Respecting university work . . .
. . . Shows respect for the subject, the professor, and God-given intellect.
There are few things that dismay me more than shoddy work in any field.
Watch our two minute video about the need for academic excellence (text below).
1 Thessalonians 4:12 says it best: our work shows our walk.
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from Comenius (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), hosts a weekly radio program with diverse groups of guests (1 minute video), and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).
Picture Credit: Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT:
He said, “I have a five page research paper due tomorrow I need to do.”
This is not an unusual statement for me to hear on a university campus!
“How long have you been working on the paper?” I inquired.
“Oh, I haven’t started yet. I am going to throw it together tonight.”
My professorial ire was aroused. I would entreat any student to reconsider their preparation for any academic work. But the young person with whom I spoke was a Christian.
“And what is your paper about?” I asked, suppressing my growing academic frustration.
“It’s about the existence of God.”
Pause with me now, just for a moment, to think about “throwing together” a five-page research paper on the existence of God.
My eyes began to belie my growing discontent with this approach to study. So I asked another question. “Have you written papers for this class before and how were they received by your professor?”
Offhandedly the student waved a nonchalant arm in the air. “Oh, it was on the subject of absolute truth. She gave me a 60 on the paper. She doesn’t like me.”
Now, I defend academic free speech but I deplore shoddy academic work.
Tamping down the professorial fury I was beginning to feel, I asked one last question. “Do you know how you will best share the gospel of Jesus with your professor?”
I answered for him, “One word: excellence.”
The word hung in the air.
My voice rose just enough to let the student know I was not happy. “The best evangelism in the university is academic excellence. If you do not respect your university education, your professors, your assignments, no one will respect you as a Christian.”
Offhanded, nonchalant, throwing together of papers is disrespectful of the academe and of Jesus.
For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, President of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking Truth wherever it’s found.