind, no group has emphasized education more than Christians.
As I have previously stated, most of the great universities in the world were founded by Christian groups. The Logos asks God in the 17th chapter of John, verse 17 to “Sanctify (to be set apart) them (Gods people) in the truth, Thy word is truth.” Here Jesus testifies that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are truth, the universal/eternal truth that never changes. There is no better place to start an education than in God’s revealed Word. We all know the results of excluding God from the university; we see it every day. It’s not just the inability to distinguish right from wrong, but that the very heart and soul of education has been drastically altered, resulting in ignorance and confusion.
Thanks for this article. One point however, Andover Theoligical Seminary was founded because the Theological Department at Harvard was for the first time filled by Henry Ware, a unitarian. Since the universities were no longer to be trusted to give ministerial aspirants a sound education, seminaries were started. The same with Princeton Seminary in 1812 because of the decline of Princeton College, then known as The College of N J. The colleges had long been on the decline. By the mid 18th century.
Editor’s Note: On 3/1, this Article was updated to provide better clarity based on the Comment above!