Barney L. Jones - "Sacred Tower - Secular City" (June 9, 1985)

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	(upbeat music)	0:02
-	Welcome to Duke Chapel, particularly our alumni	7:44
	who are here for this alumni weekend.	7:47
	I am William Mulliman, minister to the University.	7:51
	50 years ago this week, Duke University Chapel	7:56
	was formally dedicated in a great service of worship.	8:00
	We gather to commemorate that day and the 50 years of	8:04
	service of this chapel, some of you were present on that	8:08
	day of dedication and we're delighted that you're here.	8:14
	We also welcome those in the wider community who worship	8:20
	with us on radio station WDNC.	8:24
	Our guest preacher today is the Reverend Doctor Barney	8:29
	Jones beloved teacher of a generation of Duke students	8:35
	came through his courses in the department of religion.	8:39
	And we welcome him today.	8:43
	Let us continue our worship.	8:46
	(choir singing inaudibly)	8:54
	(upbeat music)	9:39
-	Almighty and everlasting god who hast built thy	15:25
	church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.	15:29
	Jesus Christ himself being the Chief cornerstone.	15:34
	We pray thee to inspire the church universal with the	15:38
	spirit of truth, unity and concord.	15:42
	Grand unto all who confess thy holy name such	15:46
	purity of heart and strength of purpose that no selfish	15:50
	passion may hinder us from knowing thy will	15:55
	and no weakness from doing it.	15:59
	In thy light may we see life clearly	16:02
	and in thy service find perfect freedom.	16:05
	Through Jesus Christ our lord, amen.	16:09
-	Let us pray.	16:25
	Open our hearts and minds, oh god	16:29
	your holy spirit so that as the word is read in plain,	16:33
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day	16:39
	of joyful remembrance, amen.	16:43
	In the year that King Uzziah died,	16:51
	I saw the lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up	16:54
	and his train filled the temple.	16:59
	Above him stood the seraphim, each had six wings.	17:02
	With two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet	17:06
	and with two he flew and one called to another and said	17:10
	holy, holy, holy is the lord of hosts, the whole earth	17:16
	is full of his glory and the foundations of the threshold	17:21
	shook at the voice of him who called, the	17:26
	house was filled with smoke and I said woe is me	17:29
	for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips	17:33
	and I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips.	17:38
	For my eyes have seen the king, the lord of hosts.	17:43
	Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand	17:48
	a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar.	17:52
	And he touched my mouth and said behold, this has touched	17:57
	your lips, your guilt is taken away and your sin forgiven	18:01
	and I heard the voice of the lord saying whom	18:07
	shall I send and whom will go for us?	18:11
	(upbeat music with inaudible singing)	18:41
	The second lesson is from Saint Paul's letter to	23:29
	the church of Ephesus but now in Christ Jesus	23:32
	you who once were far off have been brought near	23:37
	in the blood of Christ, for he is our peace who has	23:40
	made us both one and has broken down the dividing	23:45
	wall of hostility by abolishing in his flesh the law	23:48
	of commandments and ordinances that he might create in	23:53
	himself one new man in place of the two thus making peace	23:56
	and might reconcile us both to god in one body through the	24:02
	cross thereby bringing the hostility to an end.	24:06
	And he came and preached peace to you who were far off	24:11
	and peace to those who were near for through him we both	24:15
	have access and one spirit to the father so then you	24:19
	are no longer strangers and sojourners but you are	24:24
	fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household	24:27
	of god built upon the foundation of the apostles	24:31
	and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone	24:34
	in whom the whole structure is joined together	24:39
	and grows into a holy temple in the lord,	24:42
	in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place	24:45
	of god in the spirit, here ends the reading of the epistle.	24:49
	The gospel for the morning is from Saint Matthew.	24:57
	Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,	25:01
	he ask his disciples, who do men say that the son of man is?	25:05
	And they said some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah	25:11
	and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.	25:16
	He said to them but who do you say that I am?	25:20
	Simon Peter replied you are the Christ, the son of the	25:25
	living god and Jesus answered him blessed are you son	25:29
	bore Jonah for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you	25:34
	but my father who is in heaven and I tell you you are Peter	25:39
	and on this rock I will build my church.	25:45
	And the powers of death shall not prevail against it.	25:48
	The gospel of our lord, amen.	25:53
-	The grace of our lord Jesus be with you.	26:17
	Good morning.	26:22
	Marjory and I are honored	26:26
	to be guests of the University	26:29
	for this 50th anniversary	26:32
	of the dedication of the chapel.	26:34
	Those of you who are privileged to know Dean Kelland	26:37
	will understand the sense of personal distinction I feel	26:41
	in being designated a James T. Kleland Visiting Preacher.	26:46
	This morning our lectors have been Professor Pellum Wilder	26:52
	who has long supported this chapel so faithfully and well	26:57
	and President Sanford	27:02
