How Professors Can Integrate Faith and Learning
By Rod Dreher
Rawlings School of Divinity
CLED 720: Biblical & Theological Foundations of Education
Genevieve Hamer
July 1, 2022
Recognizing the complexity and difficulty of the integrative task, several authors have
attempted to provide guides for faculty, specifically identifying and defining various approaches
to integrating faith and learning. Mark Cosgrove and Harry Lee Poe use different labels for
these approaches, but their categorizations share some overarching points of commonality.1
One approach, described by Poe as “devotional” and by Cosgrove as “separate authorities,”
views faith and learning as complementary sources of truth running parallel to but not truly
influencing one another. Practically speaking, this approach typically emerges in the classroom
through the use of biblical analogies and metaphors. As for other approaches, Poe uses “over-
under” to describe the view of faith as a predetermined understanding of what kind of
knowledge is possible based on a particular reading of Scripture.
He finds this approach problematic because of the wide variety of influences on the
individual scholar’s interpretive grid. Cosgrove labels his second approach “equal authorities,” a
view that acknowledges the overlap of faith and learning but does not enable the scholar to dig
deep enough to examine the philosophical underpinnings of a given academic discipline. The
final approach described and embraced by both Poe and Cosgrove—labeled “critical
engagement” and “foundational authority,” respectively—allows the scholar to ask ethical,
philosophical, and theological questions. It uses the integrative task as a filter to evaluate the
content of the academic discipline and can change how the scholar thinks. The overarching
agreement for both Poe and Cosgrove is that the latter approach most accurately represents
the integrative task that is at the heart of Christian higher education.
Self-Evident Biblical Truths
However, even if we agree with Cosgrove, Poe, and Hasker that such deep analysis is a
more rigorous and genuine approach to integration, we still find differences within evangelical
Christian academia in how such analysis is carried out. From her experiences of teaching in
Christian colleges, psychology professor Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen identifies two typical
approaches among Christian scholars.3 An objectivist view relies on the belief that one can
progressively uncover the truths embedded in the world created and sustained by God. At the
risk of oversimplifying, we could say that a scholar using this approach will relentlessly pursue
academic knowledge with the confidence that in the end biblical principles will be self-evident.
In this way, an objectivist sounds somewhat similar to Hasker’s compatibilist approach.
Perspectival Approach
On the other hand, for Van Leeuwen, a perspectival approach insists that all scholars
engage in academic work with an inherent bias based on their prior experiences and influences.
Thus, perspectival scholars hold to the belief that their Christian perspectives come first in the
integrative task, providing a lens through which they study and explore. By identifying these
two approaches to integration within evangelical Christian higher education, Van Leeuwen is
touching on the vital importance of the scholar’s epistemology and hermeneutics, not
coincidentally an enterprise that is at the heart of theological study. Simply speaking,
epistemology is the study of how we know what we know, while hermeneutics is how we
interpret what we know.
Why You Should Read the Bible Regularly
What you read impacts you. Think about how you feel when you read your news feed.
Reading the Bible on a regular and consistent basis has several benefits. First, the Bible shows
us God’s character and provides us God’s revelation of himself to his people. In each section of
the Bible, we see God’s holy, unchanging, faithful, gracious and loving character.
Second, 2 Timothy 3:16–17 when discussing the topic of Scripture says that it is “profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness.” The next verse goes
on to say that this leads to the completeness and equipping “for every good work” (ESV).
Third, regularly reading God’s word reorients our thinking so that we can grow in maturity,
which is part of the Christian calling (Ephesians 4:14–16; Romans 12:1–2). Have you ever met a
mature Christian who did not regularly read the Bible? These three things are really just the
beginning, this list could include dozens of reasons why you should read the Bible on a regular
basis.
How You Can Build Regular Bible Reading Into Your Life
Reading the Bible is a spiritual discipline, which means that we need to be disciplined in
how we approach it. If you lack the desire to read the Bible, pray and ask that God would give
you a desire for his word. Then, build a time into your day to read Scripture and make this time
a priority. You should then find people to hold you accountable to a reading plan. Maybe even
start a reading plan with someone.
Approaching the Bible Rightly
While reading the Bible on a regular basis is a great start, it is also important to approach
the Bible in a proper manner. It is easy to get into a habit of trying to focus only on application
when reading the Bible. It is absolutely necessary for the Christian to apply the Bible to his or
her life, but sometimes we can make applications that are forced or unintended.
In order to avoid misapplication of texts, it is good to read whole biblical books and try to
understand the text in light of both its immediate context and in light of the entire biblical
book. Always ask what the text says about the character and nature of God.
