Ken Smitherman, President, Association of Christian Schools International (retired 2009)
If it is true that individually our actions are a reflection of who we really are in our souls, then by analogy there is much in the soul of our culture to cause alarm. September 11, 2001, ushered in a new look at the “collective soul” of our culture. It was not the first expression of terrorism seen worldwide—but its impact changed the world.
“Actions are not impositions on who we are, but are expressions of who we are. They come out of our heart and the inner realities it supervises and interacts with.” —Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart
The months following the attacks have kept news agencies busy with tracking the war on terrorism. Meanwhile much of the collective soul of our culture has been uncovered. The Middle East crisis continues to take an unbelievable toll on human life and dignity. Inconceivable stories of kidnap, rape, and murder dominate the news media.
Among the most horrifying and astounding accounts was the exposure of a worldwide pedophilic pornography ring in which parents exploited their own children for profit and gratification, placing their pictures for distribution on the Internet. And once promising corporations have fallen into financial crisis, shaking the nation’s economic stability. These corporate giants face ruin because their executives pillaged and ravaged their treasuries to feed their own greed and egos. These are just some of the actions that may be giving us a picture of the soul of our culture.
A bright spot, however, is the fact that literally thousands of centers of hope stand steadfast with courage in the battle for the souls and minds of the next generation. These are our Christian schools, which offer their students a glorious hope through pursuing their mission of intellectual and spiritual formation.
Christian schooling battles against the popular notion that the secular and sacred must remain separate as it focuses on the inculcation of a worldview that recognizes the importance of developing and sharpening the mind. The truths of Scripture and the principles of the kingdom nurture this intellectual development.
Developing such a Christian worldview requires thinking skills. In Renovation of the Heart, Dalla Willard writes, “[thinking] is the activity of searching out what must be true or cannot be true, in the light of given facts or assumptions. It extends the information we have and enables us to see the ‘larger picture’—to see it clearly and to see it wholly. And it undermines false or misleading ideas and images as well. It reveals their falseness to those who wish to know. It is a powerful gift of God to be used in the service of truth.” He goes on to say, “The prospering of God’s cause on earth depends upon his people thinking well” (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002).
Academic knowledge void of God’s teaching through Scripture does not create the caliber of individuals and thinkers who can positively impact a culture rapidly spinning out of control. Christian schooling is about the effort not only to pursue academics but also to embed them in a framework of biblical thinking that spiritually forms, reforms, and transforms.
Soul of the Culture 34.2