In this world, there are people groups that have been virtually untouched by the Gospel, in so many words. These are the closed countries, the obsolete tribes of the rainforests, the islanders who still practice the pagan rituals of their ancestors. These groups, certainly, need workers of God to sally forth with their translators and doctors, teachers and preachers, all bringing the hope of Christ in their very capable hands. But one people group has consistently been overlooked.
This group is the academic elite.
The definition of a "people group" is "a category of people who identify with each other based on similarities such as common ancestry, language, society, culture or nation." I would argue that the intellectual elite qualify as a people group based on these criteria. Rather than being a group linked through one common ancestry, they are a community, linked through the various means by which they earned their status in said community. Most of these are fluent in multiple languages. This idea of academic or intellectual elite has snowballed, if you will, into a culture and society all it's own.What makes the elite so different from untouched or "unreached" people groups is that the majority of scholars who comprise this group are very, very familiar with the ideas of Christianity - but they have never experienced it for themselves and thus reject the idea altogether. There is a great link between intellect and hubris, and I believe that the extent of this link is that the smarter you are, the harder it is to recognize the truth of Christ.
For example: Saul of Tarsus, or Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles and one of the greatest minds and missionaries that we know of. Think of Saul, before the Road to Damascus - born to Jewish parents in possession of Roman citizenship (a coveted privilege that would also fall to their son). His family moved to Jerusalem about AD 10, and about five years later, Saul would have begun his intensive studying of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Law under the esteemed Rabbi Gamaliel. Some years later, in violation of Gamaliel's "wait-and-see" policy, Saul, in unthinkable pride, begins to violently oppose and oppress the new movement of "Christians" or "The Way". It takes a seemingly insane event - being blinded on the road to Damascus and being taught by Jesus - to break that pride (Acts 9:17).
This event and the changed life of Paul - formerly known as Saul - proves two things. First, that it is very nearly impossible for the highly intelligent to come to Christ on their own. Second, that it does happen. However, it is highly unlikely that Jesus will choose to repeat something like the road to Damascus. In modern times, God spreads his hope through those who are willing to go and share it. And the academic elite need someone to share it with them. Someone they will accept, someone they will respect, and someone whose ideas will be thoughtfully considered and studied as truth, versus fantasy.
This is not to say that there are not those who are highly intelligent and have an influence into this elitist circle who have background in Christianity and are willing to stand for their faith. In fact, there are many groups that are attempting to make a change in this culture. But it is understood that there is a massive prejudice against Christianity in academia today. In his article, "No Christianity Please, We're Academics", Timothy Larson of Inside Higher Ed relates the story of a young man who, while studying at a secular university, encountered this prejudice while writing a paper on the structure of marriage for an English assignment. The student was given a failing grade with the words, "I reject your dogmatism" written across the bottom of the paper. This same student was also not allowed to quote anything by C.S. Lewis in his papers - even though Lewis was known to be a professor at Cambridge who studied at Oxford. Stories like these are standard and expected, especially in the Ivy League. Why is it that this has become such an expected thing? "Like others experiencing discrimination, we expect that we might need to do significantly better than the competition to have a chance," says Larson. "Do academic institutions ever try to discover if their Christian students or scholars experience discrimination?"
This discrimination is exactly why some have called this group the "unreachable". It is not that they simply have not been reached yet, it is that they have chosen to adopt a culture that directly opposes Christianity. At best, Christians are considered to be "showing partiality"; at worst, Christianity is considered offensive and acted against. Larson calls for an effort to be made to stop this discrimination against Christianity in higher education. And, while I believe this is a most difficult task, I refuse to believe that these people are unreachable. In learning how to talk to them, in taking the time to prepare a strategy, Christians who have been given the responsibility of an intelligent mind should and must use it to break through the flesh-made barriers of pride that divide the academic elite from the peace and love and hope that Jesus brings.Humanity lives on a cliff and walks around with blindfolds on. God calls some to be missionaries to the unreached. God calls others to be missionaries to the unreachable. They are both the same - people who are lost, who need our love, and Jesus'. The intelligent, the stubborn, the ones who would dare to look foolish in the eyes of the world for choosing to believe in a God who gives meaning - these are the ones who have the ability to reach into that world and show them the beauty of life. This is not a burden for everyone, but God has put it strongly on my heart to work in this line of missions.
OTHER ARTICLES ON THIS SUBJECT
No Christianity Please, We're Academics by Timothy Larson
Discrimination Against Christian Students on Campus by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
How to Engage Culture like C.S.Lewis by The Intersect Project
