Integrating Faith and Learning

Integrating Faith and Learning

By Rick OstranderAcademic Dean, John Brown University

August, 2008

Background: Where did the notion of “integration” come from?

The Colonial Era

The Puritans: Harvard, 16361600s and 1700s: Yale, Princeton, etc.Foundation: A Christian framework and worldview

The Harvard Seal, 1692

The 19th Century: Christian Colleges Proliferate

The 19th Century: Christian Colleges Proliferate

Evangelical Christianity as the “Establishment”Education: Fusion of Christian and American

values

The Secularization of the Academy, late 1800s


Modern scienceGrowth in size and stature of universities

Public land grant universities, 1860s New private universities A new purpose A new faculty role: the “objective” scholar


Modern scienceGrowth in size and stature of universitiesResult: elevation of learning, marginalization of faith.

The Harvard Seal, 1900

Responses

Mainstream colleges: Adaptation, secularization

Learning trumps faith.

Responses to Secularization

Conservative colleges: isolation, withdrawal

Anti-intellectualism: Faith trumps learning

The Revival of Explicitly Christian Higher Education

Abraham Kuyper, late-19th century Jesus Christ as Lord of all creation Reconquest of culture and institutions “Integrate” a Christian worldview and academic disciplines


Abraham Kuyper, late-19th centuryCalvin College, 20th century

The Big Three: Plantinga, Wolterstorff, Marsden Marsden, The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship


Abraham Kuyper, late-19th centuryCalvin College, 20th centuryFrom Calvin College to the CCCU, 1970s

Wheaton College: Holmes, The Idea of a Christian College Conferences, symposiums, faculty workshops, etc. “Through the Eyes of Faith” book series

Integration of Faith and Learning: The Current Situation

Challenges to the Integration Model, 1990s


Challenges to the Integration Model, 1990s The Baylor University controversy

Sloan’s vision: Baylor 2012 Yankee Evangelicals vs. Texas Baptists


Challenges to the Integration Model, 1990s The Baylor University controversy Messiah College: “Enlarging the Conversation”


Challenges to the Integration Model, 1990sCriticism #1: Too narrowCriticism #2: Too negative

Military metaphors: “taking captive,” “battle of ideas,” etc. Christians should build bridges, not fortresses


Challenges to the Integration Model, 1990sCriticism #1: Too narrowCriticism #2: Too negativeCriticism #3: Too philosophical

“It turns professional scientists into amateur philosophers.”

Conclusion: Integration vs. integration

Integration: A worldview-based model of relating faith and learning based on Reformed Protestantism but applicable in part to all Christians.

integration: The act of relating one’s Christian faith to one’s academic life in a variety of ways, depending on one’s institution, Christian tradition, and field of study.

Varieties of integration

By institution: Public institutions:

Accommodation, resistance, “intentional reframing”


By institution: Public institutions Christian institutions: more public, explicit, and systematic


By institutionBy faith tradition

Roman Catholic: the “sacramental principle”



Roman Catholic: the “sacramental principle” the created world and human culture can serve as a mediator of

God’s grace



Roman Catholic Reformed: The Kingdom of God vs. Kingdom of Satan

The Christian scholar plays a role in this conquest by analyzing and critiquing (taking captive) the philosophical foundations of one’s discipline.

Varieties of integration (small “I’)


Roman Catholic Reformed Anabaptist: the Kingdom of God is among the poor and

powerless; living brings understanding. Emphasize practical application (ethics, social sciences)


By institutionBy faith traditionBy academic discipline

Calculus vs. sociology of religion

So What? The Practice of integration at a Christian College

Integration at the institutional level

Faculty hiring: potential over practice.

Faculty development is essential.

Faculty evaluation (after development). Course evaluations, position papers, portfolios

Integration of Faith and Scholarship

A synthesis of the literature:Three levels that apply to all

institutions, faith traditions, and disciplines.


The motivational level

Because the world is God’s creation, the Christian scholar is motivated to pursue truth in one’s discipline as an act of worship and to know him better.



Charles Murray, “For God’s Eye: The Surprising Role of Christianity in Human Achievement”



The 50-yard line prayer vs.quiet excellence on the field.



The danger: The “separate spheres” fallacy.

LearningFaith


The motivational levelIf Christianity is a body of truth (not just an attitude), then it will sometimes have substantive implications for the world of ideas.

Ex.: Archaeology and the Resurrection.


