F. Y. I.
9-4-2001
Why Study the Liberal Arts?
Ron Oakerson
The Gifts of the Jews- how a tribe of desert nomads changed everyone – Thomas Cahill
- Object lesson – Moses looking at promised land, but not able to enter
- Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime
- Then, Why Try? Do the least possible to get by
- If what matters is the ultimate outcome, then the statement is right
- Accomplishment is intergenerational – maybe the deepest Hebrew insight
Purpose of education – to build a partnership between generations that sustains human
accomplishment and enables each one of us to do the things that really matter.
Education has a purpose of its own
- Must embody a respect for history and tradition
- 20th century rejected tradition
o Early to mid 20th – submitted to relentless criticism
o Misplaced criticism because critics were looking for a single generation achievement
- History is replete with unfinished projects
o U.S. Constitution is an ongoing project being amended when the need arises
- Christians talk of culture as if it is apart from us and evil
Culture – endures for longtime and contributes to life
- Not a Fad. Fads are easily extinguished
- When culture erodes, and is displaced, chaos ensues
- Blink 182 = anti-culture
- Conceptions of good and evil
- Great Questions
- Christian College -
o Preserving and making culture
o Maintaining Christian culture through the stream of time
Liberal Arts – Arts of Liberty
- Living as free people
- Train people to use liberty well, because on their own, they might not
- Distinguished Liberty and license
o Liberty = use of freedom beneficially
o License = abuse of freedom
- Civic purpose
- Mission- to instruct students in the arts of liberty so they may use it well to accomplish things that really matter
- To discover your unfinished project
o How we can contribute to the stream of Christian Culture that flows through time and leads us to eternity
o People think that Christian Liberal Arts is an oxymoron
F. Y. I.
9-18-2001
Diversity
Matthew Webb
What is it?
- Is more than how we look, or what we believe
- Differing from one another
- Composed of distinct or unlike elements or qualities
Two levels
- Primary Level and Secondary Level
- Primary Level
o Basic differences
o Things which we have no control over
o Age, race, gender, ethnicity, physical ability
- Secondary Level
o Issues and beliefs
o Education, income, religious beliefs, parental status, marital status, family dynamics, geographic location, military experience
How does this affect us?
- Understanding who we are and what makes us different helps us to
o Avoid being exclusive
o Become more inclusive
How do we become more inclusive?
- Recognize our own prejudices about others
- Learn about others and why they are different and what makes them that way
- Date more, and listen
o The time and effort required for listening to and interacting with people very similar to us is low.
o The time and effort required for listening to and interacting with people very different from us is high
General Guidelines for being inclusive
- Celebrate diversity in others
- Acknowledge your stereotypes and prejudices
- Ask people about their cultural identity
- Choose videos with a new sensitivity
- Be respectful
- Avoid sexist, heterosexist, and racist language
o Especially in jokes
- Don’t let ethnic slurs pass without comment
- Be open to feedback
F. Y. I.
9-20-2001
Purpose and Structure of Integrative Studies Curriculum
Paul Young
Integrative studies curriculum: The core of your inheritance
- Inheritance – not earned; received at the right time
- Integrative studies – general education
- Romans 12:1,2 – Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is you spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
- Integrate – make all things fit together
What is it?
- Something like high school all over again? Yes
o Differences are:
§ More advanced
§ More diverse – studies more points of view
§ More Christian
- A major? In some respects- 54 hours is Integrative Studies
o Info to live in the world, not of the world
- Something to keep you from studying important things?
o Makes you study important things
- Something to get out of the way?
o Opportunities to develop, learn, for God to conform you to his image, the image of his son
- Jose Ortega Y Gasset (1883 – 1955)
o [Culture is] the ensemble or system of clear, firm ideas concerning the universe, positive convictions about the nature of things . . . it is precisely the opposite of an external __________
o {Beware the] peculiar brutality and aggressive stupidity with which a man comports himself when he knows a great deal about one thing and is totally ignorant of the rest
- The Integrative Study curriculum is designed to prevent brutality and stupidity
What will it do to you?
- Make you healthy wealthy and wise? Yes
o Seek wisdom
- Show you strange, new worlds? Yes
- Make you a better person? Yes
o Understand more of others
- Get you dates? Yes
o Makes you a more interesting person
Should you be afraid?
