Education & Christianity

Yoshinori Sano (Professor of Literature & Chair of Religious Affairs Committee )

*This article was written in 2017. The academic and administrative titles stated above are those held at the time of writing.

[日本語]

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International Christian University (ICU) is a higher educational institution based on the Christian faith[1] and it lies at the foundation and center of campus. One indication of this principle is the fact that the General Education course ‘Introduction to Christianity’ is designated as a common required course for undergraduate students at ICU, regardless of their majors. Therefore, it is a very important task of the faculty members of this university to promote students’ better understanding of Christianity. This material aims at providing new faculty members several hints for performing this task at various occasions at ICU.

Various Occasions to Promote Understanding of Christianity

Chapel Hour

ICU holds chapel hours once every week during the term. University pastors, faculty members, students and others give Christian messages. Sometimes, music meditation services are held during chapel hours in which students or faculty members play Christian music for the congregation. Chapel hours are an occasions for quiet reflection and prayer amidst a busy and full campus life.

It is highly recommended for all faculty members, especially new faculty members, to attend chapel hours. They are opportunities to get to know the Christian faith of other faculty members and students.

If you are asked to give a message at a chapel hour, you might utilize this as a chance to express your personal views which you might not overtly state in the classroom. It is a good idea to invite your students to a chapel hour when you give a message. It is also a good idea to invite your students to chapel hours when messages are given which might interest them. By listening to messages at chapel hours, faculty members and students are inspired by each other and get to know each other better.

Right after each chapel hour, refreshments are provided in the entrance hall of the chapel. Casual conversation there among students and faculty members is a precious occasion for meaningful and personal communication.

In Classrooms

If you teach courses on Christian studies, it will help your students to widen and deepen their understanding about the relevance of Christianity to studies of other disciplines. If you do not teach courses on Christian studies, you might talk about Christianity in your classes to a certain degree depending on your discipline. If you teach courses concerning any aspect of Western civilization, you might mention Christianity as the background of the main topics of your courses. Even if you teach courses which do not have any obvious connection to Christianity, you might point to your main topics’ similarity or contrast with certain aspects of Christianity. While you introduce eminent scholars in your field, it will be inspiring for students to know that some of them were Christians and what sort of views they had towards scholarly activities and life in general.

Christianity Week

Christianity Week (C-Week) is scheduled in May. Various events aimed for the enhancement of students’ awareness of Christianity are held during C-Week. Key speakers are invited from outside ICU to give talks which broaden and deepen students’ views on Christianity and Christian activities in general.

Some faculty members are asked to give a ‘Special Introduction to Christianity’ lecture during C-Week. In contrast to the ‘Introduction to Christianity’ course, which is offered by faculty members in the field of Christian studies, the ‘Special Introduction to Christianity’ lectures are given by faculty members who are not in the field of Christian studies. These lectures help students realize that Christianity has bearings on academic subjects outside Christian studies.

Other events are held during C-Week as well including early morning services, concerts of Christian music, exhibitions on Christian activities, and lectures on Christian topics. Please participate in any of the events which interest you and talk to your students about events which might interest them. If you come up with an idea of an event related to Christianity, please talk to university pastors; it might be possible to include that event in the schedule of the next C-Week.

Another important event in C-Week is the open house invitation. If you live on campus or near campus, you can invite students to your home. If you live away from campus, you can arrange to hold an open house in the Alumni house. Open house is an ideal occasion to have relaxed conversation with students on Christianity, your academic subject and campus life in general.

Christmas Events

In December, Christmas events are held on ICU campus. One of them is the University Candle Light Service, which is usually held on the third Friday. For this occasion, students, faculty members, staff members, and alumni get together in the university chapel. There is also a Faculty and Staff Christmas Service, which is usually held on Saturday, followed by a Christmas luncheon. A large number of ICU members attend these events and together we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Sunday Services

ICU Church Sunday services are held in the chapel at the heart of ICU campus. On Sundays, faculty members, students and others including many ICU graduates, come together for Sunday services. ICU Church is friendly to Japanese and non-Japanese speakers alike: Sermons in Japanese are translated simultaneously into English, and sermons in English into Japanese through personal radio receivers. If you have not decided which church to attend, please visit ICU Church Sunday services. If your students are interested in attending Sunday services, you can bring them to ICU Church with you.

Bible Study Groups and Prayer Meetings

Some faculty members lead Bible study groups regularly. These groups fill the demand of students who hope to get to know Biblical messages better. These are also very good occasions to have relaxed communication with students. Occasionally prayer and worship meetings are held in Seabury Chapel. You can find information for Bible study groups and Seabury Chapel meetings on the ICU internal homepage.

Related Offices

Religious Affairs Office

The Religious Affairs Office is located just inside the eastern entrance of the eastern wing of Diffendorfer Memorial Hall (DMH). If you have any questions relating to Christianity, you are welcome to visit the Religious Affairs Office. University pastors and staff members will be happy to help you.

Institute for the Study of Christianity and Culture (ICC)

ICC holds public lectures on Christian topics from time to time. These lectures are given both by ICU faculty members and invited speakers from outside campus. Faculty members, students and people from outside who are interested listen to lectures and participate in discussions. ICC lectures are opportunities for being stimulated by advanced Christian research and participating in academic discussions. Lecture schedules can be found on the ICU Research Institutions homepage. Please bring your students who are interested in the listed lecture topics. If you want to give a lecture related to Christianity, please contact the director or members of ICC.

Conclusion: Spiritual Basis of ICU

Professor Emil Brunner, who was an eminent theologian of the 20^th century and taught at ICU in 1953-1955, pointed out the fundamental problem which universities were facing:

“The university of our day is becoming more a mere agglomerate of different sciences, natural science on the one hand, humanities on the other, without an inner coherence. It is just a sum of different professional schools and different lines of studies, and researches. It has lost its spiritual unity because it has lost its spiritual basis.”[2]

This observation is as relevant to today’s universities as to universities in the middle of the 20^th century. At ICU, if we do not keep endeavoring to maintain Christianity as the spiritual basis, we might lose our spiritual unity. The Christian conception of human being “as created in the image of God, being both free and responsible” can give ICU the true spiritual basis for all our academic and educational activities.[3] As a new faculty member of ICU, you are invited to participate in this on-going challenge of building a university based on Christian spirit which can give stimuli to students which may last for the rest of their lives.

References

[1] Cf. article 3 of the International Christian University Articles of Association. Cf. also The Christian Ideals of ICU (Issues of ICU, vol. 4), ICU, 2003.

[2] Emil Brunner, The Christian University and its Importance for Japan, Institute for Educational Research and Service, ICU, 1955, p. 6.

[3] Ibid, pp. 12-14.