Summary Of Hauerwas And Boyer's Views Of American Education

Hauerwas and Boyer had Different Views on the Emphasis of a Broad Education
Eliezer G. Mwankenja
Messiah College

Hauerwas and Boyer had Different Views on the Emphasis of a Broad Education
Hauerwas and Boyer did a great job in introducing Messiah college to its students. One of the main points in the two readings is the emphasis on the need for a broad education for Messiah College students. When emphasizing on a broad education Hauerwas (2010) focused on showing the importance of Christianity in secular disciplines, while Boyer (1984) concentrated on the roles of secular disciplines in the Christian faith. Hauerwas and Boyer had different views concerning the relationship between a broad education and the Christian faith in
Hauerwas (2010) showed how it is important for Christians to be sophisticated, contemporary, and intellectual in order to reach out to the intellectual world, which thinks “contemporary intellectual makes faith impossible” (p. 6). Hauerwas (2010) uses the First Letter of Peter to support his argument, as it reads, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (3:15). On the other hand, Boyer (1984) showed that Christians need a broader education in order to effectively reach out to the world. Boyer (1984) used an example of a former Messiah student who became a missionary in Africa and needed to draw upon her knowledge of geometry, obtained at Messiah college, in order to accomplish her mission tasks. Therefore, the two writers focused on two different aspects of the connection between faith and a broad education, as well as how it impacts reaching out to people who do not believe in
According to Hauerwas (2010), the church plays a very significant role in the interpretation of different aspects of life, especially intellectual, such as history, physics, and literature. According to Hauerwas (2010), in order for the church to accomplish its task of interpreting the world in the light of Christ, it needs people with a broad education. Therefore, the church interprets the world through faith, and in order to understand and articulate the interpretation, it requires Christian educated minds. On the contrary, Boyer (1984), though not explicitly, seems to suggest that there is a direct connection between the scriptures and arithmetic, grammar, literature, history, science as well as vocal music. Likewise, Boyer (1984), seems to advocate President S.R Smith ideas, which indicated the need to connect the scriptures to other academic fields when applying faith in our everyday life. For instance, Boyer (1984) writes about President S. R. Smith asking students to admire and consider secular artworks. As a result, some students were not quite comfortable with his application of a broad education in students’