My name is [Name Removed - Eds.] and I am a 2008 graduate of Erskine College. I thoroughly enjoyed my Erskine experience and genuinely loved and appreciated my professors. It has come to my attention that some concerns have developed regarding Erskine’s commitment to integrating faith and learning in the classroom. These concerns were emerging while I was still a student, but now the situation has escalated enough to prompt current students and alumni to approach the ARP synod to ask for an inquiry into the conduct of Erskine College and its administration over the school’s mission. To summarize, Erskine College has compromised by allowing evolutionary, humanistic and secular concepts to be taught (without the criticism of a Christian worldview perspective) and by failing to stop such teachings when they first began. This, in turn, jeopardizes the students’ personal faith.

The faculty of Erskine is not stressing a Christian approach to scholarship and learning in the classrooms. Indeed, their lessons directly contradict the teachings of Scripture. According to the Statement of the Philosophy of Christian Higher Education of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, those academic institutes belonging to the ARP Church “have a responsibility to stress Christian doctrine as well as Christian ethics.” In addition, Erskine College’s mission statement expresses the desire of the school to integrate “learning and biblical truth.” However, Erskine has failed to integrate Christian principles in the classroom. For example, the science classes are permeated with Darwinian, naturalistic evolutionary theory where as nowhere in Scripture is this ideology evident. Instead, Scripture teaches that God created the world and all it contains in six days and rested on the seventh day. The faculty who teach this form of creation are bowing to the ideas of secularism and humanism that states God does not exist. By this, Erskine has undermined herself and her promise to adhere to the teachings of Christ.

Erskine College further compromised herself by failing to stop false teachings when they first began. The ARP Church’s philosophy on higher education states that the “church has the ultimate responsibility for the administrative, academic, and moral life of the college.” Thus, it is the responsibility of the ARP denomination and her leaders to ensure that Erskine College continues in the tradition of providing education based upon Scriptural truths, not the so-called truths of humanism and secularism. Despite this commitment, the ARP Church has not held the Erskine faculty and administration accountable to Erskine’s mission of providing faith combined with learning.

By teaching evolution, humanism and secularism, with no attempt to criticize them, the student’s faith is jeopardized. This jeopardizing of faith is accomplished by teachings that contradict Scripture and by professors mocking and criticizing their students’ faith (in the classroom). The ARP Church’s Philosophy on Christian higher education states that the “primary task of the College should be to guide the student into the development of a mature faith.” How can a student be given a strong foundation in the faith if he is taught theories, ideas and concepts that directly oppose the inerrant Word of God? What can be worse than to destroy the faith of a young adult? Matthew 18:6 says that “if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Erskine College is doing exactly that, causing young men and women to fall away from God by leading them away from the one true God. It would be better for Erskine to close its doors than to continue leading students down the path of humanism and secularism.

In the end, the root of Erskine’s difficulties lie in her failure to adhere to her commitment to integrating Christian principles with academics. This has lead to the presence of false teachings, the failure to stop such teachings, and the jeopardizing of the faith of students. However, before closing this letter, let me reiterate how much I love Erskine. I have a deep respect for the Faculty, Administration, Trustees and the ARP denomination. It is because of this love that I choose to write this letter. Please take these words and the words of current students and alumni seriously. I implore the Synod to examine the current state of Erskine College through a commission so that necessary changes will ensure that she is able to provide an education than integrates excellent academics with sound Biblical teachings.

Through the four years that I have spent at Erskine College I have grown in my Christian faith. God blessed me with friends, roommates, and a fiancée who share in the same faith and love for Him, and we have helped each other grow in our faith and love for Christ. Through the Bible Department at Erskine I also learned a lot about what God’s Word teaches, and it has encouraged me to have a faith that seeks understanding. However, I cannot say that Erskine College as a whole has done much to nurture my faith.

As a Biology major at Erskine, I learned much about the amazing design of God’s creation. From the atom, to molecules and cells and all the way up to the human body, it is fascinating to see how everything works together to give us bodies that can function the way they do. What a beautiful and complex universe God has created! If only that were emphasized in our studies of science at Erskine that God is the Creator and sustainer of life. There was never any emphasis on God being the Creator. In fact, He was hardly mentioned in the science classes I took at Erskine. Instead there was an evolutionary emphasis that gave no acknowledgment to God as the Creator. I understand that we need to be rigorously studying the theory of evolution, as it would be foolish and fundamentalist to simply ignore it, but we should be studying it from a Biblical perspective. While I do appreciate my science professors and much of what I learned from them, I do feel that I could have received a much deeper and more full-orbed understanding of biology had the professors taught from a perspective that acknowledges God as the Creator of the universe. The more I study biology and see the unbelievable complexity of the world at so many different levels, the more I cannot help but praise God for his wonderful and beautiful creation. I long for a Science Department at Erskine that encourages its students to do the same.

