T
The
ARTS and
Christian
education
By Sharene Duncombe
HE FACT THAT YOU’RE reading The
Renewanation Review magazine means
you probably know that the vision of this
organization is “to see culture transformed by
giving millions of children a Christian worldview
education.” You probably also know that Rene-
wanation’s primary method of accomplishing
that mission is to help children receive a
full-time Christian education. We passionately
desire to educate the minds and the hearts of
our young people so that they can change
culture. However, although Christian schools
tend greatly to exceed their secular alternatives
in academic matters, the Christian commu-
nity has failed to fully embrace a complete
understanding of what it means to educate the
heart. For the most part, we’ve perceived this to
simply entail moral education. Unfortunately,
we understand that simply knowing right from
wrong rarely succeeds in producing desirable
behavior. Real change comes from inspiration,
and inspiration is often found in the realm of
the arts. If Christians sincerely want to change
culture, doing so will require a much greater
appreciation and investment in the artistic
development of our children.
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