Merry Christmas from The Classical Thistle! We pray that you will enjoy this season with your family and friends and remember that God has become flesh and that our Savior will come again. I wanted to share with you a Christmas poem that I performed for our church’s Christmas Eve services. The goal of the poem is to put the Christmas story in a whole … Continue reading The Promised King Has Come
Illumination and The Mechanical Arts (St. Bonaventure, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, Part 7) Sections 11-14 In section 11, Bonaventure moves on from sense knowledge to show how divine wisdom likewise illumines the mechanical arts. Bonaventure compares the mechanical arts to sense knowledge because both deal with the generation and incarnation of the Word, the pattern of human life, and the union … Continue reading Illumination and The Mechanical Arts (St. Bonaventure, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, Part 7)
How Do the Illuminations Lead to God? (St. Bonaventure, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, Part 6) Sections 8-10 After asserting that all six illuminations find their source in the Light, Bonaventure continues in the next sections to explain “howthe other illuminations of knowledge are to be traced back to the light of sacred Scripture” (47). In sections 8-10, Bonaventure looks at how sense … Continue reading How Do the Illuminations Lead to God? (St. Bonaventure, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, Part 6)
Knowledge, Creation, and the Sacred Light of Scripture (St. Bonaventure, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, Part 5) Sections 6-7 In sections six and seven, Bonaventure clarifies that although the “light coming down from above is fourfold,” there are nevertheless actually six differentiations of this light: sacred Scripture, sense perception, mechanical arts, rational philosophy, natural philosophy, and moral philosophy.[1]The significance of this revelation for … Continue reading Knowledge, Creation, and the Sacred Light of Scripture (St. Bonaventure, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, Part 5)
Adorning the Dark (A Review) By Kyle Rapinchuk I can’t recall the first time I heard the name Andrew Peterson. I’m pretty sure it was from my friends Rusty and Sara Osborne who were already huge fans of his music and fantasy books. It was some time later before I ever listened to one of his songs. I didn’t like it. (Sorry Andrew, if I … Continue reading A Review of Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson
The Superior Light of Scripture (St. Bonaventure, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, Part 4) One of the more helpful books I read last year on education was St. Bonaventure’s On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology. Over the course of the next couple months I hope to write a series of posts on this book. Each post will provide a brief … Continue reading The Superior Light of Scripture (St. Bonaventure, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, Part 4)
Philosophical Knowledge and the Trivium (St. Bonaventure, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, Part 3) One of the more helpful books I read last year on education was St. Bonaventure’s On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology. Over the course of the next couple months I hope to write a series of posts on this book. Each post will provide a brief … Continue reading Philosophical Knowledge and the Trivium (St. Bonaventure, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, Part 3)
The first lecture in this series was “Life Lessons from The Oresteia.” This book was impactful to me during my college years, so I was excited to revisit it and introduce it to our students. Below you will find links for the written transcript, the audio, and the video. Please keep your eye out for further videos in this series. “Life Lessons from … Continue reading Life Lessons from The Oresteia
This fall at School of the Ozarks we launched a “Life Lessons from the Great Books” Humanities Lecture Series for our 7-12 grade students. You can learn more about the series in this short, 8-minute video. Continue reading Life Lessons from the Great Books
The following is one of the sessions from our 2019 Conference co-hosted by School of the Ozarks and held at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, MO. Cultivating the Intellectual Life of Your Students (and Yourself) If classical Christian education desires to cultivate wisdom and virtue in its students, then it cannot ignore the importance of cultivating an intellectual life. In a … Continue reading Cultivating the Intellectual Life of Your Students (and Yourself)
Tears flowed freely as our seniors led chapel during their final high school chapel service. After a superb sermon from one of our seniors, our Dean stepped up to the microphone and reminded us all, “This group will never again assemble in this chapel.” The statement likely elicited more tears and emotions as we each realized the truth of those words. As I listened, I … Continue reading Graduation and the Soul of a School
Section 2 Bonaventure first expands upon the exterior light, among which he includes the seven mechanical arts enumerated by Hugh of St. Victor in his Didascalicon: weaving, armor-making, agriculture, hunting, navigation, medicine, and the dramatic art. Bonaventure suggests that all these arts are intended for either consolation or comfort. They are either useful of enjoyable, and their purpose is to banish need or sorrow. In … Continue reading Mechanical Arts and Sense Knowledge (St. Bonaventure, On the Reduction of the Arts to Theology, Part 2)
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