“This Hill, though high, I covet to ascend,
The difficulty will not me offend:
For I perceive the way to life lies here;
Come, pluck up, Heart; let’s neither faint nor fear:
Better, tho difficult, th’ right way to go,
Then wrong, though easie, where the end is wo.”
Christian reflectively utters these words while journeying from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City, as instructed by Evangelist, in The Pilgrim’s Progress. He realizes the right path of following truth will be difficult, but “plucks up” his heart with courage, taking comfort in the fact that he is pursuing righteousness. Along his journey, he is instilled with spiritual weaponry to combat the dark temptations of evil. Christian’s profound words sum up life, as people may choose the wide, heavily-crowded path, or the straight and narrow path. As the home of opportunity, America offers its citizens the freedom to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, allowing them to follow the wide or narrow paths. With this in mind, is America a country seamlessly ushering its citizens into the City of Destruction or molding pilgrims in truth, ever-journeying on the path toward the Celestial City? It is debatable on whether her people are instilled with the spiritual and educational tools to either combat her destruction or take pleasure in her celestial nature. Is a generation of pilgrims or worldly wise men being brought up?
Due to American society rejecting what is transcendent and atemporal and substituting things which are eternal with popular existentialist thought, culture has pursued and lauded fleeting thought and deed, resulting in a steady decline of a moral, productive society. Since the world is fallen, existentialist thought has existed for thousands of years, yet has recently become unfortunately widespread in America, a nation once grounded in Natural Law by the founding fathers. The crumbling moral framework of our country has caused a dangerous effect on all areas—legislation, worldview, public life, and even the individual. Yet the lost, artful tool of learning—classical Christian education—has the promise that it can aid in rebuilding the country’s moral framework. Classical Christian education is a key component in restoring American culture through the promises it proposes. The three promises classical Christian education achieves is the fostering of critically-thinking, of successful individuals, of a love of truth that affects all areas of life, and the fostering of teleological purpose ordained by the Almighty grounded in faith in Him. The factors are also biblically illustrated in the story of Daniel.
Numerous factors serve as ingredients that all together, have created quite an unsavory stew. American society has rebuked and rejected respect and decency, which is why the populace needs to return to civility in public discourse and relations. A mutual respect needs to be established again in order to progress. In political, academic, and cultural discourse, individuals have become the gingham dog and the calico cat, competing in yelling insults at one another. Not only is there not respect for each other, there is a lack of respect for the youngest and most vulnerable of these, as unborn children’s lives are not valued or protected, but thrown away. Many have conformed to the schismatic rhetoric of abortion in the name of “science.” The sheep have strayed so far from the Truth that a life is no longer recognized as such. America cannot expect to progress and flourish when mass genocide is unquestioned. The dark canvas of violence in our culture has been painted with vivid colors to cause a supposedly acceptable appearance, which is why hundreds of thousands of abortions are performed each year and why shootings seem to happen every month.
Where is the Church in the midst of the decaying civilization? Unfortunately, churches have abandoned tradition to succumb to liberal ideology. To cease the decline of American culture, more traditional church liturgy and true, unapologetic teaching at the pulpit that is directly from the Scriptures are necessities. In order to reach the world and expose it to the Gospel, the Church cannot conform to the world while attempting to make appeals. Oftentimes, modern churches take on culture in an unproductive manner that creates a cycle of confusion for believers and unbelievers alike, as they do not know what is true.
The foundation of all of these subordinate issues is ultimately the self. The logic of “my opinion is the only correct one and if you disagree, it is my right to use violence,” “my body my choice,” “my worship to make me feel the way I want to feel,” have all fused to create a self-centered society, adamant that pleasing and indulging the self is the highest virtue. The subordinate issues of public discourse, life, and the Church can be cured since classical Christian education is the study of the self, its relation to others, creation, and God. The promises of critically-thinking, successful individuals, truth that affects all areas of life, and a teleological purpose ordained by God through a relationship with Him, are the foundation that set in motion the prescription for curing the subordinate issues, since critically-thinking individuals respectfully carry themselves with decency in debate, since truth transcends all lies, especially that of abortion, and since a teleological purpose grounded in a relationship with God produces individuals desiring true, biblical doctrine from the Scriptures.
If just one of these subordinate facets of current American culture were repaired, the decline would not be as steady, yet a particular solution acts as an excellent foundation that provides the initial impetus of the other components. Classical Christian education possesses intrinsic value and extrinsic value, as it is both worthy and practical; this mode of education inherently promises to confront cultural problems by addressing the core of the issues—the ultimate rejection of the source of all things good, true, and beautiful.
