Cornerstone University Annual Magazine 2022

CHRISTIAN
WORLDVIEW
STATEMENT
The Christian worldview is a comprehensive
outlook on all parts of life based on the
Holy Scriptures—the Bible. We the people of
Cornerstone University commit ourselves to
The Christian worldview as our comprehensive
outlook on all parts of life and as our guide for
living and understanding the world.
Affirmed by Cornerstone University Board of Trustees on
Sept. 21, 2022.
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Purpose Statement: A worldview is a comprehensive
outlook on all parts of life that a person uses as a guide
for living and understanding the world. The Christian
worldview is a comprehensive outlook on all parts of life
based on the Holy Scriptures—the Bible. The Christian
worldview clarifies our life in this world. It helps us to
understand who we are, how we and the world have
been harmed, what is the solution, and where we are
going. It tells us the meaning of life, what is real, what
is right and wrong, and what is truth and how we can
discover it. We the people of Cornerstone University
commit ourselves to The Christian worldview as our
comprehensive outlook on all parts of life and as our
guide for living and understanding the world.
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The Christian worldview helps us to understand God
and his world and holistically respond—in intellect,
will, affections, and body—to God’s gracious revelation
of himself.
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The Christian worldview rises from the Bible and its
major moments and movements: God’s good creation
of all that exists, the fall of humanity, the redemption of
humanity and creation through Christ, and the future
and ultimate realization of God’s kingdom and all his
purposes. God created all that exists. He uniquely and
directly created Adam and Eve in his own image and
likeness. But Adam and Eve sinned and rejected God’s
purpose for them. Though still maintaining clear marks
of God’s creative handiwork, his good creation was
badly damaged by Adam’s rebellion, which corrupted
the human race with the guilt and pollution of original
sin and ravaged society, the earth, all living things,
and our desires and abilities to appropriately respond
to God. God declared all things would eventually be
set right. God’s promises of redemption to Adam
were sketched in the figures, lives, and actions of and
revelation to the ancient Jewish people. From them
arose the Messiah, Jesus the Son of God, fully God and
fully man. Jesus lived the perfect life that we could not,
so that his righteous life might count for us. He then
offered his life in our place. He bore our sins, guilt, and
shame on the cross, enduring his Father’s wrath. He
then rose triumphantly over sin, death, and Satan. He
ascended to heaven, where he reigns at the Father’s
right hand, and he will return to establish his kingdom
and live with us on the new earth. In the meantime,
his Holy Spirit enables us to respond to the Great
Commission of Jesus Christ to make disciples of all
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nations, the Cultural Mandate given to Adam and Eve
for all generations to create a God-honoring world,
and to all of God’s other good commands. His children
have been enabled to bring glory to God and enjoy him,
humanity’s chief end.
The Christian worldview motivates and directs the
academic vision and the daily pursuits of the people
of Cornerstone University. We commit ourselves
to examine and be shaped by how the Bible and the
biblical truth of creation, fall, redemption, and the
ultimate realization of God’s kingdom speak about
reality (metaphysics), about truth and knowledge
(epistemology), about what is good (ethics), and about
what is beautiful (aesthetics). We do this so we might
better love and praise our God with our whole selves,
through our academic disciplines, and through our
vocations as members of our university.
What is Real? Our sovereign, triune God is Ultimate
Reality. He exists apart from, is beyond, and is entirely
different than his dependent creation. Yet He is also
fully present with us and in all of creation. Our holy and
loving God created a world whose reality surpasses
all merely social, linguistic, or personal perspectives.
And he created humanity in his image to responsibly
steward this world on his behalf. A Christian liberal
arts education empowers us to flourish as God’s image
bearers: loving him, serving neighbors, developing and
influencing culture, and periodically resting even within
a marred creation that maintains some of its inherent
goodness.
What is Truth and Knowledge? Our sovereign, triune
God is Truth, Wisdom, and Knowledge. He provides
human beings with access to these through his general
revelation and, especially, his special revelation, as
embodied in his perfect Son, Jesus Christ, and his
authoritative, inspired, and inerrant Scriptures. Any
belief, claim, or statement is true when it corresponds
to God, his mind, and his knowledge as communicated
through his revelation. While we are finite and deeply
harmed due to our sinful nature and condition, God has
graciously and adequately equipped us to describe
the world as it is. God’s Word at work within us through
the Holy Spirit corrects our sinful suppression of his
truth, instructs us how to interpret his broken world,
and renews our minds to better understand God and
his purposes.
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What is Good? Our sovereign, triune God is Good.
He is the Ultimate Good and is the source of all that
is good. Any goodness we encounter in the world is
a reflection of him. His holy nature grounds ethics,
and his holy Bible reveals to us his moral principles,
rules, and defines the good life. All human beings are
inclined to look to themselves and their communities
as the standard of what is right and good; but God has
not left us to ourselves. He has given us the Spirit who
empowers us to live faithfully and judge morality and
goodness by the standards of Scripture.
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What is Beauty? Our sovereign, triune God is Beauty.
He is the source of beauty and all that is beautiful. We
seek to experience and reflect his truth, goodness,
and beauty through our own cultural endeavors in a
fallen world. As such, these endeavors give voice to our
sorrows and joys, pointing to what was, what is, what
should be, and what will be when our Savior returns to
restore all things.
The Christian worldview asserts the Lordship of Jesus
Christ over all creation, points to the inestimable
worth and graciousness of the gospel, and calls for
the true and proper worship of our triune God. In the
context of Christian higher education, the framework it
provides enables the people of Cornerstone University
to be better agents of God’s truth and reconciliation as
we submit to Christ and influence the world for him.
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CORNERSTONE UNIVERSITY ANNUAL MAGAZINE
FALL 2022
CORNERSTONE UNIVERSITY ANNUAL MAGAZINE
FALL 2022