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The Society: A Deeper Look and a Vocational Challenge
The purpose of the Society of Christian Scholars is to equip missional, Christian academics to have a redemptive influence for Christ among their students, colleagues, institutions, and academic disciplines.
What do we mean by “Christian”? To be Christian entails cognitive, performative, emotional, and communal dimensions. Cognitively, to be Christian, one affirms the essential historic Christian faith, what C.S. Lewis called “Mere Christianity” and is expressed in such formulations as the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed. The Society of Christian Scholars has adopted the World Evangelical Alliance Statement of Faith as the essential codification of these core doctrinal beliefs. We believe it addresses all the core issues one must affirm cognitively as a Christian.
Second, the performative dimension of faith demands that a believer choose every day to live out, or “incarnate,” these beliefs in thought, word, and deed. She or he seeks to grow daily in Christlikeness, practicing spiritual disciplines, seeking justice for the poor and weak, and evidence increasingly in their lives, the “Fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22).
Third, is an emotional, affective, or existential aspect to the life of a believer. Christians experience God in ineffable ways. This may not be a regular occurrence, as God works in different ways in each of our lives, but for all true believers, there is, to one degree or another, a metaphysical sense of God’s presence and direction. Paul describes this metaphysical experience in relation to salvation in Romans 8:16 and in relation to the believer’s communion with God in 1 Corinthians 2:10–16.
Finally, this is all lived out in a community of faith. As the triune God is a community of persons, he created us as communal beings as well, needing one another for health and flourishing. “Do not neglect to assemble together…but encourage one another…” (Heb. 10:25) and we sharpen one another “as iron sharpens iron” (Prov. 27:17).
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