Our current U.S. Vice President has a phrase that she likes to insert into many of her speeches. You may have heard it. “Imagine what can be, unburdened by what has been.” This phrase is an interesting one to me because it expresses the attitude of our culture. It praises a kind of self-serving imagination that is untethered to the past. Russell Kirk, the political theorist, talked about the difference between this kind of imagination, and moral imagination. His distinction was that this autonomous imagination envisions what can be, and moral imagination envisions what should be. His definition of moral imagination was: “The moral imagination is an enduring source of inspiration that elevates us to first principles as it guides us upwards towards virtue and wisdom and redemption.”
When a society begins to “unburden themselves by what has been” and instead says, “Come, imagine, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves,” that society is playing with fire. We as Christians ought to respond to this attitude by saying that we imagine what should be which is, God’s kingdom come, His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. And we also look for this by faith which is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients (that cloud of witnesses who came before us) were commended for.
The third educational instrument we make use of at VCCA is that of presenting living ideas and cultivating the moral imagination of our students. We do this by reading great books, and examining the ideas of those who came before us through the lens of a Christian worldview. Every generation is born into a world that is more technologically advanced than the one that came before. More information has been accumulated through the ages about our natural world. And though today we may have more information and technology than previous generations, we do not have more wisdom. Scripture says that the knowledge of God is the beginning of wisdom. We live in a world where our scientists and tech gurus in their desire to advance human capacity, continually ask the question “What can we do?” and not “What should we do?” Obtaining information without wisdom results in disaster.
That is why to gain wisdom and understanding, we must study every subject through the lens of scripture. There are no neutral subjects. We cannot understand history without understanding God’s providence. We cannot understand science without presupposing God’s faithfulness. We cannot understand mathematics without assuming a rational universe. We cannot find meaning and symbolism in literature without engaging the soul. We cannot strive to grow in virtue without God’s law.
God in his wisdom and mercy has preserved scripture for us as His revealed Word. He has also in his providence preserved the wisdom and ideas of great men and women of history, written in the great books throughout the centuries. Reading these books helps us recognize that wisdom is timeless and can be demonstrated regardless of what century or which culture you live in. And although cultures have changed, scientific knowledge has increased, and technology has developed, human nature has not changed.
At Veritas Christi, we use these three instruments of education: atmosphere, discipline, and living ideas, to train our students to become discerning thinkers, eloquent communications and virtuous ambassadors of Christ, who love the true good and beautiful and live joyful lives of true worship of God.