How intensely are we adversely affected by our Marxist-saturated culture? Sadly, I believe that the Marxist mentality runs so deeply that we have nothing with which to compare any alternative. As a case-in-point, I propose that Marxism has even affected the way we view each other and ourselves and furthermore, by the way we introduce ourselves. However, I see more than a glimmer of hope in the classical Christian educational circles and movement. What I would like to concentrate on here are the positive effects that classical Christian education has on our identities, which consequently should affect the way we view and introduce ourselves.
Have you noticed that when we make introductions to others in our society, the first thing out of our mouths after stating our names is our vocation? Not that anyone who follows this common social construct is in any violation of the expected norm, but I honestly believe it falls short of a higher calling. Have you ever considered how inappropriate this is in light of our biblical mandates and our God-given roles? Who are we? Are we to be known primarily by our careers? Are we just cogs in the larger wheel of life? Well, Karl Marx would answer in the affirmative. We are defined, he has proposed, by the professional role we play and by our contribution to society. Therefore, our normative practice of introducing ourselves by name and career is indicative of our unconscious Marxist influences.
So how does our biblical faith shape our identities? How should we view ourselves and how should we desire to be known by others? Firstly, we are children of God. This is no temporary circumstance but rather a state of eternal position. This cosmic significance is often put aside in favor announcing our careers that an average American will change three to four times. Ultimately, most people retire from their respective jobs, yet we never retire from being the adopted children of God.
Secondly, far behind the manners we employ to provide for our families is our position in the family unit. God has called us to be honoring children, faithful spouses, discipling parents (all found in Ephesians 5 and 6), wise siblings, etc. These callings are not subject to other factors nor are these relationships from which we retire. God has placed us right where he wants us in relationship with those he has chosen, and where we are to serve his Kingdom most efficiently.
Now, thirdly I might specify the role God has called me to play in his Kingdom professionally. We as Christians can truly say we have vocations, which simply means callings from the Latin. We do not just have jobs; God has called and equipped us to fulfill what he has asked of us as Christians in the workforce. Comprehensively, we must flourish as Christ-followers, as family members, and as workers in his Kingdom. Keep in mind that God does not call the equipped, but he equips the called; this applies to all of the above.
So let us bring this to a conclusion. Marxism advocates that our personal identities are constituted by our professional roles; biblical Christianity prioritizes our identities according to God’s calling on us as his children, as members of his universal and invisible church as well as of the local and visible church, as members of our earthly families, and by the vocations God has called and gifted us for in our circumstances. Clearly, the disparity between the two is nothing we should seek to reconcile or negotiate. Rather, let us work toward building a biblically faithful and God-honoring culture that defies our contemporary cultural norms.
So how does classical Christian education work toward the larger goal of creating this superior culture of glorifying God by identifying ourselves by biblical standards? If we as classical Christian education advocates are working to restore the long lost educational system prior to the Marxist revolution in education, our restorative mentalities will eventually cause us to critique and revolutionize areas of life beyond strictly educational spheres. We are the hope for creating this God-glorifying culture beyond educational spheres. The children we train up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord will take the baton from us and stand on our shoulders to build a Christ-exalting culture.
So beyond the shear desire of restoring a biblical mentality are the skills that classical Christian education passionately instills. Marxism’s end-goal for education is to make a more competent and effective worker, designed specifically to fill the niche in life to which s/he has been assigned. The goal of the classical Christian education is not to make a better accountant, teacher, businessman or whatever; it is to make a better man or woman of God, a better mother or father, son or daughter, brother or sister, a better church member, a better thinker, a better worker, and in short, a better and clearer reflection of the image of God as exemplified in Christ. In other words, we esteem character development above skill sets; godliness above professionalism; lucid thinking above GPA; adherence to orthodoxy above alma mater loyalty; in short, biblicalism above pragmatism. Let’s get started in this process of building a Christ-exalting culture in this small area; let’s introduce ourselves by what really matters. We’ve been educated or are educating them to do so.
