"Contact knowledge" is always a risk… That situation where we have a generic or diffuse idea about a term or concept and assume that we fully understand it. The idea of confessional identity always runs the risk of becoming a "contact" term: repeated, assumed, but sometimes not truly understood.

For any confessional institution—an organization, typically educational or theological, that explicitly adheres to a specific religious confession or set of doctrinal beliefs—clarity about its confessional identity is essential. It requires a well-defined and distinct vision, one that, as the American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. described, embodies "simplicity after complexity."

Wearing Glasses: The Metaphor

Perhaps a good place to start in defining the concept is the metaphor of eyeglasses. Who invented eyeglasses? Even though there are ancient reports of using "lenses" to aid vision, and corrective lenses are mentioned in Arabic texts translated in the 11th century, and despite the possibility that glasses originated in China or India, the first historical record of eyeglasses as we know them today appears in 13th-century Italy.

Now, imagine the first "manufacturer" of eyeglasses, Alessandro della Spina (from Pisa), trying to present his new discovery. His first major challenge would be convincing people of the need for or benefits of wearing glasses. This would include making people aware of their own visual limitations and, for those already convinced, arguing that glasses truly offer a solution for tired, nearsighted, or farsighted eyes. Let's call this phase the "persuasion moment."

However, our Alessandro could not be satisfied with just this first phase. Once people were convinced of the need for glasses and their usefulness, he would need to show them how the glasses worked and were made—a phase of "instruction, description, and definition."

The special moment, however, would be a third phase, where Alessandro would focus on fulfilling the purpose of the glasses! This is the moment when glasses stop being merely an "object of study" or a "proposed solution" and are actually used—worn, so to speak. That wonderful moment when a person with tired eyes puts on glasses and is surprised by the newfound clarity of vision is the moment that validates all prior persuasion and instruction that led them there.

The Christian Worldview as Glasses

We are, however, talking about confessional identity, aren’t we? Why this talk about glasses? The inspiration comes from John Calvin:

For as the aged, or those whose sight is defective, when any books however fair, is set before them, though they perceive that there is something written are scarcely able to make out two consecutive words, but, when aided by glasses, begin to read distinctly, so Scripture, gathering together the impressions of Deity, which, till then, lay confused in our minds, dissipates the darkness, and shows us the true God clearly. (John Calvin, Institutes. I.VI.I)

The idea that Scripture serves as a lens to bring focus to what can be perceived through general revelation parallels the role of a Christian worldview in clarifying all knowledge about the created world, including humanity itself. Faith—what we profess and confess—functions as an interpretive framework for engaging with every field of study.

The influence of belief, values, and assumptions on science, knowledge, and truth has long been recognized in Western philosophical tradition. The concept of Weltanschauung (German for "worldview") extends beyond Christian thought and has broader philosophical significance.

Rather than delving into the intricate philosophical debates surrounding worldviews, we can simply acknowledge that intellectual production shaped by a Christian perspective has been the historical norm in Western civilization, not an exception.

This should be evident given the long tradition of confessional institutions in Western education. For instance, half of the Ivy League universities—Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Dartmouth—were originally confessional institutions. In Europe, nearly all the oldest universities were founded by or operated under the Church’s authority. The term “faith-based education” does not merely refer to religious instruction but to an educational approach shaped by a faith perspective. For many people today, however, acknowledging the role of faith commitments in intellectual pursuits is controversial.

Ironically, the refusal to acknowledge that faith shapes intellectual pursuits is itself evidence of a faith commitment—namely, adherence to a secularist or anti-religious perspective that is not empirically provable but accepted as a matter of faith. Ultimately, the decision on what constitutes a valid path to truth is, at its core, a faith-based commitment.

The Basic Structure of the Christian Worldview

Although the worldview taught in Scripture can be profoundly complex in its applications and implications, it can be structurally presented in a simple way—two conceptual triads that serve as the framework, the rims that hold the lenses in place:

The first conceptual framework is the view of reality through the lens of Creation–Fall–Redemption. This perspective rejects traditional dichotomies in secular philosophy, such as subject/object, matter/form, universals/particulars, nature/grace, nature/freedom, thesis/antithesis=synthesis, etc.—dichotomies that ultimately abstract humanity and its knowledge objects from the real context of their meaning. It affirms that the world, human beings, and all human experience only make sense within this threefold structure.

