Wheaton College

[temporal1]

Wheaton College, Wheaton Illinois
Near Chicago.

The Christian Post / Wheaton College alumni flood petition for leadership change amid 'pernicious drift'
https://www.christianpost.com/news/whea ... rship.html

.. The letter, which is addressed to the school's board of trustees, asserts that alumni and parents "have sensed Wheaton's drift for some time," but that their concerns about the school's direction have largely fallen on deaf ears. ..

.. According to detractors, critical race theory, gender ideology and other left-wing philosophies have seeped into the institution that boasts the late Rev. Billy Graham, John Piper, William Lane Craig, as well as martyrs Jim Elliot and Todd Beamer as alumni.

Teetsel recalled instances during his tenure at Wheaton two decades ago that stood out to him as inappropriate for a self-proclaimed Christian college.

He remembered a communications professor who closed the door of the classroom and made his class watch a video in support of same-sex adoption. Another professor would wear a red bracelet to indicate to her students when she was menstruating, he said.

"There may not be one single instance or moment that all this can be attributed to," Teetsel said of when Wheaton's drift began. "I think it's just been a subtle, creeping, pernicious drift in the same direction." He sees Wheaton's issues as "undoubtedly" a reflection of apostatizing trends going on in many Christian institutions.

Teetsel said he is "not at all surprised by the response" to the petition, which has amassed 850 alumni signatures as of Tuesday evening.

"I think the vast majority of Wheaton College alums who are hearing about what's happening on campus — seeing it in the alumni magazine, seeing news stories when they break out into the open about things that are happening — are completely dismayed and disappointed by it," he said.

Mike Swider, who served as Wheaton's head football coach from 1996 to 2019, was among the signatories.

Other signatories of the letter who spoke to CP also expressed their dismay and concern regarding what they believe has happened to their alma mater in recent decades.

"It's astounding how quickly Wheaton has abandoned its Christian heritage to become just another woke college," one alumnus from the Class of 2018 said. "The Vought debacle is just the latest example of the utter failure of President Ryken's strategy of leftist appeasement."

A parent of a former student also laid blame at the feet of the school's leadership.

"I am deeply concerned about Wheaton College's decades-long drift and weak leadership," the parent said. "The administration's recent decision to bow to public pressure in the wake of Russ Vought's presidential appointment reflects a troubling pattern of compromise over conviction. Once known for its strong commitment to conservative values, Wheaton's reputation is at risk."

Portia Cauthen White, a North Carolina resident who is a member of the Class of 1983, doesn't blame Ryken for the institution's problems, noting that her father was also the president of a Christian college and that she, therefore, understands "the political pressure cooker that Philip Ryken lives in."

Before becoming Wheaton's president in 2010, Ryken assumed the pulpit of the prominent Rev. James Montgomery Boice at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.

"I don't hold him responsible for the stances that Wheaton has taken that are antithetical to biblical loyalty," White said. "I like to imagine that Ryken is stemming the tide of Wheaton's pandering to the most Orwellian dictates of respectable academia. 'The Harvard of Christian schools' could be more like Harvard if the Lord in His mercy does not step in and change its course."

When reached for comment regarding the letter, a spokesperson for Wheaton referred CP to their Feb. 8 statement regarding the Vought incident, and said they have nothing more to add.

^^i’m encouraged to read this; due to its near-Chicago location, i’ve had little hope of reversal.
This report indicates some are not ignoring it.

Wheaton College
https://www.wheaton.edu/

Wheaton College has been mentioned on forum.
P.18 / viewtopic.php?t=3929&start=170
P.1 / viewtopic.php?t=7255

[Bootstrap]

Oh, this happened because Wheaton decided not to get involved in a political dispute on Facebook.

This looks more like politics than anything else. Christians who refuse to tow the political line ...

The letter comes after Wheaton made headlines earlier this month for deleting a Facebook post that congratulated and urged prayer for 1998 alumnus Russell Vought, who was recently confirmed to serve as the director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in the Trump administration.