	under who's leadership the chapel	27:05
	is now possessed of a growing endowment.	27:08
	Their participation adds even more	27:13
	to the meaning of this service for us.	27:16
	The scripture lesson the President read	27:24
	from the prophecy of Isaiah	27:26
	was chosen with the chapel anniversary in mind.	27:29
	Isaiah's memorable vision in the temple,	27:34
	in which he saw and experienced	27:39
	the reality of god	27:41
	revealed in awesome majesty and power	27:44
	occurred in the year in which Uzziah, king of Judah, died.	27:48
	The historian John Bright observes	27:55
	that under the long and prosperous reign of Uzziah,	27:58
	in fame second only to Solomon,	28:03
	Judah reached the summit of its power.	28:06
	Fostering a mood of trust and confidence in the resources	28:09
	and agencies of the government,	28:14
	indeed a reliance upon King Uzziah himself	28:17
	to maintain the security and well being of Judah,	28:21
	this supposition of strength became Judah's weakness,	28:26
	according to Isaiah, it was precisely the self-confidence,	28:30
	this reliance and trustful dependence	28:36
	upon the political and military establishment	28:39
	that blinded Judah to the reality	28:43
	that the ultimate ground of her being,	28:46
	that upon which her emergence and continued existence as a	28:49
	nation had always depended, was in the final reckoning,	28:53
	not human but divine.	28:58
	Within the mind of the prophet,	29:02
	there seemed to exist a vital connection	29:03
	between the death of Uzziah, the great leader	29:06
	and Isaiah's vision in the temple.	29:10
	"In the year the Uzziah died, I saw the Lord."	29:13
	Perhaps it was with a prophet, as is it often with us,	29:20
	that the irrevocable hand of death	29:24
	unmasks our illusion of self-sufficiency	29:28
	and exposes our radical dependence	29:33
	upon the divine ruler.	29:36
	None can long evade the sobering truth	29:41
	that we are contingent beings and death comes alike to all.	29:44
	Not improbably, out of an awareness of this kind,	29:50
	Isaiah came to the conviction,	29:55
	already well established in Hebrew religion	29:57
	that the basic sin of man is	30:01
	his prideful rejection of this radical dependence upon God	30:04
	for his very existence and well being.	30:09
	Rightfully, we may say prideful rejection	30:14
	because as lordly human beings,	30:19
	we are prone to ignore or to reject	30:21
	our preacherly natures	30:25
	and to think of ourselves as creator	30:27
	and master of our life and destiny.	30:31
	We may come finally to rely wholly upon human wisdom	30:35
	and means of our own devising	30:41
	for our existence and security.	30:43
	Conversely for Isaiah,	30:48
	true wisdom and the essence of religion	30:50
	lay at last in dependence upon God.	30:53
	In an unfaltering trust in him and in complete loyalty	30:58
	and obedience to his will.	31:02
	This insight with this acknowledgement of human finiteness	31:06
	and the dependence of all life upon God	31:10
	gave structure to Isaiah's political and social philosophy.	31:14
	He saw that there is a pride of nation	31:20
	corresponding to the pride of self	31:24
	and yet the principal of death	31:27
	applies to nations as well as to its citizens,	31:29
	nations rise and fall.	31:33
	One has but to search the ruins of once great cities	31:37
	and flourishing empires to accept and adjust	31:40
	to this relentless eventuality.	31:44
	So, in this concrete eventful way, history has documented	31:49
	Isaiah's prophecy, it has displayed the transient,	31:54
	ephemeral and contingent nature of once proud and powerful	31:59
	and self reliant nations set over against	32:05
	and subordinate to the transcendent and enduring majesty	32:09
	of God who rules the destinies	32:14
	of all nations great and small.	32:17
	There is the further haunting relevance of Isaiah's	32:21
	censure of Judah for her trustful reliance upon	32:25
	political alliance and military power	32:30
	as the line of defense for national security.	32:34
	The very weapons of war in Judah's arsenal	32:39
	would be used as instruments of her own final destruction.	32:44
	Throughout his prophecy,	32:49
	Isaiah's perspective was theocentric.	32:51
	That is, for this elder statesmen of Judah,	32:55
	God was the strength of the nation	32:59
	and her portion forever.	33:03
	As we have noted, this God centered character of Isaiah's	33:07
	personal fate lay at the very heart of Hebrew religion.	33:11
	From its inception, the 10 commandments revealed to Moses	33:16
	begin with the words "I am the lord your God who brought you	33:22
	up out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage."	33:27
	"You shall have no other gods before me."	33:31
	Centuries later, the same centrality of devotion to god	33:36
	was voiced by the Deuteronomic reformers.	33:41
	"Hear of Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord"	33:45
	"and you shall love the lord your god with all your heart	33:50
	and with all your soul and with all your might."	33:54
	Thus when Jesus was asked which commandment is first of all,	33:58
	he replied unhesitatingly with this same historic charge	34:04
	adding significantly that we should love God with our mind,	34:09
	as well as with our heart and soul and strength.	34:15
	The primacy of God and his kingdom is omnipresent	34:21
	and foremost in his teaching and his preaching.	34:26
	Mark tells us at the very outset of his ministry,	34:31
	Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God	34:35
	and saying, "the time is fulfilled,"	34:40
	"the kingdom of God is at hand."	34:43
	The good news of the gospel was not then	34:46
