In my last post I talking about the Seven Liberal Arts and how they give aim and focus to a classical education. What some of you might have been thinking is, “But aren’t you a Christian school? What does Jesus have to do with the Seven Liberal Arts?”

That is a great question! And like so many other great questions, we are not the first to ask it. The great church father Tertullian in the 2nd century asked: “What does Jerusalem have to do with Athens?”

At Veritas, we believe what our Christian forefathers in the ancient church, the medieval church, and the American founding believed concerning Christ and the Seven Liberal Arts. Far from being opposed to each other, Christians have seen Christ as the animating purpose for life, education, and the very aim of mature humanity. They used God’s Word to focus young minds on growing up toward maturity. Now we know that human maturity looks like the love of Jesus Christ. Christ then is the focus of a Liberal Arts Education at Veritas Academy.

How is He the focus? First, we train students and give them three critical skills: know the facts, think critically, persuade winsomely. Why do we work to inculcate these skills? We do this so that they can be fully fitted to love others and serve Christ. Studying the Liberal Arts—including Math, Science, and Music—makes men and women more useful tools in Christ’s hands. They are prepared to stand faithful against lies and propaganda. They are given the skills to communicate with and thus lead others. These skills, however, in and of themselves are not good. They can be used, in fact, for terrible purposes. The power to lead and influence can be abused and too often is today. Christ, however, supplies the answer, the focus, to our efforts. We are to use our tools—the abilities that He gives us—for His kingdom and His glory. He calls us together to love God and to love others.

One should also recognize that studying the Liberal Arts makes us like Jesus as well. Christ knew the facts; He saw through and unmasked high handed oppression by thinking biblically and critically; He persuaded and spoke in incredibly winsome ways using metaphor and story to open and close the eyes and ears of those around Him. At Veritas, we aim to cultivate students with these same skills.

Next: How Christ plays out practically lives of students at Veritas.