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![Chapter One
6
contributions.30
For example, the third most common word in posts about
females on this website is “hot,” while the third most common word about
males is “job.”31
Often, extremely negative generalizations are made about
female economists on this website. 32
This only further reinforces the
stereotypical view of males as an “in-group” in the field and females as an
“out-group.”33
This hostile environment can be felt by female faculty
members as well as female students, both undergraduate and graduate.
Data and Trends
Over a century ago, it was rare but not unheard of to find females in the
field of economics. Females wrote 6% of dissertations in 1912, a percentage
which rose to almost 20% in 1920. Unfortunately, the upward trend did not
continue, and the percentage fell back to 7% in 1940.34
Currently, females
represent about 26% of economists.35
According to data from the Committee on the Status of Women in the
Economics Profession (CSWEP), females now represent about 23% of all
economics faculty.36
Breaking it down according to rank, they make up a
low 14% of full professors, 26% of associate professors, and 28% of
assistant professors (Figure 1). While the slightly increasing trend for full
professors may initially look promising, the stable or slightly downward
trend in assistant professors, lower in rank, in recent years suggests that this
may not continue, reflecting the “leaky pipeline.”
30
Alice Wu, “Gender Stereotype in Academia: Evidence from Economics Job
Market Rumors Forum,” Working Papers (Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson
School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing., 2017),
https://ideas.repec.org/p/pri/cheawb/2017-09.html.
31
Wu.
32
Wolfers, “Why Women’s Voices Are Scarce in Economics.”
33
Wu, “Gender Stereotype in Academia: Evidence from Economics Job Market
Rumors Forum”; Henri Tajfel and John C Turner, The Social Identity Theory of
Intergroup Behavior., Political Psychology: Key Readings., Key Readings in Social
Psychology. (New York, NY, US: Psychology Press, 2004),
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203505984-16.
34
Lundberg and Stearns, “Women in Economics: Stalled Progress.”
35
RePEc, “Female Representation in Economics, as of April 2021,” 2021,
https://ideas.repec.org/top/female.html.
36
American Economic Association Committee on the Status of Women in the
Economics Profession, “Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics
Profession (CSWEP) Annual Survey of U.S. Economics Departments, United
States, 1994-2018” (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
[distributor], 2020), https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37118.v4.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-20-2048.jpg)
![Higher Education Challenges: Women in Economics 9
Figure 2: Trends in Percent Female for STEM Majors, 1971-2018
Note: Author’s calculations using data from the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES).
Figures 2-4 show trends in the percent of females in STEM fields, social
sciences fields, and other fields, respectively, from 1971 to 2018. These data
come from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Figure 2
reveals the surge in female representation for biological sciences, from
29.1% in 1971 to 62.2% in 2018. We also see that the only STEM field with
a consistently lower female representation than economics is engineering.44
Business, however, shows a higher representation of female majors than
economics, with a stark upward trend between 1971 (9.1%) and 2003
(50.6%), before falling slightly to 47% in 2018 [Figure 3]. The figure also
shows that 50.2% of the general “social sciences and history” category,
which encompasses economics, is female.
44
Note that “computer and information sciences” exhibits an interesting trend,
starting at 13.6% in 1971, going up to 37.1% in 1984, then falling to 20% in 2018.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-23-2048.jpg)
![Higher Education Challenges: Women in Economics 13
grants, and grant dollars.52
This does not take into account the lower
likelihood female economists have of publishing and the higher standard
they face.53
In economics, males are tenured at approximately the same rate
regardless of whether or not they coauthor. Females, on the other hand, are
less likely to receive tenure the more they coauthor.54
Why We Should Care
“[There is] evidence that it is important to include both men and women
economists at the table when formulating and debating economic policy. If
demographic differences such as sex help to shape our views on policy
questions, the inclusion of women will expand the debate and enlarge the
scope of perspectives.” 55
An important study has shown that choice of major affects occupational
sorting; the authors find that females choose majors with lower potential
earnings and subsequently sort into jobs with lower potential earnings
conditional on their major choice.56
Were it only due to preferences, one
might argue that the smaller female representation in the field of economics
should not be an issue (although one might wonder where the stark
differences in preferences are stemming from). Yet increasingly more
evidence points to this not being the case. In the presence of discrimination,
optimal matches are not taking place. This should not only appeal to our
humanity as being inherently wrong, but from a societal and economic point
of view, this leads to a suboptimal solution from a social welfare standpoint.
The stagnant nature of the low percentage of female economics majors has
potentially led the whole field to stall and not progress as it should.
52
Ginther and Kahn, “Women in Academic Economics: Have We Made Progress?”
53
E Hengel, “Publishing While Female. Are Women Held to Higher Standards?
Evidence from Peer Review,” Cambridge Working Papers in Economics (Faculty of
Economics, University of Cambridge, 2017),
https://ideas.repec.org/p/cam/camdae/1753.html.
54
Sarsons et al., “Gender Differences in Recognition for Group Work.”
55
Ann Mari May, David Kucera, and Mary G. McGarvey, “Mind the Gap,” Finance
Development, International Monetary Fund 55, no. 2 (2018),
https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2018/06/including-more-women-
economists-influences-policy-and-research/may.htm.
56
Carolyn Sloane, Erik Hurst, and Dan Black, “A Cross-Cohort Analysis of Human
Capital Specialization and the College Gender Wage Gap,” National Bureau of
Economic Research Working Paper Series No. 26348 (2019),
https://doi.org/10.3386/w26348.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-27-2048.jpg)
![Chapter One
18
Economics Work for Women at Every Stage.” Journal of Economic
Perspectives 33, no. 1 (2019): 43–60.
https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.33.1.43.
Carrell, Scott E, Marianne E Page, and James E West. “Sex and Science:
How Professor Gender Perpetuates the Gender Gap*.” The Quarterly
Journal of Economics 125, no. 3 (August 1, 2010): 1101–44.
https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.2010.125.3.1101.
Casselman, Ben. “For Women in Economics, the Hostility Is Out in the
Open.” New York Times, February 23, 2021.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/business/economy/economics-
women-gender-bias.html.
Centre for Economic Policy Research. “Women in Economics,” 2021.
https://cepr.org/content/women-economics.
Committee on Equity, Diversity and Professional Conduct, American
Economic Association. “AEA Professional Climate Survey: Final
Report,” 2019. https://www.aeaweb.org/resources/member-docs/final-
climate-survey-results-sept-2019.
Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, American
Economic Association. “Committee on the Status of Women in the
Economics Profession (CSWEP) Annual Survey of U.S. Economics
Departments, United States, 1994-2018.” Inter-university Consortium
for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2020.
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37118.v4.
Crutsinger, Martin. “Yellen Says Women Face Many Obstacles in
Economics Careers.” PBS, March 8, 2021.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/yellen-says-women-face-
many-obstacles-in-economics-careers.
D’Uva, Teresa Bago, and Pilar Garcia-Gomez. “At ESE Females and Non-
Dutch Are Lagging behind in Rank and Earnings,” 2020.
https://esb.nu/esb/20060005/at-ese-females-and-non-dutch-are-
lagging-behind-in-rank-and-earnings.
Davis, William L. “Economists’ Perceptions of Their Own Research: A
Survey of the Profession.” The American Journal of Economics and
Sociology 56, no. 2 (May 19, 1997): 159–72.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/3487253.
Department of Economics. “Women in Economics.” Yale University, 2021.
https://economics.yale.edu/eventsseminars/women-in-economics.
Dolar, Veronika. “The Gender Gap in Economics Is Huge – It’s Even Worse
than Tech.” The Conversation, March 2021.
https://theconversation.com/the-gender-gap-in-economics-is-huge-its-
even-worse-than-tech-156275.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-32-2048.jpg)
![mode of speaking here used, when it is said, He hath hardened their
hearts, it imports nothing else but his leaving them to the hardness
of their own hearts, or denying them heart-softening grace, which
would have been an effectual remedy against it. And may not God
deny his grace to sinners, without being charged as the author of
sin, or the blame thereof devolved on him, and not themselves?
And, since this judicial act of providence cannot but be the result of
an eternal purpose, is there any thing, in this decree, that reflects on
his perfections, any more than there is in the execution thereof?
There is another scripture, in Prov. xvi. 4. The Lord hath made all
things for himself; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil; from
whence they infer, that the doctrine of reprobation, which they
suppose to be founded on a perverse sense given of it, includes in it
the divine purpose to make man to damn him; for they conclude
that we understand it in that sense; and they proceed a little farther
than this, and pretend that we infer from it, that God made men
wicked, or that he made them wicked for his glory, as if he had need
of sinful man for that end. I should never have thought that so vile a
consequence could be drawn from this doctrine, if the learned writer,
before mentioned, had not told the world that we infer this from it;
[216]
and, to give countenance to this suggestion, he quotes a
passage out of Dr. Twiss;[217]
his words are these: “That all, besides
the elect, God hath ordained to bring them forth into the world in
their corrupt mass, and to permit them to themselves, to go on in
their own ways, and so finally to persevere in sin; and, lastly, to
damn them for their sin, for the manifestation of the glory of his
justice on them.”
I am not ashamed to own my very great esteem of this excellently
learned and pious writer, who was as considerable for that part of
learning, which his works discover him to have been conversant in,
as most in his day; though I cannot think myself obliged, in every
respect, to explain this doctrine as he does; and Dr. Whitby knew
very well, that if such an inference, as what we have been speaking
of, were to be deduced from the writings of any, who maintain the
doctrine of reprobation, it must be from one who gives into the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-46-2048.jpg)
![ought not to be so misrepresented, with a design to cast an odium
upon it.
But to return to the scripture but now mentioned: When God is said
to have made the wicked for the day of evil, the meaning is not that
man’s damnation was the end designed by God, in creating him, for
there are some other ideas that intervene between God’s purpose to
create and condemn him; he must be considered not barely as a
creature, but as a sinner; now, as God did not create man that he
might sin, he could not be said to create him, that he might
condemn him. Accordingly, the sense which some give of this text,
is, that God is said to have made all things for himself, to wit, for his
own glory. And inasmuch as some will be ready to object, that God
will have no glory from the wicked, who oppose his name and
interest in the world; the answer to this is, that in them, from whom
he shall have no glory, as a Saviour, he will, notwithstanding, be
glorified as a Judge; which judicial act, though it be deferred for a
time, while his long-suffering waits upon them, yet it shall fall
heavily on them, in the day of evil: which is very remote from that
supposition, that God made man to damn him. And there is a sense
given of it by some, who are on the other side of the question,
which seems equally probable, or agreeable to the mind of the Holy
Ghost, and is not in the least subversive of the doctrine we are
maintaining, namely, “That the Lord disposeth all things throughout
the world, to serve such ends as he thinks fit to design, which they
cannot refuse to comply withal; for if any man be so wicked as to
oppose his will, he will not lose their service; but when he brings a
public calamity upon a country, employ them to be the executioners
of his wrath: Of this there was a remarkable instance in the
destruction of Jerusalem, by the Roman soldiers, whom our Saviour
used, to punish his crucifiers, not that they undertook that war out
of any design or desire to do our blessed Saviour right, but out of an
ambition to enslave the world; yet God made use of them for
another design, as public executioners, by whom he punished the
ungodly[218]
.” So the Assyrian is said, in Isa. x. 5, 6. to be the rod of
God’s anger, and to be sent against the people of Israel, and to lead](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-48-2048.jpg)
![them captive, and therein to tread them down, like the mire in the
streets[219]
. And as to what concerns the purpose of God, on which
these judicial proceedings depend, this is to be judged of by the
execution thereof, as is evidently to be inferred from thence. And
this is the sense in which we understand the doctrine of reprobation,
as in the foregoing argument.
Thus we have endeavoured to prove the doctrine of election and
reprobation, and defend it from the reproaches and
misrepresentations cast upon it by considering it, not only as
agreeable to the divine perfections, but as founded on scripture. We
shall therefore proceed,
VI. To enquire, whether the contrary doctrine as defended by some,
be not derogatory to the divine perfections, and therefore does not
contain greater absurdities; or, if expressions of detestation were a
sufficient argument to set it aside, whether we have not as much
reason to testify our dislike that way, as they have against the
doctrine we are maintaining? As to that part of the charge brought
against us, as though we represented God as severe and cruel to his
creatures; or that it is inconsistent with his goodness to suppose that
he leaves any to themselves in their fallen state, so as not to give
them the means of grace, when he knew that being destitute
thereof, they could not believe, and so would fall short of salvation,
pursuant to his eternal purpose relating thereunto: can this be said
to be inconsistent with his goodness, any more than all his other
displays of vindictive justice? If they suppose that it is, we might
easily retort the argument upon them since they will not assert, that
the whole race of fallen man shall be saved; and, if so, must we not
suppose that God certainly fore-knew this, otherwise where is his
infinite understanding? And if he knew that this would be the
consequence of their being born, and living in the world, where is
his goodness in bringing them into it? If it be said that they have a
free-will to choose what is good, and so had a power to attain
salvation; therefore their not attaining it, is wholly owing to
themselves. Suppose this were taken for granted, without entering
on that subject at present; yet it must be farther enquired whether](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-49-2048.jpg)
![inconsistent with the divine perfections has been already considered;
and we are farther to enquire, whether there be any foundation for it in
scripture, and what is the sense of some texts, which are often brought
in defence thereof.
One text referred to, is, those words of the apostle, in 1 Tim. ii. 4. Who
will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth;
and another scripture, to the same purpose, in 2 Pet. iii. 9. The Lord is
not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance; and several others, from whence they argue the universality
of the divine purpose relating to the salvation of mankind, or that none
are rejected, or excluded from it, by any act of God’s will, and
consequently that the doctrine of election and reprobation is to be
exploded, as contrary hereunto.
That the sense of these scriptures cannot be, that God designed that all
men should be eventually saved, or come to the knowledge of the truth,
so that none of them should perish, is evident, from many other
scriptures, that speak of the destruction of ungodly men, which,
doubtless, will be allowed by all; therefore it follows, that the meaning
of these two scriptures, is not that God purposed, or determined, what
shall never come to pass, which is inconsistent with the glory of his
wisdom and sovereignty, as has been before observed; but they are to
be understood with those limitations, which the word all, which refers to
the persons mentioned, as designed to be saved, is subject to in other
scriptures; as will be more particularly considered, when we treat of
universal and particular redemption, under a following answer[220]
. And
therefore, at present, we need only observe, that these scriptures may
be set in a true light, that the word all is oftentimes taken for all sorts of
men, or things; as when it is said, that of every thing that creepeth upon
the earth, there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, Gen. vii. 8,
9. that is all the species of living creatures, not every individual; so, Acts
x. 12. in the vision that Peter saw of the sheet let down from heaven, in
which there were all manner of four-footed beasts[221]
, c. and it is said
concerning our Saviour, that he went about, healing all manner of
sickness, and all manner of diseases among the people[222]
; and
elsewhere God promises, that he will pour out his Spirit on all flesh, Acts
ii. 17. that is, persons of all ages and conditions, young and old.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-54-2048.jpg)
![event, or that he did not know what it would be; for, as his providential
dispensation gives us ground to conclude, that he determined to leave
them to themselves, so he knew beforehand that this, through the
corruption of their nature, would issue in their unfruitfulness, otherwise
he is not omniscient. Therefore it follows, that neither of these scriptures
have the least tendency to overthrow the doctrine of the certainty and
peremptoriness of the divine purpose.
As to what our Saviour says, relating to his willingness, to have gathered
Jerusalem, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but they
would not, it may be taken, without the least absurdity attending the
sense thereof, as referring to the end and design of his ministry among
them; and it is as though he should say, your nation shall be broken,
and you scattered, as a punishment inflicted on you for your iniquities,
and this destruction would have been prevented, had you believed in
me; so that all that can be inferred from hence, is, that Christ’s ministry
and doctrine were attended with that convincing evidence, being
confirmed by so many undoubted miracles, that their unbelief was not
only charged on them as a crime, but was the occasion of their ruin; or
(as it is said in the following words) of their houses being left unto them
desolate. And this might have been prevented, by their making a right
improvement of that common grace, which they had; for though it be
not in man’s power,[223]
without the special influence of divine grace, to
believe to the saving of the soul; yet I know no one who denies that it is
in his power to do more good, and avoid more evil, than he does, or so
far to attend to the preaching of the gospel, as not to oppose it with
that malice and envy as the Jews did; and, had they paid such a
deference to Christ’s ministry, as this amounted to, they would not have
been exposed to those judgments which afterwards befel them; for it is
one thing to say, that men, by improving common grace, can attain
salvation, and another thing to conclude, that they might have escaped
temporal judgments thereby.
Therefore, if it be enquired, what was God’s intention in giving them the
gospel? the answer is very plain: It was not that hereby he might bring
them all into a state of salvation, for then it would have taken effect; but
it was, as appears by the event, to bring those, that should be saved
among them, to that salvation, and to let others know, whether they
would hear, or whether they would forbear, that God had a right to their](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-58-2048.jpg)
![understood as a representation of the deplorableness of their condition,
which, with a tenderness of human compassion, he could not speak of,
without tears: Yet we are not to suppose that this mode of expression is
applicable to the divine will; so that, when the misery of that people is
hereby set forth, we are not to strain the sense of words, taken from
human modes of speaking, so far, as to suppose that the judicial acts of
God, in punishing a sinful people, are not the execution of his purpose
relating thereunto.
