As a boy I lived for a period in Florida, the capital of retirement homes. As a result, for various reasons, we visited a few of these homes. They were nice. Like little vacation villages. Yet they were also tragic. This is where the most essential members of our society spent their most important years.
We were living in Florida because my grandfather was dying of cancer, and we lived with him during his last days. He never lived in a retirement home, and died Christmas morning in his own bed, surrounded by family. What a gift to him, but what a greater gift to us.
In book II of Vergil’s Aeneid, we encounter one of the most moving scenes in the epic story. Aeneas carries his father Anchises from the burning ramparts of Troy, while holding his son’s hand. In one image famously depicted by artists throughout the centuries, we see Aeneas preserving both the past and the future; his father, and his son. It’s easy to understand the need for the future, but even his father argued with Aeneas, telling him to “Make haste to save the poor remaining crew / And give this useless corpse a long adieu.” (Aeneid Book II.870). His father feared he would be a burden, and unneeded. But Aeneas needed Anchises. He didn’t need his strength, or even longevity. In fact, Anchises would die on the voyage. He needed his father for his wisdom, but more importantly, he needed what every father represents to his son: identity. To abandon his father, while alive, even if it made logical sense, would have symbolized an abandonment and death of his identity.
Even after his death, we are reminded what his father represents when Aeneas goes into the underworld in book 6, and speaks to his father. There Anchises reminds Aeneas who he is, and what he is destined for. This is what fathers are for.
Earthly fathers give their children a name, a household, and a lineage.
Our Heavenly Father also gives us His name in baptism, a household, and a lineage.
Our spiritual fathers have gifts to give us as well.
The theologian Hughes Oliphant Old explored the concept of fathers in the faith this way:
“It is an old custom to call John Chrysostom ‘our father among the saints.’ John Chrysostom, however, was celibate. Not one of us can claim him as our ancestor. What makes him then our father? Augustine had one son, who died at the age of twelve…How is it that we call such men Fathers?
The answer is this: Chrysostom, Augustine, and Jerome have again and again engendered spiritual children, in one generation after another, in one culture after another…The Fathers were the seminal thinkers of Christian theology. If it were not for this ability of theirs to speak to the most devout and fertile of minds of every age and nation, they would have been forgotten long ago.” (Hughes Oliphant Old, Worship Reformed According to Scripture, 168.)
We need our fathers. Our earthly fathers by blood, our spiritual by faith, and our cultural fathers by inheritance. We need to carry them on our backs if our city is sacked. They are not dead weight, they are the treasure to retrieve from the flames.
This Father’s Day, honor your earthly father, honor your Heavenly Father, and honor your spiritual and cultural fathers. This exhortation is embedding in our motto, “Inherit the humanities.” “To inherit” assumes the heritage is already yours and that it is a blessing to receive.
Happy Fathers Day!
Daniel Foucachon, for all of us at Roman Roads Press
This multi-part series reflects on some of the ideas, insights into the time period, and beliefs about education and the world found in the letters John Adams.
The Education of John Quincy Adams
In this letter (full letter below), John Adams is writing to his son about his education, its importance, and the subjects that should be the focus of his attention, which were “Your exercises in Latin and Greek” which “must not be omitted a single day…”. He also encourages him to plod steadily, staying that “a regular distribution of your time is of great importance.”
The Precious Advantage of a Tutor
Adams was very personally invested in his son’s education and upbringing, and in this letter and others references his library, pointing his son to particular books or resources. But this letter makes a special reference to a tutor, who was a special ally in the home education of his son.
“The Advantage you have in Mr. Dumas’s Attention to you is a very prescious one. He is himself a Walking Library, and so great a Master of Languages ancient and modern is very rarely Seen. The Art of asking Questions is the most essential to one who wants to learn. Never be too wise to ask a Question.”
A trusted, learned tutor is a precious asset to parents and their children in home education.