- Yes. Be very afraid.
- You will be changed
- You will see your character
- You will learn the source of your own ideas, and see how to make them even better
- You will touch the mind of God
Why remain at college or study in a time of war?
- There is always some type of conflict in the world
- God brought us here for a reason, not to leave to go to war
- To become a future defender of the faith
An outline of the Curriculum
- First year curriculum (required)
o FYI
o Writing
o Western Civ
o Bib Lit
- Recommended First Year
o Math
o Lifetime Wellness
o Foreign Language
o Research Requirement
F. Y. I.
9-25-2001
Integrity Choices (Community Responsibilities)
Denise Bakerink
Three foundational pillars of the Statement of Community Responsibility
- Commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ
o If not a Christian, than sympathetic to the faith
- Commitment to Christian Community
- Commitment to personal integrity
o Integrity is the most fundamental act of promise keeping
Statement of Community Responsibilities
- Promise to community
- Need to help each other
o Brother’s and sister’s keeper
- Confrontation – need to follow certain pattern
o Matthew 18:15-17 – If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
Structure of Statement of Community Responsibilities
- Not to punish or get in trouble
- The school doesn’t try to catch people breaking the statement
- Two parts
o Biblical Principles
§ Love God and Neighbors
§ Forgive and care about each other
§ Confront in a spirit of love and healing
§ Behavioral expectations – don’t get drunk, steal, or cheat
o Expectations for the common good
§ Things we willingly give up while at Houghton
§ Think about things you spend time doing
· Music, T.V., movies, etc
F. Y. I.
10-2-2001
On Giants Shoulders
Larry Johnson
Financial Aid
- There is a difference between liberal arts training and vocational training
- 82% of the students at Houghton College receive financial aid
- Tuition and fees never cover the full cost
- Houghton offers merit based and need based financial aid
- Ivy League schools only offer merit based financial aid
- Endowment – 4.5% of aid
Willard J. Houghton
- Didn’t graduate from a secondary school
- Member of the Houghton Wesleyan Church
- Started a seminar that opened in 1884, and was debt free in 1887
- By his death, he raised $20,000 for school
o Paid for the entire campus, buildings, etc.
Luckey
- Graduated in 1889
- Worked to get the charters for Houghton College
- Won accreditation by Middle States
- Made Houghton a Christian School, not a bible school
- Solicited people in area to receive an endowment
- Raised the $100,000 necessary to ensure stability
- Got a permanent charter in 1927
Paine
- Took office at age 28, youngest college president in the United States
- One of the 100 scholars that translated the New International Version of the bible
- Gift officers travel around to get money for endowments from alumni
F. Y. I.
10-9-2001
Value of a Cross-Cultural Experience
Paul Shea
Personal Perspective
Basic Values
- Broaden World-view
o The more we interact with people different than us, the higher our moral development
o Puts faces on world problems
- Greater Tolerance and Civility
o Meet people of different religions and different political beliefs
- Stronger Faith and Winsome Witness
o Stretched and challenged view and beliefs
o Search unfamiliar territories for faith
- Enriched Life and Friendship
- A New Improved Person
o Learn a lot about yourself far from home
o Learn how intolerant when you are confronted with a different culture and lifestyles
Opportunities
- On Campus
o Student groups – ISA, WMF
o Service and Outreach – YFC, ACO, Habitat for Humanity, etc.
o Diverse friends
o Curriculum
- Off Campus
o Houghton Programs
§ Houghton in London, Houghton in Tanzania
o CCCU Programs
o Others
o Internships, Missions, etc.
What to Do
- Check-up
o Who are my friends?
o What are my prejudices?
o How big is my world?
- Actions
o Participate in broader world
o Study abroad
o Keep up with world events
o Be a life-time learner
F. Y. I.
10-16-2001
Relationships and Behavior
Michael Lastoria
Friends of the Heart
- Friends for life
Friends of the Journey
- Temporary friends
- Important, but Friends of the Heart are more important
Important Characteristics of Friendship
- Trust
o Dependability, reliability
o Keep promises, don’t make too many promises
- Understanding of the other person
o Where the person is coming from
o Understanding people who are different
§ Different values, etc.