Again, when the Spirit is said to be grieved, Eph. iv. 30. or resisted, Acts
vii. 15. nothing else is intended hereby, but that men act in such a way,
as that, had the Spirit of God been subject to human passions, it would
have been matter of grief to him. But far be it from us to suppose that
the divine nature is liable hereunto, or that any disappointment can
attend his purposes, which has a tendency to excite this passion in men.
And when he is said to be resisted, it is not meant as though his will, or
design, could be rendered ineffectual, but it only implies, that men
oppose what the Spirit communicated by the prophets, or in his word.
This a person may do, and yet it may be truly said, that the counsel of
the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations,
Psal. xxxiii. 11.
VIII. We shall proceed to consider several objections that are made
against the doctrine we have endeavoured to maintain, and what reply
may be given to them. Some have been occasionally mentioned under
several foregoing heads, and there are others which require a distinct
reply.
Object. 1. That the doctrine of absolute Election and Reprobation was
altogether unknown by the Fathers in the three first centuries, and that
it was first brought into the Christian world by Augustin; before whose
time, the only account we have of it, is, that God foreknowing who
would live piously, or believe and persevere to the end, accordingly
predestinated them to eternal life, or determined to pass them by, and
so is said to have rejected them.[224]
Answ. This objection, were it literally true, cannot have any tendency to
overthrow this doctrine, in the opinion of those, who depend not on the
credit of Augustin, as defending it, on the one hand, nor are staggered
by the opposition made to it by some of the Fathers, who lived before](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-60-2048.jpg)
![his time, on the other; and therefore we might have passed it by,
without making any reply to it. However, since it contains a kind of
insult, or boast, which will have its weight with some, it may be
expected that a few things should be said, in answer to it.
We will not deny but that the Fathers, before the Pelagian heresy was
broached in the world; expressed themselves, in many parts of their
writings, in so lax and unguarded a manner concerning the doctrines of
predestination, free-will, and grace, that, had they lived after those
doctrines began to be publickly contested, one would have thought that
they had verged too much towards Pelagius’s side; but, since they were
not the subject-matter of controversy in those ages, it is no wonder to
find them less cautious in their modes of expressing themselves, than
they might otherwise have been; and therefore it is a just observation,
which one[225]
makes of this matter, that they had to do with the
Manichees, and some of the heathen, who supposed that men sinned by
a fatal necessity of nature, as though there were no wicked action
committed in the world, but some would be ready to excuse it, from the
impotency or propensity of human nature to sin, which rendered it, as
they supposed, unavoidable; and others took occasion, from hence, to
charge God with being the author of sin. It is very probable the Fathers,
in those ages, were afraid of giving countenance to this vile opinion, and
therefore they were less on their guard, in some respects, than they
would have been, had they been to encounter with Pelagius, or his
followers.
And indeed, Augustin himself, before he took occasion to enquire more
diligently into the state of this controversy, gave into the same way of
expressing his sentiments about the power of nature, or the grace of
God, as some others of the Fathers had done, and concluded that faith
was in our power, as well a duty incumbent on us, but afterwards
retracted such modes of speaking as the result of more mature
deliberation.[226]
But notwithstanding though he expressed himself in a
different way from them, yet he often takes occasion, from some
passages which he purposely refers to in their writings, to vindicate
them as holding the same faith, though not always using the same
phrases. And, after he had thus defended Cyprian and Ambrose, in that
respect, he puts a very charitable construction on their unguarded way
of expressing themselves, and says, that this arose from their not having](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-61-2048.jpg)
![any occasion to engage in that controversy, which was on foot in his
day.[227]
The same might be said to Gregory Nazianzen, Basil,
Chrysostom, and several others, whom some modern writers defend
from the charge of favouring the Pelagian scheme, by referring to some
places in their writings, in which they acknowledge, that the salvation of
men is owing to the grace of God, whereby all occasions of glorying are
taken away from the creature,[228]
or expressions used by them to the
like purpose. And the learned Vossius, though he acknowledges, that the
Fathers, before Augustin, expressed themselves in such a way, as is
represented in the objection, yet he vindicates them from the charge of
verging towards the Pelagian, or Semi-Pelagian heresy; inasmuch as he
concludes, that when they speak of God’s predestinating men to eternal
life, on the foresight of good works, they only intend those good works,
which God would enable them to perform; and this will clear many of
those expressions which they use, from this imputation.[229]
But if all
these endeavours to establish our claim to those Fathers, who lived
before Augustin, as not being opposers of this doctrine, appear to be to
no purpose, yet this will not weaken the truth thereof; for we suppose it
to be founded on scripture, and several consequences plainly deduced
from it, and therefore it doth not want the suffrage of human testimony
to support it.
But if it be said, that this is a very desirable thing as doubtless it is, we
might consider this doctrine, as obtaining very much in, and after
Augustin’s time, being examined and defended by very considerable
numbers of men, who have transmitted it down to posterity, throughout
the various ages of the church. Notwithstanding, by whomsoever it is
defended, or opposed, we lay no great stress on human authority, as a
judicious divine well observes[230]
. We shall therefore proceed to consider
some other objections, which it will be more necessary for us to give a
particular answer to.
Object. 2. To the doctrine of God’s purpose’s ascertaining all events, it is
objected that he has not determined the bounds of the life of man, but
that it may be lengthened, or shortened, by the intervention of second
causes. This is nothing else but the applying one branch of this
controversy, relating to the decrees of God, to a particular instance. And
it was very warmly debated in the Netherlands, towards the beginning of
the last century.[231]
This objection is managed in a popular way, and is](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-62-2048.jpg)
![died, John xi. 21. which either contradicts the argument we are
maintaining, or else Martha was mistaken; which, had she been, our
Saviour would have reproved her, for asserting that which was false.
Moreover, they add, that when the old world was destroyed in the
deluge, and so died before their time, they might have prolonged their
lives, had they repented in that space of time, wherein Noah as a
preacher of righteousness, gave them warning of this desolating
judgment, and Christ, by his Spirit, in him, preached to them, as the
apostle says, 1 Pet. iii. 20. which, doubtless, was with a design to bring
them to repentance, and save them from this destruction.
And when Abraham pleaded with God in the behalf of Sodom, God tells
him, that if he found but ten righteous persons in the city, he would
spare it for their sake, Gen. xviii. 32. which is inconsistent with his
determination, that they should all die by an untimely death, if the
bounds of their lives had been fixed.
And lastly, they refer to that scripture, in which God first told Hezekiah,
that he should die, and not live, and afterwards, that he would add to
his days fifteen years, Isa. xxxviii. 1. compared with 5.
Answ. To prepare our way for a reply to this objection, let us consider
that the contrary side of the question, which we are maintaining, is
equally supported by express texts of scripture: thus it is said His days
are determined, the number of his months are with thee; thou hast
appointed him bounds that he cannot pass, Job xiv. 5. than which,
nothing can be more express, where he speaks concerning that decree
of God, which respects all mankind, without exception, and sets forth his
absolute sovereignty, and the irreversibleness of his purpose herein; and
the apostle Paul, in reasoning with the Athenians concerning the decree
and providence of God in whom we live, move, and have our being says,
that he hath determined the times before appointed, and fixed the
bounds of their habitation, Acts xvii. 26. As he has placed men upon the
earth, by his decree and providence, so he has determined not only the
place where they should live, but the time of their continuance in the
world. This was no new doctrine; for the heathen had been instructed in
it by their own philosophers and therefore the apostle speaks their
sense, especially that of the stoicks, about this matter.[232]
When he
mentions the times are determined, it is not to be understood of the](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-64-2048.jpg)
![matter, there is nothing happens without the concurrence thereof.
Therefore persons, who shorten their days by intemperance, do this by
the permissive providence of God; though he be not the author of their
intemperance, which is sinful, yet he permits, or determines not to
hinder it, and consequently though he has fixed the bounds of life,
which can neither be lengthened or shortened, yet knowing what men
will do, in a natural way, to shorten them, he determines that this shall
put an end to their lives.[233]
And when we read, in scripture, of God’s
delivering him, who dies a violent death, into his hands, who is the
immediate cause of it, Exod. xxi. 13. God is not the author of the sin of
the murderer; yet providence is not wholly to be exempted from that
action, so far as it is not sinful, but purely natural, or the effect of
power; and, when this is said to have a tendency to shorten the life of
man, it does not detract from the time that he had in his own purpose
affixed to it. We must also consider, that his decree and providence
respects the means, as well as the end, which are always inseparably
connected, and equally subject thereunto.
These things being premised, we proceed more particularly to answer
the arguments brought against this doctrine. And,
1. When it is said, that God’s fixing the bounds of life, renders all means
for the preservation thereof unnecessary, that depends upon a false
supposition, namely, that God does not ordain the means as well as the
end. If God had determined that persons shall live, he has determined to
give them the supports of life, and to prevent every thing that might
tend to destroy it; so, on the other hand, when he takes them away, by
a disease, this is ordained by him, as a means conducive thereunto. If
health is to be supported, or recovered, by means, and thereby life
preserved, God has ordained that these means shall be used, as well as
the end attained.
2. As to persons shortening their lives by intemperance, this has a
natural tendency to do it; so that, though God be not the author of the
sin, he certainly knows, before-hand, what methods the sinner will take
to hasten his end, and leaves him to himself; so that, though the sin be
not from God, the punishment, which is the consequence thereof, may
truly be said to be from him, and therefore this was determined by him.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-66-2048.jpg)
![hear all the evil, which I purpose to do unto them, that they may return
every man from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their
sin. So when God gave the Jews a sign, immediately before the captivity,
taken from the prophet Ezekiel’s personating one that was removing his
stuff, or household-goods, as signifying, that the nation in general
should soon remove to other habitations, when carried captive into
Babylon, he adds, upon this occasion, It may be they will consider,
though they be a rebellious house, Ezek. xii. 3. And the prophet
Zephaniah exhorts the people to seek righteousness and meekness, and,
as the consequence thereof, says, It may be ye shall be hid in the day of
the Lord’s anger, Zeph. ii. 3. And the apostle speaks of the uncertainty
of the divine dispensations of grace, when he advises Timothy, in
meekness, to instruct those that oppose themselves, if God,
peradventure, will give them repentance, to the acknowledging of the
truth, 2 Tim. ii. 25. which is directly contrary to the unalterable necessity
of events, depending upon the divine purpose, according to the doctrine
of election.
Answ. 1. As to the former part of this objection, in which this doctrine is
pretended to have taken its rise from, and to be agreeable to, that of
the Stoics, concerning fate and destiny, it will not be much to our
purpose to enquire what was the opinion of that sect of philosophers
concerning it; and, indeed, it will be difficult to fix on a just sense
thereof, in which they all agree. Some are of opinion, that many of them
intended nothing else thereby, but the immutability of God’s purposes,
but the dispensation of his providence, being a necessary execution
thereof; and when he is said to be bound by the laws of fate, they
mean, that he cannot act contrary to what himself has determined.[234]
And, had it been universally explained by them in this sense, it would
not have done them much service, who oppose the doctrine of election,
to have compared it therewith; for it would only have proved the
agreeableness of the doctrine of the immutability of God’s purpose,
relating to all events, to the light of nature, as some of the heathen
were thereby instructed in it. But since this does not appear to be the
sense of all the Stoicks about the doctrine of fate, but some of them
understood it in the same sense as it is represented in the objection, this
we cannot but militate against, and assert the doctrine of election to be
very remote from it.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/45429-250318120752-e6234c1b/75/Diversity-and-Inclusion-in-Educational-Institutions-1st-Edition-Fawzia-Reza-70-2048.jpg)
Diversity and Inclusion in Educational Institutions 1st Edition Fawzia Reza
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- 5. Diversity and Inclusion inEducational Institutions
- 7. Diversity and Inclusion inEducational Institutions Edited by Fawzia Reza
- 8. Diversity and Inclusionin Educational Institutions Edited by Fawzia Reza This book first published 2022 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2022 by Fawzia Reza and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-7638-8 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-7638-4
- 9. CONTENTS Foreword .................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgement.....................................................................................ix Chapter One................................................................................................ 1 Higher Education Challenges: Women in Economics Inas R. Kelly Chapter Two............................................................................................. 22 Supporting Inclusive Practices within an Online Educational Institution Fawzia Reza, Erin Maurer, and Kenneth Jandes Chapter Three........................................................................................... 49 Increased Engagement, Self-Efficacy, and Social Inclusion in Students with Autism Elizabeth Burke and Belinda Dunnick Karge Chapter Four............................................................................................. 81 The Role of Intercultural Education in Fostering Diversity and Inclusion Marisol de Lafuente Duff and Tony Duff Chapter Five ........................................................................................... 103 In Pursuit of Educational Equity: English Language Learners and First-Generation College Students Harpreet Kaur Dhir and Karina Becerra-Murillo Chapter Six............................................................................................. 125 The Untold Institutional and Community Supports of Latina Millennials Pursuing Graduate Degrees Nadia Aguilar and Sharon H. Ulanoff Chapter Seven......................................................................................... 147 Pre-Service Special Education Teacher Self-Reflection and Cultural Reciprocity C. Adrainne Thomas and Shandra Claiborne
- 10. Contents vi Chapter Eight.......................................................................................... 167 Seeingthe World through Other’s Eyes: Diverse Learnings and Participation in University Study Abroad Programs in Belize, Central America Judith McConnell-Farmer (Mikkelson), Lenore Peachin Wineberg, and Tina L. Williams Chapter Nine........................................................................................... 188 The Challenges of Meeting the Holistic Needs of Black, Asian and/or Students Living in Poverty During a Pandemic: Does Cultural or Social Capital Matter? Gwendolyn McMillon, Emily Caylor, Sherrayna Coleman, Mary Patillo-Dunn, and Yong Zeng Chapter Ten ............................................................................................ 215 Challenging the Underrepresentation of Native Americans in Higher Education at an Urban, Comprehensive University Janine Gasco and Cheryl McKnight Chapter Eleven ....................................................................................... 236 Preparing Pre-Service Teachers to Educate Diverse Learners Annette Mohan and Grace Jepkemboi Chapter Twelve ...................................................................................... 246 Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Community Colleges Adriene Davis Chapter Thirteen..................................................................................... 259 A Perspective on the Role of Educational Equity in Supporting Students Sharon H. Ulanoff Chapter Fourteen .................................................................................... 274 Difficult Conversations: Moving Staff Towards More Inclusive Practices Hillary M. Weissman About the Contributors........................................................................... 290
- 11. FOREWORD I have adream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character - Martin Luther King A cursory view of any classroom will demonstrate that our classrooms have become increasingly diverse; various school administrators have also shared demographic information which illustrates the rich diversity in their schools. However, many educators do not fully understand how to tap into the rich funds of knowledge that every student brings to the classroom. Students who do not belong to the mainstream often do not get completely accepted into the school community. As an immigrant, scholar, and an educator, I have documented and witnessed how being on the periphery affects the social, emotional, and cognitive development of students. The doll test by Clark and Clark (1947) demonstrates how being marginalized and underrepresented impacts children’s morale and development. When young children are routinely given negative messages about their race or cultural heritage, they can develop internalized racism; an acceptance of negative and stereotypical images with a negative self-worth, which extends not only to themselves, but to everyone in their race or culture. It is difficult to provide a concrete/comprehensive definition for diversity because it is open to several interpretations. While many people define diversity only in terms of differences in race or ethnicity, diversity encompasses so much more. For example, it can also include variables such as gender, age, nationality, abilities, sexual orientation, political orientation, nationality, religion, education, socioeconomic background and values and beliefs of an individual. As an educator, I am always adding more to my repertoire of what constitutes diversity and as you review the chapters in this volume, you may discover additional perspectives that you can apply to your own practice. This collection is a call for action and social justice; a desire to share and implement the vision of Dr. King. To make his dream a reality and successfully implement diversity, equity, and inclusivity, deliberate effort and concrete steps are necessary. Each chapter describes how diversity and
- 12. Foreword viii inclusion can beeffectively practiced within synchronous and asynchronous institutions. To become a reflective practitioner, we need to be lifelong learners. I hope this book provides you the platform to become one.
- 13. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would liketo thank all authors who agreed to contribute to this volume. Your thoughts, expertise, experience, and advocacy for social justice will create greater awareness of initiatives that are being taken to promote diversity and inclusion within educational institutions. Each of you generously donated your time and effort to make this volume possible. I hope that together we can facilitate change such that every student feels welcomed and represented. I appreciate the opportunity Cambridge Scholars Publishing has provided me to serve as the editor for this book. I would especially like to thank Clementine Joly, my liaison throughout the process. She was always quick to respond to my questions and work diligently with me. I would also like to thank my husband Ali Reza, who has always encouraged me in my efforts and desire to make a difference. He has been my most ardent supporter and I am truly blessed to have him as my friend, mentor, and a partner. Finally, I would like to thank my daughters, Tania, and Sonia and my son in law Timothy Copeland for believing in me. Your love has given me the strength to explore unchartered territories.
- 15. CHAPTER ONE HIGHER EDUCATIONCHALLENGES: WOMEN IN ECONOMICS INAS R. KELLY Abstract The rampant discrimination against females in higher education, particularly in the field of economics, has spillover effects which affect student decisions. This chapter will examine these challenges in an area largely dominated by white males and how the dismal science is finally coming to a reckoning with its past. Keywords: Economics, Misogyny, STEM, Discrimination, Major Choice “Economics is a disgrace. The lack of diversity and inclusion degrades our knowledge and policy advice. We hurt economists from undergraduate classrooms to offices at the White House. We drive away talent; we mistreat those who stay; and we tolerate bad behavior.” 1 Introduction On Monday, March 8th , 2021, there was a panel discussion on “Women in Economics” put together by undergraduate students in economics at Loyola Marymount University. It was International Women’s Day, and one of the students remembered some disturbing statistics about women in economics that had been shared in his econometrics class the previous year. It was also noted that the university was typical of many in that, while it consists of 58% females and 42% males, only 26% of economics majors are female. This is even lower than the national average of 35%, a figure which 1 Claudia Sahm, “Economics Is a Disgrace,” macromom blog, 2020, https://macromomblog.com/2020/07/29/economics-is-a-disgrace/.