To have the ability to critically think and assert oneself respectfully is unfortunately a lost skill today, which has resulted in yelling matches devoid of facts and respect. Dr. Benjamin Rush, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a member of the Continental Congress, argued for a homogenous education in which each individual has the same philosophical worldview. He asserted that education was solely for creating a good citizen of the government that was well-versed in its laws. Yet youth cannot be ‘good citizens of the republic’ if they have not learned to think and reason individually to deductively come to their own conclusions. Dr. Rush’s purpose in education fails to add how youth should be educated in the mode of critical thinking, as a means of logically reasoning and questioning to reach a valid conclusion, because he asserts that students’ education should be programmed around a governmental curriculum. Classical Christian education fosters critical thinking and a well-learned person through comprehensive curricula known as the Trivium and Quadrivium. By learning the various subjects of knowledge, whether it is the humanities or the sciences, students critically think and reason to discover the wisdom available in the subjects. To understand not only indicates the knowledge of a particular meaning, but also the inherent value or significance of that meaning.
St. Thomas described understanding as laudable and worthy of pursuit, as it aids in comprehending the nature of God’s creation as well as God, Himself, as evidenced through the general and spiritual revelation from His creation and Word, respectively. Classical Christian education trains up a child from the Grammar stage, to the Dialectic stage, and finally to the Rhetoric stage with a desire to learn and understand, equipping him with the tools to be successful in life. By discussing the great questions that have been debated for centuries and reading the primary sources, students cultivate articulate speech, a vast understanding and wisdom, and a drive for success. With these intellectual resources at hand, students will be able to restore American culture by their profound respect for life, desire to succeed, and meaningful contributions to society. This type of people is what culture so desperately needs in a sea of Louis XIV’s—to be a selfless, shining light of truth in the dark void of falsehood.
As an older version of America, the Mesopotamian kingdom of Babylon was lively, lush, and flourishing, yet behind the façade of decadent food and sport, there truly existed a morally decrepit society without authentic life. Daniel, armed with the wisdom of the Lord, enacted what he knew was true, critically thinking to reason. Not only did Daniel utilize the tools he was equipped with through his education, but also won favor among his peers. We need more Daniels in the American Babylon, and classical Christian education can accomplish that by developing and sending out modern Daniels, who are well-educated and critical thinkers into the declined American culture, knowing they have the proper tools to effectively dialogue with others of differing viewpoints, as well has having the capabilities to lead others to the truth.
Truth. What exactly is it and where does it come from? Is there a universal truth or is truth dependent on particular individuals’ beliefs? Current American culture would advocate for the latter, as subjective, moral relativism is rampant and existentialist thought is prevalent. After the Enlightenment and the Roaring Twenties, most individuals have completely abandoned maintaining a moral compass, arguing that truth is relative.
C.S. Lewis explains how the Tao, or the Way, is fundamentally a manner in which to describe the institution of Natural Law, meaning that no one can make a judgment of either right or wrong if being outside of the moral principles of right and wrong. The Tao can be discovered in the great books; however, the Tao cannot only be learned from the great books, as it is learned from teachers, parents, and ultimately, God. Through the integration of the great books, teachers, parents, and the Christian faith, the Tao is an abstract, yet essential philosophy to grasp and understand, especially since students within classical Christian education can lose sight of the Truth and succumb to the worldly ideologies of identity politics, feminism, and individualism. Student constantly need to be shown the Way to be renewed in the Truth in the midst of tempting ideology, which is why the Tao is crucial in education.
To be open-minded is an exemplary pursuit because it allows one to discover and understand worldviews to further expand understanding and strengthen one’s own worldview, which is why critical thinking is taught by classical Christian education. However, culture has taken it to an extreme where discourse and decisions are all open, neglecting to base anything on truth or absolute moral principles. Now more than ever it seems, despairing culture needs truth to be loudly spoken from the hilltops—to speak the truth boldly and unabashedly, confident in the soundness and validity. Truths such as an unborn child is a human being, that biology determines sex, and moral absolutes are governed by Natural Law need to be confidently proclaimed. American culture currently resides in the Platonic cave, falsely believing the surrounding shadows to be real, refusing to face the light of reality. Blaise Pascal writes, “Truth is so obscured nowadays and lies are so well established that unless we loved the truth, we shall never recognize it.” Classical Christian education can fill this void of truth in declining American culture through its curriculum, as it not only ponders and debates subjects pertaining to truth, but also with the foundation of the Truth of God established as the starting point.
