Our forebears in the faith can help us make the most of a bad situation.
Christians ought not despair nor grow weary at the various challenges to our faith posed by this secular age. God allows these challenges – theological, moral, legal, and otherwise – in order to strengthen and bring clarity to our faith. As we engage the challenges before us, exercising the various muscles of our faith, we grow stronger in the Lord and establish footprints and benchmarks for subsequent generations to follow.
An excellent example of this from the early Church is discussed in the Spring 2016 issue of Christian Scholar’s Review. In his article, “Julian against Christian Educators,” Benjamin D. Wayman recalls the fourth century dispute between the pagan emperor Julian and Christian leaders throughout the Empire over the curriculum of Roman schools.
Julian insisted on a course of study rooted in the classics of ancient Greece, with a view to returning the Empire to paganism. He would not allow any Christians to teach in the schools because he believed they would undermine the imperial agenda.
Basil the Great, arguing the Christian perspective, said that Christians should indeed teach the Greek classics, but solely for purpose of using them to prepare students to think critically and analytically, so that they would be better equipped for studying Scripture and theology. Basil believed that the solid Christian education provided in homes and churches would prepare students to read the ancient Greeks without harm to their faith.
So, while Julian sought to impose a narrow curriculum and a pagan worldview devoid of Christian influence, Basil worked to strengthen the Christian education triad – home, church, and schools – and welcomed a broad curriculum, confident that the truth of God would prevail.
Basil’s clear vision and careful argumentation ultimately prevailed, and set the direction for Christian learning for the next thousand years.
Will believers today rise to the challenges of secularism, unbelief, and pragmatism which are foisted on students from kindergarten through higher education? Only if we're serious about the triad of home, church, and schools as the best means for preparing our children for Kingdom living.