Fortifying Against Doubt: the Three Paths Before Us

LER
LER
Fortifying Against Doubt: the Three Paths Before Us
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We have all faced doubts. 
Our children will all face doubts. 
We will yet face doubts. 

Doubt often comes unsolicited.

There will come a time in the life of faith for every child when they will have to decide for themselves, “Do I really believe this?”  Doubt is a part of the process of maturing.  It is not easy, but it is necessary.

What can we do?  Can we short circuit the process?  Do we need to buy a new curriculum?

Parents, Revealers of God to their Children –– It is probable that parents as a class feel more than ever before the responsibility of their prophetic office. It is as revealers of God to their children that parents touch their highest limitations; perhaps it is only as they succeed in this part of their work that they fulfil the Divine intention in giving them children to bring up––in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children, p 41


Preparation – But there is much to be done beforehand, though nothing when the time comes.

Charlotte Mason, Parents and Children, p 43

Charlotte Mason’s words of encouragement, however, are not for the faint of heart, and challenge many commonly-held views in modern Western Christianity.  Her’s is a refreshing voice in a time when so many are abandoning their faith when times of doubt come.  There is hope.  There is a better way.

This is a recording of the closing plenary talk given at the 2021 “Living Education Retreat” (LER)

 

These are not safe words, but they are so very good.

 

The key to moving through seasons of doubt.

 

Evidences, no matter how compelling, are not proofs.

 

The Essence of Christianity is Loyalty to Jesus Christ

The essence of Christianity is loyalty to Jesus Christ

 

The way of Jesus cannot be imposed or mapped.

Resources:

“Fortifying Against Doubt” Slides

“Fortifying Against Doubt” Reference List

The Knowledge of God: The Life-Giving Distinctive of a Mason Education

Unpublished Trail Guide
Unpublished Trail Guide
The Knowledge of God: The Life-Giving Distinctive of a Mason Education
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Just two paragraphs into the preface of Mason’s six volumes, the reader is invited to feast upon this simple living idea:

“…the knowledge of God is the principal knowledge, and the chief end of education.”

What did Charlotte Mason mean by this statement?  As Mason educators, do we read this statement with the careful consideration it deserves?   What does it look like to make educational decisions for our students with this “chief end” always in mind?   Does our own knowledge of God (and our ongoing pursuit of it) have a lasting effect on the lives of our children?  How does the knowledge of God differ from knowledge about God?  As a father, pastor, and educator, these are some of the questions I’ve been asking myself recently.  When I read Mason’s statement, I instinctively know there lies within it a call to something deeper than the 15-minute Bible lesson I share with my family at the beginning of each school day.

Together, let’s explore further what Mason is suggesting…

“…because every human soul has capacity for the knowledge of God; not for mathematics, perhaps, nor for science, nor for politics, but for that vast knowledge which floods the soul like a sea to swim in––the knowledge of God.”                                                   
                                                            Charlotte Mason, vol. 4, p 183

 

 

Resources:

“The Knowledge of God” Slides

“The Knowledge of God” Reference List