Thinking "Christianly"

The comment conversation on a previous post, Relativism and Belief, provoked relevant thoughts that I want to share in a bona fide post.  They relate specifically to my question: What does it mean to be a Christian scholar?  I emphasized the importance of a comprehensive, objective worldview, i.e., one that consistently addresses all areas of life.  For me, that means a Biblically-based view of reality.  I didn’t consider the question “How?” until a reader commented about her experience of trying to forge a Christian worldview (thanks Leah!).

I think Leah hit on the difficulty that most Christians have: how to think "Christianly" about certain topics.  The practical outworking of studying literature, philosophy, etc., is challenging, because our thought is greatly affected by what we inadvertently hear or randomly read.  And what we hear or read today has a good chance of being anti-Christian or (almost as bad) watered-down Christian material.

Education through conversation is the remedy. I comprehend more in the word “conversation” than a face-to-face chat.  Walter Scott observed, "All knowledge is gained by communication either with the dead, through books, or, more pleasingly, through the conversation of the living."  Wise Christians in past ages wrote about the subjects we study, and wise Christians today address these topics deeply and pertinently.  But how are we to discover, choose among, and “converse with” these thinkers?  I’ve often sighed in agreement with Solomon: “Of making many books there is no end.” (Eccl. 12:12)  There’s no end of reading them, either!  After all, time is fleeting.  Who has time to read—much less decide what to read?
 

Biblioteca de la Real Academia De La Lengua, Madrid, Spain

We need wise people in the educational arena: curriculum designers, book reviewers, worldview training designers (there are a lot of good ones), perceptive scholars, and excellent TEACHERS.  These living people can help me to navigate among the material out there.  At the same time, I need to approach them critically—trusting God's Word, not just one person or organization.  If I do find an unaddressed gap or deviation in a certain subject’s literature, perhaps God is calling me to write about it.  Perhaps I am the one who will smooth a perilous bump on the road of truth.  Perhaps I am the one who will guide others to view honestly some thread of reality's tapestry.  And maybe I am the teacher who will help a student understand an important idea, or hand him a book that enflames his passion for truth. 

The studious, “conversational” approach to a comprehensive, consistent worldview is not an easy road or an obvious one. It is the long, arduous, worthwhile challenge of Christian education.  Yes, worthwhile.  I often think that I’d like to homeschool my future kids: if I can help them develop a solid, comprehensive faith, that is the most valuable educational foundation I could pass on to them.  Faith that informs every area of life is rock-solid, God-honoring, and joyful.  One can securely build life and eternity upon such faith.