Father Richard John Neuhaus with Mars Hill Students.
Feel free to contact Pete Lackey for more information on Mars Hill’s activities and upcoming events. You may also stop in anytime to the MacLaurin Institute’s office, Suite 300 on the third floor of the Dinkydome, to chat, study, or chill.
The Christian Life and Mars Hill Students
In his book, Making Sense of Our Lives, Paul Holmer notes that within American Christianity, "the life of thought and the activity of thinking are put in a subordinate place. Christian concepts are neglected while Christian experiences are eagerly sought." This, it seems, largely explains the pull on many Christians today (especially students) of churches touting "relevant" sermons full of pop-culture references and rockin' worship bands. It's as though the mind has been almost excommunicated from the life of faith and discipleship.
As Christians at the University, it's all too easy for us to succumb to this false dichotomy in our approach to our studies. When we do, faith seems to get expelled from our academic pursuits, and we fall into a "two worlds" trap of viewing the mind for school and the soul for church. But ultimately this is an incomplete and fragmented way to live. Created in God's image, we were designed instead to love Him through an integrated life that employs all of our faculties in a full-throttle pursuit of His reign. But . . .
How do we faithfully embody this pursuit as university students?
How do we avoid the increasing fragmentation all around us?
How do we responsibly integrate our faith with our studies?
These are just a few of the questions we seek to answer as Mars Hill Students. Taking our name from Acts 17, where Paul engages the Athenian philosophers in his "Mars Hill" sermon, we are committed to articulating the reality and intellectual relevance of the God whom many of our fellow students believe is unknown and unknowable. Together we struggle to discover and demonstrate how this God can transform our lives, worldviews, relationships and university studies.
In pursuit of this mission, we gather frequently for meals, discussion, discipleship and occasional dialogue with Christian teachers visiting the University as lecturers for the MacLaurin Institute. If you're interested in understanding how Christ and his Church (regardless of how near or far you may be from either) can impinge upon your life and studies, we invite you to join us. All are welcome!
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