Modern Christian Homeschooling and Tutors
Modern Christian parents often lean in one of two directions. One direction is to recognize the need for help in specialized subjects, and the parents therefore send their children to a traditional or online school where they have little or no say over who teaches their children, what curriculum is used, or even the pedagogy or approach (apart from choosing the institution as a whole). The other direction is for parents to not take advantage of outside instructors at all, relying solely on their own expertise. This can have mixed results based on the parents, their education, and the learning style of the children. Especially with the aid of good curriculum, this can work well for most subjects and ages. But even John Adams, thoroughly educated and trained in the classics, and heavily involved in his children’s education alongside his wife Abigail (many of his letters reference their homeschooling) called the relationship his son had with his tutor a precious advantage.
Kepler Education and Choosing Teachers over Institutions
The mission of Kepler Education is to democratize a personalized tutor-style relationship between teachers and families. Kepler is the only classical Christian platform where parents can choose teachers who are free to teach the curriculum and style they desire, thus allowing parents to directly choose the style that best fits their own family. In other words, at Kepler you don’t choose the institution. Rather, the institution (Kepler) exists to facilitate relationships between teachers and families. Choose a class (small classes capped at 12), or commission a class. But always with a “choose your teacher” first approach.
Kepler allows parents to give their children the precious advantage of a “Mr. Dumas.”
John Adams: To his Son on his Education (Full Letter)
Paris May 14. 1783
My dear Child
Mr. Hardouin has just now called upon me, and delivered me your Letter of the 6 Instant.
I find that, although, your hand Writing is distinct and legible, yet it has not engaged So much of your Attention as to be remarkably neat.1 I Should advise you to be very carefull of it: never to write in a hurry, and never to let a Slovenly Word or Letter go from you. If one begins at your Age, it is easier to learn to write well than ill, both in Characters and Style. There are not two prettier accomplishments than a handsome hand and Style, and these are only to be acquired in youth. I have Suffered much, through my whole Life, from a Negligence of these Things in my young days, and I wish you to know it. Your hand and Style, are clear enough to Shew that you may easily make them manly and beautifull, and when a habit is got, all is easy.
I See your Travells have been expensive, as I expected they would be: but I hope your Improvements have been worth the Money. Have you kept a regular Journal?2 If you have not, you will be likely to forget most of the Observations you have made. If you have omitted this Usefull Exercise, let me advise you to recommence it, immediately. Let it be your Amusement, to minute every day, whatever you may have seen or heard worth Notice. One contracts a Fondness of Writing by Use. We learn to write readily, and what is of more importance We think, and improve our Judgments, by committing our Thoughts to Paper.
Your Exercises in Latin and Greek must not be omitted a Single day, and you should turn your Mind, a little to Mathematicks. There is among my Books a Fennings Algebra. Begin it immediately and go through it, by a Small Portion every day. You will find it as entertaining as an Arabean Tale. The Vulgar Fractions with which it begins, is the best extant, and you should make yourself quite familiar with it.
A regular Distribution of your Time, is of great Importance. You must measure out your Hours, for Study, Meals, Amusements, Exercise and Sleep, and suffer nothing to divert you, at least from those devoted to study.
But above all Things, my son, take Care of your Behaviour and preserve the Character you have acquired, for Prudence and Solidity. Remember your tender Years and treat all the World with Modesty, Decency and Respect.
The Advantage you have in Mr. Dumas’s Attention to you is a very prescious one. He is himself a Walking Library, and so great a Master of Languages ancient and modern is very rarely Seen. The Art of asking Questions is the most essential to one who wants to learn. Never be too wise to ask a Question.
Be as frugal as possible, in your Expences. Write to your Mamma Sister and Brothers, as often as you have opportunity. It will be a Grief to me to loose a Spring Passage home, but although I have my fears I dont yet despair.
Every Body gives me a very flattering Character of your Sister, and I am well pleased with what I hear of you: The principal Satisfaction I can expect in Life, in future will be in your good Behaviour and that of my other Children. My Hopes from all of you are very agreable. God grant, I may not be dissappointed.
Kepler is a consortium of independent teachers unified by a shared vision and innovative Chegg answers free online platform to bring classical Christian education with to junior high and high school students.
