After discovering the third law of planetary motion, Johannes Kepler prayed,
“Sun, moon, and planets glorify Him in your ineffable language! Celestial harmonies, all ye who comprehend His marvelous works, praise Him. And thou, my soul, praise thy Creator! It is by Him and in Him that all exists. That which we know best is comprised in Him, as well as in our vain science”
The history of science is imperative here; it was Christians who led the way in scientific discovery. Scientists such as Kepler, Bacon, Maxwell, and Faraday were committed Christians whose work expanded human knowledge for the good. Do avail yourself of Christian History Magazine Issue #134 (available free in pdf format) to find out more.
Yard signs and bumper stickers that proclaim “we believe in science” might be benefited by a bit of Christian history.
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.
The artillery opened fire at 10 p.m. Using bracketing salvos, measuring the precise range of their volleys, spotters began to report direct hits. The structure imploded from the heat generated from the incendiary shells, created by igniting the contents of the building. Stained glass shattered. Sections of the roof collapsed. Walls caved in. People escaped with their lives. The valuables inside the building were not so fortunate. Among the materials incinerated were over 150,000 rare items of print, music, journals, photographs, and books. The building destroyed in the night sky of August 25th, 1992 was the University Library of Bosnia. The Serbian soldiers that night were attacking memory, a people’s history, wishing the eradication of a people-groups’ existence. Serbs, Croats, and Muslims were attempting to wipe out each other during the Croatian and Bosnian wars of the early 1990’s. In this case, the university library was a Christian building. According to sources, only Christian books were burned, others having been removed ahead of the attack. British journalist, Robert Fisk described what he saw during the wars as “culturecide” the attempt to wipe out the cultural identity of a population. In this case, Christian history was in jeopardy.
We have yet to endure artillery trained on American libraries. But destruction of ideas is not limited to real warfare. Before coming to Liberty, I taught at Indiana University Indianapolis. Ahead of each teaching day I w
University Library
ould pass under a large sign that read, “Discrimination has no place here.” And I would tell my students and my colleagues the sign was a lie: viewpoint discrimination occurred every day on campus. Not every perspective was welcome. Students self-censored. Professors did not say what they believed. You see, destroying communities of thought takes place in many ways: vilification, denunciation, misinterpretation, disinformation, omission, or total elimination. We stand against all these and other destroyers of Truth.
Yet, here, I would offer that the worst of these destructive forces, indeed the answer to all the rest, has nothing to do with discrimination. You can be sure that people will hate what you believe and they will discriminate against you. We stand in good company since Jesus said people would hate us because they hated Him first. If you are in a position to make sure all voices are heard, good. Godspeed in your endeavors.
I would suggest that the real destruction of libraries is neglect. If I could be so bold, all we need to do is care. In my Indianapolis community, one of my friends spent 18 months of his life rallying people to vote for school board members that held a common sense, common truth, common grace view of ideas, people, education, and viewpoint diversity. And you know where he started? In the public library. I was there to support him when he cogently, caringly, clearly went toe-to-toe with the reigning ideologies in 2020-24. That’s where our work is: whatever venue, in whatever vocation we are called to, we conserve what has been given to us.
Before there was the great commission in Matthew 28 there was the great commandment in Genesis 1:28. The vestiges of that command ripple through every culture, time, people, and place. We are to steward, preserve, keep, produce, protect, manage, conserve all that we have been given. We rightly encourage the great commission, delivering the gospel of Jesus’ grace to all while crafting what is beautiful and good through revelational truths. As regenerate image-bearers, your very presence on any street, in any town, with any company, toward any future, no matter who you are, or how you’ve been gifted, is a beacon of light in a dark world. One of the greatest ways to stave off neglect – to show you care – is by reading, discussing, critiquing, and sharing great and good books.
Now I can hear some of you thinking, “That’s all well and good for him. He’s a professor. Libraries are part of his world.” And my response to you would be, “Welcome to my world.” Look at this magnificent edifice, one of the great collections in all of Christian higher education resides here. From the archives in the basement to the quiet rooms in the nooks and crannies of the Jerry Falwell Library, you have the opportunity to read, research, study, collaborate and converse about big ideas, big books, to do big research, to write big papers, to make a big impact on the world as champions for Christ. Don’t neglect the gift of this library. Don’t take for granted the opportunity to learn at Liberty University.
Library, Amsterdam
In my first semester, my first class teaching in public university, Asher was one of my students. Asher’s final paper was a well-researched piece on the decline of reading-for-leisure amongst his classmates. We struck up a friendship. We would meet to talk inside used bookstores. We shared books with each other. We talked about the importance of reading. The only reason Asher listened to my entreaties about his eternal soul was because I cared about what he thought and what he read. Just this past week, nine years later, Asher texted me his insights about the great tome The Count of Monte Cristo. Do you want to marry Genesis 1:28 with Matthew 28? Don’t neglect books.
