Wheaton College has been one of the premier Christian educational institutions in the country for many years. Its list of alumni includes influential preachers and pastors like Billy Graham and John Piper, famous missionaries like Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, and Todd Beamer of Flight 93 fame. The school even named its student center in Beamer’s memory.
Another notable alumnus is Russell Vought, whom the Senate confirmed last week as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. It’s an important and prestigious position, and Wheaton was right to congratulate him on this position in a social media post on Friday.
“Wheaton College congratulations and prays for 1998 graduate Russell Vought to serve as the White House Director of Management and Budget!” the social media post announced. But if you go to look for it, you’ll never find it.
That’s because Wheaton took the post down. Later, the school issued another statement:
On Friday, Wheaton College posted a congratulations and a call to prayer for an alumnus who received confirmation to a White House post. The recognition and prayer is something we would typically do for any graduate who reached that level of government. However, the political situation surrounding the appointment led to a significant concern expressed online. It was not our intention to embroil the College in a political discussion or dispute. Our institutional and theological commitments are clear that the College, as a non-profit institution, does not make political endorsements.
Wheaton College's focus is on Christ and His Kingdom.
What’s the reason for this about-face? You guessed it: leftists complained.
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Congratulating Vought for his new position isn’t an endorsement. The school admitted that much to Megan Basham, telling her, “Offering prayers and congratulations is not a political endorsement. However, the social media post created a distracting amount of conflict on our social media channel, so we removed it and explained why.”
Wheaton didn’t make endorsements during last year’s election season; however, it held an event featuring anti-Trump speakers. The school also hosted the creators of the “After Party” church curriculum, noted never-Trumpers David French, Russell Moore, and Curtis Chang.
Erick Erickson contrasted two of Wheaton’s famous alumni with the current leadership, and it’s not a pretty picture:
This is not leadership, but capitulation.
Todd Beamer stormed a cockpit full of jihadis.
Jim Elliot died sharing the gospel.
Philip Ryken, the President of Wheaton College, and his institution could not even stand up to mean tweets.
Wheaton is no longer an institution of Christian conviction. It has not been for some time. This should be the final nail in the coffin of its institutional reputation as an institution committed to orthodox Christian faith.
If you cannot stand up to mean tweets, you’ll blow in the winds of secularism over everything related to Christian orthodoxy, which the institution has already been doing. Now, it is clearly completely adrift.
Indeed, it’s an act of cowardice on Wheaton’s part to rescind its congratulations to a notable alumnus. Caving too quickly to the left is shameful, but it’s of a piece with the behavior of larger evangelical organizations, or “Big Eva.” These institutions are so desperate to remain relevant to the culture at large that they “lean left and punch right,” to borrow a phrase from rocker (and bold Christian) John Cooper.
It might have been different had Wheaton issued the statement and left the original post active, but not by much. Capitulating to the left like this lacks the boldness and courage that is supposed to characterize Christians. Wheaton should be ashamed of itself.
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