In physics, for example, the category of "Creation" provides a basis for believing in the predictability of physical relationships; understanding the "Fall" allows us to grasp anomalies and admit a degree of unpredictability, while the category of "Redemption" justifies the pursuit of knowledge that enables positive intervention.

A Christian educator, as another example, rather than interpreting students dialectically and her task as part of a struggle for liberation/emancipation, will see each child as possessing intrinsic dignity and potential (created in the image of God!) while also recognizing a principle of disorder, a dust of death, an abnormality affecting all people (the Fall) and making them in need of transformation, of redemption.

The second conceptual triad is the vision of reality in relation to the Creator and, especially, the Redeemer. This framework illuminates and brings focus, showing that this world can only be truly seen when understood in relation to the divine reference point. This does not mean rejecting the possibility of knowledge for unbelievers, nor even for those who overtly reject God—they can and do know many things. However, they cannot relate the "meanings" of their knowledge transcendentally and often distort it to avoid acknowledging God (Romans 1:16-32).

Whether Jesus is gratefully acknowledged by His elect or rejected and relegated to the corners of "private religiosity" and subjective experience, He never ceases, even for a moment, to be the covenant Lord, the High Priest, the Prophet of God, and the King of kings. 

The understanding that Jesus relates to His creation as Prophet, Priest, and King gives rise to the triad of aspects of His lordship that shape our worldview: His Presence, His Control, and His Authority. Those being transformed into a nation of prophets, a holy priesthood, co-regents with Christ, are called to manifest the Lord’s presence, to express His control over reality, and to proclaim Christ’s authority.

Viewing the world through the Creation-Fall-Redemption lens provides realism without despair, hope without romanticism, and dignity without arrogance. Using the lens that perceives, understands, and promotes Christ’s presence, control, and authority over every aspect of reality brings intellectual life "captive to the mind of Christ." The Christian worldview is built around these two axes.

Development of Confessional Identity at Mackenzie: a useful example

This is where the story of the glasses comes back to help and I will apply it by looking at my experience while the Chancellor of Mackenzie Presbyterian University (São Paulo, Brazil).[i]

The development of confessional influence (the influence of a Christian worldview) at Mackenzie went through distinct, though not rigid, phases. There has always been an aspect of symbolic and devotional confessional identity at Mackenzie since its beginnings in 1870. However, it was in the late 1990s that steps were taken to make this confessional identity more explicit, culminating in the inclusion of the term “Presbyterian” in the name of Mackenzie Institute and of the University.

This moment marked the beginning of a more intentional process of strengthening Mackenzie's confessional identity, moving in the opposite direction of what history records happening in some major European and North American institutions that started with a strong confessional identity but gradually abandoned it over the centuries.

However, in the first decade and a half of this century, two distinct phases can be observed, analogous to the first two stages of Alessandro della Spina’s “implementation” of glasses. The initial phase was primarily apologetic—an effort to convince people that confessional identity was desirable and necessary. This phase gradually gave way to a second stage in which the Christian worldview, the essence of Mackenzie's confessional identity, was explored, explained, and taught. In these two early stages, the “visual deficiency” of secularist perspectives was highlighted, while the Christian worldview was outlined. Thus, confessional identity was primarily an object of argumentation, description, and analysis.

A New Phase: Wearing the Glasses

Just as in Alessandro’s case, the wonder and potential of the Christian vision of the world—the act of using the lenses of a Christian worldview to bring focus to all areas of knowledge—are only fully realized when the “glasses” are worn. This was the challenge of the third phase of confessional identity at Mackenzie: applying the Christian worldview in a way that is transversal (touching all fields of knowledge), permeating (reaching down to the very roots of things), and transparent (not opaque).

This did not mean that the apologetic challenges of confronting false “logics” and the arrogance that rises against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:3-5a) had ceased. Nor does it dispense with the work of explaining and communicating the structure of the Christian worldview (1 Peter 3:15). However, it demanded something more. It required that this worldview fulfill its purpose by bringing clarity and depth to the various fields of human knowledge, especially in those areas of intellectual and academic work most deeply sensitive to religious and metaphysical assumptions—what we called “worldview-sensitive issues.” This is the work that fulfills the mandate to “take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5b).

