Engaging the Culture, Changing the World: The Christian University in a Post-Christian World

Drawing on the social critical thinking of Lesslie Newbigin, Richard Hays, Walter Brueggemann, Richard Mouw, Richard John Neuhaus, Charles Taylor and James Davison Hunter, Philip W. Eaton proposes an alternative idea of the Christian university that aims to equip students for responsible engagement in our post-Christian context. Going against the mainstream of Christian higher education, Eaton envisions a place that considers engagement and interaction with culture to be a positive priority. Going against the mainstream of secular higher education, Eaton envisions a place where the grand narrative of the Christian gospel is affirmed as a life-giving response to the critical issues of our day.We need not resign ourselves to exile on the margins of society nor blend in with the pervasive secular society. Engaging the Culture, Changing the World foresees a third way: the Christian university that stands in distinction and compassion, a community that models human flourishing to the world.

"'The kingdom of God, ' Jesus told his disciples, 'is advancing forcefully, and forceful men lay hold of it.' Two thousand years later, we, as Christians, are ambassadors for this same kingdom--facing confrontation with our post-Christian society. Yet we too are called to advance; we too are called to challenge; we too are called to 'take every thought captive to obey Christ.' This, and nothing less, is the very task Christ has given us to do. Phil Eaton's idea that a university might just change the world is right, and his important ideas provide us with many of the tools we will need to succeed."--Rich Stearns, president of World Vision US and author of The Hole in Our Gospel

"Phil Eaton is a gifted and visionary leader in the world of Christian liberal arts education. This fine book is packed with wisdom that can inform and inspire all of us who care about equipping a new generation of kingdom agents for the difficult--but exciting!--challenges of our increasingly complex world."--Richard Mouw, president, Fuller Theological Seminary, and author of Uncommon Decency

"President Eaton sharpens the question and our response to an amorphous enemy--a culture detaching itself from its historical moorings in truth and in a God who cares. He prescribes a role for hope-filled universities to winsomely engage this culture and transform it. Yet his important message is not just for university presidents and parents preparing to write tuition checks, but for all of us who care about the society we will hand down to our grandchildren."--Barry Rowan, EVP, CFO and Chief Administrative Officer, Vonage Corporation

"For millennia, all major cultures--including Chinese, Greek, Roman and Jewish--prized both knowledge and character. Only in our time has higher education separated the two. Phil Eaton prophetically casts a Christ-centered vision of the university that enfolds faith and function, virtue and vocation, competence and character. This is a call we must heed."--Alec Hill, president, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA

"Brace for a bold vision: Our generation may be adrift, this president says, but twenty-first-century Christian institutions of higher learning can be splendid beacons of the light our world so desperately needs--if only they have the courage and conviction to do so. This is Phil Eaton at his winsome best."--Duane Litfin, president emeritus, Wheaton College

"Philip Eaton's robust and reasoned faith in the power of Christian truth to build a world capable of fostering genuine human flourishing is at the heart of this important proposal for the renewal of Christian higher education. In a culture like our own, unsure of its grasp on the truth of anything, Eaton's portrait of the university as a truth-discovering, truth-offering institution is bracing, brave and absolutely necessary. It just might change the world."--George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center

"Engaging the Culture, Changing the World offers a radiant, joyful and hopeful vision for the work of Christian higher education. I am confident that this marvelously-written resource will greatly influence the next generation of Christian educators. Attractively and engagingly presented, Phil Eaton's impressive volume will certainly find a warm welcome among Christian leaders, faculty and students alike."--David S. Dockery, president, Union University

"Philip Eaton argues passionately that the Christian university must be reconceived, at a time when contemporary culture doubts the Christian story. He calls upon the Christian university to engage the very culture that has 'exiled' it. Now, he declares, is the moment to tell again the transforming story of the gospel, and to speak to the world a language of 'healing, wholeness and reconciliation.' The central mission of Eaton's Christian university is to equip its students with the necessary critical skills and competencies, and thus to prepare them to build a model of 'human flourishing, which will make the world a better place.' It is a compelling vision."--David Warren, president, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities

"I would recommend this text for those who are members of Christian universities. It is good to be reminded why Christian institutions have a unique and valuable place in society. Eaton does this well. . . . I enjoyed reading this book as Eaton took me for a metaphorical walk through the halls of the Christian university."--Adam Paape, Journal of Education and Christian Belief, Spring 2012

"Every Christian educator, pastor, and parent of a high school student needs to read this book, especially if they care about transforming lives."--G. Robert Cook Jr., Enrichment, Spring 2012