The Overview (Monday, August 10)
An extraordinary article explaining white Christian support for Donald Trump. and an update on Joe Biden's vision for religious freedom
After months of strategizing, preparing, and praying, students have started to arrive on campus for the Fall 2020 semester. We have protocols in place to try to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, but I have no idea whether they'll be enough to keep us on campus for any length of time.
I know there are plenty of folks who think any attempt to have students on campus for the Fall semester is foolish and naive, but the bottom line is, we had to at least try to make this work. One reason is financial: if our carefully crafted system collapses and we have to send students away for remote learning, we're going to face some really tough decisions about our future (and while we're not at risk of closing permanently, the alternatives aren't particularly rosy, either). Choosing to throw in the towel before the semester even starts would only exacerbate these challenges.
But another reason is relational. As a small, distinctly Christian university, we feel especially called to serve our students as they spend four years of their lives in community with each other and with us. Some of our students come from situations where our campus is a respite, a place of peace and escape. The resources we have on campus are frankly not available to some students while they're away. This is to say nothing about the relationships students have with one another.
So whether we make it through the end of a truncated semester completely intact or whether we last two weeks before surrendering to an unrelenting sickness, we've done all we can to try to make this work. As human beings we know that some things are beyond our control, but as Christians we have hope in our future as redeemed and restored children of the living God. Pray that we lean heavily into the knowledge of the latter as the semester begins.
With that, here's the Monday, August 10 edition of The Overview:
1) The New York Times' Elizabeth Dias writes about what she learned by visiting with several white evangelical Christian families in rural Iowa. It's a phenomenal article explaining the rationale many conservative Christians have in supporting Donald Trump's reelection bid. This rationale is centered on self-preservation amidst an increasingly hostile culture. "[Trump] is their protector, the bully who is on their side, the one who offered safety amid their fears that their country as they know it, and their place in it, is changing, and changing quickly."
2) Writing for Religion News Service, Ryan Burge details a significant shift among white evangelical Christians when it comes to LGBT and gender equality. He explains that over 56 percent of young (18-35) white evangelicals now of same-sex marriage, and less than 15 percent of these Christians think that women should not be able to preach during a worship service. These numbers are starkly at odds with older white evangelicals, teasing a major collision in conservative Christianity in the years to come.
3) Deseret News' Kelsey Dallas explains why progressive Christians are supporting Joe Biden's vision for religious freedom -- essentially, it comes down to the definition of what religious freedom is and ought to be. The Christian leaders she interviews see religious freedom as a mechanism for equality, whereas conservative Christians skeptical of Biden's vision are more likely to see religious freedom as a guarantee of protection against hostile cultural forces.
4) Finally, almost a year ago I wrote an article for The Gospel Coalition suggesting ways for Christians to start preparing for the 2020 election. Now that the election is less than three months away, TGC once again shared it with their readers. In the article I acknowledge serious challenges facing Christians in the years ahead, but also lay out real opportunities for Christians engaging in an increasingly difficult cultural space. I conclude:
But whereas much political engagement today stems from fear, anger, and even despair, ours should stem from our identity in Christ. It should reflect our confidence that whatever happens in the state of earthly affairs, and regardless of temporal wins and losses, the King of glory remains on his throne.