Integrating Faith and Learning
By Rick Ostrander
Academic Dean, John Brown University
August, 2008
Background: Where did the notion of
“integration” come from?
The Colonial Era
 The Puritans: Harvard, 1636
 1600s 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
The Secularization of the Academy, late 1800s
 Modern science
 Growth in size and stature of universities
 Public land grant universities, 1860s
 New private universities
 A new purpose
 A new faculty role: the “objective” scholar
The Secularization of the Academy, late 1800s
 Modern science
 Growth in size and stature of universities
 Result: 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
The Revival of Explicitly Christian Higher
Education
 Abraham Kuyper, late-19th century
 Calvin College, 20th century
 The Big Three: Plantinga, Wolterstorff, Marsden
 Marsden, The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship
The Revival of Explicitly Christian Higher
Education
 Abraham Kuyper, late-19th century
 Calvin College, 20th century
 From 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
Integration of Faith and Learning:
The Current Situation
 Challenges to the Integration Model, 1990s
 The Baylor University controversy
Sloan’s vision: Baylor 2012
 Yankee Evangelicals vs. Texas Baptists

Integration of Faith and Learning:
The Current Situation
 Challenges to the Integration Model, 1990s
 The Baylor University controversy
 Messiah College: “Enlarging the Conversation”
Integration of Faith and Learning:
The Current Situation
 Challenges to the Integration Model, 1990s
 Criticism #1: Too narrow
 Criticism #2: Too negative
 Military metaphors: “taking captive,” “battle of ideas,” etc.
 Christians should build bridges, not fortresses
Integration of Faith and Learning:
The Current Situation
 Challenges to the Integration Model, 1990s
 Criticism #1: Too narrow
 Criticism #2: Too negative
 Criticism #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”
Varieties of integration
 By institution:
 Public institutions
 Christian institutions: more public, explicit, and systematic
Varieties of integration
 By institution
 By faith tradition
 Roman Catholic: the “sacramental principle”
Varieties of integration
 By institution
 By faith tradition
 Roman Catholic: the “sacramental principle”

the created world and human culture can serve as a mediator of
God’s grace
Varieties of integration
 By institution
 By faith tradition
 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’)
 By institution
 By faith tradition
 Roman Catholic
 Reformed
 Anabaptist: the Kingdom of God is among the poor and
powerless; living brings understanding.

Emphasize practical application (ethics, social sciences)
Varieties of integration
 By institution
 By faith tradition
 By 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.
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 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.
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 The motivational level
Charles Murray,
“For God’s Eye: The Surprising
Role of Christianity in
Human Achievement”
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 The motivational level
The 50-yard line prayer vs.
quiet excellence on the field.
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 The motivational level
The danger: The “separate spheres” fallacy.
Faith
Learning
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 The motivational level
If 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.
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 The foundational level
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 The foundational level
Worldviews, paradigms,
interpretive frameworks
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 The foundational level

The Christian worldview:
 Creation
 Fall
 Redemption/Consummation
 The natural world: real, but finite
 Human beings: in God’s image, but corrupted
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 The foundational level

The Christian worldview:
 Creation
 Fall
 Redemption/Consummation
 The natural world: real, but finite
 Human beings: in God’s image, but corrupted
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 The foundational level

The more a discipline deals with foundational,
worldview assumptions, the more explicit the role of
Christian faith will be.
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 The foundational level
The Implicit/Explicit Continuum
Implicit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explicit
Mathematics
Natural
Sciences
Social
Sciences
History
Arts and
Literature
Philosophy/
Theology
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
An example: American History
in a Mennonite key.

Juhnke and Hunter,
The Missing Peace
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 The foundational level
Implication: The Christian scholar must be an
amateur theologian/philosopher.
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 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?

Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 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
Integration of Faith and Scholarship
 An analogy: Jazz music
1.
2.
3.
4.
Christians often have special insight into the
meaning of their field of study.
This insight may be implicit or explicit, depending on
the nature of their scholarship.
Despite this special insight, Christians can learn
valuable truths about their discipline from nonChristians.
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 of Faith and Teaching
 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 of Faith and Teaching
 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 of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
The three levels, but at times more
intentional and explicit.
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 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 of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
1. Motivational level
2. Foundational level
The Implicit/Explicit Continuum
Implicit ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Explicit
Mathematics
Natural
Sciences
Social
Sciences
History
Arts and
Literature
Philosophy/
Theology
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
1. Motivational level
2. Foundational level
3. Applied/Ethical level

In the discipline itself (science, history, etc.)

In its application (business, law, nursing, etc.)
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
Some practical suggestions…
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
Generally, small, frequent exercises and
reminders are more effective than “Christian
foundations of X.”
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
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 Ago
Listen 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?
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
Reflection papers, essay questions:
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?
1.
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
The “integrative question” (Harold Hie)
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 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?
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 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?
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 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?
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 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 of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
Demonstrating the process of integration:
A two-way street.
Faith  Learning / Learning  Faith
An analogy: Crossword puzzles
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
Demonstrating the process of integration:

In real life:
Astronomy
Observation, calculation   Psalm 104
(“He has set the earth …”)
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
Demonstrating the process of integration:

In the classroom: “How does what we learn in
psychology/economics/philosophy affect our
Christian worldview?”
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
Not a formula but a process; a habit of mind.
Integration of Faith and Teaching
 Integration in the classroom.
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.