This just sent out to Wheaton campus. Self-righteous. Pristine in their self-confidence. Impervious to criticism.
Seriously speaking, a fundamental characteristic of today’s Evangelicals is their ironclad confidence they themselves are the best judge of themselves.
From: Wheaton College Board of Trustees
Sent: Monday, March 3, 2025
To: FAC-STAFF-ADMIN-STU@LISTS.WHEATON.EDU
Subject: Wheaton’s Steadfast Purpose
Importance: High
Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,
In recent weeks, Wheaton College leadership has received many communications from alumni and friends questioning our commitment to our historic mission as an evangelical Christian liberal arts college and whether our Christ-centered convictions are lived out in the classroom and across campus. We humbly receive this counsel and write to share directly with you our core mission and perspectives.
Wheaton College exists for one unchanging purpose: to serve Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. However imperfectly we execute our mission, this is who we endeavor to be, and we reaffirm that mission now.
Since our founding, Wheaton’s Christian convictions and commitment to rigorous thinking have never wavered. Our 1877-1878 College Catalog stated clearly: “Free discussion is encouraged in all these studies, and students are not expected to adopt without question the views of either textbook or teacher, but to think for themselves.”
Today Wheaton pursues spiritually grounded truth and scholarship by cultivating knowledge, reason, Christian character, love, and practical wisdom to strengthen the church and serve society worldwide. We integrate academic rigor with Christian faith to provide a Scripture-based education, strengthened through prayer, lived through service and evangelism, and grounded in community worship. Our graduates enter the world with sharpened minds and softened hearts, ready for lifelong intellectual inquiry and compassionate service for Jesus Christ (A Vision for Wheaton College Graduates).
What else does Wheaton do to ensure an authentically Christian campus environment? All Wheaton employees affirm annually and adhere to our clear, biblically-grounded doctrinal and evangelical Statement of Faith, as well as the moral principles in our Community Covenant, which clarifies the promises that all students, faculty, and staff make to one another before God while living or serving on a residential campus (Institutional Commitments). These biblical imperatives include charity, truth-telling, the value of all human life from conception to death, chastity among the unmarried and the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman, and care for the poor and marginalized (Psalm 139:13-16; 1 Cor. 6:18; Heb. 13:4; Gal. 6:10).
Wheaton College unapologetically affirms a Christ-Centered Diversity Commitment to uphold Christian unity (John 17:20-23; 1 Cor. 1:10), embrace ethnic diversity as God’s design for humanity (Gal. 3:28-29; Eph. 2:1-22; Rev. 7:9), and practice righteous racial reconciliation as we all participate in God’s redemptive purposes in Jesus Christ. Accordingly, we pursue peace, reconciliation, and justice according to the principles of Scripture (Ps. 89:14, Mic. 6:8). This biblical approach to righteousness is rooted in the character of God which stands far apart from secular ideologies, policies and practices.
As an academic institution, Wheaton is deliberately non-partisan. Our recent social posts led some to question this commitment from opposite ends of the political spectrum, and we apologize for causing confusion. We invite our campus community to examine differing perspectives in the light of Scripture, to listen well to others, and to discuss political views freely, openly, and always with Christian charity (1 Pet. 3:15). All of life, including contemporary political issues, must be viewed through the lens of God’s Word. Yet we acknowledge that even as committed Christians of good will endeavor to do this faithfully, differences in opinion remain and should be respected.
Our Christ at the Core general education curriculum provides a framework of biblical and academic knowledge and intellectual skills across disciplines that prepares students to fulfill their full range of future callings within the kingdom of God. As in the past, the faculty who teach this curriculum do not shy away from sometimes uncomfortable contemporary issues or secular perspectives but engage them with Christian charity, biblical conviction, and the strength of a Christian world view (Col. 1:16-20).
As the leaders of Wheaton College, and only by God’s all-encompassing grace, we will continue to execute our mission to graduate gifted Wheaton students who love Jesus, embrace their faith, and are ready to be Christ followers of consequence in a world that needs them. Fulfilling their kingdom callings is the best evidence of the successful execution of our mission.
We rely on God’s mercy for all the ways we fall short of his full purposes for Wheaton. We welcome constructive criticism as an opportunity for re-evaluation and improvement. Please join us in praying that Wheaton continues to maintain its evangelical identity, submission to biblical authority, and effective whole-person education for our students as they prepare to make a difference in the world For Christ and His Kingdom.
Philip Ryken, President
Dale Wong, Chair
For the Wheaton College Board of Trustees