The Telos of Education

I think true education has as its goal the complete maturation and development of a person. So it will entail training for a job (even if that job is domestic work), for working is a part of who we are. It will teach us history, philosophy, and critical thinking because citizenship is another part of our identity. It will teach us the great stories of the past to help us understand who we are as humans. It will teach us the proper use of our bodies and help us to train them via good diet and exercise. It will teach us to recognize and love what is beautiful both in nature and in art. It will help us think logically via the use of math and science so that we may understand and develop the world God has made for His glory. It will train our souls to be kind, patient, self-controlled, etc. It will disciple us in terms of the Christian faith. There is more that could be said, but ultimately education will train us in excellence in every area of life. What should be done at home and what in the school or church? What can we accomplish in 13 years? What is appropriate for each age? How much should a given person learn of general principles before they specialize? These are the difficult questions that I don’t have good answers to

The Paradoxes of Christmas

When we think of Christmas most of us think about Santa and presents or even good food and family. As great as those things are, they are not the ultimate reason we celebrate. In Christmas we celebrate the wondrous mystery of the incarnation. Think for a minute about how amazing the Christmas story is. While other religions seek to find timeless truths outside of this world, at Christmas we celebrate the moment when Truth itself, in the person of Jesus Christ, came down and revealed Himself to us. The eternal became temporal when our everlasting and infinite God was born and entered time. The uncreated creator who spoke all things into existence became part of His creation. The omnipotent God that holds all of existence together became a helpless infant that needed to be nursed and burped, that spit up and needed His diapers changed. The God that knows all that can be known, that has in His Being wisdom that we cannot even begin to fathom or even imagine, stumbled and stuttered as He learned to walk and talk. Why? God’s love moved Him to suffer and die for us. On the cross Love Himself was hated, the Truth condemned, and the giver of all life died so that we could live. This is a mystery of great depth and power.