Christian Worldview And The Academic Disciplines

This book--an edited compilation of twenty-nine essays--focuses on the difference(s) that a Christian worldview makes for the disciplines or subject areas normally taught in liberal arts colleges and universities. Three initial chapters of introductory material are followed by twenty-six essays, each dealing with the essential elements or issues in the academic discipline involved. These individual essays on each discipline are a unique element of this book. These essays also treat some of the specific differences in perspective or procedure that a biblically informed, Christian perspective brings to each discipline. Christian Worldview and the Academic Disciplines is intended principally as an introductory textbook in Christian worldview courses for Christian college or university students. This volume will also be of interest to Christian students in secular post-secondary institutions, who may be encountering challenges to their faith--both implicit and explicit--from peers or professors who assume that holding a strong Christian faith and pursuing a rigorous college or university education are essentially incompatible. This book should also be helpful for college and university professors who embrace the Christian faith but whose post-secondary academic background--because of its secular orientation--has left them inadequately prepared to intelligently apply the implications of their faith to their particular academic specialty. Such specialists, be they professors or upper-level graduate students, will find the extensive bibliographies of recent scholarship at the end of the individual chapters particularly helpful.

This book---an edited compilation of twenty-nine essays---focuses on the difference(s) that a Christian worldview makes for the disciplines or subject areas normally tauht in liberal arts colleges and universities. Three initial chapters of introductory material are followed by twenty-six essays, each dealing with the essential elements or issues in the academic discipline involved. These individual essays on each discipline are a unique element of this book. These essays also treat some of the specific differences in perspective or procedure that a biblically informed, Christian perspective brings to each discipline. Christian Worldview and the Academic Disciplines in intended principally as an introductory textbook in Christian worldview courses for Christian college or university students. This volume will aslo be of interest to Christian students in secular post-secondary institutions who may be encountering challenges to their faith---both implicit and explicit---from peers or professors who assume that holding a strong Christian faith and pursuing a rigorous college or university education are essentially incompatible. This book should also be helpful for college and university professors who embrace the Christian faith but whose post-secondary academic background---because of its secular orientation---has left them inadequately prepared to intelligently apply the implications of their faith to their particular academic specialty. Such specialists, be they professors or upper-level graduate students, will find the extensive bibliographies of recent scholarship at the end of the individual chapters particularly helpful. "Downey and Porter present a unique contribution to the perennial question of how faith interacts with the academic disciplines. Numerous factors contribute to this book's significance: the common conviction that one's Christian beliefs ought to shape the contents of one's teaching, the variety of perspectives and opinions, and the wide range of academic disciplines under discussion. The essays---originating among the excellent faculty of Trinity Western University---will deservedly be much used in undergraduate colleges and universities."---Hans Borsma J.I. Packer Professor of Theology, Regent College "Few faculty, Christian or otherwise, understand what their colleagues in other departments are doing or why. This collection of essays is not only an excellent introduction to the whole scope of academic enterprises but to the unique and important relationship between each discipline and the Christian faith. An important book not only for the entire range of faculty but for students yearning to understand both their Christian faith and what is being taught in the classroom."---James W. Sirf author of the Universe Next Door and, with co-author carl Peraino, Deepest Differences A Christian Atheist Dialogue "Christian Worldview and the Academic Disciplines is a book long overdue. It will serve as an outstanding textbook for interdisciplinary courses. But this book is more than that. Christian Worldview and the Academic Disciplines is a book that everyone concerned with Christian thought, especially in the context of the Academy, will want to read. I highly recommend it."---Craig A. Evans Payment Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College Nova Scotia