I also experienced frustration with my education at Erskine in the sociology department. In my sociology classes, ideas about social interaction, human relationships, and marriage were explained as if God did not exist. Furthermore, in learning about human sexuality, there was not a strong Christian perspective. Sex is a gift that God designed for a husband and wife, and this ought to be emphasized in a class that attempts to educate students about human sexuality. I understand that these issues will obviously be studied from a sociological angle, but conclusions that are reached should be in line with God’s Word. When talking about issues such as homosexuality, adultery, and marriage, God’s Word should be the foundation underlying all that is taught and discussed. However, this was not the case. Instead, Scripture was treated as an afterthought. A guest speaker even handed out condoms to our class full of unmarried students. What is that teaching Erskine students about sex outside of marriage? Once again, I think that these sociology classes failed to present material in light of Scripture, treating God as a mere afterthought if even mentioning Him at all. I realize the benefit of studying human life from a sociological angle, but believe that the teaching I and my classmates received was greatly lacking. Without God as the foundation of this teaching, how can one even make sense out of human relationships and sexuality?

One further example of the lack of Christian perspective in the classroom at Erskine comes from my English class. In this class, the professor taught with an extremely low view of Scripture. In trying to convince students of the veracity of the evolutionary theory, he spoke out against those who let their faith govern the way they do science. He claimed that the religious dogma taught by the Bible Department at Erskine or by the Church was corrupting our minds and thwarting our ability to gain knowledge. He even gave evolution text books out to all the students in my English class in an attempt to persuade them to accept theories of evolution. In class discussions led by the professor people could easily be led astray. I am thankful that by God’s grace, I am mature enough in my Christian faith to not be swayed by this professor’s Bible bashing. However, I fear that other students who are less mature in their Christian faith and those students who may be searching for truth could easily be led astray by his incessant and seemingly convincing arguments. At a Christian liberal arts institution this should obviously not be the case! I would consider this class a great hindrance to the nurturing of a Christian faith.

Apart from my Bible classes, the education I received at Erskine did not offer me knowledge from a Christian perspective. Instead, I had to take much of what I was taught and learn it in a way that was not offered by the professors. I imagine this approach to learning is similar to what I would receive education at a secular institution. I long to see Erskine College truly become a Christian liberal arts institution, one that encourages its students to be in the world but not of the world.

In Christ and for His glory,

Caitlyn Slattery

Class of 2009

Board of Trustees
Erskine College
Due West, SC 29639

Dear members of the Board of Trustees:

My name is Tiffany (Tre*) Wylie. I am a graduate of Erskine College, class of 2003 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Social Studies and a Minor in Secondary Education. For the past four years, I have served [as an English teacher overseas]. During my tenure [overseas], I have earned a Master’s degree in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Azusa Pacific University. I returned home in February to have knee surgery. Since my return, I have heard disturbing rumors about Erskine from current students, fellow alumni, and others outside of the Erskine family. I am concerned about the direction of Erskine College if these rumors prove to be true. Below are some of the rumors that have come to my attention. These rumors, whether true or false, can damage the reputation of the school and should be investigated.

1. There is a current attempt to change the mission statement of Erskine College in order to secularize Erskine College to increase student enrollment.
2. There is a desire to separate Erskine College from the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church and tradition.
3. The Vice President of Enrollment is seeking to change the prospective student demographics to target and increase recruitment of more secular students and decrease recruitment of Christian students.
4. There is an attempt to remove questions pertaining to faith or religious beliefs from the Presidential Scholarship interviews.
5. There has been an active attempt by some in the administration to discourage students from attending the Due West A.R.P Church.

Erskine College, as a Christian institution, has an opportunity and responsibility to set itself apart from and counter the secularism and relativism that is pervasive in American culture today, particularly in higher education. According to the mission and purpose statements, all subjects should be taught from a Christian worldview. Students should learn how to incorporate their faith into their respective field of study, and should be taught how to recognize philosophies, ideologies, and religious beliefs that contradict Christianity to teach them how to counter these contradicting belief systems and live as salt and light among the nations. Students ought to be equipped for life-long ministry and service as servants of the Most High God, no matter what field they enter once they leave Erskine.