- 16. Chapter One 2 has declinedin recent years.2 Around 30% of doctoral degrees are awarded to females.3,4 At the National Bureau of Economic Research, a prominent American private nonprofit research organization founded in 1920, a mere 22.3% of research affiliates are female. While several recent articles have shed light on the unfortunate state for females in this dismal science,5 many are unaware of these statistics. The reality is that poor representation by females in the field has been an issue for decades and has only recently come to light – with firm, empirical evidence that is still being ignored by some. For decades it was dismissed as a selection issue: Women do not choose economics because they are simply not interested in the subject, because the subject matter does not reflect their general beliefs, because the lifestyle associated with most jobs in the area is not conducive to having a family, or (perhaps the most insulting and evidence has clearly pointed to the contrary) because they are simply not good at it. It was not until results from a survey by the largest national economics organization, the American Economic Association, came out in 2019, that the extent of the toxic environment females in the field were subjected to was brought to light, with half of females reporting discrimination and harassment against them. 6 This in turn received substantial media attention and elicited a formal response by the American 2 Justin Wolfers, “Why Women’s Voices Are Scarce in Economics,” New York Times, February 2, 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/business/why-womens-voices-are-scarce-in- economics.html. 3 Amanda Bayer and Cecilia Elena Rouse, “Diversity in the Economics Profession: A New Attack on an Old Problem,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 30, no. 4 (2016): 221–42, https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.30.4.221. 4 While this chapter focuses on females, the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the field is also visible. Only around 8% of doctoral degrees in economics are awarded to African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. 5 Bayer and Rouse, “Diversity in the Economics Profession: A New Attack on an Old Problem”; Veronika Dolar, “The Gender Gap in Economics Is Huge – It’s Even Worse than Tech,” The Conversation, March 2021, https://theconversation.com/the-gender- gap-in-economics-is-huge-its-even-worse-than-tech-156275; Shelly Lundberg and Jenna Stearns, “Women in Economics: Stalled Progress,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 33, no. 1 (2019): 3–22, https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.33.1.3; Shelly Lundberg, ed., Women in Economics (VOXeu CEPR, 2020), https://voxeu.org/content/women-economics. 6 American Economic Association Committee on Equity, Diversity and Professional Conduct, “AEA Professional Climate Survey: Final Report,” 2019, https://www.aeaweb.org/resources/member-docs/final-climate-survey-results-sept- 2019.
- 17. Higher Education Challenges:Women in Economics 3 Economic Association condemning misogyny 7 and, soon after, a Professional Code of Conduct.8 This chapter will focus on the challenges that female economists in higher education face and how these challenges affect the future of the field. A background on the topic is first presented, followed by some relevant data and trends. Possible mechanisms are then explored, with a discussion of why we should care. Potential solutions are then offered. Background In academia in general, females are less likely to be addressed by their professional titles9 and are generally treated differently. They have a higher service burden and are more likely to agree to tasks that have low promotability.10 In economics, they are less likely to be promoted,11 less likely to be given credit for their contributions when co-authoring with males,12 and are penalized in the presence of gender-neutral stop-the-clock policies,13 where males end up using that time to conduct research while females spend the time childrearing. Textbooks that students are exposed to are more likely to show females in less prominent roles. In these textbooks, males account for over 90% of leaders and economists mentioned; females are even a minority of fictionalized people and are shown in less serious 7 American Economic Association, “Statement of the AEA Executive Committee,” October 2017, 2017, https://www.aeaweb.org/news/statement-of-the-aea-executive- committee-oct-20-2017. 8 American Economic Association, “AEA Code of Professional Conduct,” April 2018, 2018, https://www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/code-of-conduct. 9 Julia A Files et al., “Speaker Introductions at Internal Medicine Grand Rounds: Forms of Address Reveal Gender Bias,” Journal of Women’s Health 26, no. 5 (February 16, 2017): 413–19, https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2016.6044. 10 Linda Babcock et al., “Gender Differences in Accepting and Receiving Requests for Tasks with Low Promotability,” American Economic Review 107, no. 3 (2017): 714–47, https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20141734. 11 Donna K Ginther and Shulamit Kahn, “Women in Academic Economics: Have We Made Progress?,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series No. 28743 (2021), https://doi.org/10.3386/w28743. 12 Heather Sarsons et al., “Gender Differences in Recognition for Group Work,” Journal of Political Economy 129, no. 1 (August 28, 2020): 101–47, https://doi.org/10.1086/711401. 13 Heather Antecol, Kelly Bedard, and Jenna Stearns, “Equal but Inequitable: Who Benefits from Gender-Neutral Tenure Clock Stopping Policies?,” American Economic Review 108, no. 9 (2018): 2420–41, https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20160613.
- 18. Chapter One 4 roles, suchas food, housework, and fashion.14 This is often unintentional, as textbook authors attempt to prepare students for the future using dated tools from their past education.15 They may also be responding to demand (from publishers or perceived demand from professors and students). The authors of the study examining textbooks analyzed eight leading introductory economics textbooks; those by the following authors: Acemoglu, Laibson, and List16 ; Bade and Parkin17 ; Hubbard and O’Brien18 ; Krugman and Wells19 ; Mankiw20 ; McConnell, Brue, and Flynn21 ; Parkin; and Schiller and Gebhardt.22 They found that 77% of people mentioned in these textbooks are male, with a range of 66% to 90% across the eight textbooks. None of the textbooks met the three criteria for the Symons test,23 used to analyze gender equality in business case studies: whether a female is included, whether she is in a leadership position, and whether she is speaking to another woman about business. The “Voluntary Economics Content Standards for Pre-College Economics Education,” developed in 1997 for schools, also only served to reinforce the androcentric nature of the field.24 14 Betsey Stevenson and Hanna Zlotnik, “Representations of Men and Women in Introductory Economics Textbooks,” AEA Papers and Proceedings 108 (2018): 180–85, https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20181102. 15 Stevenson and Zlotnik. 16 Daron Acemoglu, David Laibson, and John List, Economics, 2nd ed. (New York: Pearson, 2017). 17 Robin Bade and Michael Parkin, Foundations of Economics, 8th ed. (New York: Pearson, 2017). 18 R. Glenn Hubbard and Anthony Patrick O’Brien, Economics, 6th ed. (New York: Pearson, 2016). 19 Paul Krugman and Robin Wells, Economics, 4th ed. (New York: Worth Publishers, 2015). 20 N. Gregory Mankiw, Principles of Microeconomics, 8th ed. (Boston: Cengage, 2018). 21 Campbell R. McConnell, Stanley L. Brue, and Sean Masaki Flynn, Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies (New York: McGraw Hill Education, 2017). 22 Michael Parkin, Economics, 12th ed. (New York: Pearson, 2015). 23 Lesley Symons and Herminia Ibarra, “What the Scarcity of Women in Business Case Studies Really Looks Like,” Harvard Business Review, 2014, https://hbr.org/2014/04/what-the-scarcity-of-women-in-business-case-studies- really-looks-like; Stevenson and Zlotnik, “Representations of Men and Women in Introductory Economics Textbooks.” 24 Margaret Lewis and Kimmarie McGoldrick, “Moving Beyond the Masculine Neoclassical Classroom,” Feminist Economics 7, no. 2 (January 1, 2001): 91–103, https://doi.org/10.1080/13545700110059252.
- 19. Higher Education Challenges:Women in Economics 5 The discrimination that academic female economists face may partially be attributed to statistical discrimination or implicit bias, which can largely be unintentional in nature. Yet there is now substantial evidence that much of the discrimination against females in economics may be less benign, with overt discrimination and harassment being quite mainstream, rendering the discrimination much more harmful in nature than that in other STEM fields. Almost half (49%) of both white and black female economists reported being discriminated against or treated unfairly on the basis of sex, with 54% of Latina female economists reporting this. In contrast, only 4% of white men, 3% of black men, and 2% of Latino men reported being discriminated against due to gender.25 As the title of a recent New York Times article read, “For Women in Economics, the Hostility is Out in the Open.”26 This article referenced a recent study that presented further evidence of discrimination against women in economics: that they receive more interruptions and aggressive, derogatory comments during seminars than their male counterparts.27 The 2019 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences28 was won by three prominent economists: Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer. Duflo was the first female economist (and second female) to win the award and, at 46, the youngest recipient. In spite of these clear accomplishments, her contribution was downplayed by several media outlets and she was even referred to only as Banerjee’s wife by one.29 One stark example of harassment is represented by the anonymous comments posted by graduate students in economics on the Job Market Rumors website. When women are under discussion, the language tends to be significantly less academic and more personal, often referring to the female economist’s physical appearance and minimizing their professional 25 Committee on Equity, Diversity and Professional Conduct, “AEA Professional Climate Survey: Final Report.” 26 Ben Casselman, “For Women in Economics, the Hostility Is Out in the Open,” New York Times, February 23, 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/23/business/economy/economics-women- gender-bias.html. 27 Pascaline Dupas et al., “Gender and the Dynamics of Economics Seminars,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series No. 28494 (2021), https://doi.org/10.3386/w28494. 28 The full name for the award is The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. 29 Meera Jagannathan, “As Esther Duflo Wins the Nobel Prize in Economics, Here’s the Uphill Battle Women Face in the Field,” MarketWatch, October 15, 2019, https://www.marketwatch.com/story/as-esther-duflo-wins-the-nobel-prize-in- economics-heres-the-uphill-battle-women-face-in-the-field-2019-10-14.
- 20. Chapter One 6 contributions.30 For example,the third most common word in posts about females on this website is “hot,” while the third most common word about males is “job.”31 Often, extremely negative generalizations are made about female economists on this website. 32 This only further reinforces the stereotypical view of males as an “in-group” in the field and females as an “out-group.”33 This hostile environment can be felt by female faculty members as well as female students, both undergraduate and graduate. Data and Trends Over a century ago, it was rare but not unheard of to find females in the field of economics. Females wrote 6% of dissertations in 1912, a percentage which rose to almost 20% in 1920. Unfortunately, the upward trend did not continue, and the percentage fell back to 7% in 1940.34 Currently, females represent about 26% of economists.35 According to data from the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP), females now represent about 23% of all economics faculty.36 Breaking it down according to rank, they make up a low 14% of full professors, 26% of associate professors, and 28% of assistant professors (Figure 1). While the slightly increasing trend for full professors may initially look promising, the stable or slightly downward trend in assistant professors, lower in rank, in recent years suggests that this may not continue, reflecting the “leaky pipeline.” 30 Alice Wu, “Gender Stereotype in Academia: Evidence from Economics Job Market Rumors Forum,” Working Papers (Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing., 2017), https://ideas.repec.org/p/pri/cheawb/2017-09.html. 31 Wu. 32 Wolfers, “Why Women’s Voices Are Scarce in Economics.” 33 Wu, “Gender Stereotype in Academia: Evidence from Economics Job Market Rumors Forum”; Henri Tajfel and John C Turner, The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior., Political Psychology: Key Readings., Key Readings in Social Psychology. (New York, NY, US: Psychology Press, 2004), https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203505984-16. 34 Lundberg and Stearns, “Women in Economics: Stalled Progress.” 35 RePEc, “Female Representation in Economics, as of April 2021,” 2021, https://ideas.repec.org/top/female.html. 36 American Economic Association Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, “Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) Annual Survey of U.S. Economics Departments, United States, 1994-2018” (Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2020), https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37118.v4.
- 21. Higher Education Challenges:Women in Economics 7 Figure 1: Trends in Female Faculty and Students, 1994-2018 Note: Author’s calculations using data from CSWEP.37 The trend over 21 years, between 1998 and 2018, reveals little growth in the percentage of economics majors (Figure 1). In Table 1, we see that the growth over time is at an average annual rate of about 0.26%, insignificant at conventional levels. 37 Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession, “Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP) Annual Survey of U.S. Economics Departments, United States, 1994-2018.”
- 22. Chapter One 8 Table 1:Growth in Economics Majors, 1998-2018 Dependent variable: Growth in Economics Majors Time 0.00259 (0.00143) Constant 3.436** (0.0167) Observations 21 R-squared 0.148 Standard errors in parentheses ** p0.01, * p0.05 Currently around 34% of economics majors are female (up from 30% in 1998), in spite of females making up about 55% of all undergraduate students. This is in contrast to other STEM fields, in which about 56% of majors are female.38,39 In European countries, the trends are similar. In the UK, approximately 15% of full economics professors are female,40 only slightly higher than in the US. This figure is 23% in the Netherlands.41 Similarly, in the UK females comprise 57% of all undergraduate students but only 33% of economics majors.42 The percentages of females in other undergraduate majors are generally higher, such as that for math (37%), statistics (42%), chemistry (42%), medicine (55%), and biology (60%).43 38 Dolar, “The Gender Gap in Economics Is Huge – It’s Even Worse than Tech”; Bayer and Rouse, “Diversity in the Economics Profession: A New Attack on an Old Problem.” 39 While this is largely driven by biology majors, the sheer popularity of economics as a major makes the low percentages more surprising than, say, figures for engineering. 40 Kim Gittleson, “Where Are All the Women in Economics?,” BBC News, October 13, 2017, https://www.bbc.com/news/business-41571333. 41 Teresa Bago D’Uva and Pilar Garcia-Gomez, “At ESE Females and Non-Dutch Are Lagging behind in Rank and Earnings,” 2020, https://esb.nu/esb/20060005/at- ese-females-and-non-dutch-are-lagging-behind-in-rank-and-earnings. 42 Marina Della Giusta, “Women and Economics,” University of Reading, 2021, https://www.res.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/508cee63-3e30-457a- 803a0c3710d074a4.pdf. 43 Giusta.
- 23. Higher Education Challenges:Women in Economics 9 Figure 2: Trends in Percent Female for STEM Majors, 1971-2018 Note: Author’s calculations using data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Figures 2-4 show trends in the percent of females in STEM fields, social sciences fields, and other fields, respectively, from 1971 to 2018. These data come from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Figure 2 reveals the surge in female representation for biological sciences, from 29.1% in 1971 to 62.2% in 2018. We also see that the only STEM field with a consistently lower female representation than economics is engineering.44 Business, however, shows a higher representation of female majors than economics, with a stark upward trend between 1971 (9.1%) and 2003 (50.6%), before falling slightly to 47% in 2018 [Figure 3]. The figure also shows that 50.2% of the general “social sciences and history” category, which encompasses economics, is female. 44 Note that “computer and information sciences” exhibits an interesting trend, starting at 13.6% in 1971, going up to 37.1% in 1984, then falling to 20% in 2018.
- 24. Chapter One 10 Figure 3:Trends in Percent Female for Social Sciences Majors, 1971-2018 Note: Author’s calculations using data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). In contrast, female representation is particularly high in the fields shown in Figure 4. The percentage of females majoring in the following fields is over 60% in 2018: communication and journalism, English language and literature, health professions, visual and performing arts, education, foreign languages, and public administration/social services. For education, almost 82% of majors are female.
- 25. Higher Education Challenges:Women in Economics 11 Figure 4: Trends in Percent Female for Majors in Other Fields, 1971-2018 Note: Author’s calculations using data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Exploring Mechanisms There are several channels whereby we ultimately see fewer female economics majors in undergraduate institutions. Prior theories that should be given less weight include differences in ability and preferences. In terms of preferences, females do have higher probabilities of selecting into areas within economics that have a more microeconomic focus (health, labor, environmental) as opposed to a more macroeconomic focus (growth, development, finance). They are also more likely to be risk-averse.45 The lack of knowledge of the vast selection of areas within economics when students are first introduced to the subject can be problematic. Addressing this is one potential solution.46 45 Nancy Ammon Jianakoplos and Alexandra Bernasek, “Are Women More Risk- Averse?,” Economic Inquiry 36, no. 4 (1998): 620–30, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1465-7295.1998.tb01740.x. 46 Lundberg, Women in Economics.
- 26. Chapter One 12 Other reasonsinclude the aforementioned hostile environment, lack of female representation,47 the motherhood penalty,48 and the institutional structure that allows for gender gaps in salary and promotion to persist. Another reason is that females are more likely to select another major after receiving a poor grade in an introductory economics course, whereas males are more likely to continue with the major even after receiving a poor grade.49 The authors of the study found, using 16 years of data from a liberal arts college, that the overall economics GPA for female majors was significantly higher than that for males, reflecting their sensitivity to grades in the introductory course. Janet Yellen, the first female Chair of the Federal Reserve, says that females face obstacles “from the way beginning economics courses are taught to overly aggressive questioning questions in college seminars.”50 Yellen was appointed as Chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018 by President Obama but not reappointed by President Trump. A survey of 1500 professional economists in the U.S. and Canada conducted around 1997 revealed that almost all female economists agreed that there was a “good- old-boy” network in the economics profession.51 Gender differences in promotion are also rampant, with most recent estimates showing that women in economics are 15% less likely to be promoted from assistant professor to associate professor after controlling for publications, citations, 47 Scott E Carrell, Marianne E Page, and James E West, “Sex and Science: How Professor Gender Perpetuates the Gender Gap*,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 125, no. 3 (August 1, 2010): 1101–44, https://doi.org/10.1162/qjec.2010.125.3.1101. 48 Donna K. Ginther, “The Economics of Gender Differences in Employment Outcomes in Academia,” in Biological, Social, and Organizational Components of Success for Women in Academic Science and Engineering, ed. National Academies Press (US) (Washington (DC), 2006), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK23781/. 49 Kevin Rask and Jill Tiefenthaler, “The Role of Grade Sensitivity in Explaining the Gender Imbalance in Undergraduate Economics,” Economics of Education Review 27, no. 6 (2008): 676–87, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2007.09.010. 50 Martin Crutsinger, “Yellen Says Women Face Many Obstacles in Economics Careers,” PBS, March 8, 2021, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/yellen- says-women-face-many-obstacles-in-economics-careers. 51 William L Davis, “Economists’ Perceptions of Their Own Research: A Survey of the Profession,” The American Journal of Economics and Sociology 56, no. 2 (May 19, 1997): 159–72, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3487253; Wolfers, “Why Women’s Voices Are Scarce in Economics.”
- 27. Higher Education Challenges:Women in Economics 13 grants, and grant dollars.52 This does not take into account the lower likelihood female economists have of publishing and the higher standard they face.53 In economics, males are tenured at approximately the same rate regardless of whether or not they coauthor. Females, on the other hand, are less likely to receive tenure the more they coauthor.54 Why We Should Care “[There is] evidence that it is important to include both men and women economists at the table when formulating and debating economic policy. If demographic differences such as sex help to shape our views on policy questions, the inclusion of women will expand the debate and enlarge the scope of perspectives.” 55 An important study has shown that choice of major affects occupational sorting; the authors find that females choose majors with lower potential earnings and subsequently sort into jobs with lower potential earnings conditional on their major choice.56 Were it only due to preferences, one might argue that the smaller female representation in the field of economics should not be an issue (although one might wonder where the stark differences in preferences are stemming from). Yet increasingly more evidence points to this not being the case. In the presence of discrimination, optimal matches are not taking place. This should not only appeal to our humanity as being inherently wrong, but from a societal and economic point of view, this leads to a suboptimal solution from a social welfare standpoint. The stagnant nature of the low percentage of female economics majors has potentially led the whole field to stall and not progress as it should. 52 Ginther and Kahn, “Women in Academic Economics: Have We Made Progress?” 53 E Hengel, “Publishing While Female. Are Women Held to Higher Standards? Evidence from Peer Review,” Cambridge Working Papers in Economics (Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge, 2017), https://ideas.repec.org/p/cam/camdae/1753.html. 54 Sarsons et al., “Gender Differences in Recognition for Group Work.” 55 Ann Mari May, David Kucera, and Mary G. McGarvey, “Mind the Gap,” Finance Development, International Monetary Fund 55, no. 2 (2018), https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2018/06/including-more-women- economists-influences-policy-and-research/may.htm. 56 Carolyn Sloane, Erik Hurst, and Dan Black, “A Cross-Cohort Analysis of Human Capital Specialization and the College Gender Wage Gap,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series No. 26348 (2019), https://doi.org/10.3386/w26348.
- 28. Chapter One 14 Female economistsoffer a different perspective; they are more likely to prefer government intervention, to support environmental protection, to view military expenditures as excessive, and to support interdisciplinary research.57 These different views offer more solutions to problems from a policy perspective and encourage debate in order to reach the optimal solution. Fields therefore benefit from diversity and exposure to a variety of opinions, which leads to innovation, creativity, and collaboration, and thus moves the field forward. Public policy choices may therefore be expanded due to the novel views introduced by the female gender.58 Possible Solutions “Ultimately, the solution to there being too few women in the field is to add more women.” 59 Eventually, a change in culture needs to take place so that female economists do not feel marginalized. Seeing female representation among faculty is important for female students in deciding on a major. In fact, a higher share of female faculty is correlated with a higher share of female students graduating six years later.60 Yet there is the so-called “leaky pipeline,”61 which begins from societal gender differences at a young age and leads to fewer female economics majors, fewer female economics Ph.D.s, and subsequently fewer female faculty members in economics. In 57 May, Kucera, and McGarvey, “Mind the Gap.” 58 Ann Mari May, Mary G. McGarvey, and Robert Whaples, “Are Disagreements among Male and Female Economists Marginal Atbest? A Survey of AEA Members and Their Views on Economics and Economic Policy,” Contemporary Economic Policy 32, no. 1 (January 1, 2014): 111–32, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.12004; Lundberg, Women in Economics. 59 Larry Bean and Darcy Rollins Saas, “It’s a Good Time to Be a Woman in Economics,” Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, March 25, 2021, https://www.bostonfed.org/news-and-events/news/2021/03/research-womens- history-month-advice.aspx. 60 Galina Hale and Tali Regev, “Gender Ratios at Top PhD Programs in Economics,” Economics of Education Review 41 (2014): 55–70, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2014.03.007. 61 Shelly Lundberg, “Report: Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP),” American Economic Review 107, no. 5 (2017): 759–76, https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.107.5.759; Kasey Buckles, “Fixing the Leaky Pipeline: Strategies for Making Economics Work for Women at Every Stage,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 33, no. 1 (2019): 43–60, https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.33.1.43.
- 29. Higher Education Challenges:Women in Economics 15 order to progress, the field of economics needs more majors at the undergraduate level – and yet this is not happening. It has been shown that in societies where gender social norms are well-established, both females and males suffer, in that they are forced into roles they would not otherwise have chosen for themselves. 62 (This, an economist would argue, is economically inefficient, leading to a poor match between an individual’s skills and their careers and in turn hurting the economy.) A field experiment shows that female representation matters. Students in the experimental group were exposed to successful women who majored in economics at the same university. The intervention significantly impacted female students’ enrollment in further economics classes, increasing the probability of majoring in economics by 8 percentage points, almost doubling the number of majors.63 Representation on its own, however, is insufficient. This has only been shown to make a substantial difference when cultural norms supporting diversity and inclusion are well-established.64 The culture needs to change if we want to see change happen. Potential solutions include the following: (1) Better information. Providing undergraduate student with more information about the vast selection of areas within economics at an early stage can increase female representation. 65 This can be achieved through improving course information, providing more relevant instructional content, and offering comprehensive career counseling. (2) Encouragement. Female students can be encouraged directly to major in economics or through the presence of role models.66 (3) Mentoring. Intensive mentoring programs should be offered at each stage of the trajectory from first-year undergraduate student to full professor, to address the leaky pipeline. 67 An example is the 62 Núria Rodríguez-Planas and Natalia Nollenberger, “Let the Girls Learn! It Is Not Only about Math … It’s about Gender Social Norms,” Economics of Education Review 62 (2018): 230–53, https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.11.006. 63 Catherine Porter and Danila Serra, “Gender Differences in the Choice of Major: The Importance of Female Role Models,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 12, no. 3 (2020): 226–54, https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20180426. 64 Justus A Baron et al., “Representation Is Not Sufficient for Selecting Gender Diversity,” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series No. 28649 (2021), https://doi.org/10.3386/w28649. 65 Lundberg, Women in Economics; Tatyana Avilova and Claudia Goldin, “What Can UWE Do for Economics?,” AEA Papers and Proceedings 108 (2018): 186–90, https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20181103. 66 Hale and Regev, “Gender Ratios at Top PhD Programs in Economics.” 67 Lundberg, Women in Economics.
- 30. Chapter One 16 mentoring programoffered to junior and mid-career female economists by the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP). (4) Awareness of implicit bias. Workshops offered by universities for both students and faculty on implicit bias can raise awareness of the differential assessment of men and women, as well as other marginalized groups. (5) Awareness of consequences. Noting that not addressing the lack of female representation in the field “limits our collective ability to understand familiar issues from new and innovative perspectives”68 helps shed light on the ramifications that ignoring this issue can have. (6) Early intervention. Empowering girls at a very young age can ensure that gender norms are not established prior to schooling.69 There are several initiatives that are raising awareness about the importance of females in economics. The largest organization advocating for women in this context is the Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP), established by the American Economic Association in 1971. Other examples include the Feminist Economics journal (started in 1994), a Women in Economics podcast series at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis,70 a Women in Economics Initiative created by the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), 71 the Marginal Revolution University web page on Women in Economics,72 as well as active Women in Economics student organizations at Yale University,73 the University of California at Berkeley,74 and Harvard.75 These initiatives and organizations can help move the needle forward in a positive direction. They have already shed light on the issue and shown, through careful experimentation, that many of the offered solutions work. Economics is an extremely important field for policy and global 68 Bayer and Rouse, “Diversity in the Economics Profession: A New Attack on an Old Problem.” 69 Rodríguez-Planas and Nollenberger, “Let the Girls Learn! It Is Not Only about Math … It’s about Gender Social Norms.” 70 Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis., “Women in Economics Podcast Series,” 2021, https://www.stlouisfed.org/timely-topics/women-in-economics. 71 Centre for Economic Policy Research, “Women in Economics,” 2021, https://cepr.org/content/women-economics. 72 Marginal Revolution University, “Women in Economics,” 2021, https://learn.mru.org/women-economics-series/. 73 Department of Economics, “Women in Economics,” Yale University, 2021, https://economics.yale.edu/eventsseminars/women-in-economics. 74 Berkeley University of California, “Undergraduate Women in Economics,” 2021, https://uweb.berkeley.edu/. 75 Claudia Goldin, “Undergraduate Women in Economics,” Harvard University, 2021, https://scholar.harvard.edu/goldin/UWE.
- 31. Higher Education Challenges:Women in Economics 17 sustainability; females can offer new perspectives and encourage collaboration through interdisciplinary work. As educators, we must be concerned not only for the future of our students but that of the health of the world. Addressing this issue through the simple, relatively inexpensive solutions mentioned above would be a step in the right direction. Bibliography Acemoglu, Daron, David Laibson, and John List. Economics. 2nd ed. New York: Pearson, 2017. American Economic Association. “AEA Code of Professional Conduct.” April 2018, 2018. https://www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/code-of-conduct. —. “Statement of the AEA Executive Committee.” October 2017, 2017. https://www.aeaweb.org/news/statement-of-the-aea-executive- committee-oct-20-2017. Antecol, Heather, Kelly Bedard, and Jenna Stearns. “Equal but Inequitable: Who Benefits from Gender-Neutral Tenure Clock Stopping Policies?” American Economic Review 108, no. 9 (2018): 2420–41. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20160613. Avilova, Tatyana, and Claudia Goldin. “What Can UWE Do for Economics?” AEA Papers and Proceedings 108 (2018): 186–90. https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20181103. Babcock, Linda, Maria P Recalde, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie Weingart. “Gender Differences in Accepting and Receiving Requests for Tasks with Low Promotability.” American Economic Review 107, no. 3 (2017): 714–47. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20141734. Bade, Robin, and Michael Parkin. Foundations of Economics. 8th ed. New York: Pearson, 2017. Baron, Justus A, Bernhard Ganglmair, Nicola Persico, Timothy Simcoe, and Emanuele Tarantino. “Representation Is Not Sufficient for Selecting Gender Diversity.” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series No. 28649 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3386/w28649. Bayer, Amanda, and Cecilia Elena Rouse. “Diversity in the Economics Profession: A New Attack on an Old Problem.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 30, no. 4 (2016): 221–42. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.30.4.221. Bean, Larry, and Darcy Rollins Saas. “It’s a Good Time to Be a Woman in Economics.” Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, March 25, 2021. https://www.bostonfed.org/news-and-events/news/2021/03/research- womens-history-month-advice.aspx. Buckles, Kasey. “Fixing the Leaky Pipeline: Strategies for Making
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- 34. Chapter One 20 face-in-the-field-2019-10-14. Jianakoplos, NancyAmmon, and Alexandra Bernasek. “Are Women More Risk-Averse?” Economic Inquiry 36, no. 4 (1998): 620–30. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1465- 7295.1998.tb01740.x. Krugman, Paul, and Robin Wells. Economics. 4th ed. New York: Worth Publishers, 2015. Lewis, Margaret, and Kimmarie McGoldrick. “Moving Beyond the Masculine Neoclassical Classroom.” Feminist Economics 7, no. 2 (January 1, 2001): 91–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/13545700110059252. Lundberg, Shelly. “Report: Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession (CSWEP).” American Economic Review 107, no. 5 (2017): 759–76. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.107.5.759. —. ed. Women in Economics. VOXeu CEPR, 2020. https://voxeu.org/content/women-economics. Lundberg, Shelly, and Jenna Stearns. “Women in Economics: Stalled Progress.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 33, no. 1 (2019): 3–22. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.33.1.3. Mankiw, N. Gregory. Principles of Microeconomics. 8th ed. Boston: Cengage, 2018. Marginal Revolution University. “Women in Economics,” 2021. https://learn.mru.org/women-economics-series/. May, Ann Mari, David Kucera, and Mary G. McGarvey. “Mind the Gap.” Finance Development, International Monetary Fund 55, no. 2 (2018). https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2018/06/including-more- women-economists-influences-policy-and-research/may.htm. May, Ann Mari, Mary G. McGarvey, and Robert Whaples. “Are Disagreements among Male and Female Economists Marginal Atbest? A Survey of AEA Members and Their Views on Economics and Economic Policy.” Contemporary Economic Policy 32, no. 1 (January 1, 2014): 111–32. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.12004. McConnell, Campbell R., Stanley L. Brue, and Sean Masaki Flynn. Economics: Principles, Problems, and Policies. New York: McGraw Hill Education, 2017. Parkin, Michael. Economics. 12th ed. New York: Pearson, 2015. Porter, Catherine, and Danila Serra. “Gender Differences in the Choice of Major: The Importance of Female Role Models.” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics 12, no. 3 (2020): 226–54. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.20180426. Rask, Kevin, and Jill Tiefenthaler. “The Role of Grade Sensitivity in Explaining the Gender Imbalance in Undergraduate Economics.”
- 35. Higher Education Challenges:Women in Economics 21 Economics of Education Review 27, no. 6 (2008): 676–87. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2007.09.010. RePEc. “Female Representation in Economics, as of April 2021,” 2021. https://ideas.repec.org/top/female.html. Rodríguez-Planas, Núria, and Natalia Nollenberger. “Let the Girls Learn! It Is Not Only about Math … It’s about Gender Social Norms.” Economics of Education Review 62 (2018): 230–53. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.11.006. Sahm, Claudia. “Economics Is a Disgrace.” macromom blog, 2020. https://macromomblog.com/2020/07/29/economics-is-a-disgrace/. Sarsons, Heather, Klarita Gërxhani, Ernesto Reuben, and Arthur Schram. “Gender Differences in Recognition for Group Work.” Journal of Political Economy 129, no. 1 (August 28, 2020): 101–47. https://doi.org/10.1086/711401. Sloane, Carolyn, Erik Hurst, and Dan Black. “A Cross-Cohort Analysis of Human Capital Specialization and the College Gender Wage Gap.” National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series No. 26348 (2019). https://doi.org/10.3386/w26348. Stevenson, Betsey, and Hanna Zlotnik. “Representations of Men and Women in Introductory Economics Textbooks.” AEA Papers and Proceedings 108 (2018): 180–85. https://doi.org/10.1257/pandp.20181102. Symons, Lesley, and Herminia Ibarra. “What the Scarcity of Women in Business Case Studies Really Looks Like.” Harvard Business Review, 2014. https://hbr.org/2014/04/what-the-scarcity-of-women-in-business- case-studies-really-looks-like. Tajfel, Henri, and John C Turner. The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior. Political Psychology: Key Readings. Key Readings in Social Psychology. New York, NY, US: Psychology Press, 2004. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203505984-16. University of California, Berkeley. “Undergraduate Women in Economics,” 2021. https://uweb.berkeley.edu/. Wolfers, Justin. “Why Women’s Voices Are Scarce in Economics.” New York Times, February 2, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/business/why-womens-voices- are-scarce-in-economics.html. Wu, Alice. “Gender Stereotype in Academia: Evidence from Economics Job Market Rumors Forum.” Working Papers. Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing., 2017. https://ideas.repec.org/p/pri/cheawb/2017-09.html.
- 36. CHAPTER TWO SUPPORTING INCLUSIVEPRACTICES WITHIN AN ONLINE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION FAWZIA REZA, ERIN MAURER, AND KENNETH JANDES Abstract Diversity is rapidly increasing within the United States. As we move from a “melting pot” to a “salad bowl” analogy, it has become important to promote awareness of diversity and inclusion practices within educational institutions that serve adult learners. This chapter will share research-based strategies that can be implemented, within an asynchronous (online) learning platform, to create an equitable environment for all stakeholders. Keywords: Online Platform, Inclusion, Diversity, Students, Representation, Equity Introduction The South Regional Educational Board describes an adult learner as someone who is 25 and older and might be from diverse educational or cultural backgrounds.1 One of the salient characteristics of adult learners is that they typically look for online learning, because they have additional responsibilities such as work or family obligations. This is consistent with Connell who describes adult learners as those individuals who “have a multitude of roles in addition to that of a traditional student. They may be employed full-time, have family responsibilities, and be involved in 1 Southern Regional Education Board, “Who is the Adult Learner,” accessed on April 1, 2021, https://www.sreb.org/general-information/who-adult-learner.
