Can Education be Classical and Christian? Essay

Jews, but how does that differ from a small country town in Oklahoma where the

Amongst these philosophers, Plato emerged as one of the founding fathers of Western philosophy. Living from roughly 428 BCE until 348 BCE, Plato’s theories predated Christianity by at least four centuries. Because of this, it can be assumed that early Christian worshippers used

47. “...to get the most out of your reading of European and American literatures, knowing something about the Old and New Testaments is essential. Similarly, if you undertake to read literature from an Islamic or a Buddhist or a Hindu culture, you’re going to need knowledge of other religious traditions.” This is because religion shapes different culture and to better understand allusions in literature, one must understand biblical references. Or being aware of religious traditions and culture of a country outside yours can help you better understand the

With reference to Peta Goldburg’s (2012) Transforming religious education: Implications from the Second Vatican Council, the following discussion will review and critique the important religious education approaches that has had an impact on the Catholic schooling system for the past fifty years, and also help shape the contemporary classroom we teach in today.

The statement “philosophy of Christian education” contains much information to be unwrapped. The term philosophy literally means, in the Greek, “love of wisdom.” In this case, the study of philosophy involves a “critical

In the article, What Should It Mean to Have a Liberal Education in the 21st Century?, D.G. Mulcahy presents Paul Hirst’s view of the traditional liberal education. Hirst, qtd. in Mulcahy’s article, explains that traditionally there are seven subjects of knowledge that humanity has used to understand reality. These seven subjects are math, the physical sciences, human culture throughout history, morality, art, religion, and philosophy (Mulcahy 469). These subjects are part of the majority of colleges’ liberal education or general education curriculum. While this is the intent of the more traditional Liberal Arts education, the system has evolved to meet the needs of a modern society.

Motivation from within? Earl Shorris and Mark Edmundson come from two different places but their writings still come together. Both are writers and critics of our society. In Shorris’ essay he writes about people in social distress and the Clemente Course.

Wallace begins his commencement by explaining the liberal arts cliché, which states liberal arts is only teaching you how to think rather than “filling you up with knowledge” (Wallace 1). To proceed in his explanation Wallace provides an example of how stubborn and individual can be towards a particular idea; whether it is an idea, belief, or personal value. In addition to this, he elaborates on his example and articulates that you can’t say someone else’s belief is wrong just because, ultimately, you believe yours is correct.

Broadly speaking, a liberal arts education is concerned with the pursuit of knowledge as an end in itself, rather than for the sake of acquiring skills targeted at a career. The liberal arts philosophy is traced to the Greek philosopher Socrates, who famously proclaimed that the “unexamined life is not worth living”. To that end, traditional liberal arts education emphasizes the scholarly, the gentlemanly and the liberating. However, contemporary liberal arts education is marked by the integration of liberal and practical education. Consequently, a Christian liberal arts education should provide knowledge and intellectual skills to help students become functional and capable of

Why Christian liberal arts education? This question is something that has been asked for many years now. For me the answer to this question is because I am able to become educated on all aspects of life whether public or personal and become closer to God at the same time. Liberal arts education promotes students to have a solid ground on all liberal arts subjects regardless of their major as they are able to become critical thinkers and adopt to change. The purpose of a liberal arts college is not to only educate us but make us into well rounded people. Liberal arts college majors are interdisciplinary and can provide students with different ways of looking at things by introducing different subjects.

Of the many Christians at work during the 20th century, the three most influential people that I believe will be remembered the most throughout the history of Christianity are Pope John Paul II, Karl Rahner, and Karl Barth. During Pope John Paul II’s pontificate, he had to deal with issues that connected the church to views in the outside world. His first challenge was communism in the Soviet Empire. The communist government of Poland had begun to cause tension between the Catholic Church during an election which led to Poland independence from the Soviet Empire (pg. 448). Several other countries followed this victory in Poland and they eventually overthrew the communism government of the Soviet Empire (pg. 448). John Paul II also had to deal

Marcus’s pastor, Eucratius, naturally wondered how it could be acceptable for Marcus to teach others what he himself was forbidden to do. Yet Marcus had already made a tremendous sacrifice to follow Jesus. So Eucratius wrote to his spiritual mentor, Cyprian of Carthage, to ask “whether such a man ought to remain in communion with us.”

The subject of religion in public schools is one that has been debated vigorously and passionately. The warriors from the Right and Left fail to appreciate the facts because they are caught up in the rhetoric and have difficulty viewing this emotional topic dispassionately (Haynes, 2011). Both sides are right about one thing: this is an important subject.

As we go through our day by day lives in a very secular world, I believe it is very easy to question ourselves as Christian educators. We ask ourselves if we are doing our jobs exactly to God’s calling. Are we striving to teach the truth? And with that, what is truth? According to Gaebelein in his book The Pattern of God’s Truth, “All truth is God’s truth.” As educators we are called upon to cultivate “Christlike minds” (Moreland). This is quite the task, especially given our surrounding circumstances and constant secular environment. Not only are we, as educators surrounded by this secularism, but our young, adolescent students are as well. So, how do we accomplish such as task of guiding

Many Christian schools and Christian homeschooling families hastened a “classical” curriculum approach to teaching and learning, believing it to be the best form of education.