knew to be true . When they saw how the two messages aligned , they could accept the Gospel as an accurate reflection of the relevant portions of the Old Testament .
This approach echoes the following instruction outlined by the author of Proverbs : “ One who gives an answer before he hears , it is foolishness and shame to him . The mind of the discerning acquires knowledge , and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge . The first to plead his case seems right , until another comes and examines him ” ( Prov . 18:13 , 15 , 17 NASB ).
DISCOVERING TRUE TRUTH
According to Luke , these Bereans were “ more noble ” because they took the time to examine and compare what Paul had taught them against an objective measure : the Old Testament Scriptures . That is a crucial skill that needs to be taught to every Christ-follower . The compulsion to compare a new “ disruptive ” thought to a source considered to be objective truth is a concept out of favor in the K-12 and higher education world in which our children are being taught . Simply teaching and equipping our students to engage a matter as the Bereans will make them outliers , radicals , and even revolutionaries in our current cultural context .
Yet that is exactly what we need to do if we want to help our students discover what Frances Schaeffer called “ True Truth ” rather than have them fall prey to the post-modern concept that truth is whatever I or ChatGPT decides it is . To get lost in a debate over whether the use of AI in writing an essay leads to plagiarism misses a more important point .
Consider , for example , how Oregon ’ s Department of Education suggests educators should approach the teaching of mathematics . Those teachers are told that “ the concept of mathematics being purely objective is unequivocally false . . . upholding the idea that there are always right and wrong answers perpetuates objectivity as well as fear of open conflict .” 3 Are you shaking your head yet ?
If Oregon ’ s Department of Education believes that “ mathematical knowledge has been appropriated by Western culture ” and “ math has been and continues to be used to oppress and marginalize people and communities of color ,” 4 then how likely are those same people to accept the possibility that objective truth of any kind exists in the world ?
THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE
Sadly , the problem is not limited to the domain of secular education . Calls by some leaders in the evangelical world to “ decouple ” from the Old Testament and by others who would try and set Jesus against Paul diminish the authority of Scripture and should be a warning of how far we have drifted from historic Christianity . In such a world , without any objective means of guidance , we and our students , lose the ability to find our way forward .
It is into this kind of world that we are sending our students . We who are entrusted with the responsibility to properly equip them for their role as ambassadors of Christ must ask and answer this question : How well are we preparing our students to thrive in an increasingly hostile world that has abandoned the very idea of truth ? This is our calling . Given what ’ s at stake , failure to do our job well is not an option . ■
Dr . Alan Pue serves as president of The Barnabas Group , Inc ., drawing on over fifty years of experience working in and with faith-based schools to assist schools in strategic / scenario planning , mission clarification / delivery , and governance . He is the author of three books , Rethinking Sustainability : A Strategic Finance Guide for Christian Schools , Rethinking Strategic Planning for Christian Schools , and Rethinking Discipleship : Why Christian Schooling Matters , along with numerous articles and book reviews . Alan lives with his wife , Linda , in beautiful Castle Pines , Colorado .
ENDNOTES 1 . Peggy Noonan , “ Artificial Intelligence in the Garden of Eden ,” The Wall Street Journal , April 20 , 2023 , https :// wsj . com / articles / artificial-intelligence-in-the-garden-of-edenadam-eve-gates-zuckerberg-technology-god-internet-40a4477a . 2 . Ibid . 3 . John Stonestreet and Shane Morris , “ Is Math Racist ?” Breakpoint , June 29 , 2023 , https :// breakpoint . org / is-math-racist . 4 . Ibid .
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