John Nunes in the March 8, 2022 edition of Public Discourse (the journal of the Witherspoon Institute) discusses the implications for Christians of the University of Austin's educational approach. The university is "radically committed to the principle of independence—political, intellectual, and financial" because this model "reinforces this university as a place where students can engage in the unfettered pursuit of truth. The school claims no prior philosophical commitments, and is firmly committed to the idea that no argument is off the table for discussion." It is convinced that this approach is "a cornerstone of a free and flourishing democratic society."
Nunes raises some important questions for Christians:
- "How could Christians endorse an institution that eschews all claims to prior knowledge" if "guided by the truths of revelation?"
- "Is there a strategic advantage to allying with nonsectarian schools when the bulk of American universities the unyielding partisans of secularism?"
Nunes challenges Christians to be involved, recognizing that universities are "thin communities" that have a limited role and simultaneously "remaining firmly grounded in think communities such as families and churches."