Summer Reading Program from Exodus Books
Oscar Wilde once said, “It is what you read when you don’t have to that determines what you will be when you can’t help it.” Summer is the time of year that students have the most leisure. Encourage them to spend that time reading good books! Exodus Books is hosting a 2014 Summer Reading Program, and is giving away a bunch of prizes. One of the prizes for the high school level is a complete year of the Old Western Culture curriculum! Here is a brief explanation of the reading list offered: The Outside of a Dog Book List offers 50+ titles for each … Continue Reading “Summer Reading Program from Exodus Books”
Exodus Books reviews Old Western Culture
Exodus Books, a bookstore in Portland, as well as a large online reseller of curriculum, now carries the Old Western Culture curriculum, and wrote a review. The review (written by Caleb Crossman), was not only well-written and comprehensive, but very entertaining to read! Caleb shows his knowledge (and love) of the classics as he uses classical allusions throughout. Our favorite excerpt is when Wes Callihan is called a “benevolent centaur,” an allusion to Chiron, the centaur in Greek mythology who helped in the education of Achilles: The mastermind behind Old Western Culture is Wesley Callihan, a veteran of Christian education. His presence hovers … Continue Reading “Exodus Books reviews Old Western Culture”
"Weren't the Greeks Pagans?"
Julian the ApostateIn the first clip below, Wes Callihan explains why Christians should study Greek pagan literature. In the second clip he gives an example of how the early Christians used the pagan epics. In fact, the pagan emperor Julian the Apostate forbade the Christians from teaching these epics because the Christians were using them to preach Christ! Matt Bianco, of Classical Conversations, wrote an article giving some great background to the story of Julian the Apostate, and the outlawing of the pagan epics, which you can read HERE.Find out more about Old Western Culture.“Weren’t the Greeks Pagan?” Julian the … Continue Reading “"Weren't the Greeks Pagans?"”
Proclaiming Claudius Emperor
Claudius, the 4th emperor of Rome, had to be dragged out from behind curtains where he was hiding in order to be proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard. A bookish man, preferring to write and study history, Claudius did not want to be emperor. After all, many of the previous emperors had been killed by rivals. It is said that Claudius, a partially crippled man from birth, accentuated his condition so as not to appear a rival to Caligula who had been killing other heirs. In the end, Claudius’ fears were not unfounded, for he was assassinated himself. Taken from … Continue Reading “Proclaiming Claudius Emperor”
A Tour of Wes Callihan’s Personal Library
Wes Callihan gives a tour of his personal library, located at his home in Potlatch, Idaho. This tour also doubles as a mini-lecture on a philosophy of the “Great Books.” Wes explains why his collection is slightly different than Mortimer Adler’s Great Books set (University of Chicago Press). Wes Callihan organizes his library chronologically by time period, in part so that he can brush his fingers through the “leafs of time.” Enjoy this tour! YouTube version HERE.
Old Western Culture at a Glance
What if you could bring a master-teacher into your home? Wes Callihan has inspired a generation of young students through his live online classes (Schola Classical Tutorials). Roman Roads Media now brings those years of experience to the screen with the Old Western Culture curriculum.
The Republic: A Real City?
Wes Callihan explains that Plato’s Republic is not about a real city, or a blueprint for a real city, but rather a picture of the human soul, and how the soul should work. Many people throughout history have mistakenly treated Plato’s Republic as a guide to the perfect physical city, which is a gross mistake, and not what Plato had in mind. This is an excerpt from The Philosophers, unit 4 of The Greeks in the Old Western Culture series, a great books video course for high school students. YouTube version HERE.
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.