Identity in Christ Requires Campus DEI Audit

“Christ may be central,” administrator explains, “but we do not want Him sounding exclusionary.”

SAN DIEGO, CA — A Christian university has reportedly introduced a spiritual-formation review requiring students to demonstrate that their identity in Christ is “primary, contextual, and appropriately accompanied” after one student allegedly described himself as “in Christ alone.”

The controversy follows reports that Point Loma Nazarene University Dean of Students Jason Cha told student leaders that identifying solely as “in Christ” can reflect “white privilege.” Cha declined to comment on the specific remark and referred inquiries to a university statement affirming that its commitment to confronting racism flows from Christian discipleship.

Under the proposed review, students will complete an “Identity in Christ Compliance Inventory.” Sample questions include: “Do you affirm that your identity in Christ is primary, while avoiding the implication that it is sufficient?” and “Can you explain salvation without using the word ‘alone’ in a manner that could make others feel theologically unaccompanied?”

Students who answer incorrectly will not face discipline. They will instead be assigned to a restorative theological listening circle, where trained facilitators will help them understand why Paul’s epistles require a content warning.

A draft revision of the historic profession now reads: “I am in Christ, though not exclusively; I am also in community, in context, in process, and in a facilitated small group.”

Theologians note that union with Christ has traditionally served as the covenantal fountainhead of salvation. Believers are chosen in Christ, justified in Christ, sanctified in Christ, and raised with Christ—not as one identity marker among several, but as the source of every other gospel benefit.

Critics argue that treating “in Christ alone” as an ethnic advantage mistakes the doctrine that abolishes boasting before God for a form of boasting before man. “If Christ is not enough,” one Reformed pastor said, “He is not Christ.”

At press time, the Office of Student Formation had returned Paul’s letter to the Galatians with the note: “Strong claims. Please soften ‘Christ alone’ and add a paragraph on intersectionality.”