Below are brief notes of this newest audio podcast edition of Faithful and Flourishing Christian Schools.
When the Israelites left Egypt, they carried out Egyptian gold. Bezalel used it to build a dwelling place for the Lord. Aaron melted it into a calf. Same metal, two destinations. That image has intrigued me for more than thirty years.
What does a Christian do with knowledge that comes from outside the faith? I trace how the church has answered this question, from Augustine to C.F.W.
I look at Walther’s call to sanctify the sciences under the authority of God’s Word.
I challenge the idea that knowledge is a neutral tool.
Some of what we receive is gold that can serve God or an idol.
Some is closer to lead, handled by people who insist it’s safe.
From there I make a case that the Christian school teacher and the public school teacher are both noble but they do not have the same vocation.
The work of using God’s Word in every subject belongs to the Christian school in a way that is limited in the public school classroom.
Mentioned in this episode
Exodus 12 and the Israelites leaving Egypt; Bezalel and Aaron
Augustine, On Christian Doctrine and The City of God
C.F.W. Walther on sanctifying the sciences
Daniel in Babylon; Paul at the Areopagus (Acts 17)
Luther’s use of Aesop’s Fables
Melanchthon on education
Stultitia Dei: A Journal of Lutheran Education, a new peer-reviewed, open-access journal
The first edition of Stultitia Dei will focus on this theme, secular knowledge in Christian schools. The call is open now at researchinlutheraneducation.com, submissions due July 31, with a release within a couple months of that date.