What does this mean for you and your kids? A wide choice of instructors and teaching styles (curricula and methods), and fascinating courses options!
With course offerings ranging from Algebra 2 to Monsters as Metaphors, Kepler classes are taught by passionate instructors who have the freedom to teach to their strengths and the subjects they most love.
Does Kepler Replace Roman Roads Classroom?
Roman Roads Classroom and its teachers are now part of Kepler, and you will find many of the same courses and teachers on the new platform, along with dozens of additional instructors and over one hundred course offerings, with new instructors and classes being added every week!
Do you offer full grades?
Yes! You can choose one or two courses à la carte, or a build a Diploma Track, but in both instances, you are choosing the courses and teachers, along with learning styles, curriculum, and schedule to match the specific needs of your family. All this unified on a new platform built for the purpose of streamlining the process from registration to transcript.
Our motto at Kepler is “Empowering families by liberating teachers.” By creating an environment and platform where teachers can craft and offer their own courses, we bring all that choice directly to families.
We are excited about registration, and to celebrate our launch we are giving a $50 Amazon gift card and a Kepler T-shirt to every one of the first 50 families that register for one or more classes, and shares about it!
Kepler Education is a consortium of independent teachers, united by a vision for classical Christian education and on a single platform.
Learn how this unique approach to online classes offers a tailored education to your family as you go through jr. high and high school with your children.
See our current (and growing) number of class offerings and teachers at https://kepler.education
I’ve now recorded several years of Christ Church caroling, and this year’s was particularly amazing! Not only did we have an incredible crowd, but there was also a series of booths set up with hot food and drink, ranging from German sausage to French crêpes, cider and hot chocolate, cookies, hot pretzels, and more.
Huguenot Heritage and Roman Roads sponsored one booth, and my father made Nutella Crêpes. We estimate we served around 450!
Below is the highlight video. I didn’t get any photos of the booths because I was too busy making crêpes! If you have some good photos, can you send them to me to include below?
Anderson Family Construction built our home on acreage near Moscow, Idaho in 2018, and we are absolutely thrilled! We have a growing family, and really wanted a place that would incorporate a lot of very busy life. They modified the design to fit our family, incorporating some special features that were specific to us, including a foundation stone that has sentimental value to us, a butcher-block counter that used to be part of our family restaurant, and gorgeous built-in floor-to-ceiling bookcases in the large study, as I often work from home and own several thousand books.
I was warned several times by friends who had built their homes that “building your own home is very stressful.” The building process was the one element of this whole move that really wasn’t stressful to us, and I think that is because of a very key ingredient that is somewhat rare in the homebuilding and construction industry: trust. It’s not that there were zero bumps (though there were very few), but we had full confidence that AFC was made up of owners and employees of integrity. We had much of this confidence going in because we knew several of the crew, and they did not disappoint. The builders (from the earth movers, to the framers, to the drywallers, to the woodworkers) had obvious pride in a job well done. We weren’t dealing with time-punchers, but a guild of craftsmen who delighted in solving problems and making beautiful results.
AFC kept to the budget, did most of the build in 4 months, and most of all gave us a very high-quality, high-efficiency, cozy, elegant home.
We like to say it is a “new home with an old soul,” combining 21st-century latest in building technology with a classic, “farmhouse” design we love so much. The foundation was poured using the innovative FoxBlocks, and the siding is LP Smartside. Combined with the high efficiency 33 SEER Mitsubishi HVAC for our heating and cooling, we have an energy efficient home with very reasonable utility bills as a result (tracked with Sense and SensorPush).
I highly recommend AFC for any construction or remodel work, but particularly recommend their semi-custom, affordable yet gorgeous, high-quality home building.
I would happily give more details about our home and build process to anyone interested in using AFC – contact me through foucachon.com. #AFCBuilt
I have thoroughly enjoyed our snowfall these last few weeks! Thanks to the drone, in spite of battling a bad chest cold this last week I was able to enjoy the outdoors, flying from inside the house, and getting photos from all around the property. I’ve been posting regularly on the Foucachon Farmhouse FB Page and my Instagram. Enjoy some of the highlight videos below! Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here.