Library, Leeds Castle
I can still hear some of you thinking, “Again, easy for you. You’re a professor.” Okay. I get it. Let’s put the cookies on the bottom shelf. Let’s make this a marker, right here, right now, for the rest of your life. I will offer five simple ways that you can stave off neglect of libraries, show care for others, witnessing with beauty and goodness to show the Truth.
One: Create personal libraries. And, no, I don’t mean read books on screens. I mean purchase real paper books. We are incarnational, in-flesh persons. We don’t need studies to tell us – though the research is everywhere – that physical contact with reading and writing is best for the human brain. Don’t neglect personal libraries.
Two: Create home libraries. Again, evidence abounds that children growing up in a house of books begin life with a better disposition toward education. If, as a parent, you read books to your children, encourage them to read, and continue to set an example of reading, you will set your children on the Providential path of success. Don’t neglect home libraries.
Three: Create space for the humanities. Am I anti-STEM? Of course not. I am pro-STREAMS: science, technology, religion, engineering, arts, math, and synthesis of all things under Christ’s Lordship. Whenever I have taught master’s and PhD level courses one assignment always included reading a novel. You know why? Because novels don’t preach, novels breach the defenses of people who are reticent to receive truth. Don’t neglect the humanities.
Bookstore
Four: Create repositories and archives. Why? We are to preserve history. History is the most important of all subjects since the past orders the present and future, not to mention that the whole of our Christian worldview rests on physical-person, space-time events. Don’t neglect history.
Five: Create gratitude for who and what has come before you. We are all here because someone was here before us. Gratitude is the basis for ethics. Don’t neglect gratitude.
Those of us, your professors, who have come before you, depend on you now, our students, not to neglect but to protect, preserve, produce from, and provide for the generations who follow you, ideas, words, books, curricula, archives, libraries, universities, all to reclaim and restore the great commandment, the original marching orders from our King, not to conquer or subjugate – as some other worldviews want to do – but to benefit all people with the common grace of God’s goodness given to us, through the most important book, The Word of God. Herein the grace of Christ will be seen in you as you seek for, what Jeremiah wrote in a letter to the exiles in Jerusalem, “the welfare of the city, pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare, you will find your welfare.”
May it be so.
How to Destroy a Library
Research Week Awards Address
6 May 26, Liberty University
Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.
The delivery of any kind of oral presentation is unique.
Singing our national anthem happens all the time. However, Whitney Houston’s 1991 Super Bowl performance surpasses all others. Wartime addresses are essential for their time and place. Yet some transcend the moment, such as Gary Oldman giving Winston Churchill’s “we will fight on the beaches” speech in the movie The Darkest Hour. Popular songs can be etched in memory; as when Lady Gaga hits that high note in the song “Shallow.” The clip from the film A Star is Born –seen over two billion times – is evidence.
Teachers know what I’m talking about, perhaps more than others; those moments in a classroom when time stands still, when no one will ever forget the lines delivered, when you could hear a pin falling on carpet. Whatever your craft, strive to make your voice memorable.
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.
After guest preaching at a church, a lady was discussing my sermon with me. “How long did it take you to put that sermon together?” I smiled. I said, “About three years.” I went on to explain some ideas take a long time to grow.
That bit of memory struck me recently as I reflected on study speed in the university.
At the beginning of every semester I tell students the same thing, “These 16 weeks are going to fly by, so I want you to slow down.” What do I mean? Ideas need percolation time.
Thinking Christianly is not a fill-in-the-blank process. Biblical integration is no plug-and-play proposition.
I am in the business of educational farming: ground tilling, seed sowing, field fertilizing, sun shining, water sprinkling, weed picking, scarecrow erecting, fruit harvesting.
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.
Last week I spoke about institutionalized thinking. I said our biggest problems are often not a single law or regulation, but rather the institutionalized mindset that prevents sensible changes from occurring.
Since I’m a professor, “institutional mindset” is a concern when it comes to curricula. Administrative responsibilities protect the borders of finance and organization. Professorial responsibilities produce from the freedom within those borders to cultivate and grow ideas within us and our students.
“And when he occupies a college / Truth is replaced by Useful Knowledge; / He pays particular Attention to Commercial Thought, / Public Relations, Hygiene, Sport, / In his curricula.”
In Christian education we must establish what is important not on an institutional mindset, but a Biblical mindset.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
It happened to the 19th 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:
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.
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.
I would suggest that the real destruction of libraries is neglect. If I could be so bold, all we need to do is care. In my Indianapolis community, one of my friends spent 18 months of his life rallying people to vote for school board members that held a common sense, common truth, common grace view of ideas, people, education, and viewpoint diversity. And you know where he started? In the public library. I was there to support him when he cogently, caringly, clearly went toe-to-toe with the reigning ideologies in 2020-24. That’s where our work is: whatever venue, in whatever vocation we are called to, we conserve what has been given to us.
Two: Create home libraries. Again, evidence abounds that children growing up in a house of books begin life with a better disposition toward education. If, as a parent, you read books to your children, encourage them to read, and continue to set an example of reading, you will set your children on the Providential path of success. Don’t neglect home libraries.