- Care
o Friends can put a claim on the other person’s time
o Need to help friends because they are our friends
- Forgiveness
o Allow humanity
o People will fail at these characteristics
o Key to any long lasting relationship
- Encouragement
- Communication
o Like an un-watered plant, so too will friendships without communication die
Three Kinds of Friendship (Aristotle)
- Based on Affection
- Based on Usefulness
- Based on Character
o Highest friendship
Three Kinds of Commitment
- To loyalty and consistency
- To caring
- To allowing claim
F. Y. I.
10-23-2001
Community Perspectives: Getting Involved
Panel
Rotary Club
- “Service above self”
- Enhances the community through projects
- Get involved – don’t be isolated
- The Guy
o 1971 – Bought a house
o Principal of Belmont Central School
o Amity Daze – Community Yard sale
-
Royal Family Kids Camp
- Mr. Vanwickland
o Child Psychologist
o Cam director – Camp Asbury
- For abused and neglected children – creates positive memories
- Builds a trusting relationship
- Fun for a week
- Kids age 6-12
- 48 kids, with 1 councilor for every two kids
- Volunteer Service
School Board
- Diane Galloway
o School Board member – Fillmore School
- Attend meetings
- Involved with activities in the local schools
- Quality education for all students
- Find your passion
- Enter to learn, go forth to serve
F. Y. I.
10-25-2001
Life of a Christian Vocation
Carl Schultz
Vocation
- Something that takes you
- A calling
o Necessitates Christian perspective
o Need a caller – God
o Need a callee – Us
o Need a calling – purposeful assignment
- Term originally limited to the monastic profession
- Any job that does not violate the 10 Commandments should be considered a vocation
- Emphasizes satisfaction – Society above self
Career
- Going in circles rapidly and repeatedly
- Same Latin world for “car”
- Demands intelligence to learn skill
- Calling demands critical intelligence to know why and if it is worth getting from here to there
- Emphasizes status – self above others
The call of discipleship goes out to all of us
- Called to serve neighbors with our God given gifts
- Call to salvation
- Career must be subject to our vocation
Three practical statements for career selection
- 1. Professional pursuits must be in keeping with our calling to salvation
- 2. Determined by world needs
- 3. In light of our God given talents
- We never work for our own good alone.
F. Y. I.
10-30-2001
The Christian Mind
Mike Walters
A Christian mind is a mind trained, informed, equipped to handle data of secular controversy within a framework of reference which is constructed of Christian presuppositions
A Christian mind is a mind that has been developed in such a way that it views everything Christianly
A Premise
- Necessary to ask where concept originated
- St. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Paul
- Luke 2:39-52 (40, 46-47, 49b, 52)
o 40And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. 46After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 49b“Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” 52And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
- Jesus was human
o Submitted himself to learning
o Modeled Christian mind
The Problem
- Scandal of Evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind
- Christians have bypassed the development of the Christian mind
- Evangelical Christians – choice between loving God or loving truth
- Harry Blamires – as a thinking being, the modern Christian has succumbed to secularization
- We’re in a battle of ideas
- Anti-intellectualism is a sin
- The problem is not that they believe nothing, it’s that they believe anything
- Our generation is 4% evangelized
o Boomers – 35%
o Busters – 15%
The Proposal
- Give self to the life-long task of glorifying the Lord with our minds
- John Calvin – The human mind is the chief forge of idols
- False ideas are the greatest obstacles to the reception of the gospels
- Proverbs 2:1-6 – My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
- I Chronicles 28:9 – And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
- Psalms 26:2 – Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind;
- Isaiah 26:3 – You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts you.
- Jeremiah 11:20 – But, O Lord Almighty, you who judge righteously and test the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.
- Jeremiah 17:10 – I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.
- Jeremiah 20:12 – O Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.
- Matthew 22:37 – Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
- Romans 12:2 – Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.
