ask ourselves whether we might be projecting a quality onto their “internal”
which is actually coming from our own “external.”
(WEO)
pointing the way
David Brooks, author of the best-sellers The Road to Character and The
Social Animal, wrote a column for The New York Times recently on “The Big
University” and how it has lost its way.
“Many American universities,” he wrote, “were founded as religious
institutions, explicitly designed to cultivate their students’ spiritual and moral
natures. But over the course of the 20th century they became officially and
effectively secular.
“Religious rituals like mandatory chapel services were dropped. Academic
research and teaching replaced character formation at the core of the
university’s mission.
“Administrators and professors dropped spiritual language and moral
prescription either because they didn’t know what to say or because they didn’t
want to alienate any part of their diversifying constituencies.”
As a result, he said, “Universities are more professional and glittering than
ever, but in some ways there is an emptiness deep down. Students are taught
how to do things, but many are not forced to reflect on why they should do
them or what we are here for.”
When this was posted online a reader wrote in the comment section:
“What Brooks describes is what can be found at our better small religiously
affiliated colleges today. Big universities have all but abandoned the pursuits
that spark the human spirit and link us to the sublime. Teens coming out of
high school should be encouraged to explore these small colleges and seek out
‘name’ universities for graduate level work, after a foundation has been set in
liberal arts.”
She could have been writing about Bryn Athyn College. A liberal arts
education infused with spiritual values to guide students throughout their
lives – and to eternity – is the unique niche of the College.
The hope, as the College reaches out to attract more students looking for
such an “old-fashioned” education with a whole new approach to life, is that
they will land on the College’s website – www.brynathyn.edu – and be drawn
in by the Mission Statement:
“Bryn Athyn College of the New Church serves as an intellectual center for
all who desire to engage in higher education enriched, guided and structured by
the study of the Old Testament, New Testament and the theological writings of
Emanuel Swedenborg. This education challenges students to develop spiritual
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