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Reflection of the Role of University Christian Community

Philip Shen

The role of any Christian Community anywhere is mission and service, the form it takes depends on its tradition and environment. The role of a Christian Community in the university includes helping teachers and students to become better teachers and students.

1. The Modem University in a modern or modernizing society is concerned with the preservation, transmission and advancement of knowledge. This presupposes knowledge is a value. The knowledge of experts in various fields of science and technology is especially valuable in a society in a hurry to modernize (e.g. Mainland China today). This makes the university as a knowledge centre very important.

2. The Love of Knowledge is characteristic of the spirit of the academic community. Knowledge is one basis of human evolution in the formation and transformation of society and culture, or of the self and the world (in the process of personal growth).

The pursuit of knowledge "for its own sake" indicates the intrinsic value of knowledge beyond its immediate usefulness, as represented by the academic subjects of the physical and life sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities, as different from the professional or technical (or polytechnical) subject. But even the "pure" sciences as distinct from the applied sciences are "useful" in the general improvement of the quality of life of the people.

The love of knowledge is formed in a scholar's dedication and commitment, in his ability to share with his students and inspire them to seek knowledge themselves.

1. The Concern for Students as human beings is another mark of a good teacher. They come to the university at a crucial stage of personal growth. They should not only be seeking knowledge but also asking questions of life and destiny, not only about themselves but also about their nation or society (as in Hong Kong today). In the face of such questions, both teachers and students come to share common

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concerns and inquiries as well as knowledge that cuts across fields of specializations. Such concerns and inquiries should be kept constantly alive in the university as an educational institution (not just a center), and especially in the Christian Community as it pursues its Christian mission and service in the university.