After some alumni complained on social media, the school pulled the post, claiming "the political situation surrounding [Vought’s] appointment led to a significant concern expressed online." The school added that "it was not our intention to embroil the College in a political discussion or dispute."

[Praxis+Theodicy]

For anyone, like me, who is curious about some of the things referenced but not elaborated on in this article, I found this one that goes into details about the "Vought Incident" and about the current petition. This article is waaaaay less one-sided than the original one, even just for someone wanting to be informed and has no interest in taking sides.

The long and the short of it is, Russ Vought is a man whose faith rests in a very worldly, political ideology, and he has achieved much of his ambitions. He contributed to the "Project 2025" ideological action plan for Republicans to act on when they achieve sufficient power, and he was nominated to a high position in President Trump's cabinet.

Wheaton College sent out a congratulatory remark and a commitment to pray for Vought, since he is an alum. This raised the ire of many alumni, who feel that his allegiance is misplaced and his political actions are currently making gospel ministry more difficult for a significant number of Christians. They wrote a petition. This petition raised the ire of state-and-politically-allegiant faculty and alumni of Wheaton, who then sent their own petition.

Both sides essentially see the college as favoring a certain worldly political ideology, and each side sees their own political ideology as "safe" and the opposing one as "dangerous".

I would agree that Wheaton has indeed drifted if an alum helped draft Project 2025 and is serving in the president's cabinet. But I don't know if Wheaton ever had a gospel-cenetered, 2-Kingdom theological position in the first place, so maybe this isn't "drift," maybe it's just a Constantinian-Hybrid school that has secretly (or not so secretly) been more about political power than the gospel. Billy Graham is an alum too, it seems. So getting closer to the levers of power is something this school does seem to instill as a goal in their alumni. Who knows?

As far as drift in the other direction, closer to the gospel, I don't see that happening either. The college didn't seem shy to congratulate Vought. They withdrew their social media post after realizing it was worded too politically one-sided. It seems they withdrew it because it was too partisan, not because it was too political or too much idealizing power. And I am really curious about the drift happening toward a more liberal political stance. A lack of evidence would have been more convincing then the evidence presented, which implies no real evidence, and a need to misrepresent things.

[JohnL]

Wheaton is struggling with pressure from liberal wokeist quarters. It’s important that they decide who they are and to take a stand as Christians have done for 2000 years. As a PRIVATE CHRISTIAN institution the alumni should have more influence in asserting Biblical loyalty and to vet anyone they hire on whether that applicant also holds the same values of the college. Even public universities have the right to determine applicants’ suitability to promote the college’s mission.

I don’t agree with everything Calvinist Baptists teach but in a free society they have a right to teach it. That business of the professor pushing homosexual adoptions and marriage as well as the one with the red bracelet does go against Biblical teaching. I’m hoping those individuals were fired for that.

[Neto]

Biblical standards, not political affiliations, should shape the direction and hiring policies of a 'Christian institution'. The college's board members and teaching staff should be chosen from among those who support its purpose and doctrinal stance.

If a formerly Christian educational institution experiences a shift in its Biblical fidelity, they should change their name.

[Praxis+Theodicy]

That business of the professor pushing homosexual adoptions and marriage as well as the one with the red bracelet does go against Biblical teaching. I’m hoping those individuals were fired for that.

1) It has not been shown that any professors have been "pushing homosexual adoptions and marriage". This is an inference that certain nefarious actors WANT people to make *and apparently it is working, because the accusation is being assumed and declared even now).

2) "the one with the red bracelet does go against Biblical teaching."
I am very curious to hear this argued. I am at a loss as to the kind of world in which thus statement would be true.

[barnhart]

...
I would agree that Wheaton has indeed drifted if an alum helped draft Project 2025 and is serving in the president's cabinet. But I don't know if Wheaton ever had a gospel-cenetered, 2-Kingdom theological position in the first place, so maybe this isn't "drift," maybe it's just a Constantinian-Hybrid school that has secretly (or not so secretly) been more about political power than the gospel. Billy Graham is an alum too, it seems. So getting closer to the levers of power is something this school does seem to instill as a goal in their alumni. Who knows?

