Sanctifying the Arts and Sciences Through Christian Education: A Guest Author from the 1800
For your consideration this week, I offer small excerpts of what you can think of as a guest author from the 1800s, along with my own commentary. Please note that these quotes come from a wonderful translation thanks to the labor of Rev. Joel Baseley. If you like what you read, I urge you to check out one or more of his translated works and support him with a purchase.
C.F.W. Walther gave an address at the Laying of a First Foundation of Stone of a College/Seminary in St. Louis in 1849. In this address, he decided to focus on the role of Christian education in the arts, sciences, and society. Check out the following excerpts for his inspiring vision for the role and blessing of Christian education.
“…all human wisdom turns into foolishness when it arises as a critic against the divine wisdom of the Gospel, or to be its mistress over it. But must the church, for that reason, be an opponent of human wisdom, when she is merely pointing wisdom back into the sphere, into the territory, to which it is consigned?”
With this critical distinction stated, he goes on to talk about the Christian contribution to the arts, sciences, and society:
“The church has always been a faithful, honest friend and supporter of the arts and sciences, and, by her nature and calling, must always be that.”
While there are brothers and sisters in Christ who look at all secular knowledge as suspect, that is not how Walther saw it.
“Yes, the church, far from banning its scholarly institutions from reading the classical authors of the heathen in some enthusiastic, narrow-minded attitude, much rather used these masterpieces of style, of form, and of discrimination, out of which they formed their language curriculum and put them to use in developing peoples’ discernment and taste. Already in the second century we find, in the lap of the congregation of Alexandria, a famous college where, over the course of time, the most outstanding scholars, like a Pantaenus, a Clement of Alexandria, an Origin, and many others, that is, more and more famous philosophers converted to Christianity and were employed as teachers. One institution, along with other Christian academies, like the one in Caesarea, soon left over other institution of higher learning in the Greek and Roman so far behind, that Emperor Julian the apostate, zealously opposed the progress of Christianity in the educational institutions and would not allow Christians in the 4th century to use the classical authors of antiquity in their schools. Yet, the service rendered by the church through the institution of her so-called catechetical schools internally, in the individual congregations, was an even greater means to a higher level of education for the common good of both the nations and the laity. While among the cultured heathen there were only schools for scholars in one subject, or for the children of the rich, the church first surfaced the necessity of people’s schools. These grew up in the shadow of the church and of the Gospel, and, even now, this makes the Christian peoples unique among all the nations of the earth.”
There are so many valuable insights in this small excerpt, but allow me to highlight a few for your consideration.
First, note how Walther emphasized that these liberal arts Christian education efforts existed for the benefit of the individual, the church, and the society in which they lived. This remains a confusing topic for some today because Christian schools are neither a church nor are they a secular education institution.
Second, this illustrates the approach to knowledge and learning in Christian education since at least the second century, namely an openness to learning from the best of secular knowledge and wisdom, not in a mindless acceptance, but out of a genuine search and respect for that which is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy (taken from the KJV version of Philippians 4:8).
Third, note Walther’s highlight of Christian education as something akin to “people’s schools” in contrast to training targeting either very specialized training or education reserved for an elite segment of the population. This is not to suggest that there is anything wrong with specialized training, or even schools targeted a select audience. Yet, the history of the church’s influence is consistently oriented toward an education for all and that benefits all. This is, I contend, a part of history that is largely lost—or at least ignored. Yet, this is part of our legacy in Christian education, and its merit persists.
“Yet, as the church sanctified the sciences, so also the arts. The church opened new fields in areas including rhetoric, or the art of preaching, through the preaching office, which now would be established in every congregation, even the smallest of them, and this became the norm; the poetic or rhyming art, through the great deeds of God which it preaches; the visual and the plasticine arts through the great events of holy history and revelation which they represent; the art of construction through the houses of worship which they employed; music through the congregational hymns that belonged to her worship. In short, there was no endeavor of human scholarship and human art into which the church and Christianity did not breathe new life, and into which she had not brought new occasions for divine inspiration.”
Walther’s concept of “the church sanctify[ing] the sciences” and the arts is also largely an aspect of the history and legacy of Christian education, and coming from Walther, a vision or Lutheran education. Notice that what he describes after that quote is a truly beautiful and inspiring example of how Christian education and those who benefit from it become great blessings in church and society. He casts a grand vision of a Christian education system that nurtures the best artists, architects, composers, writers, and others who “breathe new life” through their vocations.
In other places, Walther wrote about creating universities that rivaled the best in the world, graduating the next generation of leaders in government and all aspects of society, as well as schools that equip future pastors and teachers. His vision for Christian education entailed the cultivation of Christ-centered excellence across the sciences and the arts—such that the church, through her people, leads, creates, and serves in ways that give glory to God and are an immense blessing to others. For Walther, this was not a “mission creed” of the church, but rather a noble and needed means of equipping people for lives of love to their neighbors through their knowledge, gifts, abilities, creative works, sacrifices, and service.
The excerpts are translated and provided in From Our Master’s table — Lutheran Bread Crumbs by C.F.W. Walther collected and translated by Joel Baseley. If these small quotes captured your interest, please consider supporting Rev. Baseley’s work by purchasing one or more of his texts.