The foundational level



Worldviews, paradigms,

interpretive frameworks


The foundational level The Christian worldview:

Creation Fall Redemption/Consummation The natural world: real, but finite Human beings: in God’s image, but corrupted


The foundational level The Christian worldview:

Creation Fall Redemption/Consummation The natural world: real, but finite Human beings: in God’s image, but corrupted


The foundational level The more a discipline deals with foundational,

worldview assumptions, the more explicit the role of Christian faith will be.



The Implicit/Explicit Continuum

Implicit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explicit

Mathematics Natural Social History Arts and Philosophy/ Sciences Sciences Literature Theology


An example: American History in a Mennonite key.

Juhnke and Hunter,

The Missing Peace



Implication: The Christian scholar must be an amateur theologian/philosopher.


The Applied/Ethical Level E = mc2: practical consequences Biology: How does a Christian view of human nature affect

the use of biotechnology? Communications: How does a Christian view of sexuality

affect the use of images in advertising?


An example: Francis Collins Motivation: DNA research as an act of worship. Foundational: God as designer Application: The human genome project

Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act


An analogy: Jazz music1. Christians often have special insight into the

meaning of their field of study.2. This insight may be implicit or explicit, depending on

the nature of their scholarship.3. Despite this special insight, Christians can learn

valuable truths about their discipline from non-Christians.

4. That insight should generate greater interest in scholarship, not less.

Integration of Faith and Teaching

Integration at the general level:

Locating a subject in a Christian framework.


Integration at the general level: How does “X” connect to God’s original design for Creation?

“naming the animals”: knowing Creation “tending the garden”: developing Creation


Integration at the general level: How does “X” connect to God’s original design for Creation? How does “X” connect to God’s plan for redeeming

Creation? “making disciples” “healing the sick” “feeding the hungry” “setting free the captives” Etc.


Integration in the classroom.

The three levels, but at times more intentional and explicit.


Integration in the classroom.1. Motivational level:

Opening prayer. The classroom as a Christian vocation. Share your passion. Not just a class but a campus ethos.


Integration in the classroom.1. Motivational level2. Foundational level

The Implicit/Explicit ContinuumImplicit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explicit

Mathematics Natural Social History Arts and Philosophy/ Sciences Sciences Literature Theology


Integration in the classroom.1. Motivational level2. Foundational level3. Applied/Ethical level

In the discipline itself (science, history, etc.) In its application (business, law, nursing, etc.)



Some practical suggestions…



Generally, small, frequent exercises and reminders are more effective than “Christian

foundations of X.”



Keep a file of articles, films, etc. that illustrate motivations, foundations, and applications in your field.

An example: Engineering

Value On Life 11 Percent Lower Than 5 Years AgoListen Now [4 min 21 sec]

All Things Considered, July 11, 2008 · The Environmental Protection Agency has put the value of a human life at $6.9 million, 11 percent lower than five years ago. Seth Borenstein, science reporter with The Associated Press, says the number is how much a person is willing to pay to reduce his or her risk.

Foundational: Does a Christian value human life higher, lower, the same? Ethical: How much value do we place on a human life when designing a

car? How does a Christian engineer balance the need to value human life with the

need to make a profitable automobile?

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=2


Integration in the classroom.Reflection papers, essay questions:

1. In what ways does this subject help us to fulfill God’s creation mandate?

2. In what ways is this subject affected by the ripple effects of the Fall?

3. How could this discipline be “redeemed”?4. How could one apply this subject to advance God’s

redemptive activity on earth?


Integration in the classroom.The “integrative question” (Harold Hie)


Political Science: Is representative democracy the most “Christian” form of government possible? If so, then how far should one go to create such a system in non-democratic nations? Is a “war for democracy” worth the cost?


Economics: Is a tax system that takes money from the wealthy to distribute to the poor a proper application of biblical social ethics, or is it an infringement on the Christian notion of human freedom and accountability?


Literature: To what extent are we obligated to read a text according to the author’s original purpose? Is it possible to transcend the bounds of race, class, gender, and culture and truly understand an author’s intent?


Music and Visual Art: Is beauty simply in the eye of the beholder, or are there external, objective standards of beauty that can be applied to all works of art? Does the eight-note major scale sound “right” to us simply because we have been conditioned that way, or because it corresponds to some universal standard created by God?


Integration in the classroom.Demonstrating the process of integration:

A two-way street.

Faith Learning / Learning Faith

An analogy: Crossword puzzles



In real life:Astronomy

Observation, calculation Psalm 104(“He has set the earth

…”)



In the classroom: “How does what we learn in psychology/economics/philosophy affect our Christian worldview?”



Not a formula but a process; a habit of mind.



Much of our integration in the classroom will consist of vocational scholarship.

Conclusion

Find an approach that is appropriate, natural, and distinctive to your institution.

Documents

Integrating Faith and Learning