Our Academic Pursuits--The Seduction of Applause
The upcoming Missional Moments can do little more than serve as conversation starters---given the vast nature of issues involved with how we as Christian faculty lean into our academic pursuits. D.A. Carson, in the book referenced below and in other places, warns of one particular Siren call.
The Seduction of Applause
The Scriptures admonish all Christ-followers to do their work wholeheartedly, as unto Christ: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Col 3:23- 24).
We should pursue our academics “not for men,” but as for Christ.
D.A. Carson notes, however, the common temptation for Christian academics is to allow scholastic pursuits to be shaped by the “seduction of applause,” instead of by the motivation to be faithful to Jesus Christ.
He believes this seduction of applause comes from two main directions:
1. The Respect of Peers
The seduction of applause can come from an academic direction. "The respect of peers who write erudite journal articles becomes more immediately pressing than the Lord’s approval.” Carson observes that if it becomes more important for a Christian scholar to be published by a certain press than to honor God with his academic work, then this scholar is in “grave danger.”
2. The Constituency of Our Friends
Carson also sees the “seduction of applause” coming from a completely different direction---the “constituency of our friends." This narrower group of friends among the larger community of peers can for some people be equally ensnaring. Scholarship, Carson warns, can then be for sale: "you constantly work on things to bolster the self-identity of your group, to show it is right, to answer all who disagree with it.”
Carson reminds all Christian academics of their primary motivation and allegiance in their academic pursuits: “On the last day, we stand or fall on the approval of one person, one master, the Lord Jesus.”
--Rick Hove and Heather Holleman
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