What is Biblical Integration?
By Mark Eckel
Integrating faith into learning is one of RMCA’s
most important distinctives. On October 31, 2006, all RMCA K-8 teachers
will have the rare privelage to learn from Mark Eckel, one of the nation’s
leading experts on the subject of biblical integration. We invite you
to enjoy this article by Mark, and be reminded again that a robust biblical
worldview is a potent and important tool in learning.
My daughter began reading mysteries around the age of
nine. They helped illuminate the biblical doctrine of sin. “What
has to happen for a book to be a mystery?”, I asked her. Her response
came back, “Someone has to kill someone or steal something.”
“Right! And what would the Bible call thievery or murder?”
Matter-of-factly, the obvious reply, “Sin.” “Exactly!”,
my face smiling, “Every time mystery writers write they explore
the biblical doctrine of sin.”
Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who tells the wonderful
primary level tale of Horton the elephant saving the society of “Who-ville”
from extinction. The key theme running throughout the story, “a
person’s a person, no matter how small,” calls to action
anyone interested in preserving life. So important is the concept that
crisis pregnancy centers sell the volume around the United States! But
where did Dr. Seuss ultimately get the idea for his book? What is the
core ideal? The only answer can be Genesis 1! Made in God’s image,
everyone has worth, value, and dignity. The doctrine is not stated by
a Christian author, but it is a Christian concept!
Biblical integration brings to light the truth (or error)
of any subject by interpreting it through Scripture. Biblical integration
is concerned with wholeness. Creation had intentional ideals set within
itself by God (Proverbs 8:12-36). Sin fragmented human thought, life,
universal connections, and the lot. The Christian’s duty of redemption
laid out by Jesus recaptures the fragments of truth, excises the error,
synthesizing, recreating God’s unique objective for His world.
Biblical principles permeate everything. “Permeation”
suggests that the foundation of truth is God’s and God accomplishes
the unification of all truth. “Principled permeation” identifies
errors and codifies instruction from books or ideas with tenets established
in God’s Word. Fragments of truth are acknowledged and made whole
by God’s revelation—the essence of coherence. Classification
of truth, a system of rules, principles, or codes provides the framework
necessary to construct rationale, scope and sequence, and lesson plan
construction. Bible verses do not have to accompany every fraction written
on the math board. What is important is to know why fractions can even
exist identifying that creational imprint from The Creator. The ideal
biblical integration begins with the teacher’s biblically informed
mindset thinking about educational directives from God’s point
of view. Take, for example, the book Frankenstein. In her classic work,
Mary Shelley develops themes of fear, horror, and terror. It is the
job of the Christian (and in the case of school, the Christian English
teacher) to look at this piece of literature from a Christian point
of view, an example of which follows:
Shelley wanted to “make the reader dread to look
round, to curdle the blood, and quicken the beatings of the heart”
by writing about the “mysterious fears of our nature and awaken[ing]
thrilling horror.” Humans scare easily because terror is real.
Sudden movements may frighten us. When the unexpected happens, we scream.
But the object of our fear is always something different than what we’re
used to. The monster in Frankenstein evokes a response from everyone
he meets. Some cower. Others bristle. Many respond with a repugnance,
aversion, or loathing. It is the unusual that people respond to most
powerfully.
It is good to be scared. Dread is an important biblical
concept. Jeremiah states that the lack of terror of God was a problem
for Israel (2:19). Quivering before God is the response of the writer
in Psalm 119:120. God (Exodus 15:11), His Name (Deuteronomy 28:58),
His deeds (Exodus 34:10), and His coming Day of Judgment (Isaiah 2:19;
Joel 2:31) evokes a terrible trembling in people. The Egyptians who
had seen enough of God’s plagues responded properly to their dread
(Exodus 9:20). In fact, by fearing God there is no need to fear anything
or anyone else (Isaiah 8:12-13).
In Christian homes and schools, everything should be based
on a biblical worldview. Since Christians are in the course of growing
in Christ, distinctive thinking is a continuous and often arduous development.
We live in a world encumbered by an anti-Christian bias (2 Corinthians
4:4; 11:1-15; 1 John 4:1-6). So the individual Christian must bring
a biblical thought process to bear on people, policy, and practice to
name a few.
Reprinted with permission. ©Biblical Integration
Resources Ltd.
