Higher Education and Christian Calling: A Synopsis Engaging God's World by Cornelius Plantinga by Scott Shiffer
If all things were created by God and later were affected by the fall of Adam in the garden, then all things must be renewed. This is the main argument of this work. It does a splendid job of relating the themes of creation, fall, and redemption to the idea of higher Christian education, while at the same time applying this message to all vocations and callings of believers. The following synopsis is intended to highlight the arguments and follow the thoughts of the author throughout the book.
The introduction explains to students the importance of having a solid Biblical foundation in knowledge because the Holy Spirit is the author of truth. By learning His revealed truth in Scripture, one comes to recognize it (as Calvin said) wherever truth may be found. “Well-instructed Christian try not to offend the Holy Spirit by scorning the truth in non-Christian authors over whom the Spirit has been brooding, but this does not mean that Christians can afford to read these authors uncritically.”[1] Every person’s beliefs shape what they do and beliefs that conflict with Christianity are in competition with it for the minds and hearts of the lost.[2] Therefore as the Christian reads the works of the non-believer, she reads it into the redemptive plan of God where truth is found, and she critiques and corrects it where it is not.
The first and greatest commandment was to love the Lord with all of our hearts, souls, and minds. To do this, Christians must learn, and learn they must, even the works of non-believers. One thing that sets humans apart from other beings in God’s creative work is their ability to reason. Therefore, it is natural for humans to pursue learning, and as Christians humans are to pursue Christian Education. In this way, learning is a spiritual calling.[3] As Christians become more educated, they become more and more prepared to serve in the Kingdom of God. This is because education “develops, disciplines, and matures our humanity.”[4] To become educated Christianly is to allow for faith to permeate every aspect of life transforming our minds, our actions, vocations, and even human relationships into acts of worship for God’s glory and for His kingdom. This is the hope and the calling for Christian Education.
The longing for Christian education and for the coming of the Kingdom of God begins with the sensus divinitatis. This is the seed of religion, it is the idea that all human beings want God, even if some look for Him in the wrong places (ex. idolatry, other religions).[5] For this very reason, all of the greatest speeches, poetry readings, songs, films, plays, sculptures, and vocations point to God. This is because when life is eloquently expressed, God’s peace transcends it in such a way that it appeals to not only absolute truth, but it also invites human beings to join in fellowship with God.[6] As an example, in Christ there is but one New Humanity, which lays racism to rest and promotes the brotherhood of all people.[7] This concept is the Hebrew idea of Shalom. The hope of God’s people is for peace in this fallen world. The world will again see peace perfectly when the Kingdom of God comes to dwell with humanity in the new heavens and earth, but as new creations in Christ, believers have a chance to share some of that peace now. As do all people who speak and teach truth through the work of the Holy Spirit even in the lives of non-believers.
Humans are created in God’s image and as such are given authority to care for the world as responsible agents of dominion.[8] Christians are not to forsake God’s creation, but are to care for it and be good stewards of this beautiful planet. Secondly, humans resemble God by the fact that they are to be in communion with one another, just as the Trinity participates in communion.[9] God told Adam that it was not good for man to be alone, even though God and Adam had fellowship. Adam needed another human. As a community of love the Church functions for God’s Kingdom by living peaceably with one another, forgiving one another, and working constantly to give to the poor.[10] Finally, humanity is created in God’s image so as to conform to the image of Christ in suffering and death, as Christ sacrificially gave of Himself.[11] In looking at man as God’s image and looking at God’s word as special revelation for what it means to be human, one is able to see who God created people to be and what he created them to do. Here again, knowing God’s word is foundational to the idea of creation. Without it, humanity can never fully understand and appreciate its purpose.
