I fell in love with academia by accident. In fact I would not have even stumbled upon my love of learning without the requirements of the church for ministry. While I grew up in a mainline denomination that fully affirmed academia, I have always been drawn to the inclusive nature of Jesus. The incarnation points to a God who first shows up amongst the poor, the vulnerable, the uneducated but then reaches out to the rich, the powerful and learned. As a pastor I\u2019m constantly held in check that my approach must be accessible to the least educated and still be of value to the most educated. In the Kingdom, each hold an equally privileged access to revelation.<\/p>\n
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Reading Mark Noll\u2019s The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind<\/em> was enlightening in that he addressed a context that has always greatly perplexed me. Noll summarizes that \u201cthe evangelical ethos is activistic, populist, pragmatic, and utilitarian. It allows little space for broader or deeper intellectual effort because it is dominated by the urgencies of the moment.\u201d<\/a>[1] This fixation on immediate threats is important insight into how understanding some of my southern brothers and sisters has sometimes eluded me.<\/p>\n It was also useful that he was careful to delineate that \u201cCanadian evangelicals have escaped some of the intellectual perils found in the United States\u201d<\/a>[2]. Here in Canada, the majority of our oldest and most established Universities were built around and as an overflow of the seminaries. The few distinctly Christian Universities are considerably new establishments and are often still in the process of having their degree status\u2019s recognized. As many denominations (including every one of the many I\u2019ve been a part of) require a Masters level degree to go into ordained ministry, the vast majority of clergy have an undergraduate degree in another field. It is precisely these necessary requirements that drew me from my relative indifference to deep study to discover a love affair with thinking and exploring the complex webs of study that academic institutions offer. Certainly Noll\u2019s identity as a Reformed Evangelical might predisposition him to pursue study. Article 2 of the Belgic Confession asserts that we know God \u201cFirst, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God\u201d<\/a>[3], thus to explore the intricacies of this world ought only lead us to know God more deeply. While the Belgic Confession is relatively new, this conviction has long shaped my hopeful and fearless engagement with ideas\u2014though I avoided science, not for fear that it would oppose faith but that it eluded my capacity for understanding. As such, I humbly default to my Christian brothers and sisters in such fields.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n James Davison Hunter offers a picture of why <\/em>it is so crucial to have Christians in all fields of academia. \u201cThe practice of faithful presence, [] generates relationships and institutions that are fundamentally covenantal in character, the ends of which are the fostering of meaning, purpose, truth, beauty, belonging, and fairness\u2014not just for Christians but for everyone.\u201d<\/a>[4] To neglect a particular field or institution is to fail to head the call of Christ into the ends of the earth<\/a>[5].Academia is necessary for the body of Christ to bear authentic witness in the world, but not for the believer to have authentic faith or themselves bear witness to the gospel of Christ. Christian academic\u00a0 endeavours ought to be undertaken for both building up support of the body of Christ and for extending the grace of God into all corners of the world including research and instructional institutions. \u201cIt represents a quality of commitment oriented to the faithfulness, wholeness, and well-being of all. It is, therefore, the opposite of elitism and the domination it implies.\u201d<\/a>[6] If Charles Taylor is correct in his understanding of the current secular age as a pluralism where God is now one choice amongst many and thus debatable <\/a>[7] then\u201c(t)he viability of Christian faith and the possibility of sharing that faith depend on a social environment in which faith\u2014any faith\u2014is plausible.\u201d<\/a>[8] For the body of Christ to neglect an area of study is to accept that there are spaces in our world in which faith is not plausible. But \u201cif what we claim about Jesus Christ is true, then evangelicals should be among the most active, most serious, and most openminded advocates of general human learning. Evangelical hesitation about scholarship in general or about pursuing learning wholeheartedly is, in other words, antithetical to the Christ-centered basis of evangelical faith.\u201d<\/a>[9] Study can thus be offered as worship as it invites us to explore more deeply what God has created and create more faithfully narratives and arts that reflect our complex God \u201cBecause Jesus Christ is the Logos incarnate and not simply another interesting religious figure among many-signs of his presence and style are found everywhere, and he can relate non-competitively to them.\u201d<\/a>[10]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One final image. God long ago invited me to study in His throne room. To picture myself reading and writing in a place set apart for His glory, surrounded by the cloud of witnesses<\/a>[11] and making an offering of my work. Whatever we undertake, may it all be to His glory.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a>[1] Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind <\/em>(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994), Kindle p.54.<\/p>\n <\/a>[2] Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind <\/em>(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1994), Kindle p.6.<\/p>\n <\/a>[3] \u201cBelgic Confession,\u201d Christian Reformed Church, September 5, 2019, accessed January 23, 2020. https:\/\/www.crcna.org\/welcome\/beliefs\/confessions\/belgic-confession)<\/p>\n <\/a>[4] James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. <\/em>(New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 263.<\/p>\n <\/a>[5] Acts 1:8 NIV.<\/p>\n <\/a>[6] James Davison Hunter, To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World. <\/em>(New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), 260.<\/p>\n <\/a>[7] James K. A. Smith, How (Not) to be Secular: Reading Charles Taylor. <\/em>(Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007). ePub 26-27.<\/p>\n <\/a>[8] Ibid., 263.<\/p>\n <\/a>[9] Mark A. Noll, Jesus Christ and the Life of the Mind<\/em> (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2011), Kindle loc 27.<\/p>\n