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.

Why are the sciences helped by the humanities?

Give me a minute to explain.

Jessica Hooten Wilson wrote an essay for Public Discourse last year where she pointedly says when it comes to education we have “idolized usefulness.” She then asks the question, “What if education was meant to make us free?”

Her point is that the humanities in general, the study of English in particular, “rehumanizes” us; whereas, in the cultural climate of our day, “marketable skills” supposedly wins the day. She says,

“I did not become a professor to train English majors to make money. Such an end is a waste of time for anyone who remembers that they are going to die.”

I love the sciences and humanities equally because I love academics. But if we’re depending on science professors to write grants to bring monies into our schools, then we need the humanities to make sure we stay human.

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 Some of my writing about the humanities from a decidedly Christian perspective:

Author Without Authority: Stephen Crane’s Red Badge of Courage [2011, Spring 2013 Intégrité: A Journal of Faith and Learning]

Byron, Shelley, and Keats: The Poet as God, Poetry as Scripture [2011]

My review of Liberal Arts for the Christian Life [2012]

Our view of ethics is founded on our view of human nature [2016]

“Who Do We Think With?” my review of Alan Jacobs In the Year of Our Lord 1943 [2021]

Theories and the Bible [2023 “A theory is a man-made interpretive view of a subject.”]

What we have learned, helps us to continue learning.

Give me a minute to explain.

Here is what I’ve learned about the application of wisdom.

We don’t always know how what we learn now, may help in learning later.

For example, my learning of Hebrew and Greek has helped to formulate how I think, do research, write, and teach. There is an enormous value in learning how the native speakers in any original language spoke. I may not be able to teach Hebrew as I once did, nor could I now rattle off vocabulary or syntactical processes from Greek. But I know their importance and continue to mine their treasures throughout my teaching, speaking, and writing today.

All of us depend on what we have learned in the past to interpret the life we live today. The application of that wisdom is a lifelong pursuit, as Solomon said in Proverbs two, “making your ear attentive, inclining your heart to understanding.”

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’s my job as a professor?

Give me a minute to explain.

My job, as a professor, is to hold a mirror up to myself and my students, asking each one of us to be honest about our beliefs.

We may not agree with each other. But to appreciate others’ points of view, without necessarily surrendering ours, is important.

My responsibility in the university is not to change students. My job is to make sure they have had the opportunity to consider all sides of an issue before taking upon themselves the responsibility to own their belief.

I penned a brief poem titled “Witness” to explain my role in this life. I wrote:

Witness, I am, to my sphere

Of influence, Small, finite, But a stone

In the shoe, Making others, Pay attention

Not to the stone, Not to the aggravation, But to Another

Way of walking, A sense that, The stone

Is a witness.

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.

Before I open a book, this is what I do.

Give me a minute to explain.

Thomas Aquinas wrote “A Prayer Before Study” where he prayed,

“Grant to me keenness of mind, capacity to remember, skill in learning, subtlety to interpret, and eloquence in speech. May you guide the beginning of my work, direct its progress, and bring it to completion. You Who are true God and true Man, Who live and reign, world without end. Amen.”

For as long as I’ve researched, written, and taught I have prayed Psalm 119:18,

“Lord, open my eyes that I might see wonderful things out of your law.”

I recognize my dependent attitude about The Word of God depends on The Spirit of God to guide me in pursuit of Truth, what theologians call “illumination.” The Spirit’s work in me should influence my researching, writing, and teaching.

I keep the prayers of Aquinas’ and the Psalmist in front of me when I study.

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.

[For further reading https://markeckel.com/2024/05/13/understanding-the-bible-illumination/ ]

Preparing students for what they will face.

The final exam will be on the streets of life.

Give Me a Minute to explain.

I am convinced that students do not have full understanding of their education until they must defend themselves against intellectual attacks or prepare a defense of their positions or build lasting contributions in culture or preserve what has been given to them to keep.

K-12 or higher education is the dojo – the Japanese word for the place where martial arts are practiced. Here students of all ages learn to own and practice their beliefs under the tutelage of their sensei, their teacher.

Students may not fully understand the impact of education until they are confronted on the streets of life with a final exam, where they are given an opportunity to stand against falsehood, treachery, and evil; then to stand for life, freedom, and generosity.

After all my years and places of teaching, I believe the best way to prepare students for “the real world” is Christian education.

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.

[From https://warpandwoof.org/the-dojo/ ]

AFTERWORD From my favorite short essay of all time, C. S. Lewis, “Learning in War Time,” in the volume The Weight of Glory, where Lewis laid down the gauntlet,

To be ignorant and simple now—not to be able to meet the enemies on their own ground—would be to throw down our weapons, and to betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defense but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen.