Christ-Centered Reasoning: A Platform and Framework for Integrating Christian Faith into Higher Education.

Abstract

The integration of Christian faith in higher education can be challenging, as the parameters and scope of integration are not always clear. Notably, the term ‘integration’ has been overused and/or thrown around without distinction within the Christian Liberal Arts halls of learning. Generally, no principles are provided for integration in terms of curriculum, pedagogy, or learning; hence, a clear articulation is required regarding what integration entails with respect to curricula, learning, and pedagogy. There is also an urgent need to theorize integration practically and pragmatically within higher education, particularly in relation to inquiry methodologies and discipline-specific specializations. One way to theorize and conceptualize the notion of integration more pragmatically is through Christ-Centred Reasoning (CCR). CCR theorizes that Christ\u27s-making (i.e., universal knowledge, recognizing that YAHWEH is the Creator of all things), Christ\u27s-cosmos (i.e., sciences, a beginning attempt to know the mind of the ELOHIM), and Christ\u27s-ways (i.e., the basis for all support, service, care, ethics, morals and social justice processes) as three constructs which provide the much-needed scope and parameters for integration. Each component of CCR—Christ\u27s-making, Christ\u27s-cosmos, and Christ\u27s-ways — both collectively and individually, encompasses a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of various fields of study and areas of specialization (i.e., humanities, mathematics, sciences, and philosophies). Thus, in valuing Christ\u27s-making, knowing Christ\u27s-cosmos, and applying Christ\u27s-ways, CCR brings together and unites all ‘logies’ (i.e., knowledge) in the one category of Christ. CCR enables Christ to be at the center of reasoning, human experience, and valuing reality, allowing for a seamless integration of epistemologies