	in the first instance good news about women and men	34:50
	but good news about God for women and men.	34:55
	With Jesus,	35:01
	when we acknowledge and reverence God as creator and ruler,	35:03
	we know who we are and who's we are,	35:08
	where we come from, where we are bound.	35:13
	We know to whom we respond and to whom, finally,	35:17
	we are answerable, it is God and in him only	35:21
	that we live and move and have our being.	35:26
	Hear the memorable words of the great church father,	35:30
	Augustine come readily to mind.	35:33
	"Oh lord, thou has made us for thyself"	35:36
	"And our hearts are restless until"	35:40
	"they find our rest in thee."	35:43
	Using philosophical language,	35:46
	Augustine described God as absolute being,	35:49
	all apart from God, non being.	35:54
	God as ultimate reality, all apart from god unreality.	35:58
	God as complete existence,	36:03
	all apart from God, non existence.	36:06
	In so far as we move toward God and live in him,	36:10
	we affirm our being, our reality, our existence.	36:14
	But when we move away from God and live, as it were,	36:20
	apart from him, we slip toward non being,	36:24
	unreality and non existence.	36:28
	To lose this theocentric orientation	36:33
	and commitment is thus not only to lose perspective	36:35
	of the meaning and nature of our existence	36:40
	but more profoundly, it is to suffer a catastrophic loss	36:43
	of status as creatures made in the image of God,	36:48
	as citizens of his kingdom, as children of the king.	36:53
	This affirmation of God as creator and ruler in national	37:00
	and world affairs as well as in personal affairs	37:04
	was echoed in the infant days of our republic	37:08
	by none other than Benjamin Franklin.	37:12
	With the Federal convention of 1787,	37:16
	apparently mired in fruitless discussion,	37:18
	Franklin recalled the attention of his colleagues to God	37:22
	who had brought them through the ravages of war	37:27
	and who could now lead them in the building of a nation.	37:30
	Franklin is speaking, in this situation of the convention,	37:34
	groping as it were in the dark to find political truth	37:39
	and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us,	37:43
	"how does it happen that we have not hear the too once"	37:47
	"thought of humbly applying to the father of lights"	37:49
	"to illuminate our understanding."	37:53
	"In the beginning of the conflict with Great Britain,"	37:57
	"when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayers"	38:00
	"in this hall for divine protection."	38:04
	"Our prayers were heard and they were graciously answered."	38:07
	"Have we now forgotten that powerful friend or do we imagine	38:11
	that we no longer need his assistance?"	38:16
	"I have lived, sir, a long time and the longer I live,"	38:20
	"the more convincing proofs I see of this truth,"	38:23
	"that God governs in the affairs of men."	38:27
	"And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his"	38:31
	"notice,is it probable that an empire can rise without his"	38:34
	"aid?" We have been assured, sir, in the sacred writing"	38:38
	"that except the Lord build the house,"	38:43
	"they lay but in vain that build it."	38:46
	"I firmly believe this and I also believe that without"	38:49
	"his concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political"	38:53
	"building no better than the builders of Babel."	38:57
	Franklin's words drawn from the old and new testaments	39:04
	bespoke the tradition and conviction of the principal	39:09
	settlers of our country, their first design was the glory	39:12
	of God and the advancement of his kingdom.	39:18
	God had delivered many of them from English bondage,	39:22
	had brought them through the dangers of the sea to a new	39:26
	promised land, here in the wilderness they would	39:30
	build a new Zion, accordingly one of their earliest concerns	39:34
	along with the construction of home and churches	39:40
	was the establishment of colleges of liberal education	39:44
	for the training of ministers of the gospel and the pious	39:48
	nature of the leaders of government and society.	39:52
	It is a matter of reckon that the colleges of colonial	39:57
	America were largely religious in origin and character.	40:01
	Eruditio et Religio, Dukes motto was their creed	40:07
	and their practice, one after another, Harvard,	40:14
	William and Mary, Yale, Princeton, Dartmouth,	40:20
	Oberlin, Trinity, later to be Duke University,	40:24
	owed their establishment and support to the church	40:30
	and to those who's personal faith and education philosophy	40:34
	was Christ and God-centered.	40:38
	Article one of the by laws of this university boldly	40:43
	reaffirms an ongoing commitment	40:48
	to this theocentric tradition.	40:51
	The aims of Duke University are to assert a faith in	40:55
	the eternal union of knowledge and religion set forth	40:58
	in the teachings and character of Jesus Christ, the son of	41:03
	God, to advance learning in all lines of truth,	41:07
	to defend scholarship against all false notions and ideals.	41:12
	To develop a Christian love of freedom and truth,	41:17
	to promote a sincere spirit of tolerance, to discourage	41:23
	all partisan and sectarian strife and to render	41:27
	the largest permanent service to the individual,	41:32
	the state, the nation and the church.	41:35
	Under these ends shall the affairs of	41:40
	the university always be administered.	41:43
	The full wording of these aims reveals that the	41:48
	benefactor and the leaders of the new university	41:51
	had in mind a union of religion and education	41:55
	that was in no way narrowly providential,	41:59