Many current students have voiced their dismay with the failure of Erskine College to implement this mission statement. In his article, which appeared in The Mirror and ARP Talk, entitled “To the College of Laodicea”, Daniel Stephens comments,

Here at Erskine we are hearing that we have money, admissions, and retention problems . . . students arrive with a perception of the college that is not accurate at all. Once they find out that Erskine is, in reality, quite different from what they were sold on, they become dissatisfied and frustrated. Some feel lied to, some let down, some attempt to change the institution to what they were originally told it was. If this scenario was the fault of the students, we should expect to see just a couple leave each semester of their freshmen year. However, this is not the case as we all know. The students are not mistaken, they are deceived.

This is an alarming statement as to the portrayal of Erskine College. Prospective students are told that Erskine is a Christian college and that they will receive faith-based education centered on the person of Jesus Christ. However, according to current students, this is not completely true. The fact that current students have begun in various ways to voice their concerns and opinions about the present status of Erskine College must give everyone reason to question the direction and goals of the current administration. On Saturday, April 25, students organized themselves and proceeded to carry out what has been coined a “Moonlight Revolution.” Students, using Martin Luther’s 95 Thesis as their inspiration, used sidewalk chalk to write their complaints and opinions about Erskine College and its administration on the sidewalks of the campus. The following is a list of student complaints that I find relevant and disturbing:

The administration refuses to integrate faith and learning
Dr. Ruble is not willing to take any strong theological positions
The Admissions Office tries to compete head-to-head with larger secular schools like Furman rather than implementing and selling the mission of Erskine as a distinctively Christian liberal arts college
The ARP Church does not support Christian students by demanding accountability of Erskine’s leadership
Question: Why does the Admissions Office discourage any talk about Christ with prospective students?
Why is the Bible ignored at Erskine?
Where’s the focus on Christ? Please fulfill the mission statement.
We want actual integration of Faith and Education.
If you care, please PRAY FOR ERSKINE.
What happened to Gospel driven at EC?

These complaints are an attempt by concerned students to request those in leadership to fulfill their duty as servant-leaders of the college. Christian students are demanding that their leaders provide a Christ-centered education and solid Christian leadership. These students are demanding that their leaders be held accountable to the mission and purpose statements of Erskine College by the Board of Trustees and the Synod. They want what they were told they would get when they made the decision to attend Erskine College. I as an alumna of Erskine College also want accountability and desire that Erskine integrate faith and learning as stated in the mission and purpose statements.

My purpose in drafting this letter is to humbly request that the Board of Trustees and the Synod investigate the rumors and complaints that I have listed and to examine the total program of Erskine College and the use of its resources in all areas of its mission. What is Erskine College currently doing in the field of Christian higher education? Are students presented with Christ and the Christian viewpoint? Are students learning tangible ways to live their lives in right relation to God and man? Is the current direction of Erskine College a direct reflection and extension of the leadership of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church? What can be done to assure that Erskine College implements its mission and purpose statements? What change is needed? Are the members of the Synod, the Board of Trustees, and the Board of Directors willing to do what is necessary to ensure that Erskine College is what it claims to be – Christ centered?

In Christ through faith,

Tiffany Wylie

cc: Members of the Synod

Two weeks ago, I brought my four years at Erskine to a close, graduating with a B.A. in Mathematics. I cared deeply about Erskine while I was there, taking leadership in four organizations (including a two-year tenure as an editor for The Mirror, Erskine’s student newspaper) and graduating with a 4.0 GPA. As I open a new chapter in my life, I still care about Erskine and will do whatever I can to help her succeed in her mission.

During my time in Due West, I had some outstanding professors; they were knowledgeable in their field, they knew precisely how to communicate that knowledge to their students, and they cared deeply about their Christian faith and its integration into the classroom. Sometimes I disagreed with their theology or academic positions (then again, sometimes I agreed wholeheartedly), but they were clearly committed to an excellence in academics which rested on a deep Christian faith. Their classes, along with some great friends I met along the way, made me glad that I chose Erskine as the location for my undergraduate experience.

