Alumni of Wheaton College concerned about the school's alleged leftward drift recently singled out a philosophy professor at the school as an example of liberalism seeping into the flagship Evangelical institution.

Nathan Cartagena, Ph.D., who has been an assistant professor of philosophy at Wheaton College since 2018, has repeatedly exhibited "left-wing racial politics laundered through a patina of 'Christianese,'" according to an analysis of his writings posted on the website [1] "For Wheaton."

"For Wheaton," which was started by Wheaton alumni in February amid backlash to the school pulling a Facebook post [2] congratulating alumnus Russ Vought for an appointment in the Trump administration, also hosts a petition demanding leadership change at the school. As of April 7, the petition [3] has been signed by more than 1,450 alumni.

A student who took one of Cartagena's courses in 2023 claimed in an extensive statement published on the For Wheaton website that he sowed "hatred and division," twisted Scripture and Christian philosophers to promote a socialist worldview, and clamped down on dissent in his classes.

"In this class, I expected to learn about different governmental systems and the way the different parts of the world approach justice; instead, Professor Cartagena complains exclusively of the evils of our capitalist system and how white supremacy has infiltrated all aspects of our society," wrote the student, who remained anonymous to avoid "potential blowback from the faculty and administration."

The student went on to claim that she was made to feel she was complicit in white supremacy because of her immutable characteristics and, therefore, ultimately beyond salvation [4]. "I feel as though I am painted as evil, racist, oppressive, un-Christlike and unsavable because of my race," the student wrote. "This class cultivates a cultish atmosphere where students are not allowed to disagree or question Professor Cartagena's views without punishment."

The student also claimed Cartagena openly denigrated Wheaton College President Philip Ryken and chaplain Angulus Wilson by "claiming they are weak for not addressing certain issues during chapel time and saying also that they make many of their administrative decisions notably out of fear of looking racist and intolerant."

Last year, Wheaton College President Philip Ryken — the former senior pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia — pushed back [5] after alumnus Tim Scheiderer accused the school of going "woke."

"[T]he school in the leafy suburb west of Chicago has begun to mimic Harvard's wokeness," Scheiderer wrote. 

The op-ed claimed that Wheaton began straying from its "orthodox, Christian moorings" by "banning biblical words, teaching critical race theory, and psychologizing gender identity issues."

https://www.christianpost.com/news/wheaton-alumni-single-out-critical-race-theorist-professor.html [6]