This wide-screen 4k video is worth watching in full screen!
Tom Garfield of Heritage Arts Academy painted this watercolor based on the image of the view on Moscow Mountain from our kitchen sink. Beautiful work, Tom!
The kids wanted to show me their little island along Paradise Creek, so I followed them out! We ran into Gammy and Grandaddy, who also got the tour, and we ended with an impromptu French lesson practice session 🙂
I have been unusually busy over the last few months, and have therefore had less time to look into each candidate. But many of these names are not new, and I’ve recently had some confirmations on those I knew less about. My friend Gresham Bouma, who ran for Idaho Senate (District 5) a number of years ago, put together his list of endorsements which lined up exactly with mine. I have not had time to create notes for each candidate, so with his permission, I am including his notes below.
Here is how I’m voting this May 15th. Notes by Gresham Bouma.
This confession of faith, from 1655, is found in Jean Léger’s, Histoire Générale des Vaudois (1669). Here is my rough translation, taken from the old French.
We Believe:
I. That there is only one God, who is a spiritual essence, eternal, infinite, all wise, all merciful, and all just; in one word, perfect. And that there are three Persons in that one and simple essence: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
II. That this God manifested himself to man by his works, such as Creation, such as Providence, and by his Word, revealed in the beginning by diverse strong Oracles, and then composed by writing in Books which we call the Holy Scripture.
III. That just as we must receive the Holy Scriptures as Divine and Canonical, for the rule of our life and Faith, [so also we receive] that it is filled with Books from the Old and New Testament. From the Old Testament only those Books which God committed to the Judean Church, and those that have always been recognized as Divine: to receive: the five Books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles or Paralipomenon, 1 of Esdras,[1. “Protestant writers, after the Geneva Bible, call I and II Esdras of the Vulgate respectively Ezra and Nehemiah, and III and IV Esdras of the Vulgate respectively I and II Esdras.” Source: Catholic Encyclopedia.] Nehemiah, Esther, Job, the Psalms, the Proverbs of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, the four major prophets and the twelve minor. And in the New [Testament]: the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of Paul, one to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, one to the Galatians, one to the Ephesians, one to the Philippians, one to the Colossians, the epistle of Hebrews, one of St. James, two of St. Peter, three of St. John, one of St. Jude, and the Apocalypse [Revelation].
IV. That we recognize the Divinity of the Sacred Books, not only by the testimony of the Church, but primarily by the eternal and indubitable truth of the Doctrine which are therein contained, [by the] excellence, sublimity, and majesty of everything Divine which are therein, and by the operation of the Holy Spirit, who makes us receive with respect the testimony which the Church gives us, who open our eyes to discover the rays of celestial light which burst in Scripture, and who rectifies our taste in order to discern this meat by the Divine savor that it is.
V. That God made all things from nothing, by his entirely free will, and by the infinite power of his Word.
VI. That he leads and governs all by his Providence, ordaining and addressing all that comes about in the world, that without being neither the author nor the cause of evil done by the creatures, or that culpability be able, or ought in any way to be imputed [to him.]
VII. That the Angels having been created holy and pure, some fell in a corruption and irreparable perdition, but that the others persevered by an effect of Divine goodness, which supported and confirmed them.
VIII. That man, who was created pure and holy, in the Image of God, deprived himself by his own fault of this happy state, giving his sentiments to the captivating discourse of the Devil.
IX. That man lost, by his transgression, the justice and holiness that he had received, incurring, with the indignation of God, death and captivity, under the power of him who has the empire of death, that is to say the Devil, to the point that his free will[2. Franc arbitre] became serf and slave of sin, so much that by nature all men, Jews and Gentiles, are the Children of Ire, all dead in faults and sins, and consequently incapable of having any good movement towards salvation, no even [able] to form any good thought without grace; all their imagination and thought are but evil at all times.
X. That all the posterity of Adam is guilty, in him, of his disobedience, infected by his corruption, and fallen in the same calamity, all the way to little Children, starting from the womb of their Mother, from where comes the name of Original Sin.
XI. That God withdraws from this corruption and damnation those persons whom he elected by his grace, in his Son Jesus Christ, leaving the others [in their corruption & damnation] by an irreproachable right of his liberty and justice.
XII. That Jesus Christ, having been ordained by God in his eternal decree to be the only Savior and the only Head of his Body, that is the Church, bought by his own Blood, in the accomplishment of time, and offers and communicates to us all his benefits by the Gospel.
XIII. That there are two natures in Jesus Christ, the Divine and the human, truly in one person, without confusion, without division, without separation, without change; each nature keeping its own distinct natures, and that Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man all together.
XIV. That God so loved the world that he gave his Son to save us by his very perfect obedience, namely by that [obedience] which he showed by suffering the damned death of the Cross, and by the victories that he won over the Devil: sin and death.
XV. That Jesus Christ having accomplished the entire expiation of our sins by his very perfect sacrifice, once offered on the Cross, it [that expiation] cannot, nor should be reiterated under any pretext whatever.
XVI. That the Lord Jesus having fully reconciled us to God by the Blood of the Cross, it is by his merit only, and not by our works, that we are absolved and justified before him.
XVII. That we have union with Jesus Christ, and communion to his benefits by Faith.
XVIII. That this Faith comes from the gracious and effective operation of the Holy Spirit, who enlightens our souls, and brings them [our souls] to press upon the grace of God, in order to apply the merit of Jesus Christ.
XIX. That Jesus Christ is our true and only Mediator: not only of Redemption, but also of Intercession, and that by his merits and mediation we have access to the Father, in order that we might invoke with the holy confidence of being answered, without needing to have recourse to any other intercessor than him [Christ.]
XX. That since God promised regeneration in Jesus Christ, those who are united to him by a lively Faith, ought to give themselves, and give themselves indeed, to good works.
XXI. That good works are so necessary to the faithful, that they cannot reach the Kingdom of Heaven without doing them, being true that God prepared them in order that we might progress in them, that therefore we ought to flee vices and give ourselves to the Christian virtues, employing fasts and all other means which can serve us to a thing so holy.
XXII. That just as our works cannot merit [Eternal Life], our Lord will not let go [forget] to recompense them with Eternal Life, by a gracious continuation of his grace, and in virtue of the immutable constancy of the promises that he made in our regard.
XXIII. That those who posses Eternal Life following their Faith and their good works, ought to be considered Holy and glorified, praised for their virtues, imitated in all the beautiful actions of their life, but not adored, nor invoked, since we ought to pray to only one God through Jesus Christ.
XXIV. That God gathered one Church in the world for the salvation of men, that it has one Head and foundation, which is Jesus Christ.
XXV. That the Church is the company of the faithful, who having been elect of God, before the foundation of the world, and called by a holy vocation, unite to follow the Word of God, believing what he taught us, and living in his fear.
XXVI. That this Church cannot fail, or be destroyed, but that it must be perpetual.
XXVII. That all must put away [“ranger” – not sure about translation.] and stand firm in their communion.
XXVIII. That God teaches us not only by his Word, but he also instituted the Sacraments in order to join them to his Word, as means to join us to Jesus Christ, and to communicate his benefits, and that there are but two common to all the members of the church under the New Testament, that is Baptism and the Holy Supper.
XXIX. That he instituted that of Baptism as a testimony of our adoption, and that we are all washed of our sins by the Blood of Jesus Christ, and renewed in holiness of life.
