Saluting a Culture Warrior

  I've been talking in recent days about good news: the emergence of a new breed of keen Christian thinkers who are beginning on campuses across the country a counter-attack against the entrenched forces of secularism. One bright star is Princeton professor Robert George. You don't just hear about Dr. George on BreakPoint; stories by and about him are almost as commonplace in some of the nation's leading periodicals. Few Christians in our culture live out their worldview as consistently or effectively as does this brilliant young man, and we would do well to learn from his example. Robert George holds the most prestigious endowed academic chair at that hallowed Ivy League university, as Cyrus McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence. Woodrow Wilson was the first to hold this chair, and Professor George is only the fifth. And he's earned it: He's a prolific writer with a prodigious academic reputation. But in many respects, Robert George is a fish out of water. Like many other top schools, Princeton is dominated by a secular elite. Lest we forget, Princeton's other most notable academic figure is the so-called ethicist Peter Singer, who openly defends the indefensible: infanticide, euthanasia, and bestiality, among other things. But Dr. George is a stalwart Christian. And while his Christian worldview touches every sphere of life, in his field -- of politics -- that can be controversial. But that didn't deter him from opening his class on The Declaration of Independence with a moment of silent prayer in recognition of the rights of freedom granted by that hallowed document. The other faculty sat with their mouths hanging open and startled expressions. But hundreds of students prayed with him . . . at Princeton! Nor did controversy stop him from challenging this country's leading exponent of postmodernism, Stanley Fish. It was in a debate before the American Society of Political Scientists, and it was on the issue of abortion. It was a debate George won hands down as Fish readily conceded before 200 wide-eyed and startled political scientists. George's uncompromising position on abortion, euthanasia, genetic engineering, and other life issues have made him conspicuous, and highly respected, on the Princeton faculty. But respect for Dr. George isn't limited to his academic peers. His courses are so popular that students actually fight to sign up for them. And once they're in, their often unexamined cultural assumptions are confronted with the full weight of the Christian intellectual tradition. But as the pages of The Washington Post recently revealed, Robert George doesn't limit his cultural engagement to the classroom. He is also engaged in national politics; he's a frequent guest and witness on Capitol Hill and part of an informal advisory group at the White House. He played a similar role in advising the late Governor Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. The Wilberforce Forum, of which BreakPoint is a part, asked Robert George to be a Senior Fellow of our public policy and research institute, and he accepted. And we're honored, as well, that he'll be joining us for our upcoming worldview conference in Chicago. Men and women like Robert George are serving notice on the entrenched, politically-correct, secularist establishment -- which has had a lock on America's campuses for a generation. The best in Christian minds are mobilizing and are on the move. And that's very good news indeed!

05/4/01