Video from Dr Scott Masson
What Happened to Christian Education and Does it Matter?
"Education is not only what we do to our children. It expresses our belief concerning the future. To whom does the future or history belong? Progressives have had a dominant voice in the field since the nineteenth century, when states took over the role formerly superintended by the church. Have the progressives succeeded or failed? The answer to that question depends on the standard of success we hold, and also whom we regard as sovereign. It is plain in our time that fundamental human definitions are being redefined across the board. This will of necessity be both the outcome of public education as well as its goal. The foundational documents of the public education system are Christian, and cite God and his glory as both the purpose and foundation for human flourishing. But that understanding and those aims have long been set aside. It is hard to resist the conclusion that today's education establishment conceives the future as as a blank slate on which the elites and their sinful desires can be painted. What began as religious questions are no longer framed in that language, and yet they remain religious questions answered by a different set of theological convictions. For Christians, the foundational impulse and rationale for education needs to be reconsidered. Nothing is more important for the church to grasp today than the centrality and importance of a Christ-centered education." from video introduction.
Academic Credentials
PhD, University of Durham, 2001 MA, University of Durham, England, 1995 BA (Hons), Huron College, UWO, 1990
Areas of Specialization
Classical education, hermeneutics, British and European Romanticism, literary theory, cultural apologetics, Christianity and literature, Bible as literature
Biography
Dr. Masson has written widely in his areas of research interest in British and European Romanticism, poetics, intellectual history, literary theory, cultural apologetics, education, and hermeneutics.
He is a member of the Upper Mohawk band, and promotes truth and reconciliation as vital aspects of his life calling.
He served for years in urban pastoral ministry in Toronto. He is a regular conference and campus speaker, as well as appearing on television and radio.
He was the founding Board Chairman of Westminster Classical Christian Academy in Toronto, and remains involved in advancing classical education in Canada.
He is a proud husband and father of two.
Take time to watch this excellent lecture! - Andy