I am so sorry for the delay in writing. I have finished another class and started my third at Liberty. This has been a very daunting task.
In our assignment for this week, we were challenged to write about presenting a Biblical Worldview in higher education and in our classrooms as well. Below, is my post to my class. It doesn’t matter which faith you subscribe to as long as it meets the last three words of this blog.
I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about this blog post and the implications of presenting a Biblical Worldview in today’s society. I kept thinking of the great possibilities that this idea possessed but also the repercussions that it has while teaching. I was fortunate to teach at a Catholic middle school, but even then, I found roadblocks in presenting a Biblical Worldview in my classroom since I was considered unworthy to teach religion or a religious point of view because I was an NRC. After 8 1/2 years, and more parents telling the principal that their children learned more about religion in my history class than in Religion class, was I able to help but only to a point.
I struggled for a way to present the idea of teaching history from a Biblical point of view especially if you are teaching in a secular school. I know that most of the prestigious schools in the country were founded as Christian universities, yet they have shied away from their original roots to seek secular acceptance. David Dockery tried to explain this in his article “Toward a Theology of Higher Education.” He writes that one of the main issues that many colleges and universities are confused where to put theological/religious studies.[1] If you don’t know where to put something, how can it be an integral part of your school and your student’s education? Simply put, it won’t be!
Many of the colleges and universities today are stuck trying to find ways for their students to continue their studies in the throws of the Covid-19 pandemic. They are struggling to get online classes setup for their students when many of them have never entertained the idea on teaching online. Now would be the perfect time for them to integrate such a worldview into their new programs. In the article, “Integrating a Biblical Worldview and Developing Online Courses for the Adult Learner”, Mary Quinn writes that “educators designing and developing curriculum for online adult students need to integrate faith in a way that reveals their own thorough understanding of the Christian worldview: they must embrace the task of identifying the faith assumptions of their own disciplines, so they can then challenge their students to do likewise.”[2]
If we are to present a Biblical Worldview within history, then we must be able to share our faith with our students to help them make similar connections. One of the best ways to share this was written in Paul’s letter to the Romans (15:4) “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”[3] A Biblical Worldview isn’t learning solely about history but being able to provide something vital – HOPE.
[1] David S. Dockery, Toward a Theology of Higher Education. (JETS 62.1, 2019).
[2] Quinn, Mary E., Laura S. Foote, and Michele L. Williams. “Integrating a Biblical Worldview and Developing Online Courses for the Adult Learner.” Christian Scholar’s Review 41, no. 2 (2012): 163-73.
[3] Romans 15:4
Seeking History 