Biblical Integration (or whatever you want to call it)

A couple weeks ago I asked a question on another blog about what the readers thought about the issue of Biblical integration in academia - particularly in history courses. I was mildly disappointed by the lack of response - and those who did respond seemed either not to understand what I meant by Biblical (or Christian) Integration in the subjects we teach. Those who did understand what I said were skeptical of any approach that could do this principle justice - at least from what they had seen, the application of Biblical integration was sloppy at best, and dishonest at worst.
At its worst, it seems to take this approach:

Lesson on math
A verse from the Bible that a teacher digs out that has some sort of reference to a math issue
End of lesson
Is there another answer to this or are we hopelessly incapable of demonstrating that Jesus is indeed Lord of all of knowledge? Here is part of my reply on that blog:

A couple months ago I finished a history (published just last year) of the rise of the animal rights movement in England in the late 18th century, a battle in which many evangelicals participated. Their defense of the created order under God is certainly one that any teacher, Christian or not, could use in a science or history classroom (I used it today to illustrate the strands of reform that accompanied the movement against the English slave trade). The scriptural principles these defenders employed in moving anti-cruelty legislation were sound. The book’s examples became an opportunity for me to ask my 9th graders the question “how would you defend against animal cruelty on the basis of Scripture?” (I teach in a Christian school). I wasn’t surprised that none of them really could but was encouraged as they tried.This, I think, is one example of what I meant by “Christian” (or biblical) integration. It’s asking how people have lived (and are living) their lives, pursuing their callings, and changing their worlds while living out the Faith.In Government, I have used ML King, Jr.’s Letter from the Birmingham Jail to discuss the basis of the non-violent wing of the Civil Rights movement from the perspective of Dr. King’s theology. You would be amazed how many teachers believe and teach that Dr. King’s original inspiration was primarily Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance against British rule. Without ignoring that valuable evidence, I want students to understand the consequences of applying (or failing to apply) biblical truth to the situations of history in which the actors find themselves. Hopefully, these students will enter college with an appreciation of the role that theology has played in history at a time when that discipline has been marginalized.I certainly understand the reticence of many who have seen a poor “patchwork” effort in both curriculum and instruction. I hope that our continued dialogue on this issue both here and on my own blog can help us improve our ability to recognize every area of knowledge as under the Lordship of Christ.

What do you think? What are the limitations of this approach to learning and scholarship?

Program or process?

Recently I read Josh McDowell's "The Last Christian Generation." He has become increasingly alarmed that most of our churched young people are becoming less and less like the Jesus they worship and more and more like their unchurched peers, both in what they believe and how they apply biblical principles to their lives. I was intrigued by his contention that many youth ministries in our churches are program rather than process driven. I think what he means by program driven is that we invite young people to an activity, throw a Bible lesson at them along with some very fun stuff, and then send them home. Some of my students seem to confirm that this is how it's done. I'm not a church youth leader, so I want to be fair to those hard-working and little-appreciated youth leaders out there. Is this really the case?
By process, I think Josh is referring to the growth in Christlike character based on the word of God, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Unless our youth ministries make this the focus of their ministries rather than activity and Bible knowledge, the future of our Christian young people looks bleak.
I've noticed it even in my own school. Whether in chapel services or Bible courses, our emphasis on specific application of Bible truth has been weak. Even my own worldview course does not have room for application. So, what happens is that my students get a head full of knowledge, but I have no idea if they really know what to do with it.
I think I'm waking up now.
Yesterday, for our regular chapel we did something we've never done before. After about 20 minutes of excellent student-led worship (which is normal) we broke the entire student body up into small groups of 5-6. We selected the most godly students we knew and trained them in the basics of leading small groups. Then, we gave them a study on love with a strong emphasis on application. Each student wrote down a specific act that they were to do every day the following week as an application of the scriptures they studied. The leaders will informally touch base with them next week to ensure a minimum of accountability.
I have no idea what will happen next. I do know that after meeting with the leaders that they were excited about this new approach and wanted to continue it at least twice a month. Perhaps some of you out there have tried a similar approach.

Peanuts, regulation, and Upton Sinclair's Jungle

Heard on NPR this morning the disturbing story of the massive recall of peanut products from a Plainview peanut processing plant. Everything ever produced there since it opened in March 2005 has to come back. An article in the Houston Chronicle pointed out that inspectors discovered "dead rodents, rodent excrement, and bird feathers in a crawl space above a food production area of the Peanut Corp, of America's Plainview plant.
The article also mentions that there are only 34 inspectors to cover 17,000 food manufacturers in Texas.
The painful part is that the company had not applied for a license in the 4 years it has existed (which is why no one visited).
What timing - I'm just getting ready to deal with the Progressive era on Monday in one college glass. Oh, boy! Having recently read Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" and its lurid descriptions of meat processing at the turn of the 20th century, it all reminds me that perhaps it is time for a breath of fresh air. With the allegations of poor oversight on the part of the SEC in the Bernie Madeoff case, we seem to have forgotten the lessons of those days of 06(1906, that is!). I hear so many Christians decrying government regulation and the taxes that support it. Well, this is our answer. Who are we kidding? A healthy dose of the "T" in the Calvinist TULIP acrostic (total depravity) should help us understand that we all have a strong tendency to get lax when no one is looking (gee, ya think our students don't cheat if we aren't paying attention?). Anyone who teaches post-Reconstruction US History or even the first Industrial Revolution can find plenty of room for skepticism in the human ability to work without accountability. And like many an industrial worker during that era, it appears that we are still working for....peanuts!

A Geography Bee!

Roberta "Bobbie" Kelly, the student activities coordinator of the ACSI Ohio River Valley region has a great opportunity for those of you teaching in grades 3-8 or who know someone who does:
Last year ACSI undertook the task of creating a Geography Bee to add to our ACSI events. The program is designed for students in grades 3-8 and is designed to create interest in the area of Geography. If you are interested in hearing more about this program – and perhaps being in on the first year it is offered, get in touch with her at bobbie_kelly@acsi.org