Perspectives on Faith, the Liberal Arts, and Computer Science

A Christian liberal arts education seeks to explore several fundamental questions: What does it mean to be human? For what purpose did God create us? How do we develop to our full human potential? What sets us free, liberates us, to be all that God intends us to be? In Genesis, we learn that to be human is to be created in the image of God; to bear the image of God. To be human is to rule over the earth, to fill it, and to be a steward for it. To be human is to have gender; to express that part of God that is male or female. To be human is to live in relation to other humans, to help others, and to be helped by others. To be human is to be an instrument of redemption in a fallen world. In the Westminster Catechism, we find the following question and answer: “What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy him forever.” Thus, our purpose is first to focus on the creator, to bring glory and honor to him, and second, to find our enjoyment in him. The goal of developing the whole person to become all that God has created each individual to be is carried out primarily through relationships. First and foremost is the relationship between God and the individual believer. This relationship must be nurtured and encouraged through scriptural study and meditation, prayer, worship, discipleship, and service. Second, human relationships must be developed through teaching, mentoring, and investing in lives; mutual care and sharing of passions, and working together in the classroom, laboratory, athletic field or dormitory. We must become a community that builds each other up in Christ, that considers “how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). Finally, there are relationships between the individual and the creation, which must be fostered through study, observation, interaction, experimentation, creation, analysis, and documentation.