A WORD TO OUR READERS Nate Olson Managing Editor This issue is a “first” for Faculty Dialogue. For the first time we are publishing an issue in the electronic medium prior to a hard copy publication. Encompassed in ICL’s mission is providing a forum for inter-institutional discussion regarding Christian higher education through Faculty Dialogue and through discussion groups housed on the Internet. Through ICLnet, ICL seeks to provide assistance in cutting-edge communication and information technologies to Christian colleges, universities, Bible colleges, seminaries and parachurch organizations. We recognize that if Faculty Dialogue is published only in an electronic format, many of its readers would not have access to its pages. This factor is, in part, why ICL assists Christian higher education institutions to enter the world of the Internet. This medium offers an incredible tool for promoting communication and information-sharing. It is becoming axiomatic that either Christian education institutions enter this high tech arena or be left behind. It is not “if,” but “when.” This also marks the debut of two new additions which will become standard sections in each issue: Christian faith and science, and First Amendment issues. Early on one of ICL’s interests has been to provide a forum for science and faith issues. The Howard Vollum Writing Award was established for such a purpose. Faculty Dialogue’s editors believe it is our obligation to provide a means whereby Christian scholars can dialogue with the larger Christian college community. There is a common ground of authentic science and authentic Christian faith that, when properly understood, recognizes that there is no fundamental conflict between science, scripture, and Christian faith. Our objective is to provide an open arena for discussion and dialogue on matters of faith and science. We are committed to promoting interaction among those of varying theological positions within the evangelical community. Neither ICL nor Faculty Dialogue espouse or promote one particular viewpoint to the exclusion of others. It is with humility that we invite participation recognizing the complexity and multifaceted nature of this mission. This issue inaugurates the Faith-Science component of Faculty Dialogue with two articles; one by Calvin B. DeWitt and the second by Stephen Meyer. Dr. DeWitt is an eminent environmental scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Dr. Meyer teaches history and the philosophy of science at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington, and is recognized as a spokesman in faith-science issues. In Dr. DeWitt’s paper, Theology, Science, and Creation: Extending the Horizon of Science and the Christian Faith, he asks “If we were asked the question about creation at the last judgment, what might that question be?” He assumes that the question might be more like “What did you do with it?” rather than “How did I do it?” Professor DeWitt’s paper expands the horizon for this scholarship to include the place of human beings in these relations, and proposes that such expansion is necessary for understanding the relations between science and the Christian faith. Professor Meyer’s paper, Open Debate on Life’s Origin’s, is an account of the now famous “Kenyon Case” at San Francisco State University. This case has implications for academic freedom particularly in the context of the orthodox worldview of metaphysical naturalism extent in secular and public universities today. Dr. Meyer’s paper suggests implications for the teaching of science in Christian colleges and universities. In the second category, (which commences in an upcoming issue) articles will focus on the legal climate in American society which is increasingly influenced by a cultural value system characterized by modern and post-modern philosophies. There is a critical need to understand First Amendment issues, the meaning of academic freedom, and the role of tenure in Christian higher education. ICL enjoys relationships with the Christian Legal Society, the American Scientific Association and various other professional organizations involved with and impacting Christian higher education. Faculty Dialogue provides an avenue for disseminating information and views to the broader Christian higher education community. Papers will be selected which are critical to the freedom of Christian colleges to pursue a distinctive Christian worldview in a society increasingly characterized by pluralism, relativism, and naturalism. The lead paper in this issue is by Dr. Carl F. H. Henry. We are pleased to publish this paper as Dr. Henry has been a member of Faculty Dialogue’s Editorial Advisory Board since the journal’s founding. The words of our Co-editor, Martin W. Bush, as he wrote in the Spring 1989, issue are pertinent yet today: Dr. Carl F. H. Henry, without question, has been the dominant creative force in evangelical theology for several decades. He was one of the first to call for evangelical social awareness and involvement; rebuking those whose Christianity had shrunken to a fortress of exclusivity. He continues that call and is one of a small handful of evangelical thinkers who is willing and able to engage in broad daylight the best representatives of intellectual currents of the day: a scholar whose heart, mind, and soul remain committed to the revealed Lord. Dr. Henry’s article is an address entitled The Christian Pursuit of Higher Education, which he delivered at the InterVarsity/IFACS conference on “The Christian as Teacher and Learner,” March 24 - 26, 1995, at Mundelein Retreat Center, Illinois. This paper is Dr. Henry’s call to Christian colleges to exhibit a Christian world-life view on a curriculum-wide basis. He states that “[T]he contest for the future of the academic mind widely turns today on the educational elite’s aggressive promotion of an essentially naturalistic view. Naturalism is prevalent on most state and private secular campuses. This emphasis provides a stark contrast to theistic affirmations championed by 100-or-so evangelical universities and colleges represented in the [Coalition of Christian Colleges and Universities] and the Christian College Consortium. . .” Our hope is that you find this issue of interest and value. We invite your response through letters to the editor, manuscripts, or experiences that would be of help and encouragement to your fellow stewards in Christian higher education. Nate Olson