Does Open Inquiry Belong in Religious Schools?
Originally Published by The Mill Institute at UATX: “Christianity, just as much as Islam, teaches children that unquestioned faith is a virtue. You don’t have to make the case for what you believe.”– Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion Richard Dawkins would not be very impressed to hear about the school where I teach. As a […]
Vico’s Vision of Education: Restoring the Imago Dei
Originally Published by FORMA Journal (Winter 2023). The first warning bells against overemphasizing STEM education sounded not in recent years, but over three centuries ago. In 1709, the Italian scholar Giambattista Vico lamented, “The greatest drawback of our educational methods is that we pay an excessive amount of attention to the natural sciences.” By neglecting […]
Xenophobia of the Past
Picture this unpleasant scenario: an American school group travels to foreign countries around the world, walking the streets of cities as diverse as Rome, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Johannesburg, and Moscow. Their American tour guide does nothing but disparage every place they go. In one city, he speaks at length of high crime rates and […]
Russian Literature & Anna Karenina
Last year I listened to an interview with Russian Literature Professor Gary Saul Morson that prompted me to read Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina (1878) for the first time. I won’t say how long it took me to finish this massive 700+ page book, but let’s just say it was less than the two years I […]
Learning How to Learn: The Senior Thesis
Originally Published by The Forum. “The thesis is there to prove that we are no longer just students, absorbing information from other people. In the thesis project, we find our own sources and reach our own conclusions…we truly have to create something.” This, according to one of our graduates, was the highlight of Cary Christian School’s […]
“The Year of Our Lord 1943: Christian Humanism in an Age of Crisis”
If you’re involved in classical Christian education, you’ve probably read Dorothy Sayers’ essay, “The Lost Tools of Learning.” Based on a lecture she delivered at Oxford University in 1947, it is Sayers’ lament over England’s dismal system of education. It is also her proposal to save education by returning to a classical/medieval paradigm of education […]
Praying for Student Success
Originally published by The Forum. “Dear Lord: please help my son to make all A’s, ace the SAT, pass his AP exams with flying colors, and get accepted into a prestigious university. Amen.” What do you think of a prayer like this? Would you pray it for your son or daughter? Some might find it […]
Are They Ready to Give an Answer?
Originally published by The Classical Difference and The Forum. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15) Today, there is a tremendous need for young people […]
Knowing God at Harvard
Originally published by The Classical Difference and The Forum. If a high school student asked you to recommend a college where the Bible is faithfully taught, Christian moral principles are held in high esteem, and knowledge of God is understood to be the foundation of all knowledge, what would you suggest? A number of colleges may come […]
Whose Children Are They?
Originally published by The Forum. Last year, MSNBC host and Tulane University political science professor Melissa Harris-Perry sparked a controversy when she remarked, “We have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents, or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to whole communities.” Clarifying her […]