"I'm giving my kids the education I never received"
“I’m giving my kids the education I never received.” Is that a familiar statement? Most parents who give their children a classical education did not receive a classical education themselves. But it’s not too late! Old Western Culture is a Great Books video course intended for high school aged students, but is designed in such a way as to be conducive to adult continuing education as well! Even if you only have time to watch the lectures, you will get a sweeping overview of the Great Books that shaped Western Civilization. A classical education FOR your kids, WITH your kids, … Continue Reading “"I'm giving my kids the education I never received"”
Stories are a Bootcamp for Life | Wes Callihan (Old Western Culture)
In this excerpt from The Philosophers, unit 4 of The Greeks (Old Western Culture series on the Great Books of Western Civilization), Wes Callihan talks about how imaginative literature is like bootcamp for life. Children get to practice the emotions of life, such as pity, terror, pain, guilt, love, redemption, heroism, glory, honor, shame, etc. in stories. In literature we don’t have the demands for action on us the way we do in real life, giving us the opportunity to meditate on those emotions, and what is right and wrong, from a distance.
A Chronological Confession of Faith
ADVENT SEASON AND THE CHURCH YEAR Guest post by Wesley Callihan [dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Advent season marks the beginning of the church year. As my pastor once said, one of the most important things we can learn in our celebration of the seasons of the church year is the basic truth that calendars are not silent – they always tell a story. Calendars are not neutral. The question is, what story do they tell? Or to ask it another way, who is the Lord of time and does our answer show in the way we mark the passing of time? Philip Schaff, one … Continue Reading “A Chronological Confession of Faith”
Questions with Wesley Callihan: Why Should we Study Pagan Authors?
Questions with Wesley Callihan: Why Study Pagan Authors? Or as it has been said (by Tertullian), “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” We are Christians, after all. This is a frequent question asked of proponents of Classical Education. Should we not only study Christian authors? Wesley Callihans offers some insight into this good question. Make sure and follow us on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for our newsletter on the left collumn.
Refuting the Syncretistic View of the Great Books | Wes Callihan
What is the source of truth? Wes Callihan explains the error of some proponents of the great books, who seek to find truth in a syncretistic approach to the Great Books.
All Truth is God's Truth
“A person who is a good and true Christian should realize that truth belongs to his Lord, wherever it is found, gathering and acknowledging it even in pagan literature, but rejecting superstitious vanities and deploring and avoiding those who ‘though they knew God did not glorify him as God.” St. Augustine, On Christian Teaching, II.75
Will Durant | The Story of Civilization
Will Durant was born on this day, November 5th, 1885. He was a great historian, and wrote The Story of Civilization series. The way in which he labeled his histories tells a lot about the man: Our Oriental Heritage, The Life of Greece, Caesar and Christ, The Age of Faith, The Renaissance, and The Reformation. Just as Will Durant, our Old Western Culture series does not label the “Middle Ages” as “The Dark Ages,” but rather as “Christendom.” This was a period of great thought, architecture, and literature, and to call it the “Dark Ages” is more a statement about one’s … Continue Reading “Will Durant | The Story of Civilization”
Penelope – Weaver of Remembrance & Life
CiRCE Institute posted this great article, “The Odyssey – On Dangerous Women & Their Looms.” Here is an excerpt: “Penelope is no “black widow”, weaving the destruction of her husband. She is no Clytemnestra. Penelope is crafty and clever, perhaps more so than any other woman in the story, but she protects her husband and her household. Penelope’s loom was a tool of death, but only for the wicked suitors who ate up the wealth of Odysseus and sought to steal his wife. Her loom was an instrument of life for her long-awaited Odysseus, whose return marked triumph over war, … Continue Reading “Penelope – Weaver of Remembrance & Life”
The Anger of Achilles and Farewell of Hector and Andromache
Here are two pages from the “Guide to the Art” of our first unit of Old Western Culture, The Epics. The Iliad and The Odyssey inspired a wealth of art during the Renaissance, and the 117 classical paintings woven into The Epics barely scratch the surface.
Animated Introduction to the Grammar of Poetry
This fun animated introduction to Grammar of Poetry (the first video course we produced) is also an introduction to our philosophy of developing classical curriculum FOR the homeschool. Enjoy! The Grammar of Poetry, by Matt Whitling of Logos School, is a video course that teaches the mechanics of poetry by using the classical approach of imitation. Its goal is to teach your child to analyze not only poetry, but words and language in general. Just as an English course would teach a student the different parts of speech, so also the Grammar of Poetry teaches a student the building blocks … Continue Reading “Animated Introduction to the Grammar of Poetry”