Integration of Faith in Life and in the Learning Process in Christian Institutions A Professional Presentation By Franklyn N. Baldeo, Ph.D Professor of Education School of Education & Human Sciences To Philosophical Foundations of Education Class Graduate Education Programme, USC Thursday, November 7, 2013
• Christian Education must put students, teachers and administrators in constant and meaningful contact with our Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer. • A key focus of a Christian institution is the integration of Faith with Learning and Living. • This must be evident in our teaching and scholarship.
• Christianity originates this focus from the most important principle given to the Church, in which the Master Teacher says: • "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. - Matthew 22: 37-38
―Christian education must prepare us to have that kind of relationship and friendship with God, enabling us to give Him the honour and glory throughout our lifetime.‖ – Baldeo, (2013) ― As Christian educators, Christian education must first make an impact in and on our lives before we can have it, through us, make any impact on the students that come under our care.‖ – Baldeo, (2013)
What is Integration? ―A key focus of a Christian university is the integration of faith with learning and living in its teaching and scholarship. Faith, heart, soul, and intellect must function synergistically to empower students fully‖ (Harris, 2000).
"Faith is the areas of personal communion with God--it values traits such as trust and love rather than precision of thought or emotional detachment, and learning is represented by cautious generalizations of philosophy or the carefully controlled inductive truths of empirical science." (Wilhoit,1987)
Integration of Faith in the Learning process is a conscientious and contemplated approach to enhance learning from a God-fearing perspective, and with specific aims and aspirations so as to better equip the learner to face the world beyond school and even beyond life. (Baldeo, 1995)
not a process that is strange, unusual, or unique to Christianity. an activity performed by everyone who understands the need for a coherent worldview, if we understand faith as the set of basic beliefs, preferences, and presuppositions that guide our lives, then everyone, religious or not, practices the integration of faith and learning.
• Authentic integration of F&L lies at the heart of true Christian education. • F&L belong together, and knowledge is limited when one is used without the other. • Faith needs learning, and learning needs faith. • Faith without assumptions tends to study the trivial.
• The teacher's life should be so imbued with the Christ-centered worldview that it is evident in every aspect of living, including the academic discipline. • The integrating factors in SDA Christian education is God and the Bible.
What does Integration Involve? a. The inclusion of the whole person; b. Christianity as an original foundational principle; c. Acknowledging the reasonableness and truth of Christianity; d. Applying the standards and worldview of Christianity to thought and behaviour; e. Thinking and behaving like a Christian; f. Teaching our students how to think and behave like a Christian;
g. A call to cultural evaluation by Christian standards: "Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." John 7:24 ; h. A call to social response; i. The understanding of human nature, human value, and human potential through the light of Biblical truth. j. Helping in the understanding of what God is doing; k. Practicing of relating everything to Christ – The Master Teacher
What Faith – Learning Integration does not Involve? a. using academic disciplines as a source of illustrations for spiritual truths; b. designing a public relations programme to convince constituents of the Christian character of an institution; c. just modelling Christianity to students, or telling them how to think like a Christian;
d. layering of biblical illustration into academic class work; e. substituting a devotional for a solid teaching of the subject; f. the dilution of academic standards with preaching; g. praying for your students every now and then; h. just beginning each class with prayer.
Approaches to Integration
Disjunction In some educational programmes identified as Christian, there is a total separation of Faith and Learning. Faith experiences are left to chapel periods, Bible classes, extra- curricular activities, or weekends of religious functions. Learning is channelled to the ―academic subjects‖ - the arts, science, literature. If one was to drop in such classes, it would be difficult to tell any difference from a course taught at a non-sectarian institution. There is in essence a disjunction of Faith and Learning, each relegated to its own sphere.
Dialogue In some educational settings that seek to be Christian, there are occasional interaction between Faith and Learning. Some of these contacts take the form of dialogue, although these are at times unpleasant. In these exchanges, Faith shouts across the chasm launching attacks on the heresies of evolution, new age, hypnotism, homosexuality, etc. The teacher asserts, ―we do not believe in this, it is wrong, it is anti-Biblical, and we know what we believe. A few supportive texts are fired off.
Interface A somewhat more fruitful interaction occurs when teacher and students pause on occasion to explore some obvious faith and learning overlap – such as presenting the creation perspective when dealing with the origins of life. This is obviously an improvement over disjunction and dialogue, but it still falls short of true integration. The problem lies in the fact that after exploring the perceived overlap (interface), the class moves on for long stretched devoid of the faith perspective.
Integration True integration occurs when faith and learning become the pervasive driving force in Christian education. This implies that when learning takes place, faith must be exercises through an endeavour to see the fullness of life from God‘s perspective. Furthermore, faith implies a commitment to grow in knowledge. It is not sufficient to merely stand for truth; we must walk the truth (Psalms 86:11). It is not enough to think from time to time about spiritual matters; we must think Christianly about the totality of life and learning.
Integrating Faith Learning and Life "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). "Faith, without works, is dead" (James 2:17; also 1:22-25). "In your lives, you must think and act like Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5 NICB).
It seems evident that faith and learning have been intimately joined through the power of the Word (see Figure ). It is not sufficient, however, to merely know, nor even to believe. Rather, there must be a life response.
Faith • Faith is not blind devotion or lame belief. Rather, faith is a reasonable commitment, based upon substantial evidence (Heb. 11:1). • Faith does not exist in isolation or in a vacuum. It must have an object. One must have faith in something or someone.
Learning • To learn is to change. It is a transformation of heart, mind, and being. • Change in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and/or values. • "Come unto Me... and learn from Me..." (Matthew 11:28, 29). • There must be a change in the mind - learning to think Christianly, followed by a change of life - learning to live by faith.
Life • Life is more than mere existence. • Christ declared, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). • Life is God-centered, for God is Source of life. He is the Sustainer of life. He is the ultimate Focus of life.
• "And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent" (John 17:3). • A productive life, means transforming knowledge into practice; • A meaningful life, is filled with love toward God and man.
Integration • The integration of faith, learning, and life is more than a mingling or chance encounter. Rather it is a dynamic union, a bringing together of fragments into a living whole. • We clearly view faith-learning-living integration as an intellectual activity that is a ―journey rather than a destination, a process rather than a product.‖ (Korniejezuk & Kijai, 1994, p. 99).
What is my Worldview? ―theory of everything that makes the world make sense,‖ ―those beliefs and values that we truly use when we make decisions or interpret our own experiences.‖
Why must we Integrate our Faith with Learning and Life? • Understand Christian scholarship in various fields; • Inspire students in our institutions to reach their fullest intellectual potential; • Develop the whole person – head, heart, and hands; • Understand faith & reason in terms of Christian epistemology: (i) theory, (ii) philosophy of truth, & (iii) knowledge.
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