What we now consider "The Church" is almost nothing like the Early New Testament Church. Author/speaker Richard Booker once explained this, by giving the example of an archeologist digging through layers to find out what life was like in ancient times. To understand the Early Church we must dig through layers of a mountain of man's influences shoveling off and discarding man's traditions, theories, interpretations, and philosophies from Greek and Roman civilizations, Constantine, Marcion (see Appendix F), Catholicism, etc., to be able to examine the Early Church. During the Reformation, men such as Wycliffe and Calvin were digging in the right spot. They dug up and discarded many theological errors and found a view of God's plan of salvation by grace, but anti-Semitic layers remain and now there are new layers of tradition, interpretations, western thought (a return to the Greek and Roman thought) and conditioning that need removal. Only then can we have a clear view of the Early Church worship.

Sources: Irrational Man, by William Barrett; Christianity With Power by Charles Kraft; Hebrew Thought Compared With Greek by Thorleif Boman; Judaism and Christianity – The Differences by Trude Weiss-Rosmarin, Our Father Abraham, by Marvin Wilson, God in Search of Man by Abraham Heschel.

Three Approaches to Classical Literature—and Our Alternative

Currently there are three different approaches to literature by using with the classical approach:

To take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ means that we must be discerning about what goes into our minds and the minds of our children. The classical book list entitled the "Great Books of the Western World" contains the writings of Plato, Sophocles, Aristotle, and other men who declare that the answers to life's mysteries and problems are found in men and not in God. Our children should be immersed in the sixty-six great books in God's Word, not in writings by men who knew not our Lord!

1. Traditional Focus on Classics

The focus of the traditional classical approach is on Greek mythology, philosophy, logic, and Latin. The current best-selling homeschool book on the classical approach focuses on creating a student Plato would be proud of. Students of all ages, beginning with kindergartners, are immersed in stories about Greek gods. Mythology and philosophy are encouraged, while there is no emphasis on Bible study, and only a scant mention of religion. The authors suggest reading the Bible during history studies because it “ought to be treated as a serious philosophical document.”

There is legitimate cause for concern when a curriculum's focus is on mythology and philosophy rather than the Bible. Proponents of classical education defend the study of mythology (which is really the study of false gods, idols, and/or demons) by saying that the myths are an integral part of our Western literary heritage. (Rodd)

It is short-sighted to use the argument that children need to study mythology in order to be adequately aware of the world; the same argument would imply that our children should be immersed in books on New Age philosophies, astrology, witchcraft, reincarnation, or Harry Potter. A well-grounded Christian adult with discernment may safely choose to study these subjects, but we should be careful not to feed these as entertainment to our children. Jesus said, Therefore, be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16).

2. Adoption of Classical Methods but Rejection of Classical Literature

Some using the classical approach avoid the pagan literature. There are Christian homeschoolers who use the classical approach because they view the Trivium— grammar, logic, and rhetoric—as a worthy form of structure, but reject the writings by pagan authors (which is somewhat like trying to order a cheeseburger without the cheese). There is nothing inherently wrong with acknowledging these three discernible stages of learning (grammar, logic, and rhetoric); it is only common sense that children go through certain basic learning stages that build upon each other. It seems somewhat ironic to me, though, that one would use classical methods designed by classical authors, but reject the classical authors' writings. I do, however, applaud their efforts to avoid evil.

3. Focus on the Classic Literature From a Critical Viewpoint

There are other Christians using the classical approach that focus on the Bible. They immerse students in the "Great Books of the Western World," but do so from a critical viewpoint–—to teach their children about the positive and negative influences these books have had on our culture—which is an understandable endeavor. But this too seems an irony—that one would use the classical methods designed by the classical authors to teach students the deficiencies of the writings of the classical authors. But I am glad to see they are evaluating the writings from the standpoint of Scripture.

Heart of Wisdom's Alternative

To ignore the classics would be like a doctor disregarding the symptoms of a serious disease. We need to understand the classics for ourselves and to teach our children the impact of these works on our history and philosophy. We can reject the classical teaching approach, as the Hebrews did, but study the impact of classical literature on our culture. Our children need to understand the world's philosophy so they can recognize and avoid it, just as a doctor must study in order to recognize disease. However, when a doctor studies a disease, he takes precautions lest he catch the disease. He does most of his studies at a distance. When he does examine a patient with the disease, he does so with limited exposure. We can teach spiritually mature students, from a biblical worldview, about the influences of the classical authors sufficiently, with historical analysis and brief excerpts, without immersing them in pagan writings. I don't accept any rationale to introduce these writings to young children. The Great Conversation: A Biblical Analysis of the Great Books of Western Civilization by Dennis Woods is a resource designed to introduce students to classical literature by analyzing classic literature excerpts from a biblical standpoint.

We understand this idea of "returning to a better way," but believe that, instead of returning to the ancient Greeks' ways, we need to return to the biblical model. Our only hope for stable, ongoing, integrated culture is placing the Word of God at the center of our thinking, speaking and acting. Study of literature and all literary arts must give place to the mastery of the Bible; and then they themselves become servants to the Word of God.