From what I recall after working through the pre-campus essay, my expectations upon starting the semester were that studies would incorporate Christ; fellowship between students would be strong; and the faculty is eager to help students succeed as long as they are putting forth their best effort. During my first semester at Covenant, I have found these expectations to be accurate. Covenant College offers a plethora of opportunities for students to faithfully pursue a college education. However, it is each student’s responsibility to guarantee his or her success in doing so. The Christian Mind course taught me that in order to ensure that I am faithfully pursuing my college education, I must adhere to my callings, incorporate the Bible into …show more content…
As a Christian student, it is important to embrace this intellectual opportunity as a spiritual opportunity as well. Professor MacDougall emphasized the “necessity of scripture for educational task.” In order to clearly understand subjects being taught (particularly at Covenant), we must use the Bible as our foundation for learning. Although the Bible does not explain school subjects, we can still use the Bible to give an interpretation of the information. MacDougall expressed, “The Bible is a foundational document—not all the details of life. We must use our minds to apply scripture to life.” This means that although the Bible does not elucidate the stages of development of a fetus or that every living thing is comprised of cells, it does provide answers to the creation of these things. The Bible teaches that God created everything in the world and through the fields of science and even history, we can understand His creation more precisely than if we study from a secular viewpoint. Faithfully pursuing an education entails letting our framework for the knowledge we gain in school to be grounded with Scripture. By adhering to this method, we will see God’s glory in everything and will gain a deeper understanding of what God can reveal to us through our
The book Fearfully and Wonderfully Made by Dr. Paul Brand & Philips Yancey gives a whole new meaning on what is studying biology. He starts by describing the very first time he saw a cell. He was amazed and from there on he learn how to be a biology student, while still having strong beliefs. He compares the human body as a community. Since each individual cell can live for itself. All cells come together to sustain the larger organism and properly function the way it should be.The analogy in 1 Corinthians 12, compares the human body to the church, where he states how god put each individual cell in its place for a reason. We all are made up of many cells but, we can not function if there are not together as a whole.
...dance camp, and that I always had wanted to try and make the Bible fit within the framework of what we knew scientifically. Then I reread chapter three closer a second time and realized that the Cosmology of Genesis position, that Biblical scholars recommend for the studying of the Bible, is really the position I need to take for me to enjoy my reading and understanding of the Bible. For someone else like me who has always had those unanswered questions about how the Bible and science correlate, reading this book can help them put the studying of the Bible into a different prospective. “Let Wesley's words to a Catholic Christian characterize our disposition toward one another: “So far as we can, let us always rejoice to strengthen each other's hands in God. Above all, let us … take heed … (not to) fall … short of the religion of love.”” (loc 138 Kindle, Truesdale)
Equally important, the author describes the Christian life as a “dynamic faith journey” (p.224) which remind us that is not just a linear process but a never-ending lifestyle that is constantly changing. It is like the worldview, described in Why College Matters to God, “continuously subject to growth and revision as we encounter new people, ideas, and experiences” (Ostrander, 2012, p. 28). That is why she claims that even during the adulthood people can keep building their knowledge in a different but excellent way. Adults have built their personal perspectives of situations in life, so she emphasizes that during this process, there are going to exist changes and that is how people acquire new information. That is why Marmon reaffirms: “Adult learning is tricky; grown men and women often must unlearn
“As a Christian learning community, we honor God by the way we work together at our calling. We rejoice in discovering the character and glory of our Creator as we explore His creation. As people who bear God’s image, we pursue the truth of His revelation. That revelation comes to us in the person of Christ, the wonder and beauty of creation, and the Spirit-directed words of the Bible” (Bethel University, Philosophy of Education)
In conclusion, teachers who share their worldview with their students and encourage them to also expand and develop their own biblical worldview are giving their students a whole integrated education. The hope of a teacher should be that what their students learn will carry them through life by always seeing everything through the lens of God’s
Christian education is for this project. Christian education is the training of special agents of the kingdom of God and the consummation of creation.” (pg.139) I found it fascinating that Plantinga describes ‘us’ within the Christian education system are called or elected to help God regain and restore His earth here with Christ. We have to remember, “no matter what our primary occupation we cannot let it become a preoccupation.” Plantinga helped me to reflect on my current life, my current job, and my current Christian education. I found that when we let these other aspects of our lives, whether it be bills, work or exams, we often allow reality to fade into the background. Or perhaps we could look at it this way: Our lives get so busy and hectic that we tend to put God on the back burner. Christian education whether in a university or biblical studies at home will give us guidance through our hectic lives, renewing our minds and keep us in close connection with our Creator and the rest of His Creation. Plantinga sums up Christian education as “for the kingdom of God. It equips us to be agents of the kingdom, models of the kingdom in our own lives and communities, witnesses to the kingdom wherever we go in the world.” (pg.143) When we ‘put on the full armor of God’ we not only protect ourselves from this fallen world but we are also able to project God’s glory to all those who we encounter.
The Bible Student will have more knowledge of how to interpret God’s Word when finished with the work. Fee and Stuart achieve their goal of helping the reader not only with interpretation, but with application.
In the Covenant House, The general principle of Fidelity and Responsibility means that the agency will depend on their staff to lead in the proper way of showing others how to work together. The ethical general principle of Fidelity and Responsibility is not met because of the way the staff conducts themselves
The first scripture that comes to mind when I think of Christian education is the Hebrew Shema and its challenge to families. “These comm...
The desire to study God’s word to obtain a personal connection is a pursuit for many believers. Beginning a course to study and engage with the word at a collegiate level can be overwhelming and intimidating. Even though one may read the word countless times during their lifetime, understanding the reading material academically and historically is a different concept to master. Personally, I was apprehensive about my overall ability to retain the information and comprehend the context of the scientific and historical aspect of God’s word. However, Tarwater wrote in a manner that was engaging and invited me into the historical importance of the words and understanding God. From beginning to end, Tarwater
First and foremost, I will always be focused on the fact that it is my responsibility as a teacher to “cause my students to learn”. I cannot teach my students content unless I have prayed and asked God for illumination and for an “appliers heart”. It is important that I understand the content and application before I teach this to my students which should result in a life change for them. Application is the main reason for God’s revelation and it is my responsibility to share this with my students. My ultimate goal is to illustrate how scripture can be used in daily
It is important through Christian education to be aware of the impact that occurs in the heart of a child as well. Christian education must go further than giving the child knowledge and facts. It must include a vision for the impact their educational experience has on the heart of a child by seeking to educate their emotions and the influence of their actions in their lives. The worldview of a child is influenced greatly in their school experience. It is the responsibility of the educator to provide a learning environment that will make this impact appropriate and pleasing to
Roncace, Mark, and Patrick Gray. Teaching the Bible: Practical Strategies for Classroom Instruction. Atlanta: Society for Biblical Literature, 2005.
In the context of Christian education, the teacher performs his role by using lessons culled from the Bible and communicating them through lectures, seminars, or discussions. However, in order to be an effective teacher, I should expand on these lessons by providing real-life examples and hypothetical illustrations in order for the student to find relevance in the lessons taught. I should provide good models for the student to imitate, and in fact, I should also make sure that I am a good model myself by knowing and taking to heart all the lessons I teach. In other words, the instruction must be thorough. To ensure that I am fulfilling my role as teacher, I must provide an opportunity for the students to respond to the lesson. According to the Richards and Bredfeldt, when a student discovers a relationship between himself and the lesson, the “pathway to personal response stands open.” By making the lessons individually applied, decentralized and student-centered, but teacher-oriente...
Before beginning my first semester here at Vanguard I often found myself questioning why I believe what I believe. I had a hard time understanding the bible and an even harder time finding answers to my questions. It was difficult for me to find the courage to ask questions because I didn’t want to come off as someone who didn’t know everything about the bible. Once I started my freshman year I began understanding that I am not alone, every one has questions or things that they don’t quite understand. Encountering The New Testament broke down parts of the bible and made it much easier for me to understand.