The Commons Spring 2019: Graduation Edition | Page 9

FACULTY PROFILE
approach and focus on actually communi-
cating. “In the classroom, I use analogies and
illustrations. So if they communicate the
concepts best, then I’m going to put them
down in writing,” he says. “That’s not dumb-
ing it down. You can actually get into deeper
intricacies because it’s focused on communi-
cation for comprehension.”
Dr. Wilson’s work has also brought him
into intense political conversations. In
his most recent work, A Different Shade
of Green, he consciously springboards off
Francis Schaeffer’s classic Pollution and the
Death of Man and enters the ecological dis-
cussion from the angle of cultural domin-
ion. He focuses on biblical principles rather than on various
methods. “The book is big picture. It’s asking, ‘How should
we view creation?’”
Both sides of the ecological discussion have sensitive skin.
It’s identity politics, after all. “Most of the people speaking out
for the environment are ultra liberal and are
opposed to us in fundamental ways,” he ex-
plains, while conservatives tend to be reactive.
“It’s the Billy Bob redneck, ‘Pave it, don’t save
it’ mindset that chooses its side simply be-
cause it’s opposite that side.” Dr. Wilson’s
book is a distinctly non-hysterical voice argu-
ing not from either “side” but from Scripture.
Through his books and materials, Dr.
Gordon Wilson is declaring God’s word for
God’s world. When it comes to the class-
room, his expectations for his students are
simple but significant: “I want them to be
able to understand the biological world
they live in—to be conversant and able to
engage in many topics. But more than that, I want to give
them new eyes to see creation with a deep appreciation of the
world—for its diversity and complexity. When you study liv-
ing things, you’re studying God’s artwork, his sculptures, his
engineering. It’s general revelation.”
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