Volume 46, #1 - November 2008 - Houston Baptist University

The City is a new publicationfrom HBU, featuring leadingvoices in Christian academia andelsewhere on the critical issues ofthe times; a collection of thoughtsdeserving permanence in afleeting age, published three timesannually (spring, summer, fall)and distributed free of charge.IN THIS ISSUE:Louis Markos on:Milton and the Thorny Road to TruthTim Keller on:Bringing the Gospel to the CityPatrick Deneen on:Culture, Technology, and VirtueJoseph Knippenberg on:Man’s War with NatureJoe Carter on:Evangelicals and an Uncertain ManifestoReviews of Anne Rice’s Road to CanaGeorge Washington on:Church and StateRyan T. Anderson Explains Benedict for BaptistsHunter Baker on Charles Colson’s FaithPLEASE VISITWWW.HBU.EDU/THECITYFOR A FREE SUBSCRIPTIONapproach. Specialization isgood. But we should never allowthe specialization to trump ourcommitment to truth broadlyunderstood. Specialization is ameans, not an end. The modernacademy has it backwards. Oneof the great virtues of a Christianuniversity is that it can understandtruth holistically instead of as abunch of disjointed parts.HB: How does the universityrelate to the church?RS: If we think of the churchas a building where believershold worship services, then theuniversity is outside of the church.But if we think of the church in thesense that Jesus founded it, thenwe are talking about the body ofbelievers. Within the churchIf the Christianbelieves [thatChrist is Lord overall reality], thenthere should be nofear with regardto the discovery oftruth. Christianscholars must notbe afraid of anyquestions.universal, the university is a part ofthe body, a specialized arm with aspecific mission. At the university,we are on the front lines. Our worktakes place on the cutting edge ofthe points of connectivity betweenHBU 10 Newsthe church and the world.Christians began the universitybecause they were seriousminded.They wanted to knowthe truth. Their view of the worldwas not ancient because they didnot believe the world would justgo on as it had forever, nor did itresemble the materialistic view ofa world that comes into being byaccident and then has no futurebecause everything eventuallyburns up in a supernova and goesout of existence. They believedin a creation with a superveningcreator, a God who does things.He is a God on the move. He iscreating, repairing, speaking. Andthe creation is not merely temporal.We have an eternal destiny. This isa God who inspires discovery.This seriousness of life is notwithout joy and fellowship. Beingunited in a common cause, in thiscase the greatest cause, can bringgreat satisfaction and happiness.This unity is part of what helps usto succeed in our task. That is whywe need a community of specificallyChristian scholars. They spur oneanother on to excellence in thecause of Christ and the cause ofChristian higher education.Dr. Hunter Bakeris the director ofstrategic planning atHBU and teaches inthe political sciencedepartment. Dr.Robert B. Sloan, Jr. isthe president of HBU.