A Careful Convergence: Integrating Biology and Faith in the Church-Related College

Abstract

The integration of personal faith with the content of one's academic discipline (in this case, biology) is not a skill included in the training of academic professionals. Baptists valued higher education and schooling in general. Science faculties in church-related colleges, more than others, need to help students grasp the differences between observations, interpretations, and beliefs. One of the most direct ways for introducing integration concerns is to include faith or value implications as an integral part of the class session. These implications might be part of a larger discussion. On the other hand, a technique that is amusing and often surprises students is the use of cartoons to reveal cultural values and worldview issues. A variation discussed in this chapter is to present a cartoon during class as the basis for a short writing assignment asking students to identify and comment on the value(s), ethical issues, or belief implicit in the image or sequence. Nothing works better than real organisms if the goal is to get students to see God's creations as marvelous work.