That Asbury University’s chapel has become a “hot spot of sacramentality” {James K.A. Smith] would not surprise the founders of Christian higher education in America. The integration of revival and moral philosophy in the college chapel helped lead to what Mark. A. Noll calls “the great age of Christian higher education.”
Whereas Plato and Aristotle interacted with their students as friends, the depersonalized modern university student is often little more than a number. No relationship means no moral transformation, at least not for the good.
Whereas Plato and Aristotle called their students friends, today’s students are often little more than numbers. The liberal arts vision of generating a steady stream of truth-seeking leaders to flood our culture with virtue has clearly fallen on hard times.