Christian Scholarship

Establishing the Habit of Reflective Thinking and Biblical Reasoning:

Ideas have consequences! Ideas form the basis of our worldview, the filter through which we channel experiences and ideas, rule or judge their efficacy, formulate thoughts, make decisions, and clothe them with words for communicating with others. Ideas begin in the mind -- the seat of liberty or bondage, the battleground for our future welfare! The Apostle Paul, Biblical scholar of the New Testament, clearly understood the spiritual and procreative power of words, thoughts, and ideas and vigorously instructed first century Christians throughout his letters:

  • "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world." [Colossians 2:6 & 8]
  • "Cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." [2 Corinthians 10:5]
  • "But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray." [2 Corinthians 11:3]
  • "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." [Romans 12:2]

"Education is useless without the Bible" - Noah Webster

When working with young, pliant minds, it is essential for the educator to establish the habit of beginning the search for principles, answers, and solutions, in the Word of God, the Logos! It is the Divine Word that consecrates and inspires the mind and builds intellectual virtue. This is why Noah Webster, father of American Christian education, wrote the first American dictionary and established a system of rules to govern spelling, grammar, and reading. This master linguist understood the power of words, their definitions, and the need for precise word usage in communication to maintain independence. Eager for Americans to be free from the bondage of old world ideas which were disseminated through our young nation's educational system, Dr. Webster laid the foundation for uniquely American education and the American usage of English words in his dictionary that defined each word in light of its meanings and usage in the Bible and in the new Christian constitutional republic.

At StoneBridge, each learner develops the habit of research by beginning with God's Word through the Word Study (please see the following page), in which words are defined in light of how they are used in Scripture. This process gives preeminence to the Word of God in deducing the Biblical principles of the subject and clothes the learner's ideas with truth. This is the foundation upon which the pathway of logical thinking and just reasoning is established. It produces the acquired habits of Biblical scholarship, thinking cause to effect, and the precise, lucid communication of ideas to others.