My son Giovanni, 17 years old, almost drove his mother crazy in the selection process of a university to attend. “You have only 24 hours left before the deadline passes,” she said to him in Italian. “Isn’t it about time you said ‘yes’ to one of the places you’ve thought of attending?” “Mom,” he replied, “Don’t stress me.”
In the nick of time, Giovanni made his
choice, and he chose Emory. Not long ago, we went down to Atlanta and spent a
full day checking the place out. In an earlier post, I described a visit to Wheaton. Since I also made a visit to
Garrett-Evangelical and Northwestern recently, I cannot help but make a series
of ironic comparisons, comparisons that go to the heart of the contradictions in
which all three institutions, each of which has Methodist roots (Wheaton: Wesleyan
Methodist; Northwestern: Methodist Episcopal [North]; Emory: Methodist
Episcopal [South]), and the seminaries located on their campuses, now
participate.
It is emblematic that Wheaton’s Graduate
School in Biblical and Theological Studies and the subject matter it deals
with, is central to the entire institution’s identity. That identity has a
sharp confessional profile, just as was the case at the institution’s
inception. Its radical,
abolitionist roots have not been forgotten, but its identity is
broader-based now, such that Wheaton (like Trinity and North Park, also in the
Chicago area) has become one of the chief training grounds for those destined
to provide intellectual leadership in the larger evangelical world, a global
phenomenon in continuous expansion. It is hard to overestimate the strategic
importance of institutions like Wheaton
(IL), Trinity (Deerfield), North Park, Calvin (Grand Rapids), Azusa Pacific, Asbury,
and Gordon, and the theological schools affiliated
with them, for the future of Christianity in the 21st century. It
gives me no pleasure to say so, but the theological institutions on the
campuses of Northwestern (Garrett-Evangelical
Theological Seminary, Seabury-Western)
and Emory (Candler School of Theology)
are “has-beens” in comparison.
It is no less emblematic that Northwestern
students, though they walk past it every day, do not even know that a
theological school, Garrett-Evangelical, exists on campus, a school where they
might explore how faith seeks understanding, where they might get a degree. The
magnificent buildings of Garrett are unmarked on the side that is contiguous
with the Northwestern campus. One gets the distinct impression that GETS is
afraid of its own shadow. To be sure, GETS would love to play all over again a
strategic role in the life of the churches and in the life of the world on a
par with its role in bygone days, when it hosted the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches
in 1954, its faculty included national figures of the timber of Georgia Harkness and George
A. Buttrick, and students went on to occupy what were then some of the most
important pulpits in the land.
It is likewise significant that Emory, though
it is a United Methodist-affiliated institution (unlike Northwestern,
Vanderbilt, and others, which severed their ties with the denomination long
ago), is also afraid of its own confessional shadow. In the Q & A for
parents at orientation, when I asked about chapel and chaplains, the respondent
chose to emphasize the fact that chapel is not required, that it is
inter-faith, not specifically Christian, and that Hillel has a strong presence
on campus. I could not help but thinking that the de facto credo of Emory,
insofar as it has one, is Unitarian, and that a self-respecting Christian might
as well do two things: attend Hillel-sponsored events, at least some of which
are unapologetically confessional (at the very least, an instructive model),
and join a campus Christian group like InterVarsity.
It is an excellent sign that Emory offers a Minor in Catholic Studies.
Candler School of Theology’s profile
on campus is relatively high compared to that of Garrett’s at NWU, and I was
impressed that some undergrads I chatted up through the day knew Emory has a
school of theology. This may be an indication that Emory President James Wagner’s
stated goals are having some degree of realization. As Wagner recently
observed, religion and higher education in America have for too long existed in
self-contained spheres, with little or no interaction. Emory intends to be different
insofar as it seeks to move religion to the foreground of academic
conversation, where it can be discussed openly and seriously ("From the
President," Emory Alumni Magazine, Spring 2006).
Still, it’s not clear to me how Candler
relates to Emory as a whole. Does it reach out to undergrads in any way, or to
grad students in other disciplines? The mission of Emory’s Graduate Division of Religion, on the other
hand, is perfectly clear: it sees itself primarily as an institution designed
to train wannabe professors of Old and New Testament, Church history, and theology
for other institutions. In that setting, as a professor or a student, what
one’s confessional stance is, if any, is irrelevant. As it should be.
Congratulations, by the way, to fellow-editor
of biblioblogs.com Brandon Wason, who
is finishing at Candler and entering a Ph.D. program in New Testament in
Emory’s Graduate Division of Religion. GDR’s students in 2008 received
appointments at Abilene Christian University, Christian Brothers University,
Fuller Theological Seminary, Gonzaga University, Hendrix College, Luther
Theological Seminary at St. Paul, Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Maryville
College, McCormick Theological Seminary, Southern Catholic College, Spelman
College, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and the University of North
Carolina at Charlotte. A nice range. I wish to thank Brandon for spending time
with Giovanni and his Dad while at Emory, and for the visit to the fabulous Pitts Theological Library he expedited.
I look forward to future visits to Emory, Candler, and GDR in the coming
years.
But why did Giovanni choose Emory over
Wheaton, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Tulane, his other top picks?
That’s a story worth telling. To be continued.
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