XXX. That he instituted that of the Holy Supper or Eucharist, for the food of our soul, in order that by a true and lively Faith, by the incomprehensible virtue of the Holy Spirit, we actually eat his Body, and drink his Blood, and we unite very closely and inseparably to Christ, in him, and by him, we have spiritual and eternal life. In order that all the world clearly sees our belief on this point, we add here the same terms which are embedded in our Prayer before Communion, in our liturgy, or manner of celebrating the Holy Eucharist, and in our public catechism, which are pieces that can be seen at the end of our Psalms: Here are the terms of our Prayer: Just as our Lord not only at one time offered his Body and his Blood for the remission of our sins, but also wants to communicate [these elements] for food into eternal life, give us this grace that from true sincerity of heart and of an ardent zeal we receive of him a benefit so great, that in a certain Faith we enjoy of his Body and of his Blood, or even of him entirely. The terms of our Liturgy are: First of all then, we believe in his promises that Jesus Christ who is truth itself pronounced of his mouth; know then, that he wants us to truly participate in his Body and his Blood, in order that we posses him entirely in such a way that he lives in us, and us in him. Those of our public Catechism are the same in Section 53.
XXXI. That it is necessary that the church have Pastors, judged to be well instructed, and of a good life, by those who have the right, as much to preach the Word of God, as well as administer the Sacraments, and to watch on the flock of Jesus Christ, following the ruled of a good and holy Discipline, together with the Elders and Deacons, according to the practice of the ancient Church.
XXXII. That God established Kings and Magistrates, for the conduct of the people and that the people must be subjected and obedient in virtue of this order, not only because of wrath, but because of conscience, in all things which are in conformity with the Word of God, who is the King of Kings, and Lord of lords.
XXXIII. Finally, that Apostles Creed ought to be received, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Decalogue, as well as the fundamental documents of our beliefs and our devotions.
And for a more ample declaration of our beliefs, we repeat here the protestation that we had printed in the year 1603. Know that we consent to the healthy Doctrine, with all the Reformed Churches of France, England, the Netherlands, Germany, of Switzerland, Bohemia, Poland, Hungary, and others, as well as is expressed en their Confession of Augsburg, according to the declaration that we gave to the Author. And promising to persevere with God’s help, inviolably in life and in death, being ready to sign this eternal truth of God with our own blood, as our predecessors have done since the times of the Apostles, particularly in these last centuries. And yet we very humbly pray all the Evangelical and Protestant Churches to consider us, with regards to our poverty and littleness, as true member of the mystical body of Jesus Christ, suffering for his Holy Name, and to continue to assist us in your prayer towards God, and all other good offices of your charity, as we have already abundantly experienced, for which we thank you in all humility which is possible to us, and beg from all our heart the Lord, that he be himself the remunerator, pouring on them [the churches] the most precious benedictions of his grace and his glory, in this life and in that which is to come.
Amen.
“The hammers may hit, but the anvil remains.” The woodblock from the frontispiece of the book depicts the “Tri-fold tyrant” as John Milton called them in his Sonnet on the Waldensians: The priest, the Inquisitor, and the Monk. The hammers of persecution may hit, but the anvil of the Waldensian evangelical faith remains.
Christ Church carolers fill Friendship Square for hour of singing, fellowship
By Taylor Nadauld, Daily News Staff Writer
Framed by the branches of a Christmas tree Saturday, carolers sing at Friendship Square in Moscow. Kai Eiselein/Daily News
Members of Christ Church gathered in an hour of song for the church’s annual Christmas caroling event Saturday afternoon at Friendship Square in Moscow.
Volunteer Curtis Spencer carried a stack of carol booklets in his arms, passing them out to people in the crowd as they sang “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” one of several Christmas-themed hymns in an hour-long lineup of caroling.
“There’s a few scripture readings, passages of the Christmas story from the Bible, and then we’ll end with fellowshiping, drinking cocoa and eating cookies,” Spencer said.
A member came to the front of the crowd in between songs, reading scripture to the audience from a megaphone near a frosted evergreen in the square.
Above the many voices, friends and New Saint Andrews College classmates James Goode and Caleb Harris could be heard belting harmonies during each hymn.
“We were trying,” Harris said with a laugh. “We’re like that in church, too,” to which Goode added, “If you’re going to sing, you might as well sing loud.”
For Harris and Goode, the annual caroling event is not just about singing, but about teachings of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe to be the son of God and whose birth is celebrated on Christmas.
