Education

Academics need partners.

Give me a minute to explain.

The academic life is not for everyone, but I love it. It is good to be with other like-minded professors at conferences or on campus. There are two groups of likeminded Christian profs I would like to mention.

The Consortium of Christian Study Centers is dedicated to cultivating thoughtful Christian presence on public universities, across North America. The International Alliance for Christian Education unifies and strengthens excellence in biblical teaching and practice, cultural witness and scholarship, resourcing Christian education at all levels.

Such academically minded folks need the support and encouragement of The Church. Christian faculty and students participate in a world of ideas. Biblical thinking is enlivened by groups such as the Christian Study Center Movement and the International Alliance for Christian Education. I’m glad to be partnered with both.

Thanks for spending this minute with me, Dr. Mark Eckel.

Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.

“Give Me a Minute” is an ongoing effort to simply, clearly, and quickly explain aspects of true Truth.

Gratitude, as always, to my longtime friend, videographer, and tech guru Josh for his continued service.

Why be in a hurry?

Give me a minute to explain.

A young leader, a recent president of Liberty’s student government, spent a couple of hours with me last semester. He wanted to discuss his new student life position. He has been tasked to consider an approach with students about their use of technology. I addressed how I think it’s best to ask questions or set up methods (such as case studies) that encourage students to come to their own answers. But it wasn’t until I mentioned delayed gratification and being disciplined by hardship that eyebrows rose.

None of us are immune to shortcuts. I feel it all the time in research. But I believe that slow, painstaking, deliberate thinking fosters better understanding, further developing wisdom. The Hebrew word selah that punctuates many Psalms means “stop, ponder, reflect, consider,” in essence, don’t rush. The lesson for us all is that fast is not always a friend of good.

Thanks for spending this minute with me, Dr. Mark Eckel.

Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.

“Give Me a Minute” is an ongoing effort to simply, clearly, and quickly explain aspects of true Truth.

Gratitude, as always, to my longtime friend, videographer, and tech guru Josh for his continued service.

I would never be the same.

Give me a minute to explain.

When I first started teaching in 1983, “classroom discipline” was much different than it is now. A young seventh grade boy was – in my estimation – quite recalcitrant in class. I arranged as “discipline” that he come to my house early on a Saturday morning to rake leaves.

His mom dropped him off and we proceeded to rake. All the while we talked. I had also promised him breakfast when we were finished. And like in the yard, we chatted over our eggs and toast. I arranged with the mom that I would drive him back home. And we talked.

But then I noticed, little by little, the closer we got to his location, he began to quiet. Arriving at the destination, the car silent now, I saw his house. It was a little mobile home trailer which couldn’t have had more than one bedroom. The car rolled to a stop. He opened the door and without a word got out. I paused in the space until he entered the trailer.

And I remember then as I remember now mixed feelings of sadness, shame, compassion, and resolve.

Never again would I assess a young person by their actions in my classroom without also considering their background, parentage, homelife, or surroundings.

Thanks for spending this minute with me, Dr. Mark Eckel.

Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.

“Give Me a Minute” is an ongoing effort to simply, clearly, and quickly explain aspects of true Truth.

Gratitude, as always, to my longtime friend, videographer, and tech guru Josh for his continued service.

What will A.I. take from us?

Give me a minute to explain.

[And don’t miss the Afterword!]

It happened to the 19^th C. whalers who were providing oil for lamps. The discovery of crude oil powering electric lights put them out of a job. You can fill in the blanks here with other jobs. Change happens. Something is lost every time it does. Something else takes its place.

Whenever I consider arguments against new AI technology, for instance, my first thought is “What are we going to lose?” What is lost could be anything, including the construction of curricula. From a biblical-theological perspective, I have noted at least two losses we are suffering because of AI doing the work for us.

Number one, disregard for our creatureliness which means our creativity is diminished.

Number two, disregard for our being made in the image (of God) which means our imagination is diminished.

We all know that changes happens. But we should be aware of what we’re giving up, when it does.

Thanks for spending this minute with me, Dr. Mark Eckel.

AFTERWORD

I have been collecting cautionary essays on what A.I. will cost us and take from us. Here are a few offerings without comment:

https://hbr.org/2025/11/making-sense-of-research-on-how-people-use-ai

Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.

“Give Me a Minute” is an ongoing effort to simply, clearly, and quickly explain aspects of true Truth.

Gratitude, as always, to my longtime friend, videographer, and tech guru Josh for his continued service.

What happens when you break a pattern?

Give me a minute to explain.

