Our Philosophy
Education is the process of raising a child into a fully-formed adult. In order to assist parents in this task, every school must begin by answering the question, “what is a human being?” We begin from this foundation: humanity is made in the image and likeness of God, and our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That is what we educate students for. School is not an end in itself, but a tool for achieving this purpose.
How do we cultivate wisdom and virtue in our students? It begins with the cultivation of what the ancients called piety. Piety is the love and respect that human beings should have for God and for those in authority over them, especially their parents, teachers, and pastors. This is illustrated for us in the book of Proverbs. Solomon teaches us that the foundation of wisdom is piety. “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. Hear, my son, your father’s instruction and forsake not your mother’s teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” (Proverbs 1:7-9)
C.S. Lewis said that “the aim of education is make the pupil like and dislike what he ought.” We seek to do that by fixing our students’ eyes on the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. The Apostle Paul teaches this principle in his letter to the church at Philippi: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8) With piety as our foundation, our goal is train students, body and soul, to love the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. That is the goal of classical education.
The philosophy of classical, Christian education permeates everything our school does. Here are some of the distinctives of our educational approach:
- Our goal is to encourage the development of moral and intellectual virtue in our students, including the four cardinal virtues—Wisdom, Courage, Temperance, and Justice—and the three theological virtues—Faith, Hope, and Love.
- Our curriculum is built on the foundation of the history, ideas, literature, art, music, and culture of Western Civilization and the Christian tradition.
- Our pedagogy is traditional, rather than progressive. We do not practice “student-centered” or “project-based” learning. Instead, we use the time-tested tools of teaching and learning.
- Our teachers are to be mentors who model for their students how to follow Christ and love the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. Students become like their teachers.
- Our culture encourages the pursuit of virtue and excellence. Our students are trained to be polite, respectful, humble, and kind.
Doctrinal Beliefs
The Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit; the holy catholic* church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
*The word “catholic” in the creed means “universal,” meaning the church throughout the world. It does not refer to the Roman Catholic Church.
Statement of Faith
The Apostles’ Creed. We profess the historic Christian faith, as defined by the Apostles’ Creed and further expounded in the Nicene Creed and the Definition of Chalcedon.
Knowledge of God. We know God by two means: First, by His creation, preservation, and government of the universe. Second, by His holy and divine Word.
Authority of Scripture. We receive the sixty-six books of the Holy Scriptures, and them only, as holy and canonical, for the regulating, founding, and establishing of our faith. And we believe without a doubt all things contained in them. We believe that these Holy Scriptures contain the will of God completely and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently taught in them.
Justification by Faith. We believe that we cannot be justified before God by our own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through a true faith that embraces Jesus Christ, with all his merits, and makes him its own, and no longer looks for anything apart from him. And therefore we justly say with Paul that we are justified “by faith alone” or by faith “apart from works.”
Creation. We believe God miraculously and directly created all things. He brought all created things into existence out of nothing, designing them according to His good pleasure and wisdom. The origin of the universe, the origin of life, the origin of all kinds of living things, and the origin of humans cannot be explained adequately apart from reference to that intelligent exercise of divine power. We reject any form of evolution, including Theistic Evolution, as an adequate model to explain the origin of the creation.
Male and Female. We believe that God made every person male or female, and God calls each person to live in accordance with his or her nature. We reject the idea of “identifying” with a sex or gender other than one’s biological sex. We reject the idea that a person can change their sex, surgically or otherwise. We also believe the Bible is clear in its teaching that, while both men and women are made in the image of God and equal in nature, God created men to be the heads of their families and to hold office in the Church.
Marriage and Sexuality. We believe a marriage is the lifelong commitment and union of one biological man and one biological woman. Biblical marriage is the sole legitimate and acceptable context for sexual relations. Hence, sexual activities such as, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, incest, homosexuality, pedophilia, bestiality, and lascivious behavior, including the creation, distribution, or viewing of pornography, is sin.
Bioethical Issues. We believe the Bible is clear in its teaching on the sanctity of human life. Human life begins at conception. Therefore, we abhor the destruction of innocent human life through abortion, euthanasia, embryo research, cloning, and any other procedure that would harm or destroy innocent human life after conception.
Racial Ideologies. We believe in the common humanity of all people, regardless of ethnicity. We reject all ideologies that ascribe moral worth, excellence, or guilt to individuals on the basis of ethnicity, including critical race theory, Aryanism, and other forms of racial essentialism.
Government. We believe that our good God has ordained civil government to establish just laws, restrain human lawlessness, and enable the people of God to live a peaceful and quiet life, all of which it achieves only imperfectly. We reject all ideologies that deny the lawful authority of civil government or understand government solely or primarily in terms of exploitation and power.
