Posted on 03/17/2003 10:37:38 AM PST by Remedy
Christian college refuses to compromise
The newest school to join AiG's list of Creation colleges, which sign our Statement of Faith and agree to teach in accordance with it, is Patrick Henry College (Virginia, USA). This nondenominational Christian college, founded two years ago by homeschool leader Michael Farris, has a vision to train Christian men and women to apply timeless Biblical truths to transform American government and culture.
The road has not been easy. Last spring we reported that an agency had denied accreditation to Patrick Henry College for requiring biology teachers to teach that Creation took place in six 24-hour days [see Christian college snubbed for creation views]. We're happy to report that the college stood its ground, and the accreditation agency relented.
The American Academy for Liberal Education (AALE) has reversed its position, granting the college pre-accreditation status in November. During negotiations with AALE, the school changed nothing in its Statement of Biblical Worldview, except to spell out that students will be discussing evolution, too. (The school had been doing this all along, and it had already made it clear to AALE that students get 'full and robust discussion of the theory of evolution.')
The statement now reads:
'Creation. Any biology, Bible or other courses at PHC dealing with creation will teach creation from the understanding of Scripture that God's creative work, as described in Genesis 1:1-31, was completed in six twenty-four hour days. All faculty for such courses will be chosen on the basis of their personal adherence to this view. PHC expects its faculty in these courses, as in all courses, to expose students to alternate theories and the data, if any, which support those theories. In this context, PHC in particular expects its biology faculty to provide a full exposition of the claims of the theory of Darwinian evolution, intelligent design and other major theories while, in the end, teach creation as both biblically true and as the best fit to observed data.'
In the past, Michael Farris has strongly supported AiG's effort to proclaim the message of Biblical authority. Just a couple of years ago, Mr Farris invited Ken Ham, president of AiG-US, to be the keynote speaker at a national homeschool conference in Tucson, Arizona. Ken had the privilege of speaking to the faculty and students at Patrick Henry College on 3 September (right), and his message about 'Six days and the authority of Scripture' was enthusiastically received.
AiG is pleased with the college's stand. Indeed, the Statement of Biblical Worldview is clearer than ever, and the entire faculty must abide by it. Paul J. Bonicelli, Dean of Academic Affairs at Patrick Henry College, told AiG, 'Our faculty has embraced the Board of Trustees changes to the Statement of Biblical Worldview which governs the faculty at PHC. The item on creation ... is binding with all contracts.'
It's interesting-but not surprising-that 'six-day Creation' has risen to the forefront of the battle for academic freedom in America. Why should schools face such intense opposition, just because they don't teach evolution as fact?
After a CBN report on the colleges failed bid for accreditation,[1] Robertson commented: I dont understand, frankly, why Mike Farris and the folks at Patrick Henry didnt go to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, which is the major, overarching accrediting agency. Ive not even heard of this other group before. [2]
I totally disagree with the evolutionary hypothesis. I think it is clearly flawed. It is not good science. And I think more and more top-notch scientists are saying this isnt true.
Its sad to see another Christian leader who has failed to recognize that an attack on the six days of Creation is an attack on the authority of the Bibleand an attack on Genesis 1 undermines the historical basis for the Gospel that these leaders proclaim! Instead of letting the clear words of the Bible speak for themselves, too many Christians recite worn-out argumentse.g. a day is as a thousand years, were not sure what day means, the Bible is not a science textbook, Genesis is poetrythat have long been disproved by Bible believers. Answers that uphold the authority of the Bible are readily available, including right here at AnswersInGenesis.org (see Genesis: Days of Creation).
Christian college snubbed for creation views in 1995, AALE became the first national organization to accredit undergraduate liberal arts institutions.
Patrick Henry College, for example, has already received approval from the State of Virginia to award diplomas, and it is now pursuing accreditation by the regional Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
The college has decided to appeal the decision. In a registered letter postmarked 8 May 2002, the school gives several reasons why it thinks that the AALE has been heavy-handed.2 The letter claims that
In a news release, Michael Farris put his finger on more fundamental problems:
AALE was wrong on two counts. First, they are wrong in their conclusion that we do not teach about evolution. We do. But, honest science shows that it is simply an untenable theory. They were also wrong when they assert that believing and teaching creationism inhibits the acquisition of basic knowledge. Look at the facts carefully and it becomes apparent that the problem is not what our students know, rather it is about what our faculty and students believe.