Drift I could support.

As far as drift in the other direction, closer to the gospel, I don't see that happening either. The college didn't seem shy to congratulate Vought. They withdrew their social media post after realizing it was worded too politically one-sided. It seems they withdrew it because it was too partisan, not because it was too political or too much idealizing power. And I am really curious about the drift happening toward a more liberal political stance. A lack of evidence would have been more convincing then the evidence presented, which implies no real evidence, and a need to misrepresent things.

Right. Mixed signals at best. Isn't this struggle built in to Evangelical protestant theology, the mandate to control and the prophetic mandate to critique from the outside don't mix well.

[JohnL]

That business of the professor pushing homosexual adoptions and marriage as well as the one with the red bracelet does go against Biblical teaching. I’m hoping those individuals were fired for that.

1) It has not been shown that any professors have been "pushing homosexual adoptions and marriage". This is an inference that certain nefarious actors WANT people to make *and apparently it is working, because the accusation is being assumed and declared even now).

2) "the one with the red bracelet does go against Biblical teaching."
I am very curious to hear this argued. I am at a loss as to the kind of world in which thus statement would be true.

1) It was mentioned in the article about the Wheaton professor showing a film to his class about homosexual marriage and adoptions. It caused a backlash so that tells me it did happen.
2) Wearing a red bracelet to tell everyone she is having her monthly goes against modesty and Biblical teaching on modesty.

[JohnH]

That business of the professor pushing homosexual adoptions and marriage as well as the one with the red bracelet does go against Biblical teaching. I’m hoping those individuals were fired for that.

1) It has not been shown that any professors have been "pushing homosexual adoptions and marriage". This is an inference that certain nefarious actors WANT people to make *and apparently it is working, because the accusation is being assumed and declared even now).

2) "the one with the red bracelet does go against Biblical teaching."
I am very curious to hear this argued. I am at a loss as to the kind of world in which thus statement would be true.

1) It was mentioned in the article about the Wheaton professor showing a film to his class about homosexual marriage and adoptions. It caused a backlash so that tells me it did happen.
2) Wearing a red bracelet to tell everyone she is having her monthly goes against modesty and Biblical teaching on modesty.

I have never heard of such a thing.

[temporal1]

1) It has not been shown that any professors have been "pushing homosexual adoptions and marriage". This is an inference that certain nefarious actors WANT people to make *and apparently it is working, because the accusation is being assumed and declared even now).

2) "the one with the red bracelet does go against Biblical teaching."
I am very curious to hear this argued. I am at a loss as to the kind of world in which thus statement would be true.

1) It was mentioned in the article about the Wheaton professor showing a film to his class about homosexual marriage and adoptions. It caused a backlash so that tells me it did happen.
2) Wearing a red bracelet to tell everyone she is having her monthly goes against modesty and Biblical teaching on modesty.

I have never heard of such a thing.

o.yeah. as the article describes, it’s been going on for years+years. Chicago suburbs. whatever.
i only noticed ‘cause it’s not far from me, i had a loved older family member who LOVED Wheaton, so, i paid attention, wondering if our children might go there? - reading what i have over years: A HARD NO. no difference from state colleges.

naturally, for such as these, Vought will be met with PRIMAL SCREAMS. right on cue.
no mention of their sins. relabeled human rights.

Wheaton was never Anabaptist, CM. Not for one day.

from OP quote:
.. Other signatories of the letter who spoke to CP also expressed their dismay and concern regarding what they believe has happened to their alma mater in recent decades.

"It's astounding how quickly Wheaton has abandoned its Christian heritage to become just another woke college," one alumnus from the Class of 2018 said. "The Vought debacle is just the latest example of the utter failure of President Ryken's strategy of leftist appeasement." ..

i’m encouraged some are trying. before Vought, they were just absolutely ignored.
To repeat: Wealthy Chicago suburbs.