	sectarian or parochial, this was further amplified	42:05
	in a Presidential address entitled Duke University	42:10
	Architecture Proclaims the Centrality of the	42:12
	Spiritual in the Life of Man.	42:16
	It was delivered to the first graduating class on this	42:19
	campus by Doctor Few, in it he had this to say.	42:22
	And if Duke University is to have this unity	42:30
	and round completeness by which he means the constructive	42:32
	and harmonious partnership of Eruditio et Religio,	42:37
	it must ever cherish some galvanizing central principle	42:43
	that will hold it from disintegration.	42:48
	On this campus, the chapel hard by the library	42:51
	and the laboratories and cooperating with the university	42:55
	in it's every effort to promote truth and serve humanity	42:59
	is not only central but with it's stained glass,	43:03
	its vaulted roof and noble spirals will dominate the place.	43:07
	This is intended to be symbolic of the truth that the	43:12
	spiritual is the central and dominant	43:17
	thing in the life of man.	43:20
	Can this ideal be realized in our world	43:23
	and can religion and education in its highest forms	43:26
	ever engage successfully in a great formative common	43:31
	undertaking to make this a	43:34
	better world than man has yet known?	43:36
	Duke University is founded in that faith, to promote	43:41
	this sort of synthetic power is the	43:46
	highest mission of Duke University.	43:49
	Clearly, for few, the expressed aims of the infant	43:54
	University were of the nature of a contract,	43:58
	a sacred bond representing an institutional covenant	44:03
	between it's honored past and it's anticipated future.	44:06
	But in the half century that has passed and moving into the	44:13
	company of elite universities, Duke has changed	44:16
	substantially from the days when President Few proudly left	44:21
	his office to show casual visitors around the campus	44:25
	and made key faculty appointments from his vest pocket.	44:30
	Time makes ancient good uncouth and our founding creed	44:36
	particularly in its religious character is now seen more	44:41
	as a sincere and devout expression of early intention	44:45
	than as a legally and morally binding modern guide to	44:50
	our future, in terms of it's expressly affirmation,	44:55
	the aims of the university are now more written upon	45:01
	a tablet of stone than upon the heart.	45:05
	In step with other institutions which we have mentioned,	45:10
	Duke has moved steadily and purposefully toward becoming	45:14
	a secular, rather than a religiously or explicitly	45:18
	Christian oriented University.	45:22
	One should not be mislead by the continuing legal ties	45:26
	that Duke has with the Methodist Church which are no	45:32
	longer vital or dynamic or even by the presence within it	45:35
	of a strong divinity school and department of religion.	45:40
	For nowhere is the true and present character of the aims	45:46
	and purposes of a university more accurately portrayed than	45:50
	in its prescribed curriculum which sets forth it's academic	45:55
	requirements and it's educational philosophy.	46:01
	Here in stark contrast to it's motto, Eruditio et Religio,	46:06
	Duke requires no religious knowledge whatever of those	46:14
	to whom it admits to the college and significantly none,	46:21
	absolutely none of those upon whom it confers the	46:26
	Bachelor's Degree at graduation.	46:30
	It has not always been so with us.	46:36
	In former times, a year of the study of religion was	46:39
	mandated by the college along	46:43
	with other academic requirements.	46:46
	But then at the end of the 40s, in a sudden move,	46:49
	the faculty voted to end the requirement of religion	46:52
	for the undergraduate degree, I was present for that meeting	46:56
	and for the subsequent call meeting of the faculty at which	47:01
	Dean Wanamaker speaking for the university vetoed	47:04
	the prior action as one clearly inconsistent with	47:10
	the stated aims of Duke University.	47:14
	That rational for this position was well,	47:18
	that rational for this position was well understood	47:21
	and appreciated as late as 1959 is evidence by the first	47:24
	progress report of the university committee of long	47:30
	range planning, it began with a statement of the place	47:33
	of Duke University in higher education.	47:37
	Some historical and philosophical foundations	47:41
	and speaking first of all of the moral and religious	47:46
	contribution of Trinity College, it had this to say.	47:49
	From the beginning, there was a strong moral tradition	47:54
	in the history of Trinity College.	47:58
	The college was the creation of the church	48:01
	and as would be expected instruction in religion	48:04
	had it's appropriate place in the curriculum.	48:07
	This fact in itself was nothing more than could be	48:10
	assumed of any church related college.	48:13
	The report goes onto observe that the more important fact	48:16
	was that the leaders who guided Trinity college	48:19
	and the laymen who supported it regarded religion	48:22
	not merely as a formula for the Sabbath but as a living	48:26
	philosophy dedicated among other things to the	48:30
	nurture of learning and truth.	48:33
	This perception was reaffirmed the following fall	48:37
	in a Founder's Day Address by Mr BS Womble,	48:39
	Chairman of the Board of Trustees.	48:44
	On this occasion he said it is appropriate to consider	48:47
	the kind of university Mr Duke envisioned when he	48:50
	made provision for it in the	48:54
	indenture of creating the endowment.	48:57
	It is explicit in the indenture that Mr Duke expect.	49:02

