Even though I'm sure other areas of study have
been misunderstood, misrepresented or even outright caricatured, I doubt other
areas are as susceptible to those treatments as philosophy. I'm a philosophy
major at Liberty University and have lived in two relatively different worlds
of attitudes about philosophy. World (1) says that philosophy is not very
important, too abstract, not practical, is prideful (for some Christians at
least) because it allegedly puts human reason above God, and so on. World (2) says
that philosophy is unavoidable in all areas of life, can deepen one's
relationship with God (assuming he/she is a born again believer), can deepen
one's ability to connect ideas together and develop good reasons for his or her
convictions, and is more than just an area of study in that it involves a
journey for a lifetime.
I'm obviously inclined towards World #2 because
that is my major but I was in World #1 at one time. Hence, I can understand
people who are coming from World #1's perspectives. I do have some deep
concerns though. I feel like that not only is my major deeply misunderstood,
it's almost deemed to be unimportant or irrelevant for high school graduates or
young undergrads who as Christians feel called into ministry in some local
church or in a secular, public area of life.
Everything I am about to say reflects my LIFE. I have LIVED what I am about to say. I have not always been sheltered or in a Christian bubble. I know what goes on in the world because I have experienced certain parts of it. Please read what I say with an open mind but critical mind as well. I do not ask for everyone to agree with me on these issues. I just request a fair hearing. I would rather have some people who disagree with me than have everyone agree with me because that might indicate the majority perhaps are not reading me critically. Here's what I'm going to suggest: Every Christian who is a junior and/or graduating senior in high school and young undergrad should at least minor in philosophy, if they decide not to major in it.
I have about 3 reasons why I believe this. First, we as collective bodies of churches in America that affirm the doctrinal essentials of the faith (Christ's deity, Trinity, Infallibility of Scripture, etc.) need to STOP overstating the pragmatic/practical approach for education. Pursuing an area of study in a college or university - Christian or secular - has almost been completely reduced to pursuing a major that will guarantee a job afterwards. Sure, having an income for one's self and one's family - if you have a family - for their needs and desires is important. I'm not advocating a lack of concern for poverty. But that isn't the entire story. Shouldn't education be more about pursuing truth, knowledge and having the relevant skills to interact with the world as Christ would have us?
An overly pragmatic approach to choosing a major and neglecting other aspects is very damaging for a few reasons. One, it disconnects the PERSON from what he/she is doing for their job. Basically, the job is only *artificially* or *extrinsically* connected to the person, it's not part of them. Why am I saying this? Because if we are going to give an account to God for how we lived life, then we should engage the most important activities that are _conducive_ to our formation as people. Can I really honor God in the best way if what I'm doing has no real connection to ME? I really doubt it. Students need to pursuing majors and careers that REFLECT themselves in the process: their talents, skills, abilities, passions, aspirations, etc. With that being said, parents need to be encouraging their children to examine their skill sets, passions, and so forth and make THOSE things a guiding principle for what major they might consider. Financial value should be a secondary - not primary - concern.
Second, we need to start having a holistic approach to education and our personal walk with the Lord Jesus. I'm not just talking about the different faculties or aspects of being a human being, although that's very important. I'm primarily talking about taking all the relevant areas of knowledge and inquiry and see how they can benefit a Christian who wants to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit in ALL the relevant areas of life. How can the arts, aesthetics, science, technology, philosophy, literature, psychology, and so on help a Christian become all they can be for Jesus' sake?
The reason why I mention philosophy is because it targets all areas of life and ourselves. It asks us how we should go about believing certain things, whether we have carefully reflected on our beliefs, what makes us valuable as human beings, is God real, can we know what's right and wrong, is truth good for its own sake or is only a beneficial tool we can use for our own advantages, and so on.
Third, we need to recover a respect and love for knowledge and reason. Scripture cannot be understood or appreciated without our ability to reason. Using reason is something we can't not do. We can abuse it or misuse it but there is never a time when we don't use it in thinking about important matters. This might sound strange but it was through philosophy that God has started recovering my confidence in seeing Scripture as God's word and as a reliable, practical guide for living life. Once I connected the dots between God's nature being that He knows me perfectly through and through, always exemplifies what's good or virtuous and is always loving and caring *with* His being behind the process of Scripture being penned down, I felt a confidence in Scripture bearing witness to God's intentions and attitudes about life. BASICALLY, I can trust the Bible to guide my life in what it teaches because of the nature of the God who was behind the Bible's being written. God's nature is reflected in what the Bible teaches and that gives me assurance and comfort that I can trust it.
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