- 37. Supporting Inclusive Practiceswithin an Online Educational Institution 23 volunteer activities.”2 Taylor, Marienau, and Fiddler add that “the major difference between adults and younger learners is the wealth of their experience. They have seen, been, and done. They have personal history … they have work history ... they have social history.3 In the last few decades, there has been an increased interest in andragogy, which is the study of how adults learn. The word andragogy is derived from a Greek word andr, which means man, and agogos, which translates to leader of. Therefore, andragogy is the study of adult learning. Knowles’ Andragogical Model furthered the concept of andragogy and contrasted it with pedagogy, which is the art of teaching children.4 Knowles introduced a set of assumptions or characteristics regarding adult learners including they are self-directed, experience-laden, goal-oriented, relevancy- oriented and problem-centered. Knowles’ theory has been criticized by Brookfield who believed that the concept of self-directed learning is “culture blind” because it does not acknowledge how a person’s culture, history or society shapes them.5 Brookfield also criticizes Knowles theory because he never considered, “the organizational and social impediments to adult learning; he never painted the ‘big picture.’ He chose the mechanistic over the meaningful.” Notwithstanding, Knowles is often cited as the most comprehensive model to explain how adults learn. Mezirow introduced the transformative theory in 1978, which adds to Knowles’ model.6 He suggested that adult learners make sense of their surroundings and consider how social and other structures might influence their thinking. They can modify meanings depending on the context and can transform their thinking based on new information via critical thinking and reflection. Schools play a major role in facilitating transformational learning opportunities for students by allowing them to engage in robust discussions in a safe environment, where they are provided opportunities to reflect on their assumptions, beliefs, and perspectives regarding the world around 2 Jane Connell, Adult Learner Barriers and Strategies in Process-based Learning within Higher Education, (PhD diss., University of South Australia. School of Education, 2008), 8, https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/31865955 3 Kathleen Taylor, Catherine Marienau, and Morris Fiddler, Developing Adult Learners: Strategies for Teachers and Trainers (New York: Jossey-Bass, 2000), 7. 4 Malcolm Knowles, Andragogy, not Pedagogy, Adult Leadership 16, No. 10 (1968), 350-352. 5 Stephan Brookfield, Racializing the Discourse of Adult Education, Harvard Educational Review 73, No. 4 (2003), 497-523, https:/doi.org/10.17763/haer.73.4.a54508r0464863u2. 6 John Mezirow, “Prospective Transformation,” Adult Education 28 (1978): 100- 111. https://doi.org/10.1177/074171367802800202.
- 38. Chapter Two 24 them. However,the transformative theory has also been criticized because it does not account for cultural differences with respect to how comfortable students might be to share their thoughts and ideas with teachers or other learners.7 While adult learners enrolled in an adult learning program are generally motivated, they sometimes encounter barriers that impede their success. Laackman identifies some of these barriers including financial challenges, academic readiness, and personal and professional time constraints.8 Educators should understand how to meet the needs of adult learners and create a learning environment suitable for all students that is meaningful, effective and enhances collaboration and critical thinking. The principles of andragogy can be extended to the milieu of online learning and provide a framework to facilitate success within asynchronous learning platforms.9 10 Students in the 21st century are networked.11 In simplest terms, this means that they gain information from interactions with different sources including teachers, peers, and the media. Asynchronous and synchronous communication techniques are important ways of networking.12 Although the significance of the networked student is very relevant in how information is gained and processed, educators must ensure that the teaching method is tailored to adult students’ unique needs, and one size fits all approach is not utilized. 7 “Adult Learning Theories and Principles,” Western Governors University (blog), April 7, 2020, https://www.wgu.edu/blog/adult-learning-theories-principles2004.html. 8 Donald Laackman, “The Hope Gap: Helping Adult Students Overcome Barriers to Fulfilling Careers,” Higher Ed Today, April 30, 2018, https://www.higheredtoday.org/2018/04/30/hope-gap-helping-adult-students- overcome-barriers-fulfilling-careers/. 9 Wendy Conaway and Barbara Zorn-Arnold, “The Keys to Online Learning for Adults: The Six Principles of Andragogy, Part II,” Distance Learning 13, no. 1 (2016): 1-6 10 Ryan Tainsh, “Thoughtfully Designed Online Courses as Effective Adult Learning Tools,” Journal of Adult Education 45, no. 1 (2016): 7-9. 11 Wendy Drexler, “The Networked Student Model for Construction of Personal Learning Environments: Balancing Teacher Control and Student Autonomy,” Australasian Journal of Educational Technology 26, no. 3 (2010), https://doi.org/10.14742/ajet.1081. 12 Vincent Salyers, “The Use of Scaffolding and Interactive Learning Strategies in Online Courses for Working Nurses: Implications for Adult and Online Education,” Canadian Journal of University Continuing Education 40, no. 1 (2014, Spring): 1- 19, https://doi.org/10.21225/D59S3Z.
- 39. Supporting Inclusive Practiceswithin an Online Educational Institution 25 History of Adult Education The concept of adult education is not a recent phenomenon. During the colonial period, the primary form of adult education was via a learning apprenticeship, wherein a master taught a trade to a young student in exchange for virtually free labor.13 However, as early as 1727, Benjamin Franklin founded a small club, Junto, in which he and five other members would meet once a week for the purpose of “mutual improvement” and share different perspectives regarding moral, political, or philosophical.14 In 1926, Lindeman played a pivotal role in advancing the current concept of adult education.15 According to him, adult education is a co-operative venture in nonauthoritarian, informal learning - the chief purpose of which is to discover the meaning of experience.16 Based on this definition, adult education is the process of imparting knowledge and skills that can assist adults in making decisions that they face as they interact with different people with varying perspectives. Lindeman’s concept of adult education was to advocate for the improvement and advancement of methods of social action not merely teaching content subjects to master.17 The Adult Education Act (AEA) of 1966 is considered a landmark legislation for adult learners because it was the first formal effort by the Federal Government to promote adult education for other than vocational or training reasons.18 The law encourages states to develop, manage, and sustain education programs for adults. The Workforce Investment Act (WIA)19 repealed the AEA in 1998, and then in 2014, the WIA was replaced by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).20 All these legislative efforts promoted education and training programs to ensure that our adults are ready to work effectively in their workplaces. Online and 13 Phillip Scott, “The Adult Education Movement,” University of Notre Dame, accessed on April 15, 2021, https://www3.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/adult-ed.html. 14 Scott, “The Adult.” 15 Eduard C. Lindeman, The Meaning of Adult Education. (New York: New Republic, 1926). 16 Stephen Brookfield, Understanding and Facilitating Adult Learning: A Comprehensive Analysis of Principles and Effective Practices. (United Kingdom: McGraw-Hill Education, 1986), 7. 17 Lindeman, The Meaning. 18 Adult Education Act, Pub. L. No. 89-750, 80 Stat. 1191-1222 (1966), http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/89/hr13161. 19 Workforce Investment Act, Pub. L. No. 105-220, 29 U.S.C. §2801 (1998), http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/105/hr1385. 20 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Pub. L. No. 113-128 (2014), https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr803.
- 40. Chapter Two 26 distance educationfurther promotes access for adults to pursue higher education without stepping into a brick-and-mortar educational institution. Distance Learning and Online Learning Platforms Distance education is defined as a method of teaching where the student and teacher are physically separated.21 Although many associate distance learning with the invention of the computer, distance learning has been prevalent well before computers were invented. For example, in 1728, Caleb Phillips, a shorthand teacher, put an advertisement in the Boston Gazette offering mail-based tutoring services.22 In 1859, the University of London became the first university that allowed students to “study privately and take exams without coming to London.”23 In 1873, Ana Eliot Ticknor established the first official correspondence education program, Society to Encourage Home Studies.24 Even the term “distance education” was first coined in an 1892 pamphlet published by the University of Wisconsin– Madison.25 While earlier distance learning courses were offered mainly through the postal service, television, or radios, the invention of computers has greatly impacted how education is offered to students. Garrison proposed the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework for educators teaching online courses.26 This theoretical framework provides educators guidelines to create a robust and interactive learning experience that foster critical thinking, reflection, and inquiry through three interdependent elements including social, cognitive, and teaching 21 Hope Kentnor, “Distance Education and the Evolution of Online Learning in the United States,” Teaching and Curriculum Dialogue 17, nos. 1 and 2 (August 2015): 21-34, https://www.infoagepub.com/products/Curriculum-and-Teaching-Dialogue- Vol-17. 22 “The Evolution of Distance Learning,” Tulane University School of Professional Advancement (blog), accessed on April 5, 2021, https://sopa.tulane.edu/blog/evolution-distance-learning. 23 University of London, “History of the University of London,” accessed on April 5, 2021, https://london.ac.uk/about-us/history-university-london. 24 Gail Caruth and Donald Caruth, “Distance Education in the United States: From Correspondence Courses to the Internet,” Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education 14, no. 2 (2013): 141-149, https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/tojde/issue/16896/176051. 25 David Ferrer, “History of Online Education,” The Best Schools, July 17, 2019, https://thebestschools.org/magazine/online-education-history/. 26 D. Randy Garrison, E-learning in the 21st Century: A Community of Inquiry Framework for Research and Practice (New York: Routledge, 2016).
- 41. Supporting Inclusive Practiceswithin an Online Educational Institution 27 presence. Visible and frequent presence on the learning platform, which can be divided into three distinct roles, provides members of the community of inquiry opportunities to share and communicate their views with peers and interact freely within the course. Social presence builds a robust classroom community. As students interact with their peers and the instructor, they project their full potential and personalities to others that promotes a sense of belonging. Cognitive presence is when members of the community of inquiry construct better understanding of the course content through sustained discourse and reflection. Teaching presence allows educators to design and facilitate learning in such a manner that students find learning meaningful and are actively involved in their learning to develop critical thinking and a higher level of understanding. Online learning is growing rapidly, and it is now the fastest-growing form of distance education.27 28 29 Students who attend online or distance learning are from different countries and time zones. They are increasingly completing degree programs instead of one-off courses because online education allows them flexibility and the convenience of economically gaining qualifications without traveling or incurring expenses of leaving their home. 30 31 According to a Pew Research Center study, 39% of the respondents opined that an online course offers equal educational value as one taken physically on campus, whereas 27% of the respondents, who had not taken 27 I. Elaine Allen, Jeff Seaman, Russell Poulin, and Terri Taylor Straut, Online Report Card: Tracking Online Education in the United States (Babson Park, MA: Babson Survey Research Group and Quahog Research Group, 2016), https://www.bayviewanalytics.com/reports/onlinereportcard.pdf. 28 Scott A. Ginder, Janice E. Kelly-Reid, and Farrah B. Mann. “Enrollment and Employees in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2017; and Financial Statistics and Academic Libraries, Fiscal Year 2017: First Look (Provisional Data), National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, last modified January 22, 2019, https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2019021REV. 29 Kentnor, “Distance Education.” 30 Agi Horspool and Carsten Lange, “Applying the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Student Perceptions, Behaviours, and Success Online and Face-to-Face,” Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 37, no. 1 (2012): 73-88, https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2010.496532. 31 Albert Sanchez-Gelabert, Riccardo Valente, and Josep M. Duart, “Profiles of Online Students and the Impact of Their University Experience,” The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning 21, no. 3 (2020), https://doi.org/10.19173/irrodl.v21i3.4784.
- 42. Chapter Two 28 an onlinecourse, thought that online courses offer equal educational value.32 Technology has allowed educators to critically evaluate how they deliver instruction, especially on an online platform. An effective environment for adult learners provides students with meaningful interactions with the professor and the peers.33 Robust interactions allow adult learners to share their expertise, experience, and knowledge with one another and create collaborative skills and critical thinking. In a teacher-centered classroom, the teacher dominates the classroom: a sage on the stage. However, in a student-centric classroom, the teacher’s job is to scaffold students by allowing them to be actively participating in their learning process.34 This is especially important for students enrolled in an online learning platform because the Learning Management System (LMS) platform allows teachers to create opportunities for greater collaborative work. It is important to take a systematic approach when designing or delivering instructions to an adult learner.35 This means that educators should focus not only on course content, but on the delivery mechanism, as well. The authors of this chapter are affiliated with an online college, which incorporates a multi-pronged approach to maintain high-quality interactions among its faculty, students, and students’ peers. American College of Education (ACE), whose headquarters are in Indiana (United States), utilizes a “blueprint” approach to design its courses. The approach is based on a simple, yet very effective, process which establishes the same fundamental framework for all courses. This allows students and faculty the advantage of not having to relearn a new framework for each course. Therefore, the only changes among courses are content, scholarly readings, and what is called the instructor’s “fingerprint” in the course – at least two personalized features implemented by the instructor, such as a weekly Zoom 32 Parker, Kim and Amanda Lenhart. The Digital Revolution and Higher Education (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, August 28, 2011), https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2011/08/28/the-digital-revolution-and- higher-education/. 33 Larry DeBrock, Norma Scagnoli, and Fataneh Taghaboni-Dutta, “The Human Element in Online Learning,” Inside Higher Ed, March 18, 2020, https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2020/03/18/how-make-online-learning- more-intimate-and-engaging-students-opinion. 34 Daniel Guberman, “Student-Centered Teaching,” Purdue Repository for Online Teaching and Learning, 2020, https://www.purdue.edu/innovativelearning/supporting- instruction/portal/files/19_Student_Centered_Teaching.pdf. 35 Northern Illinois University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, “Course Design: A Systematic Approach,” accessed April 5, 2021, https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide/course-design.shtml.
- 43. Supporting Inclusive Practiceswithin an Online Educational Institution 29 meeting where students can assemble with the instructor and other members of the class to “see” and get to know one another by interacting in a fun and casual atmosphere. Other examples are documents or photographs drawn from the instructor’s professional experiences, or audio narratives to supplement typed introductions. The fingerprints allow the instructor to personalize and enhance the course material and the learning occurring via the online platform. The structure of all courses contains the same five elements: 1) an interactive discussion board to which students must post twice weekly and from which each student must react to another student’s post at least once weekly. Instructors are also required to interact with students on the discussion boards; 2) weekly application-based assignments that build upon the prior assignments in the course; 3) critical rubric-based feedback from the instructor on all assignments. This feedback from instructors is individualized for the student based on each student’s academic needs; 4) scholarly readings from current professional journals and published within the last five years, except for seminal works; and 5) an email system inside the LMS where the instructor and the student can communicate as often as needed related to questions about assignments, APA references, or other meaningful course inquiries. Melting Pot vs. Salad Bowl The melting pot phenomenon described by Erikson36 expresses a social covenant of the United States, wherein various ethnic groups blended into a stronger and more united country. This was based on the analogy that most metals could be strengthened by melting them and then adding additional ingredients to make the mix stronger and tougher. However, the melting pot theory requires immigrants to give up their identity and assimilate into the greater whole of the American society. Such thinking is an antithesis of the American ideal of liberty and justice for all. A new concept of accommodation endorsed by the Cultural Pluralist perspective has recently emerged.37 The melting pot analogy has been replaced with a salad bowl analogy, which is based on the premise that immigrants that moved to the United States can retain their identity and yet become an important part of 36 Erik H. Erikson, Childhood and Society (New York, NY: W. W. Norton Company, 1993). 37 Fawzia Reza, Experiences and Expectations of Immigrant Pakistani Parents Regarding Parental Involvement in School, PhD diss., California State University, Long Beach, 2013.
- 44. Chapter Two 30 the U.S.society.38 Just like a tomato can remain a tomato and yet add flavor to a salad, immigrants can retain their identity and culture and yet become an integral and productive member of the U.S. society. The salad bowl concept allows educators to be more appreciative of other cultures and embrace diversity, so that students from diverse backgrounds do not need to feel invisible or mute their identities to fit in. As we move from the melting pot dynamics to a salad bowl analogy, it has become increasingly important to promote greater awareness of diversity and inclusion practices. This means that all of us should become more cognizant of our blind spots and address them. Racial intolerance creates segregation and promotes xenophobia. The salad bowl model allows for more tolerant views of other people and cultures.39 While inequities due to differences are still present in our educational system, embracing the salad bowl analogy, wherein tolerance, diversity, and uniqueness of individuals are appreciated, can create a more equitable and productive learning environment. The salad bowl model is equally applicable to online institutions where student diversity can promote students’ growth and development in cognitive, affective, and interpersonal domains. When students from diverse cultures and backgrounds share their experiences with their fellow peers, it develops empathy for those who are different, and offers an insight into diverse perspectives, which can spark greater creativity. However, to accomplish this, educators must understand how to use their student’s knowledge and experiences to enhance learning opportunities. Barriers to Diverse Adult Learner Participation Although online distance education provides adult learners with the opportunity to gain education, several challenges limit their engagement in the educational opportunities afforded by this platform. These might include non-fluency in the language of instruction, hesitancy in remotely interacting with their peers, discomfort in using a computer platform, poor internet connection or outdated equipment, and unfamiliarity with the software program. Several general challenges faced by adult learners and possible solutions to these have been explored by other researchers (see Reza40 for 38 Reza, “Experiences.” 39 Stephen Morin, “Is America a Melting Pot or a Salad Bowl,” VoiceTube (blog), accessed April 12, 2021, https://www.blog.voicetube.com/archives/56485. 40 Fawzia Reza, “Parenting Styles and Discipline Strategies of Immigrants: A Qualitative Study,” Universal Journal of Educational Research 8, no. 12B (2020): 8402-8410, https://www.hrpub.org/journals/article_info.php?aid=10375.
- 45. Other documents randomlyhave different content
- 46. mode of speakinghere used, when it is said, He hath hardened their hearts, it imports nothing else but his leaving them to the hardness of their own hearts, or denying them heart-softening grace, which would have been an effectual remedy against it. And may not God deny his grace to sinners, without being charged as the author of sin, or the blame thereof devolved on him, and not themselves? And, since this judicial act of providence cannot but be the result of an eternal purpose, is there any thing, in this decree, that reflects on his perfections, any more than there is in the execution thereof? There is another scripture, in Prov. xvi. 4. The Lord hath made all things for himself; yea, even the wicked for the day of evil; from whence they infer, that the doctrine of reprobation, which they suppose to be founded on a perverse sense given of it, includes in it the divine purpose to make man to damn him; for they conclude that we understand it in that sense; and they proceed a little farther than this, and pretend that we infer from it, that God made men wicked, or that he made them wicked for his glory, as if he had need of sinful man for that end. I should never have thought that so vile a consequence could be drawn from this doctrine, if the learned writer, before mentioned, had not told the world that we infer this from it; [216] and, to give countenance to this suggestion, he quotes a passage out of Dr. Twiss;[217] his words are these: “That all, besides the elect, God hath ordained to bring them forth into the world in their corrupt mass, and to permit them to themselves, to go on in their own ways, and so finally to persevere in sin; and, lastly, to damn them for their sin, for the manifestation of the glory of his justice on them.” I am not ashamed to own my very great esteem of this excellently learned and pious writer, who was as considerable for that part of learning, which his works discover him to have been conversant in, as most in his day; though I cannot think myself obliged, in every respect, to explain this doctrine as he does; and Dr. Whitby knew very well, that if such an inference, as what we have been speaking of, were to be deduced from the writings of any, who maintain the doctrine of reprobation, it must be from one who gives into the
- 47. Supralapsarian way ofexplaining it; and this expression, which, it may be, was a little unguarded, seems to bid as fair for it as any other he could have found out: But any one that reads it, without prejudice, and especially that compares it with what is connected therewith, would not suppose that any thing is intended hereby, that gives the least ground to conclude that God made men wicked for the manifestation of his justice. The most obnoxious part of this quotation, is, God ordained to bring forth into the world the non- elect, in their corrupt mass, that is, that persons, who are every day born into the world, are the seed of corrupt and fallen man, and so have the habits of sin propagated with their nature, which many other divines have endeavoured to maintain. What my sentiments are concerning this matter, I shall rather choose to insist on, under a following answer, in which we shall be lead to speak of the doctrine of original sin, and of that corruption of nature, which is the consequence of it; therefore, passing this by, there is nothing, in what remains of this quotation, but what is very defensible, and far from making God the author of sin; for we may observe, that all he says, concerning the providence of God relating to this matter, is only, that he permits, or leaves them to themselves, and he supposes them finally to persevere in sin, without which they cannot be liable to damnation, or the display of the justice of God therein; and if the author, who brings this quotation, had duly considered the words immediately before, he might have seen the reason to have saved himself the trouble of making this reflection upon it; for Dr. Twiss, who, though a Supralapsarian, says, “That he reckons that controversy, relating to the order of God’s decrees, to be merely Apex Logicus, as he calls it, a logical nicety;” and adds, “That his opinion about it is well known, namely, that God doth not ordain any man to damnation, before the consideration of sin;” and, a few lines after, he says, “That God, of his mere pleasure, created all, but, of his mere pleasure, he damneth none; but every one that is damned, is damned for his sin, and that wilfully committed, and contumaciously continued in by them that come to ripe years.” And if nothing more than this is intended by the doctrine of reprobation, it
- 48. ought not tobe so misrepresented, with a design to cast an odium upon it. But to return to the scripture but now mentioned: When God is said to have made the wicked for the day of evil, the meaning is not that man’s damnation was the end designed by God, in creating him, for there are some other ideas that intervene between God’s purpose to create and condemn him; he must be considered not barely as a creature, but as a sinner; now, as God did not create man that he might sin, he could not be said to create him, that he might condemn him. Accordingly, the sense which some give of this text, is, that God is said to have made all things for himself, to wit, for his own glory. And inasmuch as some will be ready to object, that God will have no glory from the wicked, who oppose his name and interest in the world; the answer to this is, that in them, from whom he shall have no glory, as a Saviour, he will, notwithstanding, be glorified as a Judge; which judicial act, though it be deferred for a time, while his long-suffering waits upon them, yet it shall fall heavily on them, in the day of evil: which is very remote from that supposition, that God made man to damn him. And there is a sense given of it by some, who are on the other side of the question, which seems equally probable, or agreeable to the mind of the Holy Ghost, and is not in the least subversive of the doctrine we are maintaining, namely, “That the Lord disposeth all things throughout the world, to serve such ends as he thinks fit to design, which they cannot refuse to comply withal; for if any man be so wicked as to oppose his will, he will not lose their service; but when he brings a public calamity upon a country, employ them to be the executioners of his wrath: Of this there was a remarkable instance in the destruction of Jerusalem, by the Roman soldiers, whom our Saviour used, to punish his crucifiers, not that they undertook that war out of any design or desire to do our blessed Saviour right, but out of an ambition to enslave the world; yet God made use of them for another design, as public executioners, by whom he punished the ungodly[218] .” So the Assyrian is said, in Isa. x. 5, 6. to be the rod of God’s anger, and to be sent against the people of Israel, and to lead
- 49. them captive, andtherein to tread them down, like the mire in the streets[219] . And as to what concerns the purpose of God, on which these judicial proceedings depend, this is to be judged of by the execution thereof, as is evidently to be inferred from thence. And this is the sense in which we understand the doctrine of reprobation, as in the foregoing argument. Thus we have endeavoured to prove the doctrine of election and reprobation, and defend it from the reproaches and misrepresentations cast upon it by considering it, not only as agreeable to the divine perfections, but as founded on scripture. We shall therefore proceed, VI. To enquire, whether the contrary doctrine as defended by some, be not derogatory to the divine perfections, and therefore does not contain greater absurdities; or, if expressions of detestation were a sufficient argument to set it aside, whether we have not as much reason to testify our dislike that way, as they have against the doctrine we are maintaining? As to that part of the charge brought against us, as though we represented God as severe and cruel to his creatures; or that it is inconsistent with his goodness to suppose that he leaves any to themselves in their fallen state, so as not to give them the means of grace, when he knew that being destitute thereof, they could not believe, and so would fall short of salvation, pursuant to his eternal purpose relating thereunto: can this be said to be inconsistent with his goodness, any more than all his other displays of vindictive justice? If they suppose that it is, we might easily retort the argument upon them since they will not assert, that the whole race of fallen man shall be saved; and, if so, must we not suppose that God certainly fore-knew this, otherwise where is his infinite understanding? And if he knew that this would be the consequence of their being born, and living in the world, where is his goodness in bringing them into it? If it be said that they have a free-will to choose what is good, and so had a power to attain salvation; therefore their not attaining it, is wholly owing to themselves. Suppose this were taken for granted, without entering on that subject at present; yet it must be farther enquired whether
- 50. they will allowthat God fore-know that they would abuse this freedom of will, or power to make themselves holy or happy; and, if so, could he not have prevented this? Did he make a will that he could not govern or restrain? Could he not have prevented the sin that he knew they would commit? And, if he could, why did he not do it, and thereby prevent their ruin, which he knew would be the consequence hereof? So that if men are disposed to find fault with the divine dispensation, it is no difficult matter to invent some methods of reasoning to give umbrage to it; and, indeed this objection is not so much against God’s fore-ordaining what comes to pass, as it is a spurning at his judicial hand, and finding fault with the equity of his proceedings, when he takes vengeance on sinners for their iniquities; or charging severity on God, because all mankind are not the objects of his goodness, and consequently not elected to eternal life. But passing by this, we shall proceed to consider how, in several instances, the methods used to oppose the doctrine, which we are maintaining, are attended with many absurd consequences, derogatory to the divine perfections; which farther discovers the unreasonableness of their opposition to it; particularly, 1. It represents God as indeterminate, or unresolved what to do, which is the plain sense of their asserting that he has not fore- ordained whatever comes to pass. To suppose him destitute of any determination, is directly contrary to his wisdom and sovereignty, and it would argue that there are some excellencies and perfections belonging to intelligent creatures, which are to be denied to him, who is a God of infinite perfection: but if, on the other hand, they suppose that every thing, which comes to pass, is determined by him; nevertheless, that his determinations, as they respect the actions of intelligent creatures, are not certain and peremptory, but such as may be disannulled, or rendered ineffectual as taking his measures from the uncertain determinations of man’s will; this is, in effect to say, that they are not determined by God; for an uncertain determination, or a conditional purpose, cannot properly be called a determination. Thus for God to determine, that he that believes shall
- 51. be saved, withoutresolving to give that faith which is necessary to salvation, is, in effect, not to determine that any shall be saved; for, since they suppose that it is left to man’s free-will to believe or not, and liberty is generally explained by them, as implying that a person might, had he pleased, have done the contrary to that which he is said to do freely; it follows that all mankind might not have believed, and repented, and consequently that they might have missed of salvation, and then the purpose of God, relating thereunto, is the same as though he had been indeterminate, as to that matter. But, if, on the other hand, they suppose that to prevent this disappointment, God over-rules the free actions of men, in order to the accomplishment of his own purpose, then they give up their own cause, and allow us all that we contend for; but this they are not disposed to do; therefore we cannot see how the independency of the divine will can be defended by them, consistently with their method of opposing this doctrine.
- 52. Again, if itbe supposed, as an expedient to fence against this absurd consequence, that God fore-knew what his creatures would do, and that his determinations were the result thereof, and, consequently, that the event is as certain as the divine fore-knowledge, this is what is not universally allowed of by them; for many are sensible that it is as hard to prove, that God fore-knew what must certainly come to pass, without inferring the inevitable necessity of things, as it is to assert that, he willed or determined them, whereby they are rendered eventually necessary. And if they suppose that God fore-knew what his creatures would do, and, particularly, that they would convert themselves, and improve the liberty of their will, so as to render themselves objects fit for divine grace, without supposing that he determined to exert that power and grace, which was necessary thereunto; this is to exclude his providence from having a hand in the government of the world, or to assert that his determinations rather respect what others will do, than what he will enable them to do, which farther appears to be inconsistent with the divine perfections. 2. There are some things, in their method of reasoning, which seem to infer a mutability in God’s purpose which is all one as to suppose, that he had no purpose at all relating to the event of things: Thus, in opposing the doctrine of election, they refer to such-like scriptures as these, namely, that God will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth, 1 Tim. ii. 4. applying this act of the divine will to every individual, even to those who shall not be saved, or come to the knowledge of the truth; and they understand our Saviour’s words, How often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not? Behold your house is left unto you desolate, Mat. xxiii. 37, 38. as implying, that God purposed to save them, but was obliged afterwards, by the perverseness of their actions, to change his purpose. What is this, but to assert him to be dependent and mutable? 3. They, who suppose that salvation is not to be resolved into the power and will of God, must ascribe it to the will of man, by which we determine ourselves to perform those duties, which render us the objects of divine mercy; and then what the apostle says, It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy,
- 53. Rom. ix. 16.would hardly be intelligible, or a defensible proposition; and when it is said, We love him, because he first loved us, 1 John iv. 19. the proposition ought to be inverted, and it should rather be said, He loved us, because we first loved him; and that humbling question, which the apostle proposes, Who maketh thee to differ, 1 Cor. iv. 7. should be answered, as one proudly did, I make myself to differ. 4. As to what concerns the doctrine of discriminating grace, which cannot well be maintained, without asserting a discrimination in God’s purpose relating thereunto, which is what we call election; if this be denied, there would not be so great a foundation for admiration, or thankfulness, as there is, or for any to say, as one of Christ’s disciples did, speaking the sense of all the rest, Lord, how is it, that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world, John xiv. 22. Nor is there so great an inducement to humility, as what will arise from the firm belief, that, when no eye pitied the poor helpless and miserable sinner, he was singled out of a ruined and undone world, among that remnant whom God first designed for, and then brought to glory. VII. We shall now consider those methods of reasoning, by which the contrary doctrine is defended, and enquire into the sense of those scriptures, which are generally brought for that purpose; and shall endeavour to make it appear, that they may be explained, in a different way, more consistently with the divine perfections. It is plain that the main design of those, who oppose the doctrine of election, is to advance the goodness of God; and, since all mankind cannot be said to be equally partakers of the effects of this goodness, inasmuch as all shall not be saved, they suppose that God has put all mankind into a salvable state; and, accordingly, as the gospel-overture is universal, so God’s purpose to save, includes all to whom it is made; but the event, and consequently the efficacy of the divine purpose relating hereunto, depends on the will of man; and, that there may be no obstruction which may hinder this design from taking effect, God has given him a power to yield obedience to his law, which, though it be not altogether so perfect as it was at first, but is somewhat weakened by the fall; yet it is sufficient to answer the end and design of the gospel, that is to bring him to salvation if he will, and the event of things is wholly put on this issue; so that, though there be not an universal salvation, there is a determination in God to save all upon this condition. How far this is
- 54. inconsistent with thedivine perfections has been already considered; and we are farther to enquire, whether there be any foundation for it in scripture, and what is the sense of some texts, which are often brought in defence thereof. One text referred to, is, those words of the apostle, in 1 Tim. ii. 4. Who will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth; and another scripture, to the same purpose, in 2 Pet. iii. 9. The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance; and several others, from whence they argue the universality of the divine purpose relating to the salvation of mankind, or that none are rejected, or excluded from it, by any act of God’s will, and consequently that the doctrine of election and reprobation is to be exploded, as contrary hereunto. That the sense of these scriptures cannot be, that God designed that all men should be eventually saved, or come to the knowledge of the truth, so that none of them should perish, is evident, from many other scriptures, that speak of the destruction of ungodly men, which, doubtless, will be allowed by all; therefore it follows, that the meaning of these two scriptures, is not that God purposed, or determined, what shall never come to pass, which is inconsistent with the glory of his wisdom and sovereignty, as has been before observed; but they are to be understood with those limitations, which the word all, which refers to the persons mentioned, as designed to be saved, is subject to in other scriptures; as will be more particularly considered, when we treat of universal and particular redemption, under a following answer[220] . And therefore, at present, we need only observe, that these scriptures may be set in a true light, that the word all is oftentimes taken for all sorts of men, or things; as when it is said, that of every thing that creepeth upon the earth, there went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, Gen. vii. 8, 9. that is all the species of living creatures, not every individual; so, Acts x. 12. in the vision that Peter saw of the sheet let down from heaven, in which there were all manner of four-footed beasts[221] , c. and it is said concerning our Saviour, that he went about, healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of diseases among the people[222] ; and elsewhere God promises, that he will pour out his Spirit on all flesh, Acts ii. 17. that is, persons of all ages and conditions, young and old.
- 55. There are manyinstances of the like nature in scripture, which justify this sense of the word all; and it seems plain, from the context, that it is to be so taken in the former of the scriptures, but now referred to, when it is said, God will have all men to be saved; for he exhorts, in ver. 1. that prayer and supplication should be made for all men, that is, for men of all characters and conditions in the world, and, in particular, for kings, and all that are in authority, and thereby he takes occasion to resolve a matter in dispute among them, whether those kings that were tyrants and oppressors, ought to be prayed for, when he tells them, that all sorts of men are to be prayed for; and the reason of this is assigned, namely, because God will have all men, that is, all sorts of men, to be saved. Moreover, they whom God will save, are said to be such as shall come, that is, as he will bring to the knowledge of the truth. Now it is certain, that God never designed to bring every individual to the knowledge of the truth; for, if he did, his purpose is not fulfilled, or his providence runs counter to it, for every individual of mankind have not the gospel; therefore it follows, that since God did not purpose that all men should come to the knowledge of the truth, the foregoing words, Who will have all men to be saved, are not to be understood in any other sense, but as signifying all sorts of men. Neither can it well be proved, whatever may be attempted in order thereto, that the following words, which speak of Christ’s being a Mediator between God and men, intend, that he performs this office for every individual man, even for those that shall not be saved; for then it would be executed in vain for a great part of them, as will be farther considered in its proper place; therefore we must conclude, that, in the former of these scriptures, nothing else is intended, but that God determined to give saving grace to all sorts of men. And as for the latter, in which the apostle Peter says, that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance; there the word all is expressly limited, in the context, as referring only to those who are elect and faithful; and therefore he says, including himself among them, that the Lord is long-suffering to us-ward. Now if we observe the character which he gives of the church, to which he writes, in the beginning of both his epistles, (which, as he says, in ver. 1. of this chapter, were directed to the same persons) it is as great as is
- 56. given of anyin scripture; and they are distinguished from those profane scoffers, who walked after their own lusts, and other ungodly men, whose perdition he speaks of, as what would befal them in the dissolution of the world, by fire, in the day of Judgment; and they are described not only as elect unto obedience, and as having obtained like precious faith with the apostles, but they were such as God would keep, through faith, unto salvation; therefore the apostle might well say, concerning them, that God determined that none of them should perish, without advancing any thing that militates against the doctrine we are maintaining. Object. The apostle, in this verse, speaks of God, as willing that all should come to repentance; therefore they are distinguished from that part of the church, who had obtained like precious faith, and were included in the character that he gives of some of them, in both his epistles, which infers their being then in a state of salvation; therefore the word, all, in this text, is not subject to the limitation before mentioned, but must be applied to all the world, and consequently the meaning is, that God is not willing that any of mankind should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Answ. The apostle, in this text, speaks of God’s deferring the day of judgment, and perdition of ungodly men, and so exercising his long- suffering towards the world in general; not that he designed to bring them all to repentance hereby, for that would be to intend a thing which he knew should never come to pass: But the end of his patience, to the world in general, is, that all whom he designed to bring to repentance, or who were chosen to it, as well as to obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus, should be brought to it. There are other arguments, which they bring in defence of their sense of the doctrine of election, as supposing that it is not peremptory, determinate, or unchangeable, and such as infers the salvation of those who are the objects thereof, taken from those scriptures, which, as they apprehend, ascribe a kind of disappointment to God; as when he says, in Isa. v. 4. concerning his vineyard, to wit, the church of the Jews, Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? and our Saviour’s words, in Luke xiii. 6. that he sought fruit on the fig-tree, meaning the church of the Jews in his day,
- 57. but found none;and, speaking concerning Jerusalem, he says, in Matth. xxiii. 37, 38. How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate; therefore they conclude, that God’s purpose, or design of grace, may be defeated; so that these, and many other scriptures, not unlike to them, are inconsistent with the doctrine of election, as ascertaining the event, to wit, the salvation of those who are chosen to eternal life; which leads us, particularly to consider the sense thereof. As to the first of them, in which God says, by the prophet, What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? He condescends therein to speak of himself after the manner of men, as he often does in scripture, and is said to look for what might reasonably have been expected, as the consequence of all the means of grace, which he had vouchsafed to them; the reasonableness of the thing is called his looking for it, as though he should say, it might have been expected, from the nature of the thing, that they, who had been laid under such obligations, should express some gratitude for them, and so have brought forth some fruit, to the glory of God. And those words, which seem to attribute disappointment to him, when it is said, I looked, c. signifying nothing else but the ingratitude of the people, that they did not walk agreeably to the obligations they were under; not that God was really disappointed, for that would militate against his omniscience. He knew, before he laid these obligations on them, what their behaviour would be; therefore, had he eyes of flesh, or seen as man seeth, their behaviour would have tended to disappoint him; but there is no disappointment in the divine mind, though the sin reproved in the people be the same as though it had had a tendency to defeat the divine purpose, or disappoint his expectation. As for that other scripture, in which it is said, that he sought fruit on the fig-tree, but found none, that is to be explained in the same way, he sought fruit, that is, it might reasonably have been expected, but he found none, that is, they did not act agreeably to the means of grace which they enjoyed. Therefore neither this, nor the other scripture, does in the least argue, that the purpose of God was not concerned about the
- 58. event, or thathe did not know what it would be; for, as his providential dispensation gives us ground to conclude, that he determined to leave them to themselves, so he knew beforehand that this, through the corruption of their nature, would issue in their unfruitfulness, otherwise he is not omniscient. Therefore it follows, that neither of these scriptures have the least tendency to overthrow the doctrine of the certainty and peremptoriness of the divine purpose. As to what our Saviour says, relating to his willingness, to have gathered Jerusalem, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but they would not, it may be taken, without the least absurdity attending the sense thereof, as referring to the end and design of his ministry among them; and it is as though he should say, your nation shall be broken, and you scattered, as a punishment inflicted on you for your iniquities, and this destruction would have been prevented, had you believed in me; so that all that can be inferred from hence, is, that Christ’s ministry and doctrine were attended with that convincing evidence, being confirmed by so many undoubted miracles, that their unbelief was not only charged on them as a crime, but was the occasion of their ruin; or (as it is said in the following words) of their houses being left unto them desolate. And this might have been prevented, by their making a right improvement of that common grace, which they had; for though it be not in man’s power,[223] without the special influence of divine grace, to believe to the saving of the soul; yet I know no one who denies that it is in his power to do more good, and avoid more evil, than he does, or so far to attend to the preaching of the gospel, as not to oppose it with that malice and envy as the Jews did; and, had they paid such a deference to Christ’s ministry, as this amounted to, they would not have been exposed to those judgments which afterwards befel them; for it is one thing to say, that men, by improving common grace, can attain salvation, and another thing to conclude, that they might have escaped temporal judgments thereby. Therefore, if it be enquired, what was God’s intention in giving them the gospel? the answer is very plain: It was not that hereby he might bring them all into a state of salvation, for then it would have taken effect; but it was, as appears by the event, to bring those, that should be saved among them, to that salvation, and to let others know, whether they would hear, or whether they would forbear, that God had a right to their
- 59. obedience, and thereforethat the message which the Redeemer brought to them, ought to have met with better entertainment from them, than it did. And if it be farther enquired, whether, provided they had believed, their ruin would have been prevented? This is an undoubted consequence, from our Saviour’s words; but yet it does not follow, from hence, that it was a matter of uncertainty with God, whether they should believe or no; for it is one thing to say, that he would not have punished them, unless they rejected our Saviour; and another thing to suppose that he could not well determine whether they would reject him or no. So that the purpose of God must be considered, as agreeing with the event of things, and the design of Christ’s ministry, as being what it really was; yet he might, notwithstanding, take occasion to charge the Jews’ destruction upon their own obstinacy. There are many other scriptures, which they bring to the like purpose, which I pass over, because the sense they give of them differs not much from that, in which they understand the scriptures before-mentioned, and their reasoning from them, in opposition to this doctrine is the same, and the same answer may be given to it. However, I cannot but observe, that as, from some scriptures, they attribute disappointment to God, they represent him, from others, as wishing, but in vain, that it had happened otherwise, and as being grieved at the disappointment; so they understand those words, in Psal. lxxxi. 13, 14. Oh! that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries; and that, in Luke xix. 42. If, or, Oh! that thou hadst known, even thou at least, in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. As for the sense of these, and such-like scriptures, it is no more than this, that the thing which they refused to perform, was, in itself, most desirable, or a matter to be wished for, and not that God can be said to wish for a thing that cannot be attained. And when our Saviour laments over Jerusalem, as apprehending their destruction near at hand, whether the words are to be considered in the form of a wish, that it had been otherwise, or an intimation, that if they had known the things of their peace, their destruction would not have ensued, it is only to be
- 60. understood as arepresentation of the deplorableness of their condition, which, with a tenderness of human compassion, he could not speak of, without tears: Yet we are not to suppose that this mode of expression is applicable to the divine will; so that, when the misery of that people is hereby set forth, we are not to strain the sense of words, taken from human modes of speaking, so far, as to suppose that the judicial acts of God, in punishing a sinful people, are not the execution of his purpose relating thereunto. Again, when the Spirit is said to be grieved, Eph. iv. 30. or resisted, Acts vii. 15. nothing else is intended hereby, but that men act in such a way, as that, had the Spirit of God been subject to human passions, it would have been matter of grief to him. But far be it from us to suppose that the divine nature is liable hereunto, or that any disappointment can attend his purposes, which has a tendency to excite this passion in men. And when he is said to be resisted, it is not meant as though his will, or design, could be rendered ineffectual, but it only implies, that men oppose what the Spirit communicated by the prophets, or in his word. This a person may do, and yet it may be truly said, that the counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations, Psal. xxxiii. 11. VIII. We shall proceed to consider several objections that are made against the doctrine we have endeavoured to maintain, and what reply may be given to them. Some have been occasionally mentioned under several foregoing heads, and there are others which require a distinct reply. Object. 1. That the doctrine of absolute Election and Reprobation was altogether unknown by the Fathers in the three first centuries, and that it was first brought into the Christian world by Augustin; before whose time, the only account we have of it, is, that God foreknowing who would live piously, or believe and persevere to the end, accordingly predestinated them to eternal life, or determined to pass them by, and so is said to have rejected them.[224] Answ. This objection, were it literally true, cannot have any tendency to overthrow this doctrine, in the opinion of those, who depend not on the credit of Augustin, as defending it, on the one hand, nor are staggered by the opposition made to it by some of the Fathers, who lived before
- 61. his time, onthe other; and therefore we might have passed it by, without making any reply to it. However, since it contains a kind of insult, or boast, which will have its weight with some, it may be expected that a few things should be said, in answer to it. We will not deny but that the Fathers, before the Pelagian heresy was broached in the world; expressed themselves, in many parts of their writings, in so lax and unguarded a manner concerning the doctrines of predestination, free-will, and grace, that, had they lived after those doctrines began to be publickly contested, one would have thought that they had verged too much towards Pelagius’s side; but, since they were not the subject-matter of controversy in those ages, it is no wonder to find them less cautious in their modes of expressing themselves, than they might otherwise have been; and therefore it is a just observation, which one[225] makes of this matter, that they had to do with the Manichees, and some of the heathen, who supposed that men sinned by a fatal necessity of nature, as though there were no wicked action committed in the world, but some would be ready to excuse it, from the impotency or propensity of human nature to sin, which rendered it, as they supposed, unavoidable; and others took occasion, from hence, to charge God with being the author of sin. It is very probable the Fathers, in those ages, were afraid of giving countenance to this vile opinion, and therefore they were less on their guard, in some respects, than they would have been, had they been to encounter with Pelagius, or his followers. And indeed, Augustin himself, before he took occasion to enquire more diligently into the state of this controversy, gave into the same way of expressing his sentiments about the power of nature, or the grace of God, as some others of the Fathers had done, and concluded that faith was in our power, as well a duty incumbent on us, but afterwards retracted such modes of speaking as the result of more mature deliberation.[226] But notwithstanding though he expressed himself in a different way from them, yet he often takes occasion, from some passages which he purposely refers to in their writings, to vindicate them as holding the same faith, though not always using the same phrases. And, after he had thus defended Cyprian and Ambrose, in that respect, he puts a very charitable construction on their unguarded way of expressing themselves, and says, that this arose from their not having
- 62. any occasion toengage in that controversy, which was on foot in his day.[227] The same might be said to Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, Chrysostom, and several others, whom some modern writers defend from the charge of favouring the Pelagian scheme, by referring to some places in their writings, in which they acknowledge, that the salvation of men is owing to the grace of God, whereby all occasions of glorying are taken away from the creature,[228] or expressions used by them to the like purpose. And the learned Vossius, though he acknowledges, that the Fathers, before Augustin, expressed themselves in such a way, as is represented in the objection, yet he vindicates them from the charge of verging towards the Pelagian, or Semi-Pelagian heresy; inasmuch as he concludes, that when they speak of God’s predestinating men to eternal life, on the foresight of good works, they only intend those good works, which God would enable them to perform; and this will clear many of those expressions which they use, from this imputation.[229] But if all these endeavours to establish our claim to those Fathers, who lived before Augustin, as not being opposers of this doctrine, appear to be to no purpose, yet this will not weaken the truth thereof; for we suppose it to be founded on scripture, and several consequences plainly deduced from it, and therefore it doth not want the suffrage of human testimony to support it. But if it be said, that this is a very desirable thing as doubtless it is, we might consider this doctrine, as obtaining very much in, and after Augustin’s time, being examined and defended by very considerable numbers of men, who have transmitted it down to posterity, throughout the various ages of the church. Notwithstanding, by whomsoever it is defended, or opposed, we lay no great stress on human authority, as a judicious divine well observes[230] . We shall therefore proceed to consider some other objections, which it will be more necessary for us to give a particular answer to. Object. 2. To the doctrine of God’s purpose’s ascertaining all events, it is objected that he has not determined the bounds of the life of man, but that it may be lengthened, or shortened, by the intervention of second causes. This is nothing else but the applying one branch of this controversy, relating to the decrees of God, to a particular instance. And it was very warmly debated in the Netherlands, towards the beginning of the last century.[231] This objection is managed in a popular way, and is
- 63. principally adapted togive prejudice to those who are disposed to pass over, or set aside, these necessary distinctions, which, if duly considered, would not only shorten the debate, but set the matter in a clearer light, which we shall endeavour to do; but shall first consider their method of reasoning on this subject, and the sense they give of some scriptures, which as they suppose, give countenance to this objection. They therefore thus argue, that if the term of life be immoveably fixed by God, then it is a vain thing for any one to use those means that are necessary to preserve it, and the skill of the physician, as well as the virtue of medicine, is altogether needless; and the good advice which is often given to persons, to take heed that they do not shorten their lives by intemperance, will be to no purpose; for they have a reply ready at hand, namely, that they shall live their appointed time, do what they will. And that, which is still more absurd, is, that if a person attempts to lay violent hands upon himself, it will be to no purpose, if God has determined that he shall live longer; or if he has determined that he shall die, then he is guilty of no crime, for he only fulfils the divine purpose. They add, moreover, that this not only renders all our supplications to God to preserve our lives, or to restore us from sickness, when we are in danger of death, needless; but our conduct herein is a practical denial of the argument we maintain; for what is this, but to suppose that the bounds of life are unalterably fixed. As to what concerns the countenance, which they suppose, scripture gives to this objection, they refer us to those places in which the life of man is said to be lengthened or shortened; accordingly, there are promises of long life given to the righteous who love God, and keep his commandments, Exod. xx. 12. Deut. iv. 40. 1 Kings iii. 14. and Solomon says expressly, The fear of the Lord prolongeth days; but the years of the wicked shall be shortened, Prov. x. 27. and elsewhere he speaks of the wicked’s dying before their time, Eccl. vii. 17. and the Psalmist says, that bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, Psal. lv. 23. They also refer to that scripture in which Martha tells our Saviour, that if he had been with her brother Lazarus, before his death, he had not
- 64. died, John xi.21. which either contradicts the argument we are maintaining, or else Martha was mistaken; which, had she been, our Saviour would have reproved her, for asserting that which was false. Moreover, they add, that when the old world was destroyed in the deluge, and so died before their time, they might have prolonged their lives, had they repented in that space of time, wherein Noah as a preacher of righteousness, gave them warning of this desolating judgment, and Christ, by his Spirit, in him, preached to them, as the apostle says, 1 Pet. iii. 20. which, doubtless, was with a design to bring them to repentance, and save them from this destruction. And when Abraham pleaded with God in the behalf of Sodom, God tells him, that if he found but ten righteous persons in the city, he would spare it for their sake, Gen. xviii. 32. which is inconsistent with his determination, that they should all die by an untimely death, if the bounds of their lives had been fixed. And lastly, they refer to that scripture, in which God first told Hezekiah, that he should die, and not live, and afterwards, that he would add to his days fifteen years, Isa. xxxviii. 1. compared with 5. Answ. To prepare our way for a reply to this objection, let us consider that the contrary side of the question, which we are maintaining, is equally supported by express texts of scripture: thus it is said His days are determined, the number of his months are with thee; thou hast appointed him bounds that he cannot pass, Job xiv. 5. than which, nothing can be more express, where he speaks concerning that decree of God, which respects all mankind, without exception, and sets forth his absolute sovereignty, and the irreversibleness of his purpose herein; and the apostle Paul, in reasoning with the Athenians concerning the decree and providence of God in whom we live, move, and have our being says, that he hath determined the times before appointed, and fixed the bounds of their habitation, Acts xvii. 26. As he has placed men upon the earth, by his decree and providence, so he has determined not only the place where they should live, but the time of their continuance in the world. This was no new doctrine; for the heathen had been instructed in it by their own philosophers and therefore the apostle speaks their sense, especially that of the stoicks, about this matter.[232] When he mentions the times are determined, it is not to be understood of the
- 65. seasons of theyear, which God has fixed to return in their certain courses, but the seasons appointed for every work, or for every occurrence of life; and, among the rest, the time of life, and of serving our generation therein, as Solomon expressly says, in Eccl. iii. 1, 2. To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose; a time to be born, and a time to die. Several other scriptures might be brought to the same purpose, as a farther proof hereof, namely, those in which God has foretold the death of particular persons, 2 Sam. xii. 14. 1 Kings xiv. 12. chap. xxii. 28. Moreover, if the providence of God is conversant about all the actions of men, and the hairs of their head are all numbered, Matt. x. 30. so that the smallest changes in life do not come by chance, but are subject thereto; then certainly the time of life must be subjected to his providence, who is styled, Our life, and the length of our days, Deut. xxx. 20. He must therefore certainly be considered as the sovereign Arbiter thereof, which doctrine none that own a providence, can, with any shadow of reason, gainsay; so that this doctrine is agreeable not only to several scriptures, but to the very nature and perfections of God. This being premised we return to the arguments laid down against it, and the scriptures cited to give countenance to them. It is certain, that two contradictory propositions cannot be both true in the same sense; and the scriptures, which are exactly harmonious, as well as infallibly true, no where contradict themselves. Therefore we must consider what answer may be given to the objections before-mentioned; and, that our work herein may be shortened, we may observe, that the bounds of life are twofold; either such as men might have lived to, according to the common course of nature if nothing had intervened to ruin the constitution, or no disease, or violent death, had broken the thread of life before; or that time which God has ordained that men shall live, whether it be longer or shorter: the former of these respects the lengthening or shortening of life, by the influence of second causes; and, in this respect, we do not suppose that the terms of life are immoveably fixed, but that in some, it is longer, and, in others shorter; for it is certain, that by intemperance, or other methods, men may shorten their days; or, by laying violent hands on themselves, not live the time that otherwise they would have done. But if we consider the over-ruling, or disposing providence of God, as conversant about this
- 66. matter, there isnothing happens without the concurrence thereof. Therefore persons, who shorten their days by intemperance, do this by the permissive providence of God; though he be not the author of their intemperance, which is sinful, yet he permits, or determines not to hinder it, and consequently though he has fixed the bounds of life, which can neither be lengthened or shortened, yet knowing what men will do, in a natural way, to shorten them, he determines that this shall put an end to their lives.[233] And when we read, in scripture, of God’s delivering him, who dies a violent death, into his hands, who is the immediate cause of it, Exod. xxi. 13. God is not the author of the sin of the murderer; yet providence is not wholly to be exempted from that action, so far as it is not sinful, but purely natural, or the effect of power; and, when this is said to have a tendency to shorten the life of man, it does not detract from the time that he had in his own purpose affixed to it. We must also consider, that his decree and providence respects the means, as well as the end, which are always inseparably connected, and equally subject thereunto. These things being premised, we proceed more particularly to answer the arguments brought against this doctrine. And, 1. When it is said, that God’s fixing the bounds of life, renders all means for the preservation thereof unnecessary, that depends upon a false supposition, namely, that God does not ordain the means as well as the end. If God had determined that persons shall live, he has determined to give them the supports of life, and to prevent every thing that might tend to destroy it; so, on the other hand, when he takes them away, by a disease, this is ordained by him, as a means conducive thereunto. If health is to be supported, or recovered, by means, and thereby life preserved, God has ordained that these means shall be used, as well as the end attained. 2. As to persons shortening their lives by intemperance, this has a natural tendency to do it; so that, though God be not the author of the sin, he certainly knows, before-hand, what methods the sinner will take to hasten his end, and leaves him to himself; so that, though the sin be not from God, the punishment, which is the consequence thereof, may truly be said to be from him, and therefore this was determined by him.
- 67. And when itis farther objected, that they, who destroy their health, or lay violent hands on themselves, cannot be said to sin in so doing, because they do that which tends to fulfil the divine will, provided God has determined the fatal event; herein they oppose this doctrine, without taking the words in the same sense in which it is maintained; for it is well known, that the will of God is sometimes taken for that prescribed rule that he has given us, which is the matter of our duty, in which sense we readily allow, that he that fulfils it, cannot be said to sin. But, besides this, it is sometimes taken for his purpose to permit sin; or, to give the sinner up to his own heart’s lusts, to act that which he hates, and is resolved to punish. In this sense, the sinner is said to do that which God would not have suffered him to do, had he willed the contrary; but it is a very groundless insinuation, to suppose that this exempts him from the guilt of sin. 3. To say, that God’s fixing the bounds of life, is inconsistent with our praying, that our lives may be prolonged, or that we may be delivered from sickness, or death, when we are apprehensive that we are drawing nigh to it, is no just consequence; for as we do not pray that God would alter his purpose, when we desire any blessing of him, but suppose this to be hid from us, and expect not to know it any otherwise than by the event; so a person, who prays to be delivered from sickness, or death, is not to address the divine Majesty, as one who presumptuously, and without ground, supposes that God has decreed that he shall immediately die, but as one who hopes, or who has no ground to conclude otherwise, but that he will make it appear, by answering his prayer, that he has determined to spare his life. For the secret purpose of God, relating to the event of things, is no more to be a rule of duty, inasmuch as it is secret, than if there had been no purpose relating thereunto; but yet it does not follow from hence, that this matter is not determined by him. 4. As to those scriptures, that seem to give countenance to this objection, they may, without the least absurdity, be understood consistently with other scriptures, which have been before produced, whereby it is proved, that God has fixed, or determined the bounds of life. As for those promises, which God has made of a long life, to those that love him, and keep his commandments, the meaning thereof is this, that he will certainly bestow this blessing, either in kind or value, on
- 68. those whose conversationis such as is therein described; this none can deny, who rightly understand the meaning of that scripture, in which it is said, that godliness hath the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come, 1 Tim. iv. 8. But, so far as it affects the argument we are maintaining, we must consider, that that efficacious grace, whereby we are enabled to love God, and keep his commandments, is as much his gift, and consequently the result of his purpose, as the blessing connected with it; therefore if he has determined that we shall enjoy a long and happy life in this world, and to enable us to live a holy life therein; if both the end and the means are connected together, and are equally the objects of God’s purpose, then it cannot justly be inferred from hence, that the event, relating to the lengthening or shortening our lives, is not determined by him. As for those scriptures that speak of the wicked’s dying before their time, or not living half their days, these are to be understood agreeably to that distinction before-mentioned, between men’s dying sooner, than they would have done according to the course of nature, or the concurrence of second causes thereunto, in which sense it is literally true, that many do not live out half their days; and their dying sooner than God had before determined. May not the sovereign Disposer of all things inflict a sudden and immediate death, as the punishment of sin, without giving us reason to conclude that this was not pre-concerted, if we may so express it, or determined beforehand? As for that other scripture, referred to in the objection, in which Martha tells our Saviour, that if he had been with Lazarus, when sick, he had not died, she does not suppose Christ’s being there, would have frustrated the divine purpose, for then, he would, doubtless, have reproved her for it; whereas, in reality, he did not come to visit him, because he knew that God had purposed that he should die, and be afterwards raised from the dead; so that this does not argue that he has not fixed the bounds, or term of life. Again, as for that argument, to support this objection, taken from the destruction of the world in the flood, or that of Sodom, by fire from heaven, that they might have prolonged their lives, had they repented, we do not deny but that this would have been the consequence thereof,
- 69. but then theirrepentance would have been as much determined by God, as their deliverance from that untimely death, which befel them. The last scripture mentioned, in which God, by the prophet Isaiah, tells Hezekiah, that he should die, and not live; notwithstanding which, fifteen years were added to his life, which is very frequently insisted on, by those who deny the unalterable decree of God, relating to life and death, as that which they apprehend to be an unanswerable argument to support it: to this it may be replied, that when God says, Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live, he gave Hezekiah to understand, that his disease was what we call mortal, namely, such as no skill of the physician, or natural virtue of medicine, could cure, and therefore that he must expect to die, unless God recovered him by a miracle; and Hezekiah, doubtless, took the warning in this sense, otherwise it would have been a preposterous thing for him to have prayed for life, as it would have been an affront to God, to have desired to have changed his purpose. But God, on the other hand, designed, by this warning, to put him upon importunate prayer for life; therefore when he says, I will add to thy days fifteen years, the meaning is only this, though thou mightest before have expected death, my design in giving thee that intimation, was, that thou shouldest pray for life, which might be given thee by a miracle, and now I will work a miracle, and fulfil, in this respect, what I before purposed in adding to thy life fifteen years. Object. 3. It is farther objected, against the doctrine of election and reprobation, and particularly the immutability of God’s purpose therein, that it tends to establish a fatal necessity of things, and overthrow that known distinction that there is between things, as necessary, or contingent, as though nothing in the whole series of causes and effects could happen otherwise than it does, and God himself were confined to such a method of acting, that it was impossible for him to have done the contrary; which is nothing else but the Stoical doctrine of fate applied to, and defended by some scriptures, though it be contrary to others, which speak of the uncertainty of future events. Thus God speaks of the Jews, turning from their iniquities, and his bestowing pardoning mercy, as the result thereof, as an uncertain event, when he says, in Jer. xxxvi. 3. It may be that the house of Judah will
- 70. hear all theevil, which I purpose to do unto them, that they may return every man from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. So when God gave the Jews a sign, immediately before the captivity, taken from the prophet Ezekiel’s personating one that was removing his stuff, or household-goods, as signifying, that the nation in general should soon remove to other habitations, when carried captive into Babylon, he adds, upon this occasion, It may be they will consider, though they be a rebellious house, Ezek. xii. 3. And the prophet Zephaniah exhorts the people to seek righteousness and meekness, and, as the consequence thereof, says, It may be ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger, Zeph. ii. 3. And the apostle speaks of the uncertainty of the divine dispensations of grace, when he advises Timothy, in meekness, to instruct those that oppose themselves, if God, peradventure, will give them repentance, to the acknowledging of the truth, 2 Tim. ii. 25. which is directly contrary to the unalterable necessity of events, depending upon the divine purpose, according to the doctrine of election. Answ. 1. As to the former part of this objection, in which this doctrine is pretended to have taken its rise from, and to be agreeable to, that of the Stoics, concerning fate and destiny, it will not be much to our purpose to enquire what was the opinion of that sect of philosophers concerning it; and, indeed, it will be difficult to fix on a just sense thereof, in which they all agree. Some are of opinion, that many of them intended nothing else thereby, but the immutability of God’s purposes, but the dispensation of his providence, being a necessary execution thereof; and when he is said to be bound by the laws of fate, they mean, that he cannot act contrary to what himself has determined.[234] And, had it been universally explained by them in this sense, it would not have done them much service, who oppose the doctrine of election, to have compared it therewith; for it would only have proved the agreeableness of the doctrine of the immutability of God’s purpose, relating to all events, to the light of nature, as some of the heathen were thereby instructed in it. But since this does not appear to be the sense of all the Stoicks about the doctrine of fate, but some of them understood it in the same sense as it is represented in the objection, this we cannot but militate against, and assert the doctrine of election to be very remote from it.
- 71. Therefore we needonly, in answer to this part of the objection, explain what we mean, when we maintain the necessity of events, as founded on the will of God. We are far from asserting that there is a necessary connexion between second causes, and their respective effects, in which some are produced arbitrarily, by the will of intelligent creatures; and when we call any thing a necessary cause, producing effects, according to its own nature, we suppose that this is agreeable to the order, or course of nature, which was fixed by God. All that we pretend to prove, is the dependence of things on the divine will, and the necessity of God’s purposes taking effect; so that that which is arbitrary or contingent, which might be, or not be, as depending on, or relating to second causes, is eventually necessary, as it is an accomplishment of the divine purpose. Therefore we always distinguish between things being contingent, with respect to us, and their being so, with respect to God; and, consequently, though it may be, or peradventure, may be applied to the apparent event of things, these words can never be applied to the fulfilling of the divine will; and this leads us to consider the latter part of the objection; therefore, 2. As to the scripture’s speaking concerning the uncertainty of future events, in those places mentioned in the objection, these, and all others of the like nature, in which such a mode of speaking is used, may be explained, by distinguishing between what might reasonably have been expected to be the event of things, supposing men had not been given up to the blindness of their mind, and hearts, to act below the dictates of reason, without consulting their own safety and happiness, or expressing their gratitude to God; and what would be the real event of things, which God was not pleased to reveal, and therefore was unknown to them. Thus, when the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel represented the repentance and reformation of Israel as an uncertain event, as well as their forgiveness, and deliverance from the captivity, connected with it, in such dubious terms, It may be they will consider and return, every man from his evil way; it implies, that this was what might have been reasonably expected by men, though it was no matter of uncertainty to the heart-searching God, who knoweth the end from the beginning, and perfectly foresees what will be the event of things, which, in various respects, are under the direction of his providence. Though it could hardly be thought, by men, that such an admonition
- 72. should be treatedwith such contempt, yet God knew how they would behave themselves; there was no peradventure with respect to his judgment thereof; he knew that they would not repent, otherwise he would have inclined their wills, and effectually have persuaded them to exercise this grace, and thereby have prevented his expectation, or determination, from being disappointed, or frustrated. If it be objected, that, according to this sense of the text, the prophet’s message to the people would have been to no purpose, and his ministry, among them, exercised in vain; or that it was contrary to the wisdom and goodness of God to make this overture to them, when he knew it would not be complied with. To this it may be replied, that the great God is not bound to decline the asserting his right to man’s obedience, or requiring that which is a just debt to him, though he knew that they would not comply with his demand thereof; and, indeed, this objection cannot be maintained, without supposing, that, when the gospel is preached to man, the glory of the divine wisdom and goodness therein cannot be secured, unless we conclude either that God doth not know whether man will embrace it, or no, which is contrary to his omniscience; or that he determines, that all, to whom the gospel is preached, shall embrace it, which is contrary to matter of fact. But there may be a medium between both these, which vindicates the divine perfections, in ordering that the gospel should be preached, and thereby asserting his sovereignty, and unalienable right to their obedience; accordingly, there might be a small remnant among them, in whom God designed that this message should take effect. And will any one say, that because the goodness of God was not herein demonstrated to all, that therefore no glory was brought to that perfection? And if it be farther said, that supposing there were some who turned from their evil ways, the captivity, which was threatened, was not hereby prevented, and therefore the promise, relating thereunto, did not take place; to this it may be replied; that as God did not give them ground to expect this blessing, unless this repentance should be more universal, than it really was, so he had various ways to testify his regard to those who should receive advantage by this message, for whose sake it was principally intended.
- 73. As for thatother scripture, in which God advises his people to seek righteousness and meekness, and, as the consequence hereof, says, it may be ye may be hid in the day of the Lord’s fierce anger; the meaning is, that they, who were enabled to exercise these graces, should either have some instances of temporal deliverance vouchsafed to them; or if not, that they should have no reason to complain that the exercise thereof was altogether in vain. As for that scripture, in which the apostle bids Timothy to exhort those that oppose the gospel, if, peradventure, God would give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; the meaning is, that it was uncertain to Timothy whether God would give this grace or no; and therefore he must preach the gospel, whatever were the event thereof: Nevertheless, it was no matter of uncertainty, with respect to God, who must be supposed to know what grace he designs to bestow, and therefore the event of things may be dubious to us, and yet be certain with respect to him. Object. 4. Another objection, against the doctrine of election and reprobation, is, that it is altogether inconsistent with the preaching of the gospel; for if God has determined the final state of man, so that his purpose cannot be altered, then it is a preposterous thing, not to say illusory, for grace to be offered to the chief of sinners, which must certainly argue, that it is impossible to be attained by them; and, since the overture is universal, we must conclude that God has put all mankind into a salvable state, and consequently not excluded any from salvation by his peremptory and unchangeable decree. To what purpose are the promises of the gospel held forth, to all that sit under the sound thereof, if it be impossible for them to attain the blessings promised therein? Or what regard could men be supposed to have to the promises, if they were not a declaration of God’s purpose? And, on the other hand, the threatnings denounced would be as little regarded, as an expedient to deter men from sinning, if their state were unalterably fixed by God, according to this doctrine of election, as it has been before considered. Answ. That we may proceed with greater clearness in answering this objection, we shall first shew what we mean by preaching the gospel, which is nothing else but a declaration of God’s revealed will, and our
- 74. duty pursuant thereunto,which is to be made known, particularly what is contained in the word of God, relating to the salvation of men, and the way which he has ordained in order to their attaining it. Therefore, 1. When this salvation is said to be offered in the gospel, we intend nothing else thereby, but that a declaration is made to sinners, that there are many invaluable privileges which Christ has purchased for, and will, in his own time and way, apply to all those whom God has purposed to save; and, since we cannot describe them by name, and no unregenerate person has ground to conclude that he is of that number, therefore there is a farther declaration to be made, namely, that God has inseparably connected this salvation, which he has chosen them to, with faith and repentance, and the exercise of all other graces, which, as they are God’s gift, and to be prayed for, and expected, in a diligent attendance on all his ordinances; so they are to be considered as the mark and evidences of their being chosen to salvation, without which, it is certainly a vain and presumptuous thing for any one to pretend that he has a right to it, as the object of God’s eternal election. 2. No one, who preaches the gospel, has any warrant from God to tell any individual person that whether he repents and believes, or no, he shall be saved; or, to direct his discourse to him, as one that is chosen thereunto, much less to give the impenitent sinner occasion to conclude, that, though he obstinately, and finally, remain in a state of rebellion against God, notwithstanding he may hope to be saved, because there is a number of mankind chosen to salvation; for this is not to declare God’s revealed will, but that which is directly contrary to it, and therefore not to preach the gospel. Therefore, 3. All, who sit under the sound of the gospel, ought to look upon it as a declaration of God’s design to save a part of mankind, under the preaching thereof, and among them the chief of sinners, which they have a sufficient ground to conclude themselves to be; but yet a door of hope is so far opened hereby, that they have no reason to conclude that they are rejected, any more than that they are elected; and, while they wait on God’s instituted means of grace, they have, at least, this encouragement, that, peradventure, they may be of the number of God’s elect; and, when they find in themselves that faith, which is the evidence thereof, then they may determine their interest in, and lay
- 75. claim to thisprivilege, when they are enabled to make their calling, and thereby their election sure. And as for the promises and threatnings, these are to be considered by unregenerate persons, without determining their right to the one, or falling under the other, as elected or rejected; for that is still supposed to be a secret; therefore they are to regard the promise, as a declaration of God’s purpose, relating to the connexion that there is between faith and salvation, as an inducement to perform the one, in expectation of the other. And as for the threatnings, though they determine the present state of impenitent sinners to be such, in which they are undone and miserable, yet they are not to be extended to those events, which are hid in the purpose of God, so as to give any one ground to conclude that he is thereby finally excluded from salvation, since such an exclusion as this is inseparably connected with final impenitency and unbelief. Object. 5. It is farther objected, that this doctrine is, in many instances subversive of practical religion. And, 1. That it is inconsistent with the duty of prayer; for if God has determined to save a person, what need has he to ask a blessing, which is already granted? and, if he has determined to reject him, his prayer will be in vain. 2. It is farther supposed, that it leads to presumption, on the one hand, or despair, on the other; election, to presumption; reprobation, to despair. And, 3. They add, that it leads to licentiousness, as it is inconsistent with our using endeavours that we may be saved: for to what purpose is it for persons to strive to enter in at the strait gate, when all their endeavours will be ineffectual, if they are not elected? or to what purpose is it for persons to use any endeavours to escape the wrath of God, due to sin, if they are appointed to wrath, and so must necessarily perish? Answ. This objection is, beyond measure, shocking; and it is no wonder, that a doctrine, that is supposed to have such consequences attending it, is treated with the utmost degree of detestation: but as the greatest part of the objections against it, are no other than misrepresentations thereof, so it is no difficult matter to reply to them, to the conviction of those who are disposed to judge impartially of the matter in controversy