However, during those four years, I saw some disturbing actions by Erskine administration and faculty members. Most disturbing were the common responses by administration members: feigning ignorance, making empty promises, and flat out lying. I saw friends led astray by certain faculty members. In fact, there were times that I could draw parallels between a student’s progression in a particular class and his regression in commitment to the church. When I confronted the President of the College on the matter, he claimed ignorance. If the undercutting of Erskine as a Christian institution were more subtle, I would be able to see the President’s position on the matter. But the simple fact is that the divide between faculty who support a Christ-centered education and those who would separate faith and learning is well-known. I talked to a professor who told me that if Erskine fired either its pro-integration or its anti-integration faculty, the number of professors would be cut nearly in half. This professor made the comment after only one year in Due West; if our President is ignorant, he has no excuse.

To use a more concrete example, my time at Erskine was not half gone before I felt compelled to defend Dr. John Wingard when his teaching methods (particularly in regard to his faith) were attacked by another professor in front of the entire class as unbecoming of a scholar. When professors take pot shots at each other in front of their classes—particularly in such cases as this, when the professor being criticized is not even present to defend himself—there is clearly something wrong. As a side note, Dr. Wingard won the Excellence in Teaching award that year.

He probably never heard about this particular incident, but Dr. Wingard left Erskine mere weeks afterwards. In a recent conversation with the President, I mentioned that Erskine never should have let him go. The President responded that Erskine made a lucrative financial offer but that it was not accepted. I mentioned that if the college were not so divided, outstanding faculty may have more incentive to stay, regardless of finances. (Dr. Wingard is not the only one of Erskine’s best professors that has left during my time there. For length’s sake, I will refrain from giving more). The President responded that my perceived division was not the main factor in Dr. Wingard’s departure. Soon after, I was made aware of a letter written by Dr. Wingard that very clearly substantiated my claim and invalidated the President’s. Is the President unaware of why the College’s best faculty members leave? I think not.

A more egregious example of poor administrative responses to problems at Erskine came in the Student Forum during the last week of school. Two students and one professor, all three of which I trust greatly, had accused the Admissions Office of shirking its duty to recruit Christians by refusing to allow faith in Christ as an interview question in the Presidential Scholarship competition. When one formalized the complaint at the Student Forum, the Vice President for Enrollment directly contradicted their claims, saying that faith most assuredly was a question. One side is lying.

Why do I bring my complaints before the ARP Church? I presume that the ARPC desires its denominational college to deliver a strong academic education on a foundation of even stronger Christian commitment. I also presume that the ARPC has some sway over the actions of the college. Thus, I humbly ask that the ARPC intervene in Erskine’s identity crisis, directing her in a way that will strengthen the school and bring glory to God.

God bless,

James N. Brantner
Class of 2009

Dear Dr. Ruble,

Greetings! As I prepare to leave Erskine, I have been processing my four years here as a student and the past two years of my involvement as a student leader. While I have seen God at work in many ways during my time at Erskine and appreciate the positive aspects of the Erskine community, I leave Erskine with the concern that Erskine is not headed in the right direction at multiple levels. I write to you today to share those concerns with you.

One of the reasons that I came to Erskine was because it advertised itself as a Christian liberal arts college where, as Dr. Weatherman would so often say, we bring together reason and revelation. I remain convinced that Erskine’s formal commitment to the integration of “learning and biblical truth” and to a “Christ-centered environment” constitutes a vision for an excellent Christian liberal arts education that seeks to equip Christians to faithfully serve Christ in their churches, families, and vocations and to reach unbelievers with the hope of the Gospel. Sadly, instead what I have observed during my four years here is a grievous gap that is steadily growing between that formal mission and the practical condition of Erskine in its administration, faculty, and community life.

Concerning the Administration, I have seen a glaring and consistent pattern of the evasion and suppression of Erskine’s mission. The starkest example of this concerned the 2008 Strategic Plan. With the approval of the new mission statement, there was a tremendous opportunity to move Erskine forward toward being more faithful to its mission. Instead, the mission was not practically front-and-center in the planning process. Given your frequent comments on the importance of being Christ-centered, why did not you provide stronger definition and leadership for what that would mean in the planning process? Why do we now have an Admissions process that emphasizes “faith” more than “Christ”, which substitutes vague and vacuous phrases such as “Forever Connected” for a vigorous attempt to market Erskine as a Christian liberal arts college? Such vagueness shamefully uses the name of Christ as a mantra to cover Erskine’s lack of institutional integrity…

Unfortunately, that is but one of the examples of the many gaps between Erskine’s stated mission and how things are actually done. While our mission commits us to the integration of “learning and biblical truth”, many faculty members (beside Dr. Crenshaw, who is only the most extreme example!) openly oppose or evade the integration of Christian faith with learning. Why is it that since our new mission was approved I have heard more and more reports from my fellow students about professors (not just in one department, but in many) who teach from a basically secular perspective? There are unfortunately too many stories I could tell of seeing Christian students come into Erskine only to have their faith weakened or destroyed because of how their professors compartmentalize Christianity and learning, and elevate reason and the individual over God’s revelation and the journey of faith in Christ. These things should not be so at a Christian liberal arts college.

