“Those who would bring about a controlled reform from the outside have a dicey problem. They want to use private sector pressure to make the government schools straighten up and fly right, but they don’t want this privatization to get completely out of hand. Once parents enjoy a real taste of educational freedom, the result …
Not a Decorative Flourish
“The Christian faith is not a condiment to be used to flavor the neutral substance of secular knowledge. Paul tells ust hat every thought is to be made captive to Christ (2 Cor. 10: 1-4). Christ says that anyone who does not gather with Him is scattering (Matt. 12:30). The Christian faith does very poorly …
Exclusive Education Requires Exclusive Worship
“Christian education cannot be sustained apart from the exclusive worship of the triune God. And such worship cannot be offered to Him and to demos. He will not accept it, and, incidentally, neither will demos. The establishment of a Christian school movement is in principle a threat to the current establishment, and the establishment knows …
The Idols of Pluralism
“Properly understood, pluralism is simply another name for polytheism. When we say ‘pluralism,’ what does the plurality refer to? The answer is, to a plurality of authoritative voices, the Babel of competing divine voices, all saying what we ought to do. Because this situation creates a potential for civic trouble, the powers that be impose …
Trying to Fit In
“In the nineteenth century, secular education was established because many Christians were fatally persuaded of the myth of neutrality. They were told that there were many areas of life that could be studied apart from any reference to the authority of Scripture. They accepted the pluralistic nature of American public life, not as a social …
What Does and Does Not Constitute “Movie Reform”
“If a man were to rent a video, and it turned out to be a poor movie, it is not ‘movie reform’ to rewind and try again” (The Case for Classical and Christian Education, p. 33).
Drinks on the House
“At the beginning, this faith [the democratic zeitgeist] was full of robust enthusiasm and was not at all shy or reluctant about imposing democratic standards, relying on the abundant capital inherited from the older Christian order. The prodigal son did not run out of money on his first day away from home. The democratic institutions …
Three Significant Columns
“This democratic impulse exploded into full revolt near the beginning of the nineteenth century, and three significant columns began to march on the older established order of Christendom. The political revolution was accomplished in the election of Andrew Jackson to the presidency in 1829. The ecclesiastical revolution was ushered in during the Second Great Awakening, …
The Difference Between the Two
“The nature of this rebellion was democracy — the rule of demos, the people. The people en masse were thought of as having final authority — over traditions, kings, customs, historic loyalties, and churches. We have grown accustomed to thinking of our democracy as a good thing, and it surprises us to learn that the …
A False Savior Saved
“In an important sense, every culture is the externalization of some religion. And every school exists to perpetuate and pass on that culture. As we look around at the great squirrel-cage run we call modernity, we see that most of us as moderns belong to a religion called Getting Ahead. In contrast to this attitude, …