The Benefits Of A Classical Christian Education

By Dennis Woods

By way of introduction, I wrote the book on how the classics –the great books –stack up against the Bible. Some have referred to my book, Keys To The Classics, as the "Christian Cliffs Notes" and today it forms the heart of the classical studies program at King's Way Classical Academy.

So what makes classical, Christian education so special? Informal research conducted by the Oregonian newspaper in Portland, Oregon has revealed that the two most important items missing in the government school curriculum are 1) training in skills of logical thinking, and 2) the ability to communicate the results of critical analysis in debate, speech and the written word.

The dialectic and rhetoric components of the classical trivium speak directly to these deficiencies. With a classical education your children are given the priceless gifts of ability to think for themselves and then communicate their thoughts with power and persuasiveness.

A classical Christian education can serve as a “finishing processl” for home school students and a Biblical “inoculation” for public school students.  The classical core subjects are:

• LATIN: The best way to build a powerful vocabulary – after the Bible, and a key predictor of success in life.
• LOGIC: Critical thinking skills give your children overwhelming advantage in the workplace – and in life.
• RHETORIC: Make your child a force to be reckoned with in the political arena and on the job.
• GREAT BOOKS: Analyzing the classics in light of Scripture grounds your student in the Biblical worldview.

 How can we best obey the command to love God with all our minds and not end up like those with an empty head and a happy heart? A classical Christian education helps provide both a happy heart and a level head.

Classical was the educational model that prevailed for centuries, prior to the late1800s.  That was when John Dewey foisted his disastrous Progressive Education system on American schools.  There can be no true knowledge apart from the Author of all knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).  Public schools and secular education in home schools pretend neutrality, but Jesus said, "he who is not with me is against me."

 Dennis Woods is the Headmaster of Kings Way Classical Academy. King's Way Classical Academy recently unveiled its new junior high and "high school diploma" programs for only $500 annual tuition fee. For more information about Classical Christian Education visit http://KingsWayClassicalAcademy.com or call  (888)-714-5741.

The Great Christian College Compromise: New survey shows America’s Christian colleges abandoning their biblical foundations

PETERSBURG, Ky., May 2, 2011 – Ken Ham , Warner University president Dr. Greg Hall, and renowned researcher Britt Beemer take a penetrating look at how Christian colleges have compromised their beliefs in an eye-opening book releasing May 2 from Master Books, “Already Compromised: Christian Colleges Took a Test on the State of Their Faith and The Final Exam is In.”
Surveys have consistently shown that many Christian colleges are compromising on biblical principles by their answers to basic questions about the authority of the Bible. Ham, president of Answers in Genesis and the acclaimed Creation Museum , issues a clarion call to parents everywhere who are contemplating sending their teenager to a Christian college:
“Knowing that compromise (to one degree or another) awaits our kids, we had to contend with where to send them and try to prepare them for battle and encourage them to keep their guard up,” states the book.
Beemer’s America’s Research Group (ARG) surveyed schools associated with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), a group of more than 90 colleges that require all of their professors to sign a personal statement of faith. Other respondents were from schools that were “religiously affiliated” through an association with a religious denomination. Over 300 leaders at Christian colleges participated in the survey.
“We are not questioning anyone’s faith or Christian commitment at these colleges. We are examining what is being taught on important issues like biblical inerrancy, especially when it comes to Genesis,” Ham says. “Many of these schools claim to teach the ‘inerrant Word of God,’ yet gloss over the first book of the Bible as mere allegory.”
In conducting the survey, the authors used open-ended and close-ended questions so answers could be compared. They also looked at various statements of faith from churches, Christian colleges, etc., through an internet search, and found that most statements of faith had a very general statement (if any) on creation.
“Such general statements can sadly lead to the door of compromise being opened and eventually lead a college, church, etc., down the liberal path,” the book says.
While the survey did bring out some surprising results, “24 percent of the 312 people surveyed answered every question correctly … and these are the ‘good guys!’ These are the institutions that require testimonies of faith from their professors or have strong religious affiliations,” the book says.
Many Christian parents mistakenly assume that if they send their children to a self-described Christian college, they are protecting their children’s faith from non-biblical ideas such as evolution, and providing their children with a more morally nurturing environment, the book states.
Hall explains that parents are sending their students into the schools assuming that they are going to be faith-nurturing and truth-affirming institutions. He says that in reality many of the schools discredit faith, discredit the Bible, and break kids down rather than build them up. Many young people who have attended such Christian colleges leave the Christian faith as a result. Just as the previous book by Ham and Beemer (“Already Gone”) explored, young people are leaving the church in droves (many over biblical authority issues), and Christian colleges are contributing to this exodus.
“There are good Christian schools out there and we feel they are better than secular alternatives by far. But these issues of compromise have to be addressed,” the book concludes.
In the end, Ham and Hall call for students and parents to get involved and become aware of what is being taught on campus and to ask probing questions of school officials and professors about biblical inerrancy. The newly launched companion website for “Already Compromised”—www.CreationColleges.org—can help as well.
You can order Already Compromised on the AiG online store.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken