“God, Truth, and the Question of Faith in Academia”

Some people in academia say that you cannot be a serious scholar if you are a person of faith, as faith might influence your findings or research process. For me, it is a different narrative, my faith in God makes me a better scholar and thinker, and inspires me to produce rigorous, well-researched, and truth-telling scholarship.

To me, God is the source of all (academic) knowledge and wisdom (“konesans” as we say in Kreyòl) in the world, and God is also the origin of all that is true and veritable and the foundation of all forms or expressions of truth. Hence, for me, the goal of scholarship is the pursuit of truth and the promotion of truth through the art of writing, publishing, talking, explaining, teaching, and intellectual engagement. The pursuit of truth in academia is a power tool to empower the oppressed and the exploited in the world toward freedom and human subjectivity, to expose all false claims and interrogate what is “truth-suspicious,” and such intellectual endeavor must contribute to the common good and human flourishing in the world.