Christian humanism is the belief that human freedom, individual conscience, and unencumbered rational inquiry are compatible—even intrinsic—with the practice of historical Christianity, representing a real philosophical union of authentic Christian faith and classical humanist principles made explicit by the Incarnation of Christ. Christian humanism is interested in the affirmation and flourishing of human life and […]
Teaching & Education
Reader Looke, not on his Picture, but his Booke
In Jeanett DeCelles-Zwerneman’s instructive treatise, A Lively Kind of Learning: Mastering the Seminar Method, she makes an important claim about learning to read a work on its own merits, rather than with the prejudices that frequently arise out of one’s intimate knowledge of the author. She writes, Ray Carver was an alcoholic and Rousseau abandoned […]
The Real and Perceived Needs of Customers
More than five years ago now, I wrote a short post making the case that Teachers are in the Customer Service Business. Building on that idea, I would further argue that customer service ought to be a way of life, not the contrived attendance to a company (or school) policy. Providing good customer service simply […]
The Piety of Learning
The piety of learning is to fully and sympathetically comprehend the power of an idea or argument before engaging in critical analysis of said idea or argument. To really understand a point or position before critiquing its merits or flaws is the mark of a humble and learned man. This is the point of Socratic […]
Don’t Read My Blog Every Day!
…if you don’t want to. As a matter of fact, you may have only signed up for my Saturday Substack Newsletter, Rumbling Toward Heaven, and are now wondering why you’re getting something from me in your inbox on a Monday. Well, this is a courtesy email to let you know that I will be publishing […]
On Education: A Review
I recently reviewed On Education, for Ad Fontes, A Journal of Protestant Letters. On Education documents Abraham Kuyper’s involvement with the Netherlands’ seventy-year political battle over parents’ rights to choose schools representative of their religious convictions. On Education is more than just a helpful resource; it is a uniquely prescient guide for everyone concerned with […]
Redeeming the Social Sciences: Why Custom Must Still Be Considered
In recent years, the trajectory and application of the social sciences from “explicitly prescriptive to overtly descriptive” has been tremendously concerning to thoughtful scholars interested in the science’s application to human flourishing. And in the movement for the renewal of Classical Christian Education, it has been suggested the social sciences be abandoned altogether for the […]
Why New England Needs Classical Education
On Wednesday, July 6th at 7:00 PM EDT, I will be joining Sarah Abbott, Tim Knotts, and Heatherly Sylvia, the founders of the Classical Learning Consortium for New England, for a live Zoom Panel Discussion. This will be the third in a series of live panel discussions where the hosts discuss a variety of topics […]
On Grandchildren and Being Grandparents
God has blessed us with these 5 precious grandchildren (so far) and we are overjoyed to be their Mimi and Papa. To be grandparents to these tender and immortal souls is the greatest privilege and most sobering responsibility. Being grandparents has also brought with it another means of sanctification. Watching our own children learn to […]
Seven Characteristics of a Classical Christian Education
In this post, I want to answer the question, What is a Classical Christian Education? But first I want to mention that under the fairly broad umbrella of the expression, Classical Christian education (CCE), there are likely as many micro-persuasions as there are eyes on Argos. And this is true for at least three reasons. […]