![]() ![]() Holding on to its commitments to Christ and Christ's redemptive work in this world, while at the same time remaining devoted to the courageous search for truth, wherever that search leads us, is a challenging prospect, especially in a day and age when extremism and polarity run rampant, inside and outside the church. But by intentionally situating itself squarely on the ridge that separates these two extremes, Whitworth commits itself to pursuing faith as rigorously as it pursues truth, and to pursuing truth as devotedly as it pursues faith. Many of us know of institutions that lie at the bottom of that slope. In a sense, institutions that have stumbled down this side of the ridge, in an effort to protect some privileged version of truth, have jettisoned their academic missions to remain more faithful. The other slippery slope represents the temptation for many Christian universities to abandon their commitments to open and fearless intellectual inquiry and academic freedom. Institutions like Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Chicago are among such institutions. One slope represents the temptation that Christian universities like Whitworth have faced historically to jettison their Christ-centered missions in favor of things like greater academic reputation, or an easier time navigating an increasingly pluralistic society. ![]() What do we mean when we describe Whitworth as being on the narrow ridge? It's a useful metaphor because it paints a clear picture of the institution being situated on a precarious mountain crest that connects two steep and dangerous slopes. The fact that Whitworth lives on the "narrow ridge" has become almost as synonymous with the university's mission as is our promise of a mind-and-heart education. An update from Whitworth University President Beck A.
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