“We are here to spread the news to the world that Jesus is king, that he has died on the cross for our sins, and we can’t keep that in — we’re happy about it,” Harris said.
At the front of the crowd, Daniel Foucachon photographed the carolers with his cellphone. A frequent attendee and unofficial photographer of the event, Foucachon said the church sings in the square about four times per year, but its Christmas caroling event is special, as it includes hymns many passersby will recognize.
“Christmas is a time where just about everyone is happy to talk about something that Christians are celebrating every week, all year round,” Foucachon said.
The carolers wrapped up with “Joy to the World! The Lord is Come,” before ending in prayer and warming up from the surrounding snow with some hot chocolate.
Taylor Nadauld can be reached at (208) 883-4630, by email to tnadauld at dnews.com and on Twitter @tnadauldarg.
We have an election coming up in Moscow! This November 7th, we will be deciding who will be meeting every Monday at the City Council meetings and deciding about policies, permits, laws, levies, taxes, and infrastructure that affect us daily in Moscow. This is an important election!
I moved to Moscow in 2005, which is long enough to have observed the direct effect anti-business, “progressive” politicians can have on a small city. I wasn’t the only one noticing. In 2013 the Greater Moscow Alliance released an economic report showing the harm of the anti-growth politicians running our city. Thankfully, we got a new mayor that election year (our current mayor Bill Lambert) and the GMA just released a new study and is happy to announce that “Moscow’s economy [is] “thriving,” pro-business climate pay[ing] dividends“. Your vote made a difference!
I fully concur with the GMA endorsement of all incumbents. Please get out and vote! Let’s keep Moscow thriving and economically healthy. I offer this simple voting guide in case it’s helpful.
Where to vote? Latah County Fairgrounds, from 8 am to 8 pm, on November 7th.
Read the full 2017 Report from the GMA or the Executive Summary on their website.
Voting guide image not showing up? Here is a text version:
I endorse:
For Mayor:
Bill Lambert
For City Council, four-year term:
Walter Steed
Gina Taruscio
Art Bettge
For City Council, two-year Term:
John Weber
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]s Christians recover classical Christian education, they are unearthing old treasures, once the possession of every educated man. Some of these treasures are words and descriptions–terms like “Trivium” and “Quadrivium,” “paideia,” and “liberal arts.” Of all these terms, “liberal arts” lays at the heart of what classical education is all about. So what did our forefathers mean by “liberal arts”?
“Liberal”
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he word liberal has nothing to do with our modern use of the word in politics and culture. Liberal means “free,” and historically described the kind of education expected of a freeman–especially one in a position of leadership, like nobility. Our culture has so alienated itself from a historic education that it’s very difficult for us to think of education without thinking of jobs and vocational training.
Dr. Roy Atwood, founding President of New Saint Andrews College, was once asked by a student, “Who are you”? His automatic response was to give his profession: “Uh…I’m a professor.” But the student responded, “No, I don’t mean what you do, but who are you?”[1. Dr. Roy Atwood, Educating Royalty, Reformed Perspective: A Magazine for the Christian Family, Vol. 33, No. 6, April 2014.] We are programmed to answer that question with what we do, with our job title. And we likewise think of education in terms of answering the question, “Will this education prepare me for a job?”. The modern definition of education has the effect of not only defining the education process in terms of pragmatic usefulness, but also defining human beings themselves in terms of usefulness. Like in the world of Thomas the Train which our children didactically watch, our identity is wound up with our usefulness. “Who are you?” asks the modernist? “I do this job” we reply catechetically.
Christians of previous generations viewed education, and themselves, differently. The opening lines of the Westminster Shorter Catechism would have been familiar to nearly every child in early America: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” That is who we are: worshiping beings, who delight in God. Or to use Dr. Atwood’s conclusion to the question “who are you?”, we are royalty, heirs of Christ. And we should educate our children in that light.
