Why Science Should be Included in the Classical Christian Education
If you’ve ever been home alone for Thanksgiving and accepted an invitation to share dinner with another family, then you know how I felt when I accepted an offer to teach science in a fledgling classical Christian school approximately twenty-five years ago. When you’re invited to another family’s Thanksgiving dinner, you don’t know what, if anything, you’re expected to bring to the dinner and you’re not sure that you’ll be able to add anything to the conversation.
When I accepted an offer to teach science in a classical Christian school, I had no idea how science might contribute to its unique mission and I was pretty sure that I’d be unable to contribute anything to a conversation about classical Christian education. I was a product of Texas public schools, held both undergraduate and graduate degrees from a very large state university and I’d taught for sixteen years in the public schools. Saul of Tarsus described himself as the most unlikely of apostles; I was the most unlikely of classical Christian educators.
My time as a classical Christian educator began with a search for an answer to a very basic question: “Why should science be a part of a classical Christian education?” I wanted — no, I needed — one or more reasons for teaching science in a curriculum steeped in the humanities. If science didn’t serve a specific purpose within the classical Christian curriculum — if it had to be twisted and contorted to be wedged into the margins of classical Christian education just to placate parents or an accrediting body — then teaching it would be unrewarding and my time at the school would be brief.
My search for an answer began by looking for other science teachers in similar schools, but, being new to classical Christian education, I didn’t know where to look. Then I went in search for a definitive text — something like Teaching Science in a Classical Christian School — only to learn it didn’t exist. However, my lack of success only seemed to intensify my desire for an answer and, lacking any other strategy, I started to read about the relationship between the church and science and I started listening to lectures on the history and philosophy of science. I exchanged emails with authors and college professors. And, I asked history, philosophy and Bible teachers questions, lots of questions.
I wasn’t far into my search before I realized that science should be a part of a classical Christian education, but the realization was more intuitive than intellectual and I hadn’t quite apprehended the reasons I wanted and needed. However, with each book I read, each lecture I heard and each question I asked, reasons became more evident and, in time, I was able to articulate them. So, if you’ve ever wondered why science should be included in classical Christian education, consider the following.
Science is a Product of Western Civilization
Just like Plato’s Dialogues or Euclid’s Elements — science is a work of Western civilization and this mandates that it be included in a classical curriculum.
Prior to the 6th century B.C., Greek mythological literature was filled with anthropomorphic deities that interfered in human affairs by using humans as pawns in their own plots and intrigues. These same deities were implicated in natural phenomena; storms, lightning, winds, and earthquakes were not the result of impersonal, natural forces, but mighty feats willed by the gods. The result was a capricious world in which nothing could be predicted because of the endless possibilities of divine intervention.
However, in the early 6th century B.C., Greek culture experienced a burst of a radically new kind of discourse- thought that was unprecedented in its rationality, its concern for evidence, and its acknowledgment that claims were open to dispute and needed to be defended. This new manner of thought addressed the universe and its origin, the earth and its inhabitants, celestial bodies, earthquakes, thunder, lightning, disease, and death.
The individuals responsible for this new discourse were Greek philosophers and they didn’t merely pose a new set of questions they also sought new kinds of answers. They did not personify nature and the gods disappeared from their explanations of natural phenomena. Explanations became entirely naturalistic and the men engaged in this type of thought were engaging in what was referred to as natural philosophy, the forerunner of modern science.
The world of these philosophers was an orderly, predictable world in which things behave according to their natures. The Greek term used to denote this ordered world was kosmos and it’s the word from which we draw our word cosmology. The capricious world of divine intervention was being pushed aside, making room for order and regularity. In other words, chaos yielded to kosmos.
To summarize, natural philosophy — the forerunner of modern science — is a product of 6th century B.C. Greek philosophical thought which makes it a work of Western civilization and, thus, it must be afforded a place in a classical curriculum.
Science and Theology Overlap More Than the World Realizes
Science and theology — which I define as the intellectual and methodical study of God and the spiritual world — have much more in common than today’s culture would have us believe and, therefore, science must be included in a Christian curriculum.
While the current relationship between religion and science is one often dominated by mistrust and antagonism, this hasn’t always been the case. The current cultural notion that science and religion in all its forms have been in conflict throughout history simply isn’t true. The idea that science and religion are, at the very least, engaged in a conflict — if not all out warfare — is a thesis advanced by two men — neither named Darwin — in the late 19th century. Their works were based on shaky, sometimes fabricated foundations and were intended to advance specific political, professional and even racist purposes.
In the most general sense, both science and theology consist of a collection of statements held to be true as well as the methods for generating those statements, but if we want more detail, we turn to Augustine.
Augustine produced an incredible synthesis of natural philosophical thought and theology that can be summarized with four statements. First, there is no teacher of truth, but God. According to Augustine, there’s not one truth for theology and another for natural philosophy. Secondly, Augustine said God revealed Himself to man in two complementary ways; through Scripture and what he called the Book of Nature. And, because these two books have the same author, the theological truths of Scripture will never contradict natural philosophical truths. Based upon this principle, Augustine advocated hearing the Bible and seeing nature. Next, Augustine stated that both Scripture and the Book of Nature required careful interpretation. In other words, both science and theology present intellectual challenges. Fourthly, and finally, it was Augustine’s contention that knowledge of the natural world both reveals the majesty of God’s creation and is indispensable for proper biblical understanding.
Augustine believed that theology and natural philosophy were inseparable and they were constantly building on one another. He believed that, together, theology and natural philosophy help us attain right reason as well as right faith and this is exactly what we aspire to as classical Christian educators. Consequently, science must be a part of the curriculum in a Christian educational institution.
God Reveals His Nature Through Science
Finally, because Scripture makes clear that God reveals Himself through His creation, preservation and governance of the universe, Christian education must include the study of science. Most, if not all of us, are familiar with Romans 1:20:
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. (ESV)
Over three-hundred years prior to Augustine, the Apostle Paul is telling us that someone may never hear the Bible, but they cannot escape seeing nature and, consequently, they are without excuse.
While we typically think that Romans 1:20 is intended for non-believers, I think we’re mistaken if we conclude that God’s ability to reveal Himself through His creation isn’t important for believers. Scripture is awash in passages directed to God’s children where they — and we — are reminded of His ability to create and sustain. The psalms, in particular, refer repeatedly to God’s revelation through creation.
Psalm 19:1- The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.
Psalm 139:13- For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalm 95:4-5- In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land.
From the expanse of the heavens, to the intricate details of the human embryo and everything in between, the children of God are to recognize God through His creation and praise Him for it. And, if God reveals Himself to both believer and unbeliever through His creation, the study of that creation must be included in a Christian educational institution’s curriculum.
In conclusion, because science is a work of Western civilization that promotes right reasoning and seeks to better understand God’s created order, it must be taught in classical Christian schools. Furthermore, I believe when taught properly it can make contributions to the curriculum that no other academic discipline can.