Learners can be helped to see that the oneness of knowledge reflects the oneness of God’s world by making links across subjects so that an insight in one subject casts light on another. Work on sin and brokenness in religion class also can make sense of the biblical themes in some English literature. Work on virtues and values in religion class could inform civics or social studies lessons. Learners can encounter the interdependence and coherence of the world using case studies in science or geography to see the impact of human behavior on the world. Learners can become aware that the world is not divided into sacred and secular through engaging in activities that cross those artificial boundaries, such as categorizing different types of riches and poverty (material as well as spiritual) in a historical period.
- Learners could investigate some of the injustices of the past in history and explore the impact through the ages and any actions required now. The past and the present are not divorced. There is connectedness through time, such that we are dependent on those who went before. The good or bad legacies that people have left affect us now.
- Learners could study a local area in ways that relate the geography of the area and the kinds of land use to people’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
- Learners could explore the interdependence of the world in science by making chains or diagrams to show connections—for example, in connection with food chains and photosynthesis. They can learn about different voices working together to make a sound in music.
Examples such as these demonstrate the oneness of God’s world and how interconnected everything is: we are connected to others, to our past, and to the world. The world also shows remarkable coherence and hangs together as a whole. The parts work together.