Some may object that this identity is a fine thing, but has nothing to do with education. “How does it help you get a job? How is it useful?” In 1646, the founders of Harvard College defined education in their “Rules and Precepts” in this way:
“Let every Student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the maine end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life (John 17:3) and therefore to lay Christ in the bottome, as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and Learning.”
Christ is both the source and the goal of education.
“Who are you?” We are liberal (free) Christians, pursuing wisdom and virtue through the interwoven arts of theology (study of the knowledge of God) and humanities (study of ourselves and of mankind). “Knowledge of God and knowledge of self” is how John Calvin sets the stage for his Institutes of the Christian Religion, and is also how Harvard and other universities in the United States prior to the 1900s set the foundation for education.
So the term “liberal” points to the purpose of education and our identity. But what precisely does this looks like.
“Arts”
[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f the foundation of education is knowledge of self and knowledge of God, how might the liberal arts help us in this endeavor? The Liberal Arts are an education in first principles–in the foundations of things. The Western heritage is the cultural soil into which Christ was made flesh, and the common inheritance of all God’s people. This specifically means recovering an education which includes Plato and Aristotle, Aquinas and Dante, Augustine and Boethius, Cicero and Plutarch, Homer and Vergil, Milton and Shakespeare. These and many others are so much woven into the fiber of ourselves and our culture that we cannot truly know ourselves without knowing them. It includes the classical study of logic, rhetoric, grammar, and language. These disciplines inform our understanding of the written and spoken word, the means God gave us for understanding Himself and ourselves.
We may have only recently re-discovered this birthright, but it is not presumptuous to receive this rich heritage as our own. Our culture is in full-blown identity crisis. The liberal arts educate our children in their identity, giving them the tools to understand the world around them in wisdom and virtue. And with this education in first principles–these freeing, liberal arts not defined by usefulness–our children will possess tools of learning that are surprisingly useful in a confused world.
Daniel Foucachon grew up in Lyon, France where his father was an evangelist and church-planter with Mission to the World. He moved to Moscow, Idaho in 2005 to attend New Saint Andrews College, where he graduated with a BA in Liberal Arts and Culture in 2009. In 2009 he founded a media production company, and was the producer of Canon Wired (the media branch of Canon Press) until 2013. His love for classical education and desire to publish curriculum designed for home education led him to found Roman Roads Media in 2011, which has since produced and published award-winning liberal arts curriculum for high school students. He and his wife Lydia live in Moscow, Idaho with their three sons and one daughter.
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“Can you give biblical reasons for not having someone watch your ONE YEAR and 2-month-old child while you’re in church? Come on man. 14-months-old?? Can you tell me exactly what you think you are accomplishing by having a 14-month-old in church?”
He responded simply with Bible references.
Have you not read?
“Call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants.” -Joel 2:15-16
“And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes; have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?” -Matthew 21:16
“Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” -Luke 18:15-17
“There was not a word of all that Moses commanded that Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.” -Joshua 8:35
“Assemble the people, men, women, and little ones, and the sojourner within your towns, that they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.” -Deuteronomy 31:12-13
“Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.” -2 Chronicles 20:13
“While Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, a very great assembly of men, women, and children, gathered to him out of Israel, for the people wept bitterly.” -Ezra 10:1
“When our days there were ended, we departed and went on our journey, and they all, with wives and children, accompanied us until we were outside the city. And kneeling down on the beach, we prayed and said farewell to one another.” -Acts 21:5-6
Ephesians 6 assumes that children would be present at the reading of the letter to the congregation.
Children were present at Jesus’ preaching (Matt 14:21).
Keep your kids in Church! The Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. The elements of a service are didactic even if they don’t have full comprehension. What they will quickly gain is the knowledge that “these are my people, this is where I belong, this is the Body of Christ where Iworship God.” It may take years for them to put that into words, but they understand it as surely as they understand that they belong at your dinner table. Have you ever tried removing a one-year-old from a dinner table full of older siblings? They know to whom they belong. They have an incredible ability to discern the Body.
Daniel Foucachon grew up in Lyon, France where his father was an evangelist and church-planter with 