-	University, not only with the highest academic standards,	0:02
	but also one in which the principles	0:07
	of the Christian religion should be a guiding principle.	0:10
	But there was to be no stemming of the secular tide.	0:17
	The support for it was too strong,	0:20
	the issue too volatile,	0:23
	the university too traumatized by inner turmoil	0:25
	over control of its policies,	0:29
	to allow for public discussion and debate	0:31
	over this vital issue.	0:34
	Subsequent revisions of the curriculum by the faculty,	0:36
	which once again removed the absolute requirement	0:39
	of religion, met with no opposition from the administration,	0:42
	which recognized the authority of the faculty ordinarily,	0:46
	to determine academic requirements.	0:50
	Time and circumstance suggest	0:55
	that this is not the occasion to deal comprehensively	0:56
	with the secularizing of university.	1:01
	While it should not be supposed	1:04
	that the restoration of the religion requirement	1:05
	would, in and of itself, significantly alter	1:09
	our educational philosophy or reestablish	1:12
	the centrality of the spiritual principle,	1:16
	the elimination of the requirement	1:19
	is a trenchant evidence of the secularizing process.	1:22
	It is curious that the steady, pervasive development	1:28
	about which we have been speaking,	1:31
	has gone largely unacknowledged,	1:33
	or is scarcely perceived by many.	1:36
	In one way, the chapel, unintentionally,	1:39
	contributes to this problem of perception.	1:43
	It has ever been safeguarded	1:46
	and lovingly cared for by every president of Duke,	1:48
	and none more so than by President Sanford.	1:53
	By design, standing majestically at the center	1:58
	of the campus, the chapel suggests the spiritual principle	2:00
	about which President Few spoke,	2:04
	remains the paramount commitment of the university.	2:07
	This being the case, notwithstanding Duke's present	2:12
	more secular orientation, the chapel	2:15
	serves one of its desired purposes well,	2:18
	just as Mr. Duke intended that it should.	2:24
	Time and again he said I want the central building	2:28
	to be a church, which will dominate	2:31
	all the surrounding buildings,	2:33
	because such an edifice would be bound	2:35
	to have a profound effect upon the spiritual life	2:37
	of the young men and young women who come here.	2:41
	Accordingly, Mr. Duke did everything in his power	2:45
	to assure the centrality and dominance of the chapel.	2:49
	At his insistence, this commanding tower	2:53
	rises over the front door,	2:56
	not back over the crossing	2:59
	as on traditional gothic churches.	3:01
	Why is the chapel so high, 200 feet?	3:04
	Visiting school-children ask.	3:08
	Because Mr. Duke chose it to be so.	3:11
	He further specified in the Charter,	3:14
	that no university building should ever be constructed	3:17
	higher than the chapel tower.	3:19
	Clearly, he intended that the chapel with its great tower	3:22
	should express the spiritual uplift,	3:26
	and striving for the best,	3:29
	that he set forth as the goals of the university.	3:31
	Thus, one might say that for Mr. Duke,	3:36
	the chapel was the outward and visible sign	3:38
	of what he intended the inner character	3:41
	of the university to be.	3:43
	Coordinate with architectural design	3:46
	to ensure that the quest for intellectual excellence	3:49
	should not displace the need for good men and true.	3:52
	He specified that only persons of the highest moral	3:57
	and spiritual character	4:00
	were to be obtained as faculty,	4:03
	and only those of sincere and upright character	4:05
	were to be admitted to Duke as students.	4:08
	In these and other ways, he did all that he could	4:11
	to ensure the qualitative distinction and uniqueness	4:15
	of the institution he chose to endow.	4:19
	It has now been 50 years	4:25
	since the chapel was dedicated to the glory of God,	4:27
	and the relief of man's estate.	4:30
	This would seem then an especially opportune time	4:33
	to reflect once more on the sort of institution	4:36
	Mr. Duke intended,	4:40
	and upon what President Few had in mind	4:43
	when he spoke of the soul of the university.	4:45
	I cannot recall anyone speaking	4:49
	of the soul of this university.	4:54
	Surely it has to do with its essence,	4:58
	with what is unique and distinctive about Duke,	5:00
	what sets it apart from other educational institutions,	5:04
	and gives to it a singular character of its own.	5:08
	By itself, the demand for excellence,	5:12
	essential for Duke's quest for greatness,	5:16
	does not provide uniqueness.	5:18
	It is the assumed commitment of every elite university	5:21
	in the land.	5:25
	Our current capital funds campaign	5:27
