Provost's Page

Now and then I am asked what Gordon College means by "freedom within a framework of faith." Slogans will always be a part of our institutional shorthand, but "freedom within a framework of faith" has never seemed mere duty. For one thing, it can both provoke and inspire. While many cite the phrase boldly, there are some occasions when questions about this tagline betray anxieties. Have we promised more liberty than accountability? Or is this phrase intellectually credible? In the corridors of most American colleges and universities it would be strange to proclaim that freedom can flourish within the framework of Christian doctrine and tradition.

I must confess that what I like about the phrase is this edginess, this rush against the tide. For me, the phrase has always awakened new ideas about the kind of Christian community and intellectual laboratory that Gordon College can be. 

Mark L. Sargent, Ph.D