Classical Education

Invoked · #21 17th December 2006, 02:31 PM

Originally Posted by arunma

I always understood classical education to be an education in the languages of Greek, Hebrew, and Latin, as well as in mathematics. Whatever it is, I'm afraid I fail to see the pagan connection here. The early church fathers quoted from the Greek philosophers. Greek philosophy was of some theological importance in the Western church (I don't know to what extent the Greeks affected the Eastern church, though). Unless one is a fundamentalist, I don't see why the idea of classical education would seem offensive to Christians.

To the Christian, paganism is not OK. While I see nothing pagan about classical education, I nonetheless affirm that it is not acceptable to practice paganism, because God has declared this to be idolatry.

To the Christian, paganism is not OK.

Why would that be?
You practice paganism but just don't realize it.
To a Jew this is what you do, because according to their bible God declared it.

eccpfuvezw · #22 5th January 2007, 02:31 AM

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Gardenia · #23 5th January 2007, 05:11 AM

Originally Posted by seebs

To the best of my knowledge, there's no actual believers in the Greek gods left, unless you count polytheists who believe that anything anyone worships is "real". I don't see Greek mythology as much of a threat to Christian thought.

There are those today who do believe in and worship the Greek Gods specifically.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellenic_polytheism

TooCurious · #24 5th January 2007, 01:56 PM

The pagan Greeks invented democracy as well; does that mean that democracy is pagan, and that Christians shouldn't participate in it?

Knowledge of Greek and Latin can help a person better understand the English language, since significant portions or our vocabulary and grammar stem from these languages, despite the original Germanic origins of English.

Facts are not good or evil. They are simply factual. One can draw moral conclusions about the topics described by those facts, but only after the facts of the matter are known. For instance, I can make moral judgments about the assassination of Julius Caesar, but the mere knowledge of the fact that he was assassinated in 44 B.C.E. by members of the Senate is not, in itself, good or evil; it is simply true.

If a person's faith is so fragile that it cannot withstand intellectual inquiry and the reading of a book or two, it is probably not something deserving of much mourning.

bdaphiyym · #25 6th January 2007, 09:20 AM

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zdrymbruk · #26 7th January 2007, 08:25 AM

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