| dc.description.abstract | The integration of faith and reason is necessary to equip the young men of McCallie to fully prepare them for life. From a biblical perspective, knowledge is tapered by truth and love. First Corinthians 8:1 speaks to what knowledge cannot do, but what love can: “We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes arrogant men, but love edifies.” Love is what the Christian is shown through Christ and the gospel. Without it, knowledge puffs up and people do not learn how to treat others, what to do with the knowledge they acquire, and even more, how to live a life that glorifies God. Understanding this emphasis allows one to truly be equipped to have a positive impact in the world. McCallie is committed to the spiritual growth of young men. As time passes, institutions may vacillate in their commitments. McCallie has not abandoned its Christian traditions; it still teaches Bible and has weekly chapel programs, a spiritual emphasis on campus, and Sunday church requirements for boarding students. Yet, in some ways, it no longer adheres to the idea that God’s Word should permeate every facet of education. To accomplish the goals set forth by the founders, integration of faith and reason has to be a part of the process.
Integrating faith and reason allows a student to begin developing a comprehensive worldview that brings together the academic and spiritual. Arthur Holmes, a philosophy professor at Wheaton College, “believed that operating from the standpoint of religious faith enabled one to develop a comprehensive worldview that would unite all knowledge and experience into a coherent, rationally persuasive picture of reality.” Faith helps bring this picture of reality together for people. Education does a disservice to students if it does not find a way to bring together all the facets of faith, worldviews, and reason. This is why integrating faith and reason in all academic settings is so important: it provides context for life.
There are good reasons for the McCallie administration to integrate faith and reason in all classroom settings, and it is up to them to set a vision for the school. The chaplain’s office is a natural place to begin the discussion because it observes the spiritual life of the community. | en_US |
