Buies Creek, N.C.- Dr. Adam English delivered the 2011 baccalaureate address to students, parents and guests on Wed., April 20 in the Robert and Anna Gardner Butler Chapel. The service followed the Senior Awards Banquet held earlier that evening in the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center.
English, an associate professor of Religion in the Divinity School’s undergraduate Department of Religion and Philosophy, reflected on the intellectual training students have received during their time at Campbell.
“Part of what we were doing in our classes when we assigned weekly readings was instilling in you certain habits of reading.The Christian university does not exist just for the sake of landing you a lucrative job. It does not exist to give you knowledge for knowledge’s sake,” said English. “The Christian university exists because our God is the God of truth and knowledge and wisdom.”
He cautioned graduates that the world will offer plenty of temptation to reduce “happiness” to material goods and what others can do for you.
“The good news is that you are not without defense or hope. You are graduates of Campbell University: that means that the weapons of resistance are always yours. You have been shown how to read and write and think deeply,” said English. “You have cultivated the habits of the mind and the wisdom of the heart. You are ready.”
A graduate of Hardin-Simmons University where he received a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Applied Theology and English, English earned the Master of Arts from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary majoring in Theology with an emphasis in Christian Ethics. Immediately following the completion of his masters, English began his doctoral studies at Baylor University ultimately earning the Doctor of Philosophy in Systematic Theology.
In addition to his immediate teaching responsibilities, English has been a key faculty member in shaping the University’s Honors Program. He is the author of three books: Theology Remixed: Games, Language, Story, and Culture, The Possibility of Christian Philosophy: Maurice Blondel at the Intersection of Philosophy and Theology, and Pocket History of Theology.
The undergraduate commencement service and the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business and School of Education hooding services will be held Sat., May 14 in the John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center. On Fri., May 13, the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law will hold its hooding ceremony in the Progress Energy Performing Arts Center in Raleigh, while the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Divinity School will hold their ceremonies in the John W. Pope, Jr. Convocation Center. For a full schedule of graduation exercises, visit www.campbell.edu.
Photo Copy: Dr. Adam English, associate professor of the Department of Religion and Philosophy delivers Campbell’s baccalaureate address. (Photo by Bennett Scarborough)