	for the arts and sciences,	5:30
	an imperative enterprise,	5:32
	when successfully completed,	5:35
	will still leave us far short	5:37
	of some other university endowments.	5:39
	While the struggle for excellence and for endowment	5:44
	must be pressed with maximum vigor and dedication,	5:46
	it will not provide uniqueness,	5:54
	and alone it cannot ensoul the university.	5:56
	Should the university seek to find its soul,	6:01
	to achieve a genuine, genuine, and distinctive place	6:05
	in higher education,	6:09
	it has only to recover and renew commitment	6:11
	to its stated aims and motto.	6:14
	Surely, such a challenge is one of a silent	6:18
	but powerful witnesses of the chapel.	6:21
	Over the last several weeks of reflection	6:26
	upon this anniversary of the chapel and its significance,	6:28
	there came back into my thoughts	6:31
	the remarkable adventure of Admiral Richard E. Byrd,	6:33
	who in 1934 spent a winter alone	6:38
	on the Polar Cap of Antarctica.	6:41
	He made daily walks in darkness over the snowy terrain	6:45
	where there were no landmarks,	6:48
	and the appearance of things was the same	6:50
	in every direction.	6:52
	In order to walk with reasonable safety,	6:55
	he marked a path about 100 yards long.	6:59
	Every three paces, he drove a two-foot bamboo stick	7:03
	into the crust,	7:06
	and along these poles, he strung a line.	7:08
	By running his hand over this, blind-man fashion,	7:12
	he could feel his way back and forth in the worst weather.	7:16
	On clear days, he would extend his path	7:20
	by taking a bundle of bamboo sticks,	7:23
	which stuck in the surface every 30 yards or so,	7:26
	served as a guidepost.	7:29
	When he wanted to return to the shack,	7:31
	he simply retraced his steps, collecting the sticks.	7:33
	One day, being in a fine mood,	7:38
	he took a longer walk than usual.	7:43
	After parading up and down for about a half an hour,	7:46
	he turned to go back.	7:49
	The line of the bamboo sticks	7:51
	was nowhere in sight.	7:54
	In his abstraction, he had walked	7:56
	completely past and beyond it.	7:59
	Wondering which way to turn, he was overwhelmed	8:02
	by the grim realization	8:06
	that he did not know how far he had walked,	8:08
	or in what direction.	8:11
	I am now lost,	8:13
	he told himself.	8:16
	And he was appalled.	8:17
	After what seemed like an eternity of calculation	8:20
	and experimentation, death by freezing	8:23
	a not unlikely prospect,	8:26
	he caught sight of the first of the bamboo sticks,	8:28
	not more than 30 feet away.	8:32
	To use his words, no shipwrecked mariner	8:34
	sighting a distant sail	8:38
	could have been more overjoyed.	8:39
	By way of analogy,	8:43
	let us say that the towering majesty of the chapel	8:45
	is our bamboo stick,	8:49
	embedded in the soil of North Carolina.	8:52
	It may not be overly dramatic to say	8:56
	that without it, we too are lost.	8:58
	And by that, I mean to say	9:03
	that without the influence of this chapel	9:04
	and all that it signifies for the life of Duke,	9:07
	its motto and its aims,	9:11
	we would lose sight of that fullness and completeness	9:14
	which belongs to a God-centered university,	9:17
	one established in the faith, in the eternal union	9:22
	of knowledge and religion,	9:26
	set forth in the teachings and character of Jesus Christ,	9:28
	the Son of God.	9:31
	Hopefully it is not too late for Duke	9:34
	to face the strange dualism	9:36
	of the sacred tower in the midst of the secular university.	9:39
	It owes it both to itself,	9:45
	and to its full constituency,	9:47
	past, present, and future,	9:50
	to examine the intended complimentary relationship	9:52
	between eruditio et religio,	9:57
	with honesty and candor,	10:00
	and thus to reflect anew and with utmost earnestness,	10:03
	upon the destiny of the university	10:07
	as it weighs the tradition of the past with its future.	10:10
	The 50th anniversary of the dedication of the chapel	10:14
	would seem to come at a time	10:18
	when we have an unusual opportunity	10:22
	to reembark upon this urgent task.	10:25
	The sermon, too long, I'm afraid,	10:32
	is now finished.	10:36
	But please allow me the unusual privilege	10:38
	of dedicating my remarks to three persons	10:41
	who vitally affected my experience at Duke.	10:44
	James Truesdale, my professor of Greek,	10:48
	a superb teacher and gentleman	10:53
	who found time to speak of eternal varaties	10:57
	while we were translating Xenophon's "Anabasis".	11:00
	H. Shelton Smith, father of graduate religion in the South,	11:05
	my friend and mentor	11:11
	for my studies in American Christianity.	11:14
	And Hollis Edens, third President of Duke,	11:17
	and one of the dearest and finest men	11:22