Secularism has become the religion of the university campus, and Christians are often subjected to ridicule and taught that what they have learned from their parents, (Christian) school, and church is not worthy of consideration by a thoughtful person in today's society. How are Christian young people to be intellectually and spiritually equipped for today's college campuses? Students must first understand that "all truth is God's truth." The world is not divided into the realms of the secular, where science and humanism reign and religion has no place, and the sacred, where beliefs amount to little more than unsubstantiated opinion not worth discussing in academic circles. Nothing about God's world may be rightly understood apart from His Word. Secondly, students must recognize that everyone has a worldview through which he interprets everything around him. Humanists love to picture their approach as objective and unbiased because it is based on science while dismissing Christian thought as subjective because it is grounded in faith. Nothing could be further from the truth. Everyone makes assumptions about the nature of reality, and those assumptions, whether secular or religious, are not subject to proof. Instead, they are spectacles that color everything he sees and determine how he understands all that he encounters. Thirdly, all worldviews are not created equal. Just because worldviews are not subject to proof does not mean they cannot be evaluated. In order for a worldview to be considered valid, it must be internally consistent, must correspond to the world of human experience, and must be able to be lived out in practice. Humanistic worldviews simply don't measure up. Only the Christian worldview, founded in God's Word, provides an adequate foundation for understanding the world as it is. If a worldview is like a picture frame through which one peers out at the world, a "box" inside of which a person cannot avoid thinking, Christians must "think inside the box" that God has given us. Fourthly, the Christian student must be equipped to discern the worldviews underlying the ideas that he encounters in the college classroom, especially since they are rarely stated openly. This is essential for believers to be faithful servants of Jesus Christ by "taking every thought captive" and learning to "think God's thoughts after Him." Only then will Christians be in a position to fulfill the Cultural Mandate and exercise dominion over every aspect of life to the glory of God. Finally, thinking about reality in the context of a Christian worldview has great apologetic value. While no one should expect to argue unbelievers into the Kingdom of Heaven, we must be able to give an answer when asked why we believe and act as we do. The people in the secular society have been brainwashed to believe that Christians are ignorant, bound by outmoded tradition, and incapable of dealing realistically with the modern world. A careful analysis of secular thought will demonstrate just the opposite, and students who engage in such a study will be able to stand up in the face of the inaccurate perceptions and straw-man arguments that the world so often uses against Christians. The book covers thirteen academic disciplines organized around four broad categories - Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Fine Arts. Each chapter seeks to explain how and why the Christian approach to each subject differs from the secular approach, and the consequences of each. While each section includes specific examples, the main focus is on the underlying assumptions that distinguish Christian from non-Christian thought. After all, the conclusions reached by unbelievers are hard to attack if their worldview is tacitly accepted. We want our Christian young people to be like the Bereans who, after listening to the Apostle Paul, spent their time "examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so."

Building on foundational studies on the relationship of faith and learning, this book presents concrete examples of ways in which a Christian perspective can be brought to bear on scholarship in various academic disciplines. The editors present a typology of various strategies for faith-discipline integration, which are then exemplified by two essays in each of seven disciplines - political science, sociology, psychology, biology, mathematics, the arts, and philosophy. In each discipline a principal essayist addresses a significant issue from a Christian perspective; a respondent then analyzes that essay, suggesting at least one alternative approach.

A trusted first-year text at Christian colleges and universities Why College Matters to God is a brief, easy-to-read introduction to the unique purpose of a Christian college education. It has been widely used by Christian colleges and universities over the past decade because of its unsurpassed ability to be substantive yet accessible. The book draws on the insights of a wide range of Christian philosophers, theologians, historians, and scientists, but communicates key concepts in straightforward language that connects with a general audience. Brief enough to be paired with other texts, Why College Matters to God is an ideal introduction to the why and how of Christian learning for students, faculty, staff, and parents. The third edition preserves the qualities of the previous editions along with updated illustrations and new material on important topics such as: • Christian learning and the challenges of technology • Christian vocation, career preparation, and the liberal arts • Diversity and civility on campus • The habits of the highly effective college student

Restoring the Vocation of a Christian College examines the vocation of a Christian institution of higher learning—to faithfully educate students—and how individual Christian teachers and scholars can participate in this process no matter their discipline. It surveys and engages developments over the last few decades in Christian worldview studies, Christian pedagogy, character formation, and vocational reflection. Through individual essays by college administrators, cocurricular staff, and faculty from a wide range of disciplines, it provides both thoughtful reflection and concrete application of these often abstract concepts to specific institutional settings and the actual classroom experience.

In response to challenges from the emerging world, this book brings together essays that discuss and exemplify various related approaches to academic faith integration and explore how Christian faith should underpin, scaffold, and frame our understanding of academic disciplines, leading to practical implications for work or action in modern society and culture. Written by Christian scholars and practitioners from diverse backgrounds including the USA, the UK, Australia, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, and the Philippines, the contributions here all contribute a global perspective while addressing some specific issue or case in the context of Asia. They represent ingenious endeavors that illustrate the workings of a faith-integrated approach in domains as wide as higher education, business, science, psychology and counseling, politics, environment, media, social services, leadership, research, and technology. This volume will inform and inspire the reader into cross-cultural and inter-disciplinary studies particularly of religion, education, culture, society, and worldview.

Shaping a Christian Worldview presents a collection of essays that address the key issues facing the future of Christian higher education. With contributions from key players in the field, this book addresses the critical issues for Christian institutions of various traditions as the new century begins to leave its indelible mark on education.