Transparency Item: The Perspectives section of the Graphic is comprised of articles based on opinion. This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
The exchange of beliefs and the self-examination therein is extremely important—you don’t have a university without it.
But that exchange also needs to be topical, relevant and specific. Just like you wouldn’t want to walk into a Physics classroom and have the professor explore Psychology for two hours, if you’re attempting to define your beliefs, you probably don’t want to participate in a mandatory conversation that cannot relate back to your beliefs.
As a Christian university, spiritual formation is a regular topic of discussion and discernment on Pepperdine’s campus. As early as possible, students should learn to square out their beliefs and values regarding religion and faith.
For this reason, I see the Chapel program as a great tool for students in light of the need to determine one’s viewpoint, since it facilitates an environment of question-asking and important discussions.
Defining one’s personal beliefs can be an extremely uncomfortable process, but nonetheless, it’s vital. Religious belief, especially, can be the core of a person’s lived experience. Determining which religious setting, if any, you fit in is highly important to do now, while you have the safety net of school.
Chapel, though this current rendition is still in its infancy, has already laid a great foundation for conversation, specifically in its Connections Chapels, which are smaller groups regarding various topics led by faculty or staff. Students can choose which Connection Chapel they participate in before the semester.
Necessary conversations need to be topical and specific. All of Chapel is structured around the investigation of four themes: love, truth, goodness and beauty.
“When we talk about a beautiful life or we talk about a good life, our answers are going to involve those four themes in some form or fashion,” said Director of Convocation Zac Luben.
An analysis of the beautiful or good life strikes at the heart of Christianity, for it is a religion that makes timeless claims about how one should live. While a fisherman in Rome and college student in Malibu may seem worlds apart in their life experiences, Christianity has remained consistent in how it says one should live.
The purpose-giving potential of helping students reaching an understanding of the good life is something I’m very happy Pepperdine is investing in.
And in many ways, this potential has already been realized. Since I have not gone through the Chapel program, I decided to briefly interview a student who went through it last year, as to help educate myself and others on how the new Chapels benefits students.
“They taught me a lot of principles like discernment and discipleship,” said Anthony Tokatlian, a second-year student.
Tokatlian said he especially appreciated the relevance of the program, speaking highly of the larger sessions, Core Chapels, which every first and second year participates in. They teach values that reflect the Christian life and lifestyle, Tokatlian said.
Relevance is required when it comes to discussions about faith. Connecting a 2,000-year-old way of life to a modern-day student can be very tough if they have no prior interest in religious questions.
To understand Christianity and why it’s relevant to discuss, one should look at how it developed, and the wealth of historical thought that has shaped its many current doctrines.
Chapel does this through its four themes.
“I think if you were to do a survey of great thinkers throughout history, you’re going to find those four virtues or themes present in their writings,” Luben said. “I think that is especially true of Christian thinkers and philosophers and theologians.”
Interrogating Christian claims about how one should live should be at the forefront of being a Christian university, since if Christianity is wrong about how it says one should live their life and what one should value, Christianity itself is baseless.
At the end of the day, that view may restrict what Chapel is, for it can foster many different types of discussions.
“For our students who are of the Christian faith, we hope that it edifies them and encourages them,” said Luben. “For our students who are not of the Christian faith, we hope that they learn and feel invited to an ongoing conversation around our four themes.”
Whether you want to interrogate Christian beliefs or not, there is a Connection Chapel for you. No academy should force you into a conversation you don’t want to participate in. If you want, you can have a great time doing yoga!
But the academy should foster conversations about its core values, since Christianity doesn’t thrive if it’s taken on face value. I definitely think we, as students, have a right and responsibility to question and discuss the value of Christianity.
And because that responsibility is so important, I am glad the Chapel program has opened up a place on campus for conversation about belief.
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Contact Eliot Cox via email: eliot.cox@pepperdine.edu