Man was created good, but as the first man, Adam, sinned, so now all men are sinners with an inclination towards evil. “We live even against ourselves.”[12] God hates sin in all forms, because sin is responsible for breaking God’s peace.[13] All humans are now left corrupt, without integrity, and as enemies of God because of their sin.[14] Sin has destroyed lives, families, communities, and cultures. As sin corrupts us, we corrupt others, and thus, “abuse fosters abuse…victims victimize others, and even themselves…[and] sin gains momentum.”[15] In this way children wind up with the same problems that their parents have, and sin continues breeding more sin. “Popular entertainment culture includes not only songs and dances, but also films that glorify greed or mindless chauvinism and that routinely portray the parents of teenagers as naïve or stupid.”[16] Sin can be described most simply as “spiritual AIDS.”[17] Without the sensus divinitatis, sin would be running even more rampant than it is today.[18] But for now God causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on the good and the wicked alike. “If you put together the doctrines of common grace and total depravity, you’ll be in a position to explain a remarkable fact: worldy people are often better than we expect, and church people are often worse.”[19] That is why it is so important for Christians to share the redemption they have received with the world. If they are dishonest, the human souls of the lost are at stake; if they are genuine, lost souls may see the day of salvation.[20] Before writing off the works of the lost (ex. Marx, Nietzsche), look at what they have to say that is truthful even if it is a painful blow dealt to Christians about past mistakes others have made in the name of God.[21]
The central question concerning the fall is this: Why should humans live against creation, when creation is the purpose of our own existence?[22] Concerning education, non-Christians presuppose Godlessness in all they do, but often times Christians suppose that God must be in all they do so much that they ignore any work that is deemed to be worldly. This should not be the case, Christians pursuing education should see the wisdom of the worldly as God’s truth in need of redemption. In fact, all must be redeemed. Without redemption, the world will never have any hope of peace again.
The heart of redemption is in the atonement of Christ. This is not only the most significant doctrine of the Christian faith, but the death and resurrection of our Lord are the most important points in History. Everything from the fall led to them, and everything after them has pointed back to them. Christ’s work removes the bonds of slavery to sin from the arms of all who will become free; it unshackles the feet of those who will run into God’s grace as new creations with the ability to finally understand what it means to be human. In the work of Christ, one finds the meaning of life.
If all has been created good and all has been corrupted, then all must be redeemed. God isn’t content to save souls; God wants to save bodies too. God isn’t content to save human beings in their individual activities; God wants to save social systems and economic structures too…The same goes for certain forms of popular entertainment, with their tendency to violate taboos in order to gain an edge, draw a crowd, and make a buck.[23]
The life one receives in Christ “has as much to do with how I buy and sell as it does with how often I pray.”[24] Good and evil often times appear together, and instead of separating from an evil in such a way that it ignores any good that may be there is not what Christ has redeemed us to do. Instead, he has called us to engage the world in all things and to judge it for His glory, redeeming what can be redeemed, and correcting what needs to be corrected. To do this is to work in the kingdom of God.
Christian education is intended to help people learn how to serve in God’s Kingdom as diligently as they can.[25] All vocations and all callings are meant for God’s kingdom and believers should prepare to do them in a way that is thoroughly Christian. “God uses industries to generate goods and services, hospitals to care for the hurt and sick, schools to educate intellectual seekers, recreational clubs to remind us of the need for a Seventh Day to filter through all the rest of our days.”[26] Someone who does not believe in Christ may still be used to do something for His kingdom, but where this person is, Christians should explain to her the Gospel. Vocations are not just jobs; they are intended to make us prime citizens in God’s kingdom.[27]
To follow their main vocation of serving the kingdom of God, Christians pursue a wonderful array of sub-vocations. They sing, pray, and hand each other the body and blood of Christ. They rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. They fight against evil, but also fly kites and bake bread. As part of their vocation they absorb good books and good music. They work, but also rest from work in order to make a space in which to long for God. Some of them join volunteer groups that turn rails to trails, or that assist flood victims, or that paint somebody’s house. In an emergency, an adult Christian might spend herself for a friend who is dying – sitting with her, praying with her, encouraging her, seeing to some of her needs. This isn’t a job that appears on any government list of occupations, but it is a calling of God, and it is surely a contribution to the kingdom of God.[28]
God gives us gifts and expects us to use them for His kingdom. He also gives us careers that can minister to the least of these.[29] In the end, Christian education prepares believers for their lives in the real world, where they are to engage it and effect it for the good of God’s kingdom. Christians are to do their jobs to the best of their ability and they are to let their lives be a testimony to the difference that Christ makes in the heart of all people.
The book explains very well all of these ideas and thoughts, but with more detail and precision. I would recommend it to not only anyone that has a desire to teach but to any person who desires to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind, namely with their whole being.
[1] X. [2] X. [3] XI. [4] XI and XII. [5] 6. [6] 10. [7] 10. [8] 30. [9] 33. [10] 34. [11] 34. [12] 50. [13] 51. [14] 54. [15] 57 [16] 57-58. [17] 58. [18] 59. [19] 60. [20] 61. [21] 61-62. [22] 64. [23] 95-96.
[24] 98. It is wrong for advertisers to use celebrities to endorse products that they themselves do not use (99).
[25] 107. [26] 109-110. [27] 115. [28] 114.
[29] 115, 117. Before bread appears on our plates, it must be grown by the farmer, cooked by the baker, and delivered to the store by the driver, all work together to meet the needs of the hungry (117).