The transversal aspect of confessional identity means not only that it extends across all fields of knowledge but also that its role will often not be as the object of study itself, but rather as the lens through which other subjects are examined. This is a natural consequence of the Christian vision, but it also offers an extraordinary advantage: it unifies knowledge without the reductionism characteristic of secular-ideological abstractions.

Permeation (which, in physics, represents the inverse of magnetic reluctance!) refers to the Christian worldview’s ability to penetrate and permeate the deepest recesses of intellectual life and scientific inquiry. This should be a defining feature of Mackenzie's confessional identity and also represents what the world calls a “competitive advantage,” as it allows for a deeper understanding of things.

Transparency has two meanings, one ethical and the other epistemological. Confessional identity must be transparent because it is honest; it does not need to be hidden or cloaked in subterfuge like other spurious ideologies that thrive in darkness—this is an ethical aspect. But it is also transparent in an epistemological sense, as it does not obscure knowledge or distort our perception of reality. Instead, it enriches vision, sharpens contrasts, and enhances details.

What difference would it make to apply the Christian worldview in a way that is transversal, permeating and transparent for the work of a scientist, a physicist, just to take one example? The belief in a created order justifies certain concepts such as the reality of physical phenomena, predictability, certain uniformity within systems and the possibility of rational analysis. Understanding the current abnormality of the created order allows for recognizing some inherent uncertainties, for accepting accidents and for facing aberrations. The category of Redemption, however, encourages and opens up the possibility that knowledge allows intervention and improvement—that many things are potentially “fixable.”

For the Christian physicist things can get even more interesting. The belief that the Creator is personally present, in control, and sovereign over the world through Jesus Christ provides several key benefits. First, it makes his scientific endeavor into a form of recognizing and honoring the presence of the Creator ‘back of’ all physical phenomena. Second, it generates a confidence that reality is meaningful, and will continue to be so, because it is under the control of the very author of meaning. Third, it affords the peace of knowing that there is a final source of authority, a final ‘court of appeals’ for the meaning not only of every physical phenomena, but even for the scientist himself.      

But “where is the beef”?

In a 1984 television commercial, the fast-food chain Wendy’s introduced a catchphrase that quickly became a cultural phenomenon. The ad featured an 81-year-old woman receiving a hamburger with an oversized bun and a tiny patty. She then asked the now-famous question: "Where's the beef?" The campaign aimed to highlight Wendy’s larger patties compared to its competitors, McDonald’s and Burger King. That same year, during the Democratic Party presidential primaries in the U.S., candidate Walter Mondale used the phrase to challenge his rival Gary Hart’s policy proposals, asking, "Where's the beef?" Since then, the expression has been widely used to question the substance or value of a product, event, or idea.

So, where is our beef? What is the real, substantive value that our confessional identity enables us to offer those whom our confessional institutions seek to serve in the name of Christ? At its core, the greatest gift we offer is the knowledge of God's redemptive grace in Christ, proclaimed in the message of the gospel and the lordship of Christ. Yet this proclamation is not limited to direct evangelism—it also extends to its indirect dimensions, such as the testimony that Christ’s lordship encompasses every aspect of life. This involves not only proclaiming truth but also challenging unbelief and presenting a redemptive vision of human knowledge and leadership in a world that remains in darkness yet longs for redemption (Romans 8).

Thus, our beef—beyond faithfulness to the truth revealed in the person of Christ and in God’s Word—is the foundation for a deeper, truer understanding of knowledge and life itself. It provides a more faithful grasp of reality, a more truthful approach to science, and a firmer foundation for knowledge.

Does this vision have persuasive power? Some time ago, I answered that question as follows:

Perhaps the most persuasive, captivating, and profound argument we can offer to this world—so desperate for truth, structure, and beauty—perhaps our deepest version of Différance, is the testimony, in word and action, of the vast horizons of meaning, reality, and values that unfold when we seek to view everything from the perspective of God’s self-revelation in Christ and His Word…    

 ___________

Note:

[i] Mackenzie Presbyterian University, founded in 1870, has long been a leading institution in Brazil, navigating the challenges of maintaining a confessional identity within a secularizing academic landscape. The development of confessional influence at Mackenzie went through distinct, though not rigid, phases.

_______________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Davi Charles Gomes is the International Director of the World Reformed Fellowship, a graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary; he is a minister of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil and the former Chancellor of Mackenzie Presbyterian University, in São Paulo, Brazil. Click here for a brief bio.