Christian higher education is anchored in the belief that all truth is God’s truth, so that the pursuit of knowledge through academic disciplines is consistent with faith in God. Contrary to the learning attained at secular schools and universities, Christian higher education provides students with a biblical worldview through which knowledge finds its proper context and coherence in the person of Jesus Christ.

Minimally, Christian higher education is the integration of faith and learning. Through Christian higher education, Christian scholars use pedagogical techniques to demonstrate that God’s truth is found naturally in all academic disciplines. The beauty of literature, the orderliness of mathematics, and the laws of science reveal truths that God created and designed. Secular universities that provide knowledge of these truths without a coherent biblical worldview set students adrift in a sea of learning like a ship with no rudder. This creates a lack of interrelatedness between academic disciplines and leads to a fragmentation of knowledge. Christian education, however, provides a congruency of learning whereby students learn the truth of God’s created order and the connectedness of academic study.

Further, Christian higher education is founded solidly upon the scriptures. Other than the living Lord Jesus, the greatest revelation of the mind and heart of God is the written Word of God, so Christian education must be consistent with and committed to the immutability and inspiration of God’s Word. From the Shema of the Old Testament to the Great Commission of the New Testament, God’s Word sounds a clarion call to teach the truths of God. In a society facing incalculable change, Christian higher education must unashamedly proclaim unchanging biblical truth to a pluralistic, relativistic world.

Christian higher education is also dependent upon a campus environment that is unapologetically Christian. To teach God’s truth in the classroom only to have it dismissed through a secular campus life belies the mission of a Christian college. Activities both inside and outside the classroom must be consistent with the truths of scripture. Christian professors should not only integrate faith into the curriculum but also exemplify faith in their lifestyles. Students should learn not only what a Christian believes but how a Christian behaves. In order to achieve the goal of Christian higher education, colleges must possess an administration, faculty, staff, and students that are committed to the things of God.

Academic scholarship and the Christian faith are not at odds with each other. Rather, a proper view of academic learning comes only when seen through the eyes of faith. Without Christian higher education, students may learn truth in various disciplines but will lack the ability to comprehend and connect that truth in a meaningful ontology that enables them to serve Christ in a purposeful, life-changing way.