Classical Christian Times Rise Again
A place for up-to-date news and happenings in classical Christian education that connect with every day life.
Dateline: June 6, in the Year of our Lord 2022
In about 33 AD, 50 days after Jesus was crucified, every Christian on earth fit in a single room in Jerusalem. By the 5th century, Christianity had become the official religion of Rome with over 10 million followers, and then Rome fell. During the 5th and 6th centuries, the church was scattered into monasteries, many of which were in the British Isles and Western Europe. By the 11th century, the Church had risen to another apex, and then a split occurred in 1054 between the East and the Western church. Then, in 1517, an Augustinian monk launched a reformation that would once again reinvigorate the Church, and spark renewal between 1517 and 1600. Around 1900, the church in the West-- now Protestant, Roman, and Eastern-- was influenced by materialism and atheistic humanism. It is my hope that 2020-2022 will mark another reformation in the Church-- a classical Christian restoration.
This newsletter is for those Christians who seek another reformation-- built upon, and in many ways, a continuation of the last one. About every 400-500 years, the church seems to reset. Each time, we can build upon the traditions and the faith of the last. Christendom does not retreat, nor does it forget its history. We learn. We pray. And we seek the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Over the past 130 years or so, we've forgotten that Jesus is not just the savior of our souls, but he reigns as the King of THIS world, right now. Classical Christian thinkers look at everything around us and make sense of it because we know who the King is. He gave us the Bible, tradition, and natural revelation to understand everything that is happening-- and a lot of unprecedented stuff is happening.
How does this relate to Classical Christian education? Between 1980 and 2022, a growing movement has been restoring formal Christian education-- in k-12 and in higher academia. This movement is breaking the rules. We don't educate for vocation, we educate for freedom in Christ. We don't bind our category to the classroom. Our classroom is all of creation-- from the most distant galaxy to the cities to our churches, our nation, and our world. We do not accept the notion that Christianity is a personal religion. It is THE religion that matters. It is for every tribe and nation. It is no handmaid of our times.
This newsletter is not just for educators, or pastors, or philosophers or theologians. It's for everyone who seeks clarity and understanding during changing times. Each week, we'll post once or twice about the ideas that underlie events and culture, from a classical Christian point of view. Please subscribe. And, feel free to like and share this Substack with others.