Kollar 1

Alex Kollar

16 October 2014

BITH 111

Dr. Lauber and Mr. Smith

Christian Liberal Arts Paper

Word count: 1846

CPO# 1866

Behold, Cultivate, Create, Behold:

Learning to be an Effective Christian through a Christian Liberal Arts

Education

Modern culture owes a great debt to ancient Greece.

Architecture, literature, art, stories of mythical deities, and the gloried

tradition of the Olympic Games are but a few of the great gifts

conferred by ancient Greece. Polytheistic, classical Greece of 500 B.C.

might seem completely foreign to us now, but we have derived much

from this ancient society. Greece led the ancient world in establishing a

system of higher education, modeling a democratic government, and

producing sculpture and theatre beyond peer. Greek schools of

philosophy were legendary in their day. Later, in the decades following

Jesus death, the Greeks were among the most receptive of Gentiles to

the apostles and the Gospel message.

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In ancient Athens, education played an important role in the lives

of the people. The concept of liberal arts and the acquisition of broad-

based knowledge (knowing something about everything), stood in

contrast to the singular, vocational education that had been traditional

for thousands of years. The purpose of a liberal arts education was to

develop students into the kinds of human beings who could become

effective leaders in all areas of society (Davis, 37). By educating

students in grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric, as well as arithmetic,

geometry, music, and astronomy, they would become well-rounded

individuals with a vast array of knowledge on multiple subjects. In the

past three hundred years, this concept of a broad-based education has

engendered thousands of liberal arts colleges and universities in the

United States alone. Among these liberal arts institutions, a portion of

them approach liberal arts from a Christian perspective.

As the ancient world began to shift in the light of Jesus Christ, so

did liberal arts. When educated pagans converted to Christianity, their

educational past became influenced by the Church (Davis, 39).

Through the integration of secular education and the Holy Word,

Christian liberal arts were born. This integration shifted the focus of

liberal arts from pursuing personal enrichment for civic participation

(Davis, 39), to preparation to think deeply about God and to serve His

church (Davis, 39).

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Where does that leave Christian students today? Today, Christian

students have the great advantage of attending excellent liberal arts

schools founded on the truth of Jesus Christ. The goal of Christian

liberal arts is to create effective and well-rounded Christians who can

evaluate the world (economics, politics, art, science, domestic life,

ect.) through a biblical perspective. Still, there is no way for an

institution to completely change an individual by influence or extortion.

Students pursuing a Christian liberal arts degree must be in intentional

about how they learn. Author Andy Crouch, in a recent Wheaton Chapel

address, stated that humans are creatures that can do four things:

behold, cultivate, create, and behold. (Wheaton, Edman Chapel) In

order to get the most out of their Christian liberal arts experience,

students must behold the beautiful world God has created, cultivate

the skills that God gave them, create ways to worship God, and,

ultimately, behold the world through Jesus eyes.

Expanding on Dr. Rykens thinking from Christian Worldview: A

Students Guide, believers must behold the world around them and

be aware of, and praise, Gods works. Dr. Ryken puts his readers on the

spot when he asks, When was the last time you noticed what you

were seeing (Ryken, 20)? College life can get hectic and sometimes

overwhelming. With academics, extracurricular activities, athletics,

jobs, and making time for family and friends, it is easy to lose sight of

the many ways God is at work in our lives. This kind of spiritual
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oversight leaves our souls thirsting and makes everyday

responsibilities burdensome. So, whats the antidote? We must remain

aware of the world that God made so wonderfully and of the purpose to

which He has called us. Becoming an effective Christian means

praising God for the beautiful sunshine and for the privilege of serving

a homeless man on a street in Chicago. God calls us to be present in

every part of our day and to recognize His presence there.

The Lord gave us all a capacity to learn and cultivate our minds.

In his book, Dr. Ryken says, we have a God-given responsibility to

develop the possibilities of creation in ways that reveal our makers

praise, and ultimately fill the whole earth with His glory (Ryken, 60).

This responsibility of humanity is one of the fundamental aspects of

Christian liberal arts: a marriage of secular teachings with biblical

truths, allowing students to learn practical ways to glorify God.

Cultivating our minds is not just about gaining knowledge from

classrooms and textbooks, but about seeking experience and

developing our skills. According to Jay Wood humans possess a

unique repertoire of cognitive powers allowing us to infer, introspect,

recall, intuit, and learn (Wood, 156). These are all gifts from the Lord.

God gave us these abilities so that we may enjoy and expand the

talents with which He endowed us. Students who truly want to become

the person God intended should not limit themselves to a narrow

campus life. Instead, they should balance their time between

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academics and fully living life with His guidance and according to His

Word. This healthy practice will allow students to gain knowledge while

developing their unique talents that God gave them. In this way,

students grow in knowledge while developing the unique, God-given

talents.