Finally, during my two years as an SLA, I have seen our student body become more divided, more disgruntled, and more frustrated. Students are frustrated about many things across the spectrum, from rising tuition to the lack of Christian commitment to fearing that there is too much Christian commitment. Our campus culture is split between mediocrity and overextendedness. Why is there such fragmentation and division? Yes, we live in a broken and sinful world and we will never reach perfection in this life. But what else can we really have but disunity when the historical, living Christ of Scripture is not the center of our campus life, not the center of the vision of Admissions, and not the center of our classrooms? This is not to suggest that we should only have Christian students or that we should not engage human thought in its diversity; rather, it is to suggest that behind Erskine’s problems with retention, with the lack of school spirit, and with the general lack of a truly Gospel-centered campus life lies the failure of the Administration and the Board to be committed to implementing Erskine’s mission in the fullness of its Christ-centered vision.

I have prayed and will continue to pray for you, and for Erskine College. I have presented these concerns to you because I love Erskine, because I love our students, and (most of all) because I want to see Erskine be faithful to Christ as the ministry of the ARP Church in Christian higher education. Thank you for reading this, and for your acts of service to Erskine and to its students.

In Christ,

Joshua Grimm
Chair, Student Life Council, 2008-09
Student Life Assistant, Grier Dorm, 2007-09
Member, Steering Committee, Erskine College Strategic Plan, 2007-08
Editor-in-Chief, The Erskine Mirror, 2007-08

Cc: Dr. John R. deWitt
Cc: Mr. Steve Maye
Cc: Mr. Gordon Query
Cc: Mr. Scott Mitchell

————–

August 25, 2006

Dear Erskine College Board of Trustees:

I, as a representative of Erskine’s student body, was given the privilege of having dinner with a group of Erskine faculty, board members, students, and a Presidential candidate, [Name Removed -Eds.] . The following paragraphs are a synopsis of my original evaluation of [Name Removed -Eds.], along with some thoughts I have pondered since that evening:

In the areas of experience and credentials, I believe [Name Removed -Eds.] has the credentials necessary to be the president of a college. He also has the general experience that would be most helpful to a college president, but that does not, in itself, make him qualified to be the president of Erskine College. We need a president who is not just a strong leader, but who is a strong Christian leader. I feel that [Name Removed -Eds.] did not display strong Christian leadership skills during our roundtable discussion after the evening meal.

First of all, I do not have any clue what [Name Removed -Eds.] believes as a result of our roundtable discussion. [Name Removed -Eds.] stated that he is a Christian, but I believe that he skirted the issues when it came to Reformed theology. His main comment about the Reformed faith was that he felt “comfortable” with it. I do not want the leader of Erskine College, the higher education institution of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, to be just “comfortable” with its founding principles and beliefs.

Another lack of leadership was displayed in [Name Removed -Eds.]‘s response to a question posed by Jimmy Turner, another Erskine student. [Name Removed -Eds.] would not address Mr. Turner’s question posed about what he plans to do to change the negative aspects of Erskine College. [Name Removed -Eds.] has been informed of the problems faced by Erskine and he had the opportunity to answer, but did not take it. As a strong leader, [Name Removed -Eds.] should have taken this opportunity to specifically give us an idea of his vision for Erskine College and how he plans to lead us to our full potential as a Christian institution of higher learning and as a community of believers.

In the survey following the evening, I was asked what I think motivated [Name Removed -Eds.] to want to come to Erskine. I believe that he would relate to the Erskine community because it is similar to the area where he has worked in the past. This is encouraging because [Name Removed -Eds.] could identify with the positives and negatives of a small college in a small rural town.

Caution was the dominant theme of the evening that we spent with [Name Removed -Eds.]. As I have stated, [Name Removed -Eds.] did not answer many of the questions posed and I would like to have him answer these questions so I can better assess his ability to be President of Erskine College. As of right now, I do not believe that [Name Removed -Eds.] is the right candidate for the job of President of Erskine College. We need a President who can confidently lead Erskine by knowing and whole-heartedly believing in the mission and values of Erskine College.

Sincerely,

Catherine E. Tolbert
Vice President
Student Government Association