For my first blog entry on this site, I can think of no better introduction than some thoughts on the necessity of the need for a biblical worldview.
Recently several politicians have drawn a proverbial line in the sand between their personal religious beliefs and their actions in political office. The message, whether intended or not, is that personal belief is a private, internal matter that has little to no effect on behavior. This fragmented view of reality allows them to support popular opinion on an issue with their vote even though they may stand personally opposed to the issue. This approach to life is typically described as postmodernism and is not limited to the realm of politics. It also occurs in the circles of academia. I experienced this first-hand in college.
I started my college degree in the sciences and found one of the most difficult tasks that I faced was the integration of my faith with the scientific worldview. When I changed to a major in biblical and theological studies I assumed that the integration of faith and scholarship would be relatively easy by comparison. Instead, I found an even greater pressure to separate the two spheres. This pressure arises from the emphasis the academy places on empirical data, while the supernatural is relegated to the subjective realm of belief. Yet this fails to take into account that favoring facts over belief is itself a value arising from a post-enlightenment worldview. Indeed, scholars in the field of biblical studies often separate their faith from their academic work out of a desire to be accepted in the larger academic community. They view what they do in the academy as belonging to the objective realm, while relegating their faith to the subjective realm. This fragmentation leads to an implicit understanding that faith does not belong in the classroom, which is subsequently passed on to students. In his recent book, Taking Religion to School, Stephen Webb notes that when it comes to matters of faith in the higher education classroom, students “go to great lengths of stylistic awkwardness, constructing sentences in the passive voice (“It is believed . . .”) and with indirect references (“Some people might argue . . .”), to avoid the obvious and obfuscate their honesty.”[1]
Yet despite this pressure, there is a motivation for my work in the field of biblical studies that I lacked in the sciences. I have pursued biblical studies precisely because of my faith. Indeed, if it were not for my belief in the Bible as the Word of God and what it teaches, I certainly would not have poured my life into its study. The perspective of the Old and New Testaments is the basis for my own worldview and I do not separate my faith from my academic study. I find justification for this in Matthew 22:37-38, “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’”[2] To me, this means that my study of the Bible is a form of worship and is something I do with my whole being. Thus, my faith is very much a part of the way I study the Bible in the classroom or in moments of private worship and communion with God. This approach has been historically described as faith seeking understanding.
Another implication of fully integrating my scholarship with a biblical worldview is that I make little to no distinction with respect to my roles in the church and in the academy. People who choose biblical studies in college or go to seminary often either go into the ministry or college level teaching. I once had the president of a seminary ask me at what point I decided to pursue an academic career instead of a career in ministry. I responded that I did not see the two as mutually exclusive. There is a pastoral element to teaching, especially in a Christian college or university, and teaching is certainly integral to the role of pastor. This was modeled for me in seminary, as many of my professors served in pastoral roles in their local church in addition to their teaching responsibilities. Even in their role as seminary professors, they always took the time to meet with students to talk with them about how issues from class impacted their lives. Students could interact with the professors on campus and then continue that mentoring relationship in church on Sunday. The perspectives of the Bible studied and clarified in class were not just the subject of intellectual inquiry. They were principles for living.
Therefore, the biblical texts and their perspectives are both the subject of my scholastic endeavors and the divine instruction through which I seek to grow in my relationship with Christ. Wisdom and an awareness of my audience are prerequisites for this sort of integration in order to interact with the larger scholarly community without compromise (Matthew 10:16). Robert Harris summarizes the aim of such integration as follows: “The goal of the integration of faith and learning is to connect the two—Biblical truth and academic knowledge—into a unified, coherent whole.”[3] I teach biblical studies as an academic subject that is applicable to life. All truth is God’s truth. It is our task with the aid of the Holy Spirit to discern it. “Test everything. Hold on to the good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).
Recommended books:
James W. Sire, Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept.
John MacArthur, Think Biblically: Recovering a Christian Worldview.
Nancy Pearcy, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity.
[1] Stephen H. Webb, Taking Religion To School: Christian Theology and Secular Education. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2000, p. 99.
[2] All biblical citations come from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.
[3] “Foundations for Faith-Learning Integration,” Poster Session presented at the National Faculty Leadership Conference, Washington, D.C. June 25, 2004. p. 25.