As Christians, we are called to worship God with our whole being

and to create beauty in His name and for His glory. Augustine remarks

that humans, who are a due part of [Gods] creation, long to praise

[Him] (Augustine, 3); it is in our very nature to revere the Creator.

Adam Crouch calls us image bearers because we are made in the

likeness of God. This likeness enables us to create, just as God, the

Creator, made all that is. Creative worship takes many forms: art,

music, dance, even math, science, and rhetoric. All our God-given

passions enable us to praise Him for His goodness, His power and His

grace. We are worshiping God when we create in His name.

Students who behold, cultivate, and create in the name of God

are shaping their personal vision into a Christian perspective. That

Christian perspective ultimately allows us to behold the world through

Jesus eyes.

Surely there is no more beautiful nor powerful place of love than the

world through the eyes of our Savior!

Although it has become somewhat routine go to college for many

in the U.S., higher education is only a dream in most places around the
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world. As students, we must remain humble and remember that the

reason they are studying at Wheaton is because God brought us here.

As Stanley Hauerwas tells college students, the years spent at an

undergraduate institution [are] not yours to do with as you please.

Theyre Christs. (Hauerwas, 2). Understanding and acknowledging

that God is the one, true provider is at the heart of the Christian

perspective.

Gaining a Christian worldview is not something we can achieve

alone. In order for our perspective to align with Gods, we must allow

Jesus complete access to our souls and fully immerse ourselves in the

Church community.

In Matthew 16:24, Jesus says to His disciples, If anyone would

come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow

me (NIV. Matt.16.24.). In this verse, Jesus is offering a transforming

salvation to anyone who chooses to follow Him. But before a person

can receive all that Christ offers, he must be willing lay down his own

identity and give everything to Christ. The road to heaven is marked by

challenges, but that is why we need Jesus; His strength and wisdom are

powerful enough to transform anyone who is willing to call on His

name. College is a time for transition and new beginnings; it is also a

crucial time for students to develop a more intimate relationship with

Christ. In so doing, He molds our worldview into His own and we begin

to see the world and His children as He does.

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God is constantly by our side, yet we are not designed to try to

navigate the narrow road to salvation without company; that is why

God gave us the Church. Living intentionally in community with other

believers helps students accomplish a Christian perspective and

lifestyle. Dietrich Bonhoeffer describes the importance of Christian

community when he says, the Christian needs another Christian who

speaks Gods Word to him He needs his brother as a bearer and

proclaimer of the divine word of salvation (Bonhoeffer, 78). For a

student to remain isolated from her peers is not only unhealthy, but

unbiblical. We are called to live in community with other believers so

we can encourage and build each other up. This support from the

Church community will also help students in their goal to develop a

Christian worldview.

Christianity is all about transformation; the transformation from

sinner to beloved child, from dirty to clean, and tainted to stainless. In

Romans 12:1-2, Paul tells Christians to be as living sacrifices, holy and

pleasing to God Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this

world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (NIV.

Rom.12.1.2.). This is the purpose of a Christian liberal arts education:

to transform students into effective Christians who live in the world,

but are not of the world. Still, no one can be transformed simply by

being in an environment; transformation takes initiative and intention,

choices and sometimes sacrifices.

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Wheaton is a shining example of a successful Christian liberal

arts college. At its best, a Christian liberal arts institute is a community

of intentional believers who strive to behold the world around them,

cultivate their skills, worship God through creativity, and behold the

world through a Christian perspective. With these goals fixed in a

students mind, God will use her time in a Christian liberal arts program

to make her the person He always intended.

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Works Cited

Augustine. The Confessions. New York: Vintage Spiritual Classics.

1997. Print

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Life Together. Gospel, Church, and Culture

Supplemental Readings. Ed. Professor David Lauber. 2014. 74-81.

Print.

Crouch, Andy. Good, Very Good, Glory:Culture & the Divine Image.

Wheaton

College. Edman Chapel, Wheaton College Campus. 15 Oct. 2014.

Sermon.

Davis, Jeffry C. The Countercultural Quest of Christian Liberal Arts.

Liberal Arts for

the Christian Life. Ed. Jeffery C. Davis and Philip G.

Ryken.Wheaton: Crossway, 2010. 31-44. Print.

Hauerwas, Stanley. First Things: Go with God. Gospel, Church, and

Culture

Supplemental Readings. Ed. Professor David Lauber. 2014. 1-7.

Print.

Ryken, Philip Graham. Christian Worldview: A Students Guide. Ed.

David S.
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Dockery. Wheaton: Crossway. 2013. Print.

Wood, Jay. Edycating for Intellectual Character. Liberal Arts for the

Christian Life.

Ed. Jeffery C. Davis and Philip G. Ryken.Wheaton: Crossway,

2010. 155-168. Print.

Zondervan NIV Study Bible. Ed. Kenneth L. Baker. Grand Rapids:

Zondervan, 2008.

Print. New International Vers.