As You can see the Word Veritas is surrounded by the words Christo Et Ecclesia which means Truth for Christ and the Church. The First Rules of Harvard College stated "Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, 'to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3),' and therefore lay Christ at the bottom, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning, And seeing the Lord only giveth wisdom. let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of him (Prov 2:3)."
Harvard has changed. The crest only contains Veritas now. Time marches on and Christ has to go....let's not discriminate... we can turn our backs on tradition... history...... The LORD..... yada dee yada da. This is a good rant but this is not my rant.
With that said, I was greatly encouraged to see that there is a group of students, faculty and ministers that "encourages students to pursue Truth, connect their academic and vocational life to Christ, and emerge with clarity and hopeful vision for our world." Their website is http://veritas.org/ and I haven't dug deep but it looks like they are genuine in trying to reconcile Christ and people that have academic or scientific misgivings about the gospel. If you have questions, you may find your answer.
I was quite taken with the statement of the First Rules of Harvard, above, particularly the phrases " the main end of his life and studies is, 'to know God and Jesus Christ " and "Christ ..., as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning,". These simple phrases are profound statements of purpose and truth.
Our purpose : to know God and Jesus Christ.
Our truth: Christ ..., as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning,
Reviewing Harvard's Rules, reminded me of a fundamental concept that only recently was impressed upon me: All truth is God's truth. Apparently the founding father's of Harvard knew this. The way I understand it is, that God created everything and that everything that exists and the way everything works and interacts has been set in motion by God for His purposes.
The LORD of hosts has sworn saying, "Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand," - Isaiah 14:24
The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil. - Proverbs 16:4
"I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. - Job 42:2
So anything we try to understand should be examined in the light of The God that created the universe and who sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth to reconcile man to God by paying for our transgressions on the cross and by imputing His perfect righteousness to those who have faith in Jesus.
Granted you can gain understanding of scientific principles and facts that have been proven through direct experimentation and observation. We can learn a lot. We can understand a bunch. However questions like: "What happens when I die?" and " What is my purpose in life?" can only be understood when we consider the God who made us. He has revealed himself in the Holy Scriptures (The Bible) and in the flesh (Jesus Christ).
As Harvard's rules state: " the Lord only giveth wisdom. let everyone seriously set himself by prayer in secret to seek it of him" , so seek the wisdom that only the Lord can give. Read the Bible. Pray for understanding. Pray for salvation. If you know Christ already, I hope you know that there is always more to learn and I hope you dig deeper. The revelations of truth are as limitless as the Lord is infinite.