- Rather than looking at academic life to get a degree, look at it as a critical part of your discipleship
- Mark Noll – The search for a Christian mind is not, in the end, a search for the mind, but a search for God
A Heart for Truth
Greg Spencer
Chapter 5: My Basic Problem is That I Take Me Wherever I Go
- It is usually when our resources are stretched beyond their limits that we are left with the question, “Just who am I”
- The Angel in Us All
o First, it was God’s idea to have humans around
o Second, being created in God’s image also means that we are like him in some ways
o Third, being created in the image of God means that we are capable of relating to God
- Then Came the Beast
o Sin entered the world, and there is a beast in all of us. The image of God is fogged up, tinted, cracked, not fully operative
o The basic consequence of the Fall can be summarized in one vexing proposition: My basic problem is that I take me wherever I go
o None of us will ever be completely released from our fallen natures
o The World is fallen, too
Chapter 6: Putting the Good News First
- To have been created by God means that we bear his image
- To have fallen means that on our own we cannot hope to live out God’s purposes for us
- We can no more erase his imprint than we can erase our personhood
- A third word and a second tree
o To have been redeemed means that this fallen self, which “does evil and clings to it,” can begin to become a soul that does good and clings to it, especially the good called God
o Second tree = the cross
o Following God is exhilarating because he will keep us from complacency, challenging because he will use circumstances to develop our souls, and consoling because we know that he acts out of goodness
- Three pressures and some redemptive relief
o Identity Thumping
§ Unless you want to spend your days wallowing in a muddy self-image, you need to get some grasp on who you are and where you are going
§ Redeemed from our cursed state to the family of God
§ It frees you from the tyranny of living to impress or please others
o Stress
§ Some students can’t handle freedom, responsibility
§ Stress reminds us of our need for help
§ God is in control; the world won’t disintegrate without us
o Loneliness
§ “The sole cause of man’s unhappiness is that he does not know how to stay quietly in his own room” – Pascal
§ Need to move from fearing aloneness to appreciating it
§ Isolation is not necessarily desolation
- Redemption provides relief from the pressures of daily experience
Chapter 7: Can I Love Me If I Know Me?
- Didn’t Jesus command that I love myself?
o Because only God belongs at the center of the universe, we are rejecting him whenever we place self-importance above others
- Humility: A God’s-Eye View
o The essence of all sin – preoccupation with self
o Humility is having a God’s-eye view of ourselves, as neither a despicable worm who should be covered in salt nor a world-class saint
- Wishing won’t make it so
o Self-esteem, not self-preoccupation
o Humility gives us more room to be preoccupied with God and his world
- Is anybody else out there?
o The second result of true humility is an improvement in our ability to empathize
o First step out of an obsession with our own importance is to spend considerable time and effort doing something for someone else
- Praise that can hide or heal
o There is a shortage of meaningful praise
o The promise of the Good News can become the best news for your soul, giving you the building materials for an identity secure enough to take the risks needed to love others
Chapter 8: Friendship in an Age of Kleenex
- Friendship is a treasure that should be kept in constant repair
- Daniel in the lion’s dorm
o Kindred spirits are rare
o Enduring friendships took real effort on my part
- Kleenex relationships and plastic commitments
o Easy mobility leads us to expect impermanence in relationships
o Factors that contribute to the current lack of relational commitment:
§ Pluralism – The availability of multiple options
§ Pragmatism – an orientation toward what works
§ Poor models – you may have never witnessed a relationship that you want to imitate
- The ingredients of camaraderie
o Commonality of interests and values
§ When we see our vision shared by another, companionship grows into friendship
o Sharp and constructive honesty
§ Injuries inflicted by true friends are meant to cut out the cancer of sin, or destroy spiritual disease
o Courage and Faithfulness
§ We should value most highly the best of all possible gifts, our faithful friends, who are hard to find in a throwaway, plasticized society
- Covenantal companionships require time, the risk-taking that honesty implies, and the faithfulness of sacrifice
Chapter 9: Sex: It’s both Less and More Than You Think
- Debunking the hype
o Cultural Message #1 – Romance without sex is like dinner without dessert
§ Romance supposedly gives meaning to life
§ Sex can produce alienation as easily as intimacy
o Cultural Message #2 – Sex is like a good belch
§ Sex is not merely a physical act
§ All physical drives are not equally important for our survival
§ Sexual desire is not like burp-pressure
- How sex comes down when it’s raised up
o Because sex is pursued for physical pleasure, it has become debased, trivialized, and cheapened
o Sex is less than we think because it is not the source of soul-satisfying intimacy
o Sex is also more than we think
- The purpose of sex or “The Song of Songs” says what?
o The purpose of sex is to foster the lover / beloved union found in marriage
- The nature of sex or “Why does it say ‘Adam knew Eve’?”