AALE's decision was shocking in several respects. They claim we violate their standards on freedom of thoughtyet, that is the essence of their own decisionthey are denying PHC its freedom to think, believe, and speak differently from the norm of academia. One would think that having diverse views among colleges would somehow fit into an age that worships at the "temple of diversity" but true diversity is not tolerated.3
This incident is yet another indication that six-day Creation is at the forefront of the battle for intellectual, educational and religious freedom in the world today. Evolutionary elitists, who control educational and political machinery in various countries, are bent on demolishing any effort to proclaim the full authority of the Bible. Amazingly, they bludgeon religious schools in the name of open inquiry.
Jeffrey Wallin, president of AALE, even claims that he has no problem with schools teaching creationism, as long as its relegated to theology classes: We have religious schools that are members of our organization that teach creationism, but they teach it in the theology department; they dont teach it in the science department.4 He seems to have missed the irony of his views. AALE was founded to encourage schools to move away from modern fads and to teach a more rigorous, traditional curriculum. Patrick Henry College met all of AALEs rigorous standardsbut it violated an unstated modern dogma, that evolution must be taught as fact.
- A Young-Earth Creationist Bibliography - The books listed in this bibliography represent works of authors advocating literal creationism, including the six-solar-day creation week and a worldwide cataclysmic flood. No opinion is implied regarding the relative merits or deficiencies of the listed books, but it should be noted that over 70% of them are by authors with earned doctorates.
The Mission of Patrick Henry College is to train Christian men and women who will lead our nation and shape our culture with timeless biblical values and fidelity to the spirit of the American founding. In order to accomplish this mission, the College provides academically excellent higher education with a biblical worldview using classical liberal arts core curriculum and apprenticeship methodology.
The Mission of the Department of Government is to promote practical application of biblical principles and the original intent of the founding documents of the American republic, while preparing students for lives of public service, advocacy and citizen leadership.
God has ordained three primary social institutions to order human affairs: the family, the church, and civil government. Each of these institutions honors God when it operates under the principles of His word within its God-given scope of authority:
Civil Government. God himself has ordained government and commands that everyone must submit to government; moreover, there is no authority except that which God has established. (Romans 13: 1-5) Consequently, he who rebels against lawful authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment upon themselves. It is necessary to submit to government, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. We are to pray for all who hold public office, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (Proverbs 14: 34-35; I Timothy 2: 1-2)
Some governments are not legitimate; some authorities are not lawful. (Hosea 8:1-4) These are governments that do not recognize or that choose to ignore that human beings are created in God's image and therefore are entitled to the enjoyment of certain rights and responsibilities that inhere in their nature. Such societies and such governments are under God's judgment. (Jeremiah 18: 7-10) Nevertheless, there is a proper way to rectify this situation.
In keeping with scriptural principles and the American Declaration of Independence, we recognize that "Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind is more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the Forms to which they are accustomed." But when such a government 1) commands disobedience to God, 2) enjoins the right and duty of human beings to worship God, 3) denies other God-ordained rights by extreme oppression and tyranny, or 4) "when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object (tyranny), evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism" it is the right and duty of godly men and women "to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security." Importantly, this action must be taken in accordance with God's laws and in submission to other legitimate authorities, anarchy being as illegitimate as tyranny. (Jeremiah 32: 32-35; Acts 5: 29)
While there are various types, scopes and levels of government, there are some basic principles that God requires all general governments to follow. (Jeremiah 18: 7-10) Moreover, there are other principles that, while not commanded, ought to be followed. All of these principles are derived from the tenor of the whole of scripture and from God-given reason, which makes plain the fact that human beings are created in God's image and should live as he intended human beings to live-in ordered liberty-and not as beasts subject to ownership and coercion; and that they should govern themselves in equal submission to the laws of nature and nature's God. (Genesis 1-2)
Therefore:
APPLICATIONS:
Government and Law. Any legitimate system of government must be built on the dual realizations that all people (i) bear God's image and are therefore entitled to enjoy a number of fundamental, inalienable rights, but (ii) are tainted by sin and therefore cannot be trusted to be free of all government restraint. Importantly, sin affects not only those governed, but also those who govern. In the words of James Madison:
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.
Therefore, governmental and legal systems:
PHC Makes the Case for Original Intent
The Supreme Court of the United States continues to be a source of grave concern for those who cherish the principles that motivated our Founding Fathers.
Patrick Henry College has a plan to directly impact the highest court in the land-both in the immediate future and in the decades ahead. The core of this plan is to train young men and women with godly character to have excellent legal scholarship and advocacy skills.
