Commitments

Christ

The work of the Christian Study Center is rooted in its commitment to the Christian Faith, as articulated in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, summarized in the early creeds of the Church, and enriched by the Christian tradition. While the Center’s guests represent a broad range of viewpoints, the Study Center is committed to the Christian Faith and promotes the thoughtful consideration of a Christian understanding of life and culture.

Critique

In keeping with its Christian commitment, the Study Center supports scholarly inquiry and promotes critical thought. The Center is especially pleased to work in cooperation with the University of Florida. The Center affirms and supports the university in the pursuit of knowledge and stands with the university community in seeking the advancement of critical thought and higher learning.

Conversation

The Study Center takes a conversational approach to its educational initiatives and seeks to enlarge and extend conversation rather than narrow it or end it. We gladly share our lectern with those who respect the Christian tradition, share our questions, and are willing to think about them with us–whether or not they share our Christian commitment or conclusions. We resist the tendency toward dismissiveness, and we promote conversation that is characterized by mutual respect and motivated by a shared sense of need and wonder.

Culture

While the Study Center affirms all academic disciplines, it emphasizes academic inquiries that engage questions about culture. We focus on the ideas and beliefs by which people give meaning and moral order to their lives–together with the institutions and practices in which these ideas and beliefs are embedded. In keeping with this commitment, the Christian Study Center is politically non-partisan. It does not align with any political party or political organization.