I have become a home school teacher to my two boys.
Having written a whole lot of thoughts on theology, and thought quite a bit about things biblical, political, cultural, and civilizational, I have had some opportunity to develop some definite thoughts.
I am considering some variant of classical education, or at the very least, some elements of that concept.
While in seminary, I had the chance to read, “The Colonizer and the Colonized” by Albert Memmi, a book I highly recommend. And he discussed the importation of the culture of those who colonize a plot of land and its indigenous people.
As I was perusing some fora and message boards and pondering the design of my sons, I came across the following “gem” concerning the journeys of Columbus on a review of a book that is part of a reading list for classical education model:
When a town near me voted to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day that motivated me to educate myself about Columbus. I appreciated the historical background that George Grant supplies so that I could understand Columbus in the context of the times in which he lived in. It helped to be introduced to feudalism which is a foreign concept to many of us. Also understanding the impact of Islam’s Holy War gives us insight into Columbus’ goal to collect the funds necessary to reconquest the Holy Land. Columbus was a man of faith and while he might not have been the best manager he had great courage, perseverance, and commendable goals. Spreading Western civilization to distant shores was a great achievement.
Comment By User “Evan” from Review of “The Last Crusader: The Untold Story of Christopher Columbus”. Found at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1699258.The_Last_Crusader
Accessed November 22, 2018
Now, I mostly agree with this comment, but what gets me is the very last line. The spreading of one’s civiliation may be a great achievement, but whether it is a positive or negative one is debatable. As someone who has been trained for cross-cultural ministry, and as someone who has considered the question of how much of our experience as Western Christians, I am reticent to consider that EVERYTHING anyone did as fully great.
As someone who has become a Libertarian because of Ron Paul and the concept of how he viewed diplomacy with other nations, I find our policing the world mentality to be a few shades on the deplorable side. Our surveilling our citizenry with the PATRIOT Act and the TSA is a questionable legacy that, for better or worse, is somewhat of a byproduct of President Lincoln’s effort to preserve the Union. And while I am well that the Union was preserved, there are some after-effects that give me pause. One such after-effect has been the gradual encroachment and imposition of federal control on the several states’ rights (I am not talking about slavery as the right of a state, given the way “States’ Rights” is often interpreted).
To the extent that any person or nation uses its natural resources and manpower to convert a target culture into a reflection of its own, it runs the risk of damaging the natives.
Instead of colonizing and civilizing people groups, we must learn how to export the heart and meat of our faith, without violating the culture of our audience.
Exporting Judaism to those who do not understand kosher laws or the feasts of the Jews is just as noisome as forcing people to eat ham in order to prove they are saved. Neither the one nor the other shows evidence or definable fruit of the redeemed life. Letting the L-rd influence and transform them sovereignly is much preferred, because He can influence those nations gently without destroying or delegitimizing their dignity. Further, don’t we want them to bear their own fruit rather than bearing fruit that matches our own?
Our job as believers is not to export the window dressing and taste in deco, but rather to export the spirit and soul of Christ, discern where Yeshua is already at work within a culture, and partner with that momentum and grace to ensure HIS desires are fully expressed, way more than our own desires.
Seeing people converted to The One Man is one thing; seeing people converted to our way of thinking and civilizing is something entirely different. This is why latching onto Romans 1 and Romans 14:1-7 is so blasted critical; look for where G-d has already clearly revealed himself in the inner workings of a culture, and work with that, and in the process, do not violate their consciences.
This may take a little more work on our part from our perception, but it keeps us from violating them with our zeal and our haste.
Find where G-d is at work, and work there, gang.