Wheaton College has a PR problem. It’s the kind of problem that is basic. It’s a Shema problem! The ancient words of the Torah declared with authority: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.”1 The Shema, a central prayer in the Jewish tradition, has a special place in the Christian faith. It is not merely the declaration of a monotheistic God. For the Christian, it provides the basis for the doctrine of the Trinity.
While there is excellent scholarship suggesting that the Trinity reveals itself in the early pages of the Old Testament, the New Testament makes it abundantly clear. The Father is identified as God (John 6:27; Gal. 1:3; 2 Pet. 1:17; Jude 1) as is the Son (see John 1:1; 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Tit. 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:1) and the Holy Spirit (see Acts 5:3-4; 1 Cor. 2:10-11; John 3:5-7 with 1 John 3:9). While the Shema establishes the oneness of the Christian God that oneness needs to be understood in light of all the biblical data (see references above). The Christian understanding of God is unique because God is not only defined as One but also as Three. And in light of this Unity and Diversity, the Christian God ceases to bear any resemblance to the god of Judaism or Islam—both religions vehemently deny the Trinity.
The Nicene Creed, the ancient creed of the Christian Church, begins by acknowledging the Oneness of God:
However, what makes this Creed universally accepted as a definition of Christian orthodoxy is its definition of who God is. The One God is the Father Almighty, Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life. This elaboration excludes any religion that denies the plurality of the Godhead.
This formulation is so foundational to Christian identity that any attempt to unify the non-unifiable commits a categorical fallacy of titanic proportions.
The Wheaton Problem
Dr. Larycia Hawkins, associate professor at Wheaton College, has stirred the Nicene pot by asserting on her Facebook page the following:
She not only argues by the Pope’s assertion that Islam and Christianity “worship the same God,” but also invites other women to share this narrative by “wearing a hijab.” This is significant because ordinarily theology leads to practice. Professor Hawkins is being consistent, consistently denying and embodying a belief that is antithetical to the exclusive claims of the Christian faith and the Church’s Creeds.
The Christian faith is a Shema faith; it claims an exclusive and jealous God (Ex. 34:14). He is the One and Only God, who is revealed in the person of the Father, the person of the Son, and the person of the Holy Spirit.
While extending courtesy and respect to those of other religious faiths are central to Christian virtues, embodying and affirming solidarity with Islam by denying the centrality of the messianic claim (Jn. 14:6) is both dangerous and undeniably problematic.
Wheaton’s reaction to suspend Professor Hawkins is a healthy reaction though they should consider how to vet better new professors. It is unlikely that a political science professor is only now speaking from her heart. What came out was certainly the digesting of various false assumptions of reality and a series of endless compromises. My assertion is that Wheaton is, therefore, having a Shema problem! They have acted speedily, and I hope for their sake, that their evangelical statement of faith they seek to represent faithfully will become a dogma they embrace. The Oneness of God and the Threeness of God is the true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is a jealous God and only this God shall you worship with all your heart, soul, and mind (Dt. 6:5).
