Last week Chimes published an article titled “The intellectual deficiencies,” in which the author argued that we needed to look at the facts and change our approach to how we view “true progress.” While many in the Calvin College community, including the staff of Calvin Chives (Chimes’ satirical counterpart), have engaged with this piece, they have done so by making fun of the article and bashing the author rather than engaging in intellectual critique of the issues addressed. To improve this situation, here is a look at some of the facts and how I believe Christians should look at progress.

Fact: The author deserves an apology from our community.

As Jeffrey Overstreet writes in “Through a Screen Darkly,” “A Christian perspective is concerned with more than justice. To love one’s enemy is to consider and care about what happens to him.” While many of the members of this community may disagree with the article published last week, media shaming and ostracizing the author is not the right way to go about expressing it. He is indeed part of the Calvin community. I am here to apologize for the way many people reacted and to offer an apology, in the Greek sense of the word, for why I believe they are wrong (1 Peter 3:15).

Fact: Calvin is not a “safe space,” and people care.

In the article the author portrays Calvin College as a “coddled” and “safe space.” I would like to remind the Calvin College community that for many of your brothers, sisters and friends on this campus, this is not a safe space. Remember the writing in the snow last November? Have you talked with fellow students who identify as anything other than a conservative Christian? Do you know the stories of the LGBTQ+ community? What about the students who suffer from the stigma of mental health? These are the sharp realities that many students face everyday. To imply, as the author does, that the majority of the professors and students here need to grow up and face the sharp reality of the university and the world around us, is to deny the validity of these people’s lived experiences.

It comes as little surprise then that the author continues, saying, “no one cares that you feel particularly victimized today.” But the truth is people do care for these communities on campus; their experiences are valid. Calvin has worked hard over the last few years on the development of programs such as MSDO, Active Minds and SAGA, providing voices to these often voiceless communities at Calvin (Proverbs 31:8).

Fact: True progress is a place for everyone.

In the article the author challenges us to look at the face of “true progress” and not to smother it. I agree with the premise of this statement, but to quote Inigo Montoya, “I do not think it means what you think it means.” So what does “true progress” mean? The definition of progress is a forward change from one state to another. Since we live in a dynamic world, things are always changing, always moving “forward” to the next stage. Because a good teacher once told me you can’t define a word with itself, we will put aside the terms “forward” and “backward” and instead refer to “negative” and “positive” progress. As an example: Cancer progresses negatively, technology progresses positively (generally). In this way as Christians we can view progress as “positive” when it is headed toward God’s design for the world or “negative” when it is progressing away from it.

What then is the end goal of this design? It is a heavenly city where “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,” stand together (Rev. 7:9). It is a place where the differences between class and gender have been eliminated by the power of our savior (Galatians 3:28). And of course it is a vision that we should work towards and show to others without hiding it (Matthew 5:14-16). In short, God’s design is a place for everyone and that should be our target for “true progress.”