A Curriculum Must

Here is a newly released biography of Nero for students in Christian schools or in homeschool. First in a forthcoming series, this book is the first open door to a series of fantastic educational opportunities. Before I say more, let me bring in old Martin for some sturdy observations.

“When schools flourish, things go well and the church is secure . . . God has preserved the church through the schools. They are the preservers of the church. Schools don’t have a beautiful appearance, and yet they are very useful” — Martin Luther

As a pastor, I would much rather preach to people who are biblically literate than those who are not. I would much rather pastor people who have had the advantage of a Christian education than those who have not. This is not because the preliminary work is begrudged — it needs to be done and done gladly. But when churches and schools are in partnership, the schools do a lot of the necessary spadework first. And this means that those who are responsible to see to it that sound doctrine is pervasive in the Church have a much easier time of it.

Nero was a dirtbag of the highest order, but he was the emperor when much of the New Testament was being written. A student who reads this biography is going to be gathering the kind of information that Christians in the first century had gleaned from their “newspapers,” and which enabled them to understand what the apostles were telling them — far more accurately than we often do. When modern students start to pick up some of this information, a lot of the Bible is going to start to make a lot more sense. This is one of the great payouts of offering our children a classical Christian education.

High kudos to Canon Press for this book, and for the series. Anybody responsible for classical Christian history curriculum needs to review this book, and the others that are coming. The books are appropriate for age 12 and up, and future plans include 31 more titles — Alexander the Great, Hannibal, and Julius Caesar are next.