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Oral - Textual or Investigative

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Christian scholars face an internal and external cultural war in higher education (Mering, 2021). This war has forced Christian universities to incorporate postmodern sociocultural ideas and practices (Miles, 2023). Sadly, these practices distort and oppose biblical principles by aligning with anti-biblical and extremist ideologies (Mering, 2021). This distortion has affected the understanding and the practice of Scripture, which, in turn, has affected the teaching and learning of principles, concepts, and practices in Christian higher education (Mitchell, 2021). In 2018, Azusa Pacific University’s (APU) students protested the ban on homosexual relationships on campus (Reyes-Velarde, 2018). In response to these actions, APU’s board of trustees decided to remove all references to banning homosexuality from the student handbook (Jones, 2019). This dramatic change creates the need to analyze how incorporating ideas and practices from critical theory and postmodernism can lead Christian higher education institutions to drift from their Christian mission and heritage concerning Scripture, teaching, learning, and campus life. This research will conduct a case study on Liberty University to address this question. The study will start by presenting and comparing the mission of Christian universities from a conservative orthodox biblical approach and its relation to Scripture, teaching, learning, and campus life to the critical theory approach. Then, this paper will analyze Liberty’s theology and behavior through its School of Divinity, students’ and staff’s handbooks of conduct, university policies, and the diversity, equity, and inclusion office. This study aims to research if our beloved university has followed or implemented any of the practices of critical theory and postmodernism in our campus. The result of this study will lead us to glorify God and act. If not changes need to be made, we glorify God for protecting and guiding our university and continue with the established procedures. If changes need to be made, we also glorify God for revealing us and ask Him to guide us to implement new procedures.

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Apr 17th, 10:00 AM

Has Critical Theory and Postmodern Ideas Affected Liberty University’s Mission, Practices, and Campus Life?

Oral - Textual or Investigative

Christian scholars face an internal and external cultural war in higher education (Mering, 2021). This war has forced Christian universities to incorporate postmodern sociocultural ideas and practices (Miles, 2023). Sadly, these practices distort and oppose biblical principles by aligning with anti-biblical and extremist ideologies (Mering, 2021). This distortion has affected the understanding and the practice of Scripture, which, in turn, has affected the teaching and learning of principles, concepts, and practices in Christian higher education (Mitchell, 2021). In 2018, Azusa Pacific University’s (APU) students protested the ban on homosexual relationships on campus (Reyes-Velarde, 2018). In response to these actions, APU’s board of trustees decided to remove all references to banning homosexuality from the student handbook (Jones, 2019). This dramatic change creates the need to analyze how incorporating ideas and practices from critical theory and postmodernism can lead Christian higher education institutions to drift from their Christian mission and heritage concerning Scripture, teaching, learning, and campus life. This research will conduct a case study on Liberty University to address this question. The study will start by presenting and comparing the mission of Christian universities from a conservative orthodox biblical approach and its relation to Scripture, teaching, learning, and campus life to the critical theory approach. Then, this paper will analyze Liberty’s theology and behavior through its School of Divinity, students’ and staff’s handbooks of conduct, university policies, and the diversity, equity, and inclusion office. This study aims to research if our beloved university has followed or implemented any of the practices of critical theory and postmodernism in our campus. The result of this study will lead us to glorify God and act. If not changes need to be made, we glorify God for protecting and guiding our university and continue with the established procedures. If changes need to be made, we also glorify God for revealing us and ask Him to guide us to implement new procedures.

 

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