By now, you may have decided to opt for classical education. But you might be wondering what a Christian worldview has to do with anything. Is it really important to mix classical education with faith? Actually, yes. In fact, I think it is extremely difficult to teach or learn classical education from anything other than a Christian worldview. So much of what I’ve read and learned about points so clearly to God that it really can’t be ignored. For instance, this year in my study of the Great Books, I have been reading the works of various ancient philosophers. These philosophers often have ideas that show just how obvious it is that everyone is made in the image of God. Even though they ultimately got it wrong, many of their philosophies can be seen to point to various Christian beliefs. And last year, when I was learning about American history, I studied many worldviews that often came as a result of a historical event. The Great Gatsby, for instance, paints a picture of just how broken the world truly is. But without inserting God into the picture, it’s impossible to know why the world is broken or how to fix it. Worldviews shape history, a major part of education. But every other subject points to God as well. Take science: when studying physics and chemistry, the intricacy of the details and the awe-inspiring fact that there are so many things we still don’t understand has shown me the absolute ingenuity and omnipotence of God. He created tiny atoms with even tinier particles that it has taken us over 2000 years to have even a partial understanding of. Math shows us the order of the universe that demonstrates the obvious presence of an intelligent Creator. The way each subject is beautifully integrated and affects each of the others makes it clear that there is one God who created everything. I think that trying to have a classical education without putting God at the center will ultimately fail. Classical education at its core teaches integration and worldview formation and trying to learn either of those without a Biblical perspective will be unsuccessful. This year, each curriculum I am using was written from a Christian perspective and the way the authors link God to the topic I am studying is so logical and makes so much sense that I can’t imagine trying to explain it without God. So, why add a Christian worldview to classical education? God is at the center of everything, and classical education is not complete without Him.
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