o Sex is the most significant sharing of intimate knowledge that can take place on the physical level
o Sex is the most significant psychological experience we can participate in with another human being
- The case against non-marital sex or “The diff. between tigers and kitties”
o Sex should take place within the context of marriage; non-marital sex is immoral, inadvisable, and most likely regrettable
o Babies – those funny little gurgly, poopy blobs – more often result from sexual intercourse than any other leading brand of fun
o Those who have premarital sex may feel guilty about it
- Taming the beast
o The sex act is a profound experience, with enormous potential for abuse
o The marital union provides the most secure environment for a healthy expression of sex
o The Bible is clear about the need to take sexual sin seriously
- Because sex is less than we think, we ought not overstate its riches or put too much hope in it. Because sex is also more than we think, we ought to protect it, recognize the massive risks we take when we toy with it, and “love our neighbors” without treating them as sexual objects
Chapter 10: Is Dating Emotional Fornication?
- Dating American-style (or how to think you’re having more fun than you’re having)
o Dating tends to be exclusive
o One expectation in dating is to take the vague idea of pairing off and refine it into a specific, identifiable claim: “We are a Couple”
o Dating is about romance
o Dating pushes a couple toward privacy
o Dating encourages sexual activity
- “You belong to me!”
o Emotional fornication refers to the premature expression of loyalty to one another
o Biblical directive: do not act united until you are formally united
o Dating is emotional fornication if the couple attempts to live as if they have already taken the vows of marriage
o Because you trust God, sacrifice today’s joy for tomorrow’s promise
- So what does confirmed bachelor St. Paul know about dating?
o Romans 14 – since we do not live to please ourselves but the lord (7-8), our behavior should strive for what is found in his kingdom: righteousness and peace and joy (17)
o I Corinthians 7 – [unmarried status gives] less divided devotion to God (32, 34) and fewer troubles from societal and family pressures (28, 33)
o Single minded pursuit of the Lord is easier for the single person not distracted by the responsibilities of marriage
o You should encourage the pursuit of peace and mutual edification in all your relationships, and you should take advantage of your single state as a way to avoid entanglements that could draw your attention away from the discipleship to which every Christian is called
- In the beginning, friendship
o Friendship is inclusive and open ended
o Dating is un-inclusive and seeks privacy
o For friends, solitude is not advantageous except when discussing confidential or sensitive subject matter
o Heterosexual friends can relate interpersonally yet avoid dating’s romantic orientation
o Friendship arouses only such personal expectations as trustworthiness and sympathy
- The lost art of courtship
o Dating is misdirected illusion
o Courtship focuses on marriage
o Courtship may add the seriousness of potential vow-making, but it does not subtract the joys of romantic attraction
o Courtship is romance for the sake of marriage
- Breaking the pattern
o Changing your perspective requires a clear sense of where you are headed and what you want to avoid
o Recognize that in a world with an un-heavenly bent, living by faith is not just a matter of bearing down and “doing good” with gritted teeth
Chapter 11: What? I’m Also Expected to Think?
- Thinking about thinking in a non-thinking culture
o “People sup together, play together, travel together, but they do not think together” – Allan Bloom
o Many in the church have lost the passion to understand God’s world
o There must be a sense of need to motivate us
o There must be a constructive response to that need
- Thinking for Christians who aren’t sure about thinking
o True or False? “All Christians are called on to develop the mind”
§ We must love God with our minds because God wants our entire beings to be devoted to him
§ We are to love God with our minds because we are to be good stewards of all that we have been given
§ As our minds learn better how to love God, we are less likely to follow happily along with every slip and slide of our culture
§ We are to love God with our minds out of gratitude that we are able to do so
o Essay Question: “Are some Christians particularly called to be thinkers?”