For example, every student at Patrick Henry College is required to take a Constitutional Law class, taught by PHC President Mike Farris, regardless of his or her major. Patrick Henry's nationally competitive Moot Court team is another example of leadership training for the next generation.
But Patrick Henry College was not built just to perform in academic circles. Its apprenticeship model was designed to allow students real life experience while earning academic credit in their major.
Earlier this year, a group of PHC students spent countless hours under the direction of Mike Farris conducting historical research for an amicus (friend of the court) brief. Dr. Farris filed the brief in the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of The Center for the Original Intent of the Constitution (COIC)-a research institute of the College.
The issue before the Court is a landmark case (Lawrence vs. Texas) involving states' rights to treat homosexual behavior as a crime.
"It's Patrick Henry against the world"
These were the words of the tournament director at the national championship tournament held this past weekend at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA).
Over fifty teams, from some two dozen colleges--including many major universities such as University of Texas, University of Arkansas, California State University at Long Beach, Weber State, Texas A&M, University of North Texas, and University of Texas at Arlington--competed in the national tournament requiring undergraduate students to argue a mock case before the "Supreme Court of the United States."
The participating colleges brought from one to eight two-student teams. PHC and the University of North Texas both had eight teams, while the host school, UTA had six teams. All other schools had fewer teams.
All students winning trophies were given the title "All American" for their efforts. Every PHC student won a trophy. There were 32 trophies awarded (some for teams, but we count these as one award.) Of the 32, Patrick Henry students won 16 trophies--all other colleges combined won 16 trophies. The combined student population of all other schools is estimated to be over 200,000 students. A school of 200 students went up against that aggregate group.
Do Laws and Standards Evolve? Douglas W. Phillips, Esq. Holmes and his contemporaries laid the foundation for legalized abortion, no-fault divorce, the legalization of homosexuality, and the rejection of the Framers' vision for Constitutional interpretation. Today, most courts have embraced an evolving standard for Constitutional interpretation, rejecting the notion that the Constitution must be interpreted in light of the meanings intended by the Framers
WallBuilders | Resources | Evolution and the Law:"A Death ... Perhaps the first individual successfully to champion this belief was Christopher Columbus Langdell (1826-1906), dean of the Harvard Law School. Langdell reasoned that since man evolved, then his laws must also evolve; and deciding that judges should guide the evolution of the Constitution, Langdell introduced the case law study method under which students would study the wording of judges decisions rather than the wording of the Constitution
Reply To Judge Richard A. Posner On The Inseparability Of Law And Morality
Posner's entire thesis on moral theory and legal theory is built on several false premises: (1) that law and morality should and must be separated; (2) that law as it is (Positive law 26 = reality, expository, analytical) should be the only concern of judges in actual judicial decisionmaking; (3) that law as it ought to be (Natural law 27 = morals, originalism, normative, censorial) is the realm of philosophy and religion and is impotent to aid judges in judicial decisionmaking; and (4) that moral philosophy cannot be evaluated using moral terms because it allows no room for cross-cultural (i. e., "universal") truths. Posner's hierarchy of academic intellectualism is as follows:
1 Science (Darwinian Evolution) 28 2 Legal Realism 29 (Langdell, 30 Holmes, 31 Cardozo, 32 Posner 33 ) 3 Legal Positivism (Bentham, Austin, Hart) 4 Classical Philosophy (Plato, Montesquieu, Kant, Rawls) 5 [Secular] Academic Moralism (Dworkin, Nagel) 6 Religion [general]: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Mormonism) 7 Judeo/ Christianity [Theism] (Natural law, Originalism) 34
I, like a growing number of scientists and academics, view evolution as scientific mythology. 104 Evolution is a strongly held academic fairytale for adults 105 tenuously grasped by the academic class to justify and rationalize their continual subjective preferences toward naturalism, empiricism, positivism and their reflexive aversions to the metaphysical, theism, and ultimate truth. Beneath the facade of evolution is sophistic, high-blown, intellectual-sounding propaganda. 106 [73] Evolution is a religion. Its adherents of course deny this. The scientific mythology of evolution is worshiped by many in the academy as tenaciously as the Greeks and Romans held to their myths to explain history and to bring credence to the metaphysical world even though they must have known on an intrinsic, intellectual level that Zeus was not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; that Prometheus was not Elijah; that Apollo was not David; that Psyche was not Deborah; that Hercules was not Samson. How else could you explain the monument erected in Athens, the seat of pagan intellectualism and philosophy: "TO THE UNKNOWN GOD." 107
Of the 32, Patrick Henry students won 16 trophies--all other colleges combined won 16 trophies.
Impressive!
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