Something sweet happened at the end of my last class last semester.

Saying goodbye to my “academic children” is always hard. I was expressing such sentiments, trying to control my emotions. Thinking it was finally time to go I said my final line. One very quiet student in the back tentatively raised her hand wondering,

“What about the benediction?”

It had been my practice over 28 class sessions to end each session with a benediction, a final blessing, a final encouragement to apply our work to Jesus’ work. I had forgotten what had come to be an expected daily closing. The whole class looked at me, waiting. Swallowing my emotions brought on by such a sweet longing to end as we always had, I raised my hand, saying,

“Hear now the benediction.”

Each person respectfully bowed their head, saying, “Amen” together at the end.

Thanks for spending this minute with me, Dr. Mark Eckel.

An example of one benediction:

Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.

“Give Me a Minute” is an ongoing effort to simply, clearly, and quickly explain aspects of true Truth.

Gratitude, as always, to my longtime friend, videographer, and tech guru Josh for his continued service.

Why do Christian educators teach?

Give me a minute to explain.

John W. Peterson’s, “A Student’s Prayer” is the best Christian educator’s hymn. It reads,

1. God, the all wise, and Creator of the human intellect, / Guide our search for truth and knowledge, all our thoughts and ways direct. / Help us build the towers of learning that would make us wise, astute, / On the rock of Holy Scripture: Truth revealed and absolute.

2. O how vast the shores of learning—there are still uncharted seas, / And they call to bold adventure those who turn from sloth and ease. / But we need Thy hand to guide us in the studies we pursue, / And the presence of Thy Spirit to illumine all we do. /

3. May the things we learn, so meager, never lift our hearts in pride / Till in foolish self-reliance we would wander from Thy side. / Let them only bind us closer, Lord, to Thee, in whom we find / Very fountainhead of Wisdom, Light and life of all mankind. /

Thanks for spending this minute with me, Dr. Mark Eckel.

Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.

“Give Me a Minute” is an ongoing effort to simply, clearly, and quickly explain aspects of true Truth.

Gratitude, as always, to my longtime friend, videographer, and tech guru Josh for his continued service.

You REALLY want to stand against “the system”?

Give me a minute to give an answer.

Ray Bradbury’s science fiction thriller “Fahrenheit 451” shows the author’s concern about education and an apathetic reading public. In one place Bradbury writes,

“School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English ignored. No wonder books stopped selling.”

To avoid Bradbury’s concern, do something countercultural. Let me suggest some steps.

#1. Hit the “do not disturb” button on your phone.

#2 Set your phone out of sight.

#3 Choose a book to read: fiction, poetry, history, biography, it doesn’t matter.

#4 Find a quiet place, out of earshot of surrounding noise, apart from outside distractions.

#5. Sit in a comfortable chair with good lighting.

#6. Now, read. Read for fifteen minutes, then an hour, then lose yourself in what you’re reading for hours on end.

#7. Find joy in this one, countercultural act: reading.

Thanks for spending this minute with me, Dr. Mark Eckel.

Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.

“Give Me a Minute” is an ongoing effort to simply, clearly, and quickly explain aspects of true Truth.

Gratitude, as always, to my longtime friend, videographer, and tech guru Josh for his continued service.

AFTERWORD [From 26 May 2020, “Within,” Reading changes students from the inside, out]

I taught a course on Gothic Horror Literature to high school seniors for many years. We would study books like Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These stories we read and discussed are morality plays. Human nature is nowhere better understood than when we consider why Dr. Moreau thought he could remake animals in his image. We understand our true nature when we identify with the decaying portrait of Dorian Gray. And we begin to realize the tension between our dignity and depravity when reading about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

So high school seniors had to address the question, “How did reading this literature affect my person, my understanding about myself?” One semester stands out in my mind. Professors wait for these moments, moments which define when true learning has occurred. Each young person began to explain what they had learned. To a person, each high school senior all said the same thing. “After reading Gothic horror I came to realize that the real horror is inside me.”

Think about those responses for just a moment. Imagine if every young person in this culture would be so moved by literature. Imagine that students would come to the place early in their lives – uncompelled by their instructor – that they first bore responsibility for evil in themselves. Imagine how our world would change?! Self-restraint would replace state-regulation. Internal compulsion would eliminate external controls. Or said simply, if you control yourself, no one else will have to.

Whenever I talk about Gothic Horror Literature, I tell that story. All the students in one class came to the same conclusion at the same time. They realized the truth of Jesus’ statement in Mark 7, that sin is within. Literature has the power to show us our nature: from the inside, out.

