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Hi everyone, Thanks for the interesting discussion here, and thanks to Tim for setting up and monitoring this site.
As you’ve probably heard, the decision has now been made to appoint Dr. Philip Graham Ryken to the position. There’s been some ongoing discussion of this at the WhitherWheaton facebook site (click on “Facebook comments” in the right hand side menu above).
My own initial sense, still very tentative, is that the Board did not think very far outside the current box on this one. Indeed, some aspects of this appointment will sound ominously familiar to those of us who went through the Litfin changeover in the early 90s. The dismissal of Prof. Peter Enns at Westminster while Ryken was on the Board is particularly troubling, though the details of Ryken’s involvement are not wholly clear (he certainly didn’t speak out against it, in any case).
That said, there are also lots of things to appreciate about Ryken: he is beloved by his church, has done serious Biblical scholarship (on Exodus, primarily), comes from a storied Wheaton family, knows the college and its surrounding community well, and is theologically sophisticated. It will be interesting to see how he directs the college over the next few years (and decades–he’s very young).
I hope that the discussion started here and on related sites has done some good, and I of course join alums across the world in *sincerely* wishing Wheaton and Dr. Ryken well!
Black text on tan background, nice! (Windows/Firefox) While that was trivial, I’m afraid I have another issue – the Wheaton Record article link doesn’t work. There is a space in the URL, I tried _ and – to no avail. Can you fix this? Thanks. Again, great work.
Andrew,
Your dad was my advisor and biochem prof during my pre-med studies at Wheaton. I graduated in ’92, saying a heartfelt goodbye to Dr. Chase prior to Lifton coming on board. Being too busy with all the science classes, I was not aware of the staff controversies. However, my best memories of Wheaton were with your dad and my calculus professor. Both men were / are brilliant people who love the Lord. Your dad said, my first day of freshmen year, that “the more I learn about this universe, from the smallest particle in an atom to the greatest galaxy, the more I am in awe of our Creator.” Dr. Chignell, while a brilliant scientist, is also a humble man of God. I hope that Dr. Ryken and the staff of Wheaton stays true, not necessarily to one ideology in the creation/evolution continuum, but to a humble belief in Christ and His Kingdom. That , simply, is the heritage we have from our alma mater.
Judy Norman, M.D.