	it has ever been my privilege to know.	11:26
	May the love and peace of God be with you.	11:30
	(uplifting gospel organ and horn music)	11:39
	(gospel choir singing)	12:10
-	Would you join me in the office of rededication.	13:37
	Blessed be thy name, oh Lord,	13:46
	that it hath pleased thee to put into the hearts	13:49
	of thy servants, to appropriate and devote this house	13:52
	to thy honor and worship.	13:57
	Now therefore with one accord and with grateful hearts,	14:00
	we dedicate this chapel unto thee,	14:04
	the one, only, living and true God, Father,	14:07
	Son, and Holy Ghost.	14:11
	Amen.	14:13
	God Almighty the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,	14:15
	of whom every family in Heaven and in Earth is named,	14:19
	to thy worship, we thy children	14:23
	dedicate this chapel.	14:27
	Thou, oh Christ, the King of glory, the everlasting Son	14:29
	of the Father, our Lord and Savior,	14:33
	to the freedom of the spirit	14:36
	and the knowledge of the truth,	14:38
	to the new commandment that we love one another,	14:40
	and to the experience of abundant life,	14:43
	to the religion which thou didst form on Earth,	14:46
	we dedicate this chapel.	14:50
	In memory of those who with wise vision	14:53
	did build the foundations of this institution,	14:55
	in faith and hope,	14:59
	and of those who generation after generation,	15:01
	under thy gracious favor have guided its progress	15:05
	and guarded the holy heritage committed to their trust,	15:08
	we dedicate this chapel.	15:13
	In memory of those who going forth	15:15
	from our fellowship into the varied ways of life,	15:19
	serve their generation with devotion,	15:22
	and in faith that the sons and daughters of the university	15:26
	shall be citizens worthy of their high calling,	15:29
	and shall add their heritage of noble memories	15:33
	in days to come,	15:36
	we dedicate this chapel.	15:38
	That our prayers may be set before these in since,	15:41
	and that the words of our mouths and the meditations	15:44
	of our heart may be acceptable in thy sight,	15:47
	oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer,	15:50
	we dedicate this chapel.	15:54
	To the contemplation of beauty,	15:57
	to the understanding of music,	16:00
	to the art of medication,	16:03
	to communion with the unseen and eternal,	16:05
	and to worship in spirit and in truth,	16:08
	we dedicate this chapel.	16:11
	That here we may be humbled by the sense of human failure,	16:14
	that we shall not seek a selfish safety	16:19
	from the evil of the world,	16:22
	and all who are weary and are heavy-laden,	16:25
	all who suffer under disappointed,	16:28
	all who are lonely and afraid,	16:31
	may here find rest unto their souls,	16:34
	that we may ever see the vision of a righteousness	16:37
	for which all of us shall labor and pray,	16:40
	we dedicate this chapel.	16:44
	That religion, pure and undefiled	16:47
	may dominate all our life,	16:49
	even as this structure rises above halls of learning,	16:52
	and bestows on them its beauty and its strength,	16:57
	we dedicate this chapel.	17:01
	(uplifting gospel organ and choir music)	17:04
-	The Lord be with you.	18:06
-	And also with you.	18:07
-	Let us pray.	18:09
	Be seated.	18:10
	(indistinct whispering)	18:15
	Kind and gracious God,	18:23
	hope of all who seek thee and the joy of all who find,	18:26
	having heard thy word,	18:32
	having praised thy name,	18:35
	we are emboldened to pray for the needs of the world.	18:39
	We pray on this day of commemoration for thy church,	18:44
	wherever it is found,	18:48
	upon thy people anew,	18:51
	open anew the empowering winds of the Spirit	18:55
	lest we look for sustenance to sources	18:59
	that were never meant to be our life.	19:02
	Bless thy church, oh God,	19:05
	here at Duke chapel and elsewhere,	19:07
	with leaders who are neither timid nor conventional,	19:11
	with shepherds who love thy sheep,	19:15
	with theologians who unite knowledge and piety,	19:19
	with members for whom religion	19:25
	is a seven-day-a-week affair for life.	19:27
	We pray for the alumni of this university,	19:33
	for this their bittersweet time of reunion and remembrance.	19:36
	Give them gratitude for gifts of teachers,	19:42
	deans, coaches, and friends	19:46
	who nurtured them while they were here.	19:48
	Grant them a renewed sense of dedication	19:52
	to the high purposes of life,	19:55
	the union of religion and erudition,	19:58
	to use their gifts as Christian teachers,	20:01
	Christian lawyers, Christian businesspeople,	20:05
	Christian politicians, Christians in the home,	20:08
	knowing that to those whom much is given	20:14
	will much be required.	20:18
	Remind our alumni this day,	20:21
