I. Survey of Proposed Models for Integration
 Cordell Schulten |
A. George M. Marsden, The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship
- Empirically demonstrable explanations (i.e. naturalistic reductionism) are not the only, or even the most important, explanations.
- Although of immense worth, human freedom and creativity reach their highest expression when exercised within a sense of the limits (as contrasted with the "transcendent self") of the individual in relationship to the community, the created order, and ultimately to God.
- Moral judgments help determine what subjects people study, what questions they ask about their subjects, and what answers they will give to those questions.
B. Roger F. Hurding, The Tree of Healing
- Do the assumptions, aims and methods of this particular
methodology accord with divine revelation about human
nature?
- Do the assumptions, aims and methods of this particular
methodology accord with scientific investigation where
practicable
C. J. P. Moreland, Philosophical Apologetics, the Church, and Contemporary Culture
- The Two Realms View -- Faith and the "Learning" Discipline involve two distinct, non-overlapping areas of investigatio
- The Complementarity View -- Faith and the "Learning" Discipline may involve two different, complementary, non-interacting approaches to the same subject
- The Direct Interaction View -- Faith and the "Learning" Discipline may directly interact in such a way that either one area of study offers rational support for the other or one area of study raises rational difficulties for the other.
- The Presuppositions View -- Faith tends to support the presuppositions of the "Learning" Discipline and vice versa.
- The Practical Application View -- Faith fills out and adds details to general principles in the "Learning" Discipline and vice versa, and Faith helps one practically apply principles in the "Learning" Discipline and vice versa.
II. Guidelines for Integration--Examining the Process
 Clark Triplett |
1. Be familiar with the current intellectual climate
2. Develop critical theological questions to evaluate the assumptions and methods of your discipline
3. Develop an attitude of humility concerning non-Christian positions
4. Make integration a performative process
5. Take advantage of the fact that integration is done within a Christian community
6. Accept the fact that integration will be an ongoing process
| III. Implementation | John Han |
|
Teaching Andrew Marvell's Poem
"To His Coy Mistress" (1681) |
A. Critical Issues
In literary studies, postmodernism has been a dominant intellectual force since about the 1940s. Rejecting an ordered world view and fixed ideas about the form and meaning of texts, many scholars and teachers have textualized, historicized, and sexualized literary works. Overemphasizing the role of the reader, however, risks distorting what the authors truly intended to say through their works. As a scholar/teacher of English with Christian concerns, I endeavor to help my students learn to respect the intentions of the writers. Language exists (and should exist) to provide us with order and meaning, not chaos and purposelessness. Good writers offer through their works what Horace, an ancient Roman poet, said "instruction and pleasure" (utile et dulce). I also try to help my students develop heightened sensibility towards the spiritual realm of our existence. As a literary teacher, I employ primarily traditional approaches, such as the historical-biographical, the archetypal, the moral-philosophical, and the Christian, rather than deconstructive and esoteric ones.
B. Teaching Strategy
"To His Coy Mistress" is a carpe diem ("Seize the day") poem in which a man tries to seduce a reluctant girl. Its themes include the relations between the sexes, the nature of love, and time and eternity. As a teacher of this poem, I do not position myself as a Sunday school teacher despite the speaker's obvious preoccupation with spiritual issues. My goal is to help the students understand what the speaker is trying to say in the poem, how he develops his argument, whether his persuasion is convincing, where he is coming from, and how we Bible-believing Christians can refute his claim.
After a brief lecture on the poet and his works, I discuss the archaic vocabulary and the many allusions and references in the poem, including the Flood, the conversion of the Jews, courtly love, and the carpe diem theme. Then I break the class into several small groups for a focused discussion of a few questions, including "How does the speaker present his argument in each stanza? Is his argument well-structured and well-developed?" "What do the references to time in the poem reveal about the speaker's concept of time and immortality?" "The speaker's tone changes in the second and third sections of the poem. What contributes to the change?" "Based on the poem, how would you characterize the male speaker? What kind of a person is he?" "If you were the addressee of this poem, how would you react-as a woman and/or a Christian?" A whole class discussion, interspersed with my comments, follows the small group work.
During the final ten minutes or so, I wrap up the discussion, focusing on the problems with the speaker's un-Christian, nihilistic, and hedonistic concept of time and eternity. The speaker is very skillful in devious reasoning, but he is blind to the fact that fleshly desire works against the Spirit (Romans 8:6-7; Galatians 5:17; Ephesians 2:3; 1 Peter 2:11) and that a human love that has not been sanctioned by God is wrong.
