Abby Schogel

Bith 111
Dr. Johnson, Mrs. Imes
10.18.13
Integration of the Liberal Arts, Theology, and Business

Though my time here at Wheaton College has been short, something that has been

strongly instilled upon me is the significance and importance of the integration of liberal arts

with a biblical foundation. Not only will liberal arts develop my character, but with the Biblical

basis, it will also strengthen my faith and understanding of God. And, just as the liberal arts

furthers my faith, my understanding and study of God increases my support of the liberal arts.

Through the study of the doctrines of sanctification, pneumatology, and ecclesiology, my

perspective of my education through the liberal arts has been molded and developed, as has my

desire to have a future in business.

Sanctification, the lifelong process of the believer to become more and more like Christ,

has greatly influenced my view of my education and the liberal arts. Becoming more like Christ

entitles understanding and learning about Him in every aspect of our lives. We can learn much

about God through what He reveals about himself through the Bible in special revelation, but we

can further that understanding through His creation in general revelation. I believe that

sanctification is only possible through the continual growth of the mind and conceptualization of

the world around us. Studying the liberal arts helps us to learn more about the person of God; it

helps us learn more about what he considers beautiful, significant, pleasing, and valuable. Thus,

through studying Gods world in liberal arts, God furthers the process of sanctification in us.

This can be applied to any subject studied in the liberal arts: for example, through studying the

history of mankind, we are able to see some of the high and low points of humanity. Because we

are made in the image of God, we are able to take this information, process it, analyze it, and

determine how to act differently to become more like Christ.

Abby Schogel
Bith 111
Dr. Johnson, Mrs. Imes
10.18.13
Business, an area I am interested in studying, is often a market that is considered far

from God, because of the assumed corrupted ethical integrity and selfish motives that drive a

large number of those involved in all types of business. Sanctification can be directly applied to

business, despite the assumptions. Though I have little background or full understanding of all

the facets of business, I can conclude that growing in likeness with Christ would affect all areas

of life-- employment included. Just as sin separates us from Christ, conversely, doing what is

right should draw us closer. Having an upstanding ethical compass will allow us to pursue

business in a way that Christ would, while causing us to draw close to Him in and through all

career ventures. To be in likeness with Christ will never exclude any aspect of our lives, no

matter how it would benefit us in earthly, temporal ways. If everything about ones life at home,

church, and in the community align with Christ, but they do not hold the same standards at work,

they have not maturely developed in the process of sanctification. Despite the possible gains or

benefits from ignoring the convictions of the Spirit, true sanctification requires total surrender;

this is one thing I can and must integrate into my pursuits of a business degree and career.

The doctrine of pneumatology is also essential to integrate into furthering the

understanding of the liberal arts. The Spirit, who dwells in us and gives us all unique and

individual gifts, creates in us all unique abilities to best serve Gods kingdom. This relates

directly to the liberal arts as a whole-- we may not know immediately what this individual ability

is, but through utilizing the range of opportunities of the liberal arts and integrating them with

the power of prayer and meditation on Gods plan and purpose for ones life, a comprehensive

grasp of what is best to pursue in education can be obtained. The Spirit brings meaning and

conviction to the scripture-- without the Spirits influence, the Bible is just words on a page.
Abby Schogel
Bith 111
Dr. Johnson, Mrs. Imes
10.18.13
Plantinga claims, [Christians] know that unless the Holy Spirit breathes through Scripture all

over again as its read, we might as well not hear it in the right way and we might not believe

it.1 Awareness and understanding of the Spirits impact on our lives is necessary to integrate into

our view of the liberal arts education.

Guidance from the Spirit is so important in any future vocation, and this is exemplified in

business. Business has so much interaction with others that through understanding the Spirits

work and purpose in ones life, one can rely on the Spirit to work through him or her. We do not

know Gods plan of how He will use us to impact others, but in faith and reliance on the

guidance of the Spirit, we can know that our actions will align with Gods will.

Understanding the doctrine of ecclesiology, which is the study of the church, is also

influential to our view of the liberal arts education. The progression of the church can be studied

through history, architecture, and art; these courses, with Biblical foundations, broaden our view

of how the church has grown, been suppressed, and it can also inspire a reverence for God, as

was displayed through the ancient arts and architecture. The early church clearly dedicated

everything they had and gave all of their efforts to serving God and worshipping Him. Assuming

that the church of the nineteenth century, as Noll claims2, ignores all intellectual pursuits is an

inaccurate assessment. As resources broaden, so does the broadening of the evangelical mind. We

can see through many different facets of history that Christians have always been utilizing what

they had to best understand and glorify God. We must do the same through our education-- give

1 Engaging Gods World- Cornelius Plantinga Jr.

2 The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind- Mark Noll

Abby Schogel
Bith 111
Dr. Johnson, Mrs. Imes
10.18.13
everything we have and work at everything with all of our hearts, because learning about His

creation to know Him better is a display of worship to God.

Though it is something rarely discussed in the church, the financial need is a factor of the church

and this can relate directly to an education in business. Though we must have faith that God will

always provide, the church possesses similarities to a business. The church, on the most

utilitarian level, receives an income, as commanded in 2 Corinthians 9:7, Each one must give as

he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

The church must ethically and responsibly use what it is provided to not only support the church,

but also to positively impact the community. This mindset should be related to any business

venture-- the first priority should always be related to positively impacting others, and personal

gain should be last. If businesses adopted the financial response of the church, the business world

would be considerably more ethical and beneficial to the community.

All aspects of the Christian doctrine relate to glorifying God. This is displayed through

sanctification by growing in likeness with Christ, through pneumatology by relying on the Spirit

to guide our actions, and through ecclesiology by learning from the example of the early church.

These all should be incorporated into our education, because as we strive to learn more about

God, we are glorifying Him. Further, it is vital that these truths are integrated into my future

pursuits of business, because I must strive to glorify God in every aspect of my life.

Word Count: 1,248

Abby Schogel
Bith 111
Dr. Johnson, Mrs. Imes
10.18.13

Works Cited

The Holy Bible ESV: English Standard Version : Containing the Old and New

Testaments. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2007. Print.

Noll, Mark A. The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans,

1994. Print.

Plantinga, Cornelius, Jr. Engaging God's World. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans,
Abby Schogel
Bith 111
Dr. Johnson, Mrs. Imes
10.18.13
2022. Print.