Set on the grounds of an old estate in the leafy Philadelphia suburbs, the campus of Eastern University signals gentility, restraint, and respect for tradition. After all, the university, originally known as Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary, was founded in 1925 to raise up future ministers.
But impressions can be deceiving. While there is indeed a strong respect for tradition at Eastern, the school has also been something of a maverick among evangelical colleges. Before there was a self-identified evangelical left, Eastern was its laboratory, distinguished by its emphasis on social action more than on individual transformation. Christian Century
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