Vertical & Horizontal Morality and the mission of the church, Part 1
In my role as adjunct professor for a local Christian University, I teach a course called Interpreting the Bible. The textbook we use is The Bible: An Introduction by Jerry Sumney.
Some students have strong feelings about this book.
Over the past few years, I have heard students accuse the university of choosing a textbook that was written by a non-Christian. Not true. Some students have claimed that this textbook is how the devil sneaks into a Christian school. Also not true. Other students blame the text book of making a confusing mess of the Bible because the text book interacts with and promotes a variety of scholarly viewpoints, destroying the faith of students. Not true.
Those students are essentially accusing the university, and me, of mission drift. Of moving away from the truth. Unless I teach what aligns with their previously held beliefs, they think I am drifting away from the mission of God. And here’s where it gets really interesting.
Unless I teach what aligns with their previously held beliefs, they feel they are justified in making all sorts of accusations, using angry tones and negative language, because they say are defending the truth.
Because, as the belief goes, when you are defending truth, you can use any means necessary. Maybe you’ve heard that idea out there in our culture. The idea that in order to preserve Christianity, we have to be aggressive, warrior-like.
What this had led to is what can appear to be a big difference between Christian teachings and Christian actions.
How can this be?
This apparent inconsistency is rooted in an idea called Vertical Morality.
Tia Levings writes, “Vertical morality teaches that authority, power and a moral code of right and wrong, or acceptable and unacceptable, come from ‘above’ ― an external superior who designates rules, systems and tenets that must be obeyed by those beneath.”
Vertical morality starts off with the idea that all authority is invested in God.
One way we might ground this idea in Scripture is “love the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” That is a command from Deuteronomy 6, and it is the central teaching of the entire Old Testament law. Jesus himself said so. It is the most important command. But it can get twisted.
How so? April Ajoy writes, “Vertical morality in Christianity is the idea that our ethics and behaviors have a duty to please God alone. We get our morals from God and we must obey him, furthering the will of God no matter the cost.”
And that last phrase is important. “No matter the cost.” What does that mean? We find out in the next post.
Engaging Scripture 
If students enter a course with preconceived notions, usually ased on their upbringing, why take the course. Lost is the idea of learning and grappling with our life’s purpose. Those who struggle and ask questions will become stronger in their faith.
The fact that they feel their faith being challenged shows that they were not even a strong grounding.
They seem emotionally vested in a propagandized idea of Christianity.
It is a required course for all students at this university. Some students take it one level higher, ask why they choose that university in the first place when they could attend a more conservative/fundamentalist university, and they transfer. It is interesting, though, how some students view it as their mission to get the university to change. I agree with your assessment. The difference between education and indoctrination. I want to educate them, as does the university, but some simply want more indoctrination that affirms their preconceived notions.