Why Is It So Important?

I never really understood the importance of integrating faith with the learning experience. In my mind, it was just another thing to talk about and to learn about. That was until I got to Montreat College. I began to understand the importance of faith and learning mixed together. However, it wasn't until recently that I read an article entitled "The Integration of Faith and Learning" by Robert Harris, that I really began to grasp and understand the importance of having a faith based learning system.

Who's responsibility is it to integrate faith and learning? This was a question that was raised in Harris's article. It struck me because this is something that I have never thought about before. First of all, it is the universities's and colleges's responsibilities to take on this role. Many students are afraid to integrate their faith with their learning for various reasons. Harris states: "If we want our students to love truth and pursue it freely, we must liberate them from this fear of learning by showing them that learning can strengthen and extend their faith."

However, it is also the student's responsibility to put what they have learned into practice. Meaning, when the professors show the students how to incorporate their faith with their learning, they need to do it. It will ultimately cause the students to become stronger in their faith so when they are faced with questions of postmodernism and things of that sort, they will be able to stand strong in their faith and know what they believe.

As a student, I find this article to be very much encouraging. There are times when I wonder if my belief in God is strong enough and if I'm learning all that I possible can. Through reading this article I have learned that integrating faith into learning is a process and takes time. There will be days when I will get discouraged and that's okay. There will be days when I'm encouraged and that's okay too. The main thing is to keep God in the center of everything you do because without him, it's nothing.

Jesus says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. -Matthew 22:37-38

http://www.virtualsalt.com/integrat.htm