§ Three marks of the Christian Thinker
· A passion for being because the Father is the creator and source of all being
· A reverence for language because Jesus Christ is the word and mind of the father
· An enthusiasm for history because the Holy Spirit works through history to produce variety and to unite all men to himself
- Thinking for Christians who are ready to think
o Your frame of reference is the set of presuppositions that informs your thinking
o Six marks of the Christian mind
§ Supernatural orientation, an awareness of evil, an objective conception of truth, an acceptance of authority, a concern for the person, and a sacramental cast
o Too often, Christians seem arrogant or defensive about what they know, instead of humble about what they don’t know
o A field of discussion is a vibrant, ongoing conversation with like-minded believers
o How you think will determine the kind of person you become
Chapter 12: Enemies of the Thinking Christian
- The church as chameleon
o Church tends to take on the prevailing cultures’ coloration, even when doing so results in a shad unlike Christ’s hue
o It is much harder to live out your Christian convictions by choosing only the colors in keeping with God’s kingdom
- The enemies within
o Pridefulness
§ Knowledge can puff up
§ Realize that fear of pride is no reason to avoid the pursuit of knowledge
§ Be particularly sensitive to your manifestations of self-importance
o Cynicism
§ Discourages all innovative thought except in the unusually stouthearted
§ Sometimes, the formal education process diminishes our child-like appreciation of the Creator’s work
o Fear
§ Fear tends to create a self-fulfilling prophecy
§ If we care about the truth and have a passion for it, we will accept some pain and disappointment
- The enemies around us
o Spies that make you see green: materialism
§ The idea that life’s ultimate meaning can be found only through the senses
§ Always value job satisfaction more highly than financial return. Job satisfaction often compensates for modest pay, but high wages rarely counterbalance unhappiness on the job
o Spies that buzz and whirr and ding: technology
§ When speed and efficiency become a way of life, we begin to treat everything and everybody as a means to achieving our goals on our terms whenever it suits our convenience
§ We think faster than we speak, speak faster than we act, and act faster than we have character to sustain
o Spies that pontificate with chalk: jell-o mold education
§ Education will not solve all your problems or reform the wickedness in human hearts
§ Education tends to put out clones – everyone is very similar
- Zoological guidance
o Matt 10:16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
o The world is not a friendly place
o We are protected by putting on the serpent’s shrewdness and the dove’s innocence
§ Snake – Wily, tough-minded, discerning and cunning
§ Dive – morally pure, sensitive to subtle goodness, alert to the presence of God, peace
o Disciples are to hold these qualities simultaneously, and to do otherwise would be to miss the blessing
Chapter 13: Not to Worry: The God of Creation is Also Lord over Karl Marx’s World
o The easiest, least challenging way to survive in school is to stay loyal to the unexamined life
o Comparing what you are learning with what you know to be true in Christ leads to two types of questions: questions that cannot be easily answered by appealing to Scripture and questions that cause genuine doubts
o John 16:33 In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world,
- When God’s word seems to be silent
o One of the most common errors in the history of the church has been to divide life into two distinct categories marked “spiritual” and “secular”
o The call in Scripture is not to a set of “religious” duties but to a life with God – a life in the Spirit
o Charles Williams – Everything natural is supernatural and everything supernatural is natural.
o Two views
§ Whatever is not overtly forbidden is permitted
§ Whatever is not overtly permitted is forbidden
o For anyone to survive as a thinking Christian, God’s Word needs to be seen not as a Rolodex file from which we may snatch individual verses as we choose, but as a revelation of God’s character and purpose
o I Corinthians 6:12 – Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is beneficial
o Don’t be mastered by anything
- When God seems to be silent
o Doubt is a nagging, life-sucking dread that immobilizes and agonizes the soul
o In all of life there is some measure of faith
o The person utterly without doubt is probably someone with little faith as well
o Os Guinness – To believe is to be ‘in one mind’ about accepting something as true; to disbelieve is to be ‘in one mind’ about rejecting it. To doubt is to waver between the two, to believe and disbelieve at once and so to be ‘in two minds.’
o Because thinking Christians will always have questions, some of them unanswerable in the present age, our security lies in trusting the Lord and believing that these issues will ultimately be resolved
o When God seems to be silent, the Scriptures speak of his presence.
o The Lord wants to know us even more than we want to know him
Chapter 14: Seeing a Penny and Hearing a Bell
- Sight
o A heart for truth sees in the world a wealth of pennies
o If you seek to know – if you look with your head and heart and put your hands to work with what you know – you will discover that the joy of learning will guide you to new revelations like a map to buried treasure
- Hearing
o How we listen partly determines what we actually hear
o The tolling of the bell is never unrelated to us – we are all affected by any loss to the community
- Seeing pennies and hearing bells lead you even more directly to the Father, the source of truth