President's Welcome

Welcome to the Gutenberg College website. As President of Gutenberg College, I have the distinct pleasure of describing our unique college to others. Gutenberg is different from most colleges in a number of respects. For example, rather than encouraging early specialization, Gutenberg is designed to provide an outstanding broad-based undergraduate education. Rather than having large lecture classes, Gutenberg has small discussion-based classes. Rather than reading textbooks that describe the ideas of the great thinkers of the past, our students read the great thinkers' works firsthand. Rather than being one of thousands of students studying at an impersonal institution, Gutenberg students are part of a small, family-like institution. And I could list more distinctives. But any such list of comparisons falls short of capturing the uniqueness of Gutenberg.

At the heart of Gutenberg's distinctiveness is the impact that it has on students' spiritual lives — an impact both rare and profound. Students do not study Christianity as a separate subject in the curriculum; rather, Christianity is woven into the warp and woof of every part of the college. Both faculty and students are eager to talk about the intersection of Christian faith and whatever the topic of study may be. Such discussions encourage students to examine their beliefs, to ask difficult questions, and to wrestle with their faith. The result is a stretching experience that fosters spiritual growth. Our students are challenged to work actively to make their faith their own.

It is difficult to put one's finger on the key ingredient that gives Gutenberg its dynamism; the various factors are numerous and hard to identify. Of particular importance, however, is the faculty — a group of men and women whose attitude toward education and truth is rare in our time. They believe education is first and foremost focused on what it means to live a good life; and they believe that the search for truth is not just an engaging pastime, but also an inquiry of the utmost importance. These perspectives lend a gravity and relevance to the students' studies at Gutenberg that is frequently lacking elsewhere.

We realize that Gutenberg College is not for everyone. For students, however, who want to get a very good broad-based education and spend time thinking about what they believe and why they believe it, Gutenberg is an excellent choice.

Visiting Gutenberg to experience it first-hand is the best way to get a good sense of what Gutenberg is like. Because visiting Gutenberg is not practical for everyone, however, this website provides another option by which you can get to know our unique institution.

Most of our tutors have been studying and teaching for a long time now. Much of that teaching has been in the realm of biblical and Christian worldview studies. You can access on-line essays and MP3 recordings of their teaching at the website of Gutenberg's McKenzie Study Center institute. The faculty have also written several books, which are described on the Gutenberg College Press website and in the bookstore at our Community Resources website. Also at the Community Resources site, you can read about the latest news and events in the Gutenberg College community and, if you wish, subscribe to our free monthly newsletter. We hope these resources will give you some sense of Gutenberg's ethos.

Prospective students are not the only ones who can benefit from this website, however. It is designed to be of broader value. In particular, we would like to think that anyone who takes Christianity and the Christian life seriously will find something of interest.

This website is designed to encourage pondering. Gutenberg College and its two institutes, McKenzie Study Center and Art Project, are parts of the same organization, staffed by many of the same people. They constitute three different kinds of activity driven by a common vision. This Gutenberg College site has information about our four-year undergraduate program leading to a B.A. in liberal arts. The McKenzie Study Center site provides access to information about the Gutenberg institute devoted to biblical and Christian worldview studies. The Art Project site provides information about the Gutenberg institute designed to help integrate art-making with biblical faith. These websites, together with the Gutenberg College Press and Community Resources sites, have been created to provide an overview of the entire organization and to provoke thought.

So, make yourself at home. Toggle back and forth, and browse to your heart's content. We hope you will find this material informative, challenging, and edifying. And please come back again soon to ponder with us.

David Crabtree, President and Tutor