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, President of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking Truth wherever it’s found.

Why do I have concerns about hierarchies and taxonomies?

Give me a minute to explain (and don’t miss the Afterword).

It is important to think about “thinking.”

There is a new book out on biblical integration that accepts the patterns of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Maslow’s Hierarchy as if they were given from Mt. Sinai. That upsets me. Why? The source of an idea matters. Consider that Bloom’s taxonomy only concerns itself with the intellect, leaving out any attitudinal concerns.  Or consider that Maslow’s Hierarchy ends with “self-actualization,” without any reference to supernatural concerns, contrary to a Christian point of view.

As an academic I will read or listen to anyone’s point of view. What concerns me is when people will not give honest attention to the worldview of the person holding the position. The content of belief comes from someone who begins with an assumption that may be different from mine. As a teacher, I should always be cognizant of that idea.

Thanks for spending this minute with me, Dr. Mark Eckel.

Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.

“Give Me a Minute” is an ongoing effort to simply, clearly, and quickly explain aspects of true Truth.

Gratitude, as always, to my longtime friend, videographer, and tech guru Josh for his continued service.

AFTERWORD

Every theory comes from a worldview held by a person who subscribes to that view.

Maslow’s view of life excised any transcendent truth, making his hierarchy earthbound and human centered.

Bloom focuses almost exclusively on cognitive and behavioral verbs in his taxonomy (“motive” and “value” may be two exceptions, nonetheless, there is no understanding of the internal nature of the person given by that verbiage). Do consider “Breaking Down the Bad of Bloom’s” by Jason Barney.

I am not arguing that elements of these theories are all wrong. What I am concerned about is an acceptance without Christian critique of these or any theories. Maslow’s focus on “family” is important to me. I utilize the verbs in Bloom for lesson plan development. However . . .

A biblical view would include ideas that are purely intrinsic, a transformation only possible by internal change.

I finished a journal essay, one section given to educational affective objectives (if you’re keeping track, I have written on the topic in these Friday emails obtained by sign up at the pop-up at MarkEckel.com : 4.4.25, 1.31.25, 4.26.24). Here is part of what I wrote:

Doctrine should be internalized, affecting our affections. Students in my Spring 2025 Gothic horror literature class, for instance, would be asked about doctrine through affective questions. Each query is burgeoning with creaturely concerns:

1. How has your attitude changed?
2. How have you been internally motivated?
3. What virtues should you display?
4. How has this experience brought you joy?
5. How have you been caused to resolve anything in your life?[1]

Notice that none of these ideas (attitude, motivation, virtue, joy, resolve) can be seen or held in one’s hand. As I have written elsewhere,

“You can’t see an attitude. You can’t touch an emotion. You can’t taste a mindset. But I can certainly experience attitude, emotion, and mindset in a person’s body language, tone of voice, or facial expression. In education we call this kind of learning affective. Learning that reaches to one’s thought process, that works to transform someone’s spirit, is affective learning.”

[1] Notice that none of these ideas (attitude, motivation, virtue, joy, resolve) can be seen or held in one’s hand. As I have written elsewhere, “You can’t see an attitude. You can’t touch an emotion. You can’t taste a mindset. But I can certainly experience attitude, emotion, and mindset in a person’s body language, tone of voice, or facial expression. In education we call this kind of learning affective. Learning that reaches to one’s thought process, that works to transform someone’s spirit, is affective learning.” Mark D. Eckel, “1 Essential Educational Practice: Reflection,” 13 December 2022, https://markeckel.com/2022/12/13/1-essential-educational-practice-reflection/

Does a having a doctorate equal good teaching?

Give me a minute to answer.

One of the greatest disservices promoted in higher education is the assumption that simply because a person has PhD behind their name, that person is qualified to teach. I am not questioning anyone’s credentials. I am saying having a doctorate does not necessarily translate into good teaching in the classroom.

For example, just because one has a PhD in theology does not mean he also has the skills necessary to teach theology at any level. There are other abilities involved in teaching, beyond academic exercises.

Temperament, interpersonal skills, the ability to ask questions, the desire for students to discover their beliefs, and great wisdom in discerning student needs are among key concerns in higher education. How to use one’s authority in the classroom is born well by the wise instructor, treating all students with respect.

Thanks for spending this minute with me, Dr. Mark Eckel.

Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.

“Give Me a Minute” is an ongoing effort to simply, clearly, and quickly explain aspects of true Truth.

Gratitude, as always, to my longtime friend, videographer, and tech guru Josh for his continued service.