The tuning of one’s soul and cultivating virtue are worthy pursuits and are at the core of classical Christian education—ultimately cultivating a fully human person when truth is established. Classical Christian education exposes students to the ideologies of Camus, Hume, Kant, and Kafka, that of course garner disagreements, for the purpose of understanding differing worldviews, all while further strengthening the Christian worldview, as well as growing in truth. The Judeo-Christian foundation has always understood this importance as supported in Daniel 1:17. “As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.” God allowed the four young men to receive a pagan Babylonian education, yet they remained steadfast in their faith. Classical Christian education has students read of pagan scientists, philosophers, and of mathematicians with the sound foundation of Truth always present. Since the Gospel message is the foundation of the universe, of course truth can be found in other worldviews. Some views of liberal politics contain truth, but it is not referred to as the Truth because it is not fully composed of it; the same reasoning can be applied to Christianity and other worldviews. Students trained and taught in the liberal arts in the era of political correctness is vital in order to communicate the truth effectively and persuasively with diplomacy and grace.
In today’s culture, education and public life focus solely on the abstract standards, neglecting the eternal standards that govern daily life. Not only is speaking truth essential to restoring culture, but also ardent, faithful Christians who have the capabilities to enter the world of constant spiritual warfare of the public and of the heart. Classical Christian education consults pagan and Christian literary works to compare and contrast them with the most authoritative source in existence—the Bible. With these resources, students of classical Christian education cultivate a special, teleological purpose ordained by God, guiding their straight and narrow path in life.
Classical Christian education provides the means to understand our relationships with our neighbors, with God’s creation, and ultimately our relationship with the Creator. Learning simply for the sake of learning is a form of worship to the Lord, because utilizing the wondrous intellects bestowed upon us to explore His world pleases Him. With the study of the great works of antiquity through a biblical worldview, students are encouraged to discover a teleological purpose within them that implements an amalgamation of faith and reason that have been instilled in them since the Grammar stage. Equipped with the God-given talents and learned knowledge and understanding, students foster a sense of purpose to be productive and influential members of society, serving their neighbors with diligence and kindness as leading examples of Christ. A study was conducted by Patrick Hill, an assistant professor of psychology, with data from the Midlife in the United States study to record aging and development by asking over 6,000 individuals about their respective life philosophies. The study concluded that:
They found that 14 years after those questions were asked, people who had reported a greater sense of purpose and direction in life were more likely to outlive their peers.
In fact, people with a sense of purpose had a 15 percent lower risk of death, compared with those who said they were more or less aimless. And it didn’t seem to matter when people found their direction. It could be in their 20s, 50s or 70s.
Individuals embodying a sense of meaning in life tend to live longer because they have a zealous drive to fulfill the teleological purpose inherent in their hearts. Culture’s fervent thirst for meaning and purpose is sought out in the ultimately empty, worthless philosophies of existentialism, nihilism, and objectivism. The only solution to quench this thirst is the return to dependency on the Creator and God-fearing principles. Individuals are wasting time waiting for Godot, that they neglect cultivating true purpose. Classical Christian education can restore American culture because it produces intelligent and articulate individuals who are the light and salt.
Daniel, with his thorough education and faith in the Almighty, had the wisdom and instruction to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams. Not only did Daniel understand and articulately communicate the nature of the dreams, but he also ministered to Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel acted as a testament to the king of Babylon. By cultivating Daniels grounded in the logos and the Logos through classical Christian education, declining American culture can be restored.
Our culture is a distracted culture of instant gratification through constant stimulation. We are, indeed, existing in an existential era that is ubiquitous and fallacious; it existentially and philosophically contradicts the Christian faith and classical Christian education. The theory of existentialism is the emphasis of an individual’s free will to choose what is best or expedient for the self. This theory is not compatible with Christianity because it argues against the need for redemption through Christ due to original sin and because it stresses feelings over facts. One cannot simply cherry pick Scripture from the Bible according to preferences and extract whatever meaning they desire to align with their choices. This is why the need for intelligent truth-sayers is so significant, especially Christian ones. Additionally, the qualifier of “Christian” for classical education is pivotal in achieving the proposed promises because truth outside of the Truth cannot be pursued and because an authentic teleological purpose cannot be established by the First Mover. Although there are many classical, liberal arts institutions that greatly educate students, they eventually fall short in educating the whole person.
During the era of Greek antiquity, an Athenian once declared, “My father was anxious to see me develop into a good man…and as a means to this end he compelled me to memorize all of Homer.” The Classical Christian education not only trains up pious people, but the education also proposes the promises of fostering critically-thinking, successful individuals, a love of truth that affects all areas of life, and a teleological purpose ordained by the Almighty through a personal relationship with Him. All these things are encompassed by the key component of restoring American culture—classical Christian education. To combat the American wasteland of rejecting what is transcendent, atemporal, and God, education must return to Homer, Plato, Euclid, Augustine, Chaucer, Dante, Austen, Newton, Dostoyevsky, Lewis, and the teachings of Christ—to shape the next generation into Daniels, progressing pilgrims, and ultimately, fully human beings.
