Like my dad, I enjoy reading the Wall Street Journal. I don’t subscribe, but I do receive portions of the WSJ free by email every day. I have particularly enjoyed the writing of Peggy Noonan, especially her writing after 9/11. Journal articles tend to be thoughtful, well-written good reading.
This article by William McGurn is no exception. I have not read a great deal about he story of Wheaton College and Kent Gramm. In a nutshell, Gramm has divorced his wife and publicly resigned from Wheaton, rather than address the divorce with the administration, particularly as it pertains to Wheaton’s lifestyle policy. McGurn’s article concerns the value of an institution having standards, standards which are not found in the culture at large.
McGurn ends the article with a high respect for institutional integrity in the face of cultural relativism.
Yet there is something refreshing about an institution willing to stand up for its convictions rather than trim its sails to the prevailing winds.
I wish Mr. Gramm and his wife only the best, and hope that they find good jobs and can get on with their lives. But I also find myself wondering how much richer our nation’s university life would be with a few more Wheatons willing to be out of touch for the sake of their deepest beliefs.
I am impressed and glad that the Journal took note of this aspect of the story. Could the Journal ever say the same about your church or mine? Impressing the WSJ is not my goal, but rather to see churches hold strong rather than be blown to and fro by the winds of cultural influence.
(HT: JT)
I Commend Joy! 