I have been doing some thinking about why the broader community should support the work of Veritas Academy. I am still working on this, but here is my present best answer (I would love to hear what you think on this):
Every other day I take a little time to ponder problem and solution (the preparation of a case as we have been discussing recently). Here is where I am now. It is not done, but it is getting closer. Read this and tell me what you think and what you would remove or add:
“How has it come to this?” one might ask.
The problem is that Christians abandoned the intellectual life and the places of power and cultural influence to persuasive, intelligent, well-spoken unbelievers. We are confronted with this fact when we listen to the news, when we venture onto a University campus, or when we watch the deliberations of our government officials. Too often we blame these unbelieving intellectuals. They, however, are not to blame! They are simply saying (as best they can) what they believe. We, Christian believers, are to blame for the weakness of the Christian faith in our land and its impotence. We have failed to engage our culture winsomely with the truth. Instead of standing to fight, we have abandoned the field of battle.
Even those believers who speak in the public square are often not equipped to argue persuasively and to stand faithfully against the tide of unbelief. All too often Christians in our culture fight without wisdom or fly from the fight without cause. We have become a people content to curse the darkness with shouts. Too often we do this because we are not able to provide and answer that is persuasive and well-reasoned. Shouting is the last refuge of the person who cannot persuade. Our other failed tactic is running away from the debate. We have become people who look after our own interests imagining that we can live faithfully caring only about Christ’s work in our hearts. This piety fails to see that while Christ’s claims begin in our hearts they do not end there. Christ calls for faithfulness in our families; He calls for justice for the poor and oppressed; He calls us to take the gospel to the lost; He commands us to bring every thought captive and to pull down any strong hold erected against the knowledge of God. We cannot be faithful to Him and avoid the battle for the heart and mind of our culture. We must be able to stand faithfully and answer the arguments of unbelief in our culture calling people to the truth—calling people to Christ.
It is for this reason Veritas Academy exists. We train students to stand against the tide of unbelief in our culture. We teach them to be ready to answer. We prepare them to join in this glorious effort to restore truth, beauty and goodness in our culture. We do this by giving them a classical Christian education. This education prepares them by helping them to learn the basic facts of all subjects, but it does not stop there. It teaches them to think clearly and critically showing them how to expose the flaws in illogical and false thinking. Finally, it prepares them by teaching them to argue winsomely, respectfully, and courageously for truth in our culture.