	of youthful promises made to themselves	20:25
	which they have yet to fulfill.	20:28
	In their remembrance,	20:32
	give them appropriate humility for their success,	20:34
	and gentle graciousness with their failures.	20:40
	Within these walls, oh God,	20:46
	troubled spirits and hurting hearts	20:48
	have gathered for 50 years,	20:50
	and this Sunday is no exception.	20:53
	In the secret places of our hearts,	20:58
	we have needs we know not how to express.	21:01
	Beside us in the pews sit brothers and sisters	21:05
	who have brought their pain to thee.	21:08
	Around the world, in Bangladesh, and Lebanon,	21:12
	and El Salvador, in Afghanistan, human hurt reaches out,	21:15
	hurt so great that nothing shall assuage it	21:21
	save thy divine response.	21:24
	Remembering the times	21:30
	when, in hurt and confusion,	21:31
	we reached out to thee and found thy presence here.	21:34
	We commend our needs	21:42
	and those of others to thee.	21:44
	Amen.	21:50
	And now as a grateful people,	21:52
	let us offer ourselves and our gifts to God.	21:55
	(inspirational gospel organ music)	22:01
	(uplifting gospel organ music)	23:40
	(gospel choir singing with organ music)	24:19
	(uplifting gospel choir and organ music)	29:22
-	Almighty God whose mercy is over all thy works,	31:09
	we praise thee for the blessings	31:14
	which thou hast bestowed upon humankind,	31:16
	through thy holy church,	31:20
	throughout the world,	31:21
	and most especially in this hallowed place.	31:23
	We bless thee for the grace of thy sacraments,	31:27
	for our fellowship in Christ, with thee,	31:31
	and with one another,	31:34
	for the teaching of the scriptures,	31:36
	and for the preaching of thy word.	31:38
	We thank thee for the holy example of thy saints	31:41
	in all ages, and for the memory and example	31:44
	of all that has been true and good in their lives,	31:48
	and we humbly beseech thee	31:53
	that we may be numbered with them	31:55
	in the great company of the redeemed in Heaven.	31:58
	These things we pray in the name of Christ,	32:02
	who taught us to pray with confidence.	32:05
	Our Father, who art in Heaven,	32:08
	hallowed be thy name,	32:11
	thy kingdom come, thy will be done	32:13
	on Earth as it is in Heaven.	32:17
	Give us this day our daily bread,	32:20
	and forgive us our trespasses	32:23
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	32:26
	And lead us not into temptation,	32:29
	but deliver us from evil,	32:32
	for thine is the kingdom, the power,	32:34
	and the glory, forever.	32:37
	Amen.	32:40
	(inspirational horn and organ music)	32:47
	(uplifting gospel choir singing with organ and horn music)	34:18
-	The grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,	37:32
	the love of God,	37:36
	and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,	37:37
	be with you all now, and always.	37:39
	(uplifting gospel choir singing)	37:47
	(inspirational gospel organ music)	38:31
	(inspirational gospel organ music)	47:27

Item Info

Title:

Barney L. Jones - "Sacred Tower - Secular City" (June 9, 1985)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 26:17. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 11:35.
Preacher discusses the God-centered character of the book of Isaiah. God was at the center of the strength of the nation of Israel. It is when we acknowledge God as our creator and ruler that we will know who we are and to whom we belong. The preacher then moves this concept on to how God has been at the center of the creation of the United States (quotes Benjamin Franklin as proof that the founding fathers were very aware that God directed their plans to build a new nation. He then applies this example to the building of Duke as a University and to the importance the Chapel has in the life of the University. The chapel as a symbol of what it means to be a God-centered instittution (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: "Isaiah's prophecy, it has displayed the transient, ephemeral and contingent nature of once proud and powerful and self reliant nations set over against and subordinate to the transcendent and enduring majesty of God who rules the destinies of all nations great and small."

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r46688z8r

Date:

June 9, 1985

Speaker:

Jones, Barney Lee, 1920-

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0271
ref8063_3ri
uachapelsermaud
duke:320543
dcrau001258
ark:/87924/r46688z8r
c7854c1c-6167-4f56-b070-19c4d07ec5fb

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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Transcript

Item Info

Duke University Archives

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