Alumnus advances biblical worldview to promote cultural healing in America

Through his work with nonprofit organizations and education reform, Liberty University adjunct professor and alumnus Johnny Davis aims to return the American culture to Christ.

Davis, who currently teaches in the Helms School of Government, graduated from Liberty in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Government. He later returned to his alma mater to pursue his Master of Divinity (’16) and Master of Laws (’18) and is a current Ph.D. candidate with the Helms School of Government. He also holds a J.D. from Cumberland Law School.

In addition to his connections with the university, Davis wears a variety of other hats.

He currently serves as an Army Reserve Judge Advocate (JAG) and has served several tours, including during the Iraq War.

He works as an international and constitutional law attorney in Alexandria, Va., where he lives with his wife Suziann, who is a former professional sprinter.

Davis also works with nonprofit groups such as the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism (FAIR), a nonpartisan organization that advances civil rights and liberties and promotes a common culture based on fairness, understanding, and humanity. Davis has also been a champion for school curriculum reform in Virginia.

In all of his responsibilities, Davis continues to keep his focus on sharing the truth of Scripture. Arguing that culture continually strays further and further away from Christianity, he said the church must be willing to stand up for biblical values.

“What darkness is prevailing — it’s because the light isn’t being properly shined. Darkness never deflects light. That’s never happened and never can,” he said. “We have to focus on that, and that’s what we’re doing at FAIR, trying to promote that culture healing and to be real servants for this work to happen. Because all of us can be servants in our little corner; if we each be faithful in our little corner, God will use us, and he will turn things around.”

While noting that FAIR is not inherently a Christian organization, Davis said that it provides a strong platform for him to share biblical truth.

Part of the current issues in culture, according to Davis, lie in a misunderstanding of racial equality. He argued that the foundation of racism rejects God’s truth that He created everyone equal.

Growing up in a secular home, Davis said that he first became interested in Christianity from studying the Founding Fathers.

“George Washington basically took me and pointed me toward Christ as the answer to everything he was doing,” Davis said. “And that’s really the number one way I was saved. That then led to me getting saved and that dramatic formation in terms of my whole walk, because in seeing his example really instilled a great sense of duty in me.”

In addition to studying the Founding Fathers, Davis also spent time reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.” This book helped reinforce the Christian values that Washington demonstrated.

“One of the things (the book) instilled in me from the start was how life is really a struggle between virtue versus the lust for dominion,” Davis said.

Since that moment, Davis has worked to use biblical morality as a catalyst for change in America, noting the importance of teaching biblical truth with compassion instead of using it as a means to oppress others.

“We need to make sure that when we communicate the value of morality, that it’s actually a service, a blessing, and something to help people, not something where we want to control other people’s lives. In the end, government can’t turn around society,” Davis said. “The truth has to heal society and then through the healing of society, then the government can be changed and made better.”

As Davis strives to correct the moral bankruptcy of America, he places a strong emphasis on reaching the younger generations.

“When it comes to the young people today, there’s a great spiritual openness there and a great lack of direction and a great spiritual hunger. By boldly speaking the truth and speaking in those narratives, we can reach them,” Davis said.

Citing that much of the Great Awakening occurred in schools, Davis claimed that universities such as Liberty could serve as vehicles for change.

“When we talk about how we bring revival, Liberty could be a center of adding another Great Awakening in America,